Khukuris and guns

J

Johan van Zyl

Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Messages
372
It is a well-known fact that many collectors do not specialise. I do believe most collections are quite varied. I myself definitely do NOT collect khukuris alone. I am probably more of a collector of militaria than anything else. Khukuris have been used to good effect as weapons of war, therefore some of them fall under "militaria". Even a brand-new BAS will, to my mind, be militaria. Now it appeals to me to know that khukuris used in the First World War were carried in conjunction with, for example, Short Magazine Lee Enfield rifles (SMLE's). And it is a statement of fact that a person collecting WW I khukuris, PLUS Mk III SMLE's, PLUS WW I uniforms and accroutrements belonging to the relevant units, will have a very nice thematic militaria collection indeed. To me personally it will be more interesting than eg. a collection of khukuris alone. In contrast, John Powell is a respected specialist in khukuris, but that's fine by me. The phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none" was coined for people like myself. (JP will be the type of guy writing khukuri books, not guys like me.)

Not only SMLE's were carried by khukuri-wielding Gurkhas. According to information I happened to come by, the attack on the Peiwar Kotal, Afghanistan, by 5th Gurkha Rifles in December 1878, was delivered by Gurkhas carrying SNIDER RIFLES with yatagan bayonets. (You'll love this, Berk!) These Gurkhas would have had khukuris at their belts. Opposing them were Scottish Highlander units carrying the newer Martini-Henry rifles. Highlanders would have had their claymores as well. (Every man to his edged weapon, I say!

Of course, "modern" khukuri-carrying Gurkhas would be equipped with the most advanced firearms, but I am not really interested in modern-day weapons. It's the Sniders and SMLE's in Gurkha hands which make interest reading for a guy like myself. Maybe guys like yourselves, too!

(I can't seem to get the smilies to work by clicking on them. So just imagine me staring at you with a cool, friendly smirk...)
 
I am in the same category of collectors as yourself. For some odd reason I have had a fascination with military history and sceince since early childhood. Not much of a militaria collector, I'm afraid, as I have a limited budget and miltaria seems to become ever more expensive as my income increases. Currently I have only a Finnish M39 and some khukuris. I hope to pick up a couple of SMLE variants as these are still relatively inexpensive. Would love to have a genuine GI garand and M1 carbine.
I am an information junkie and find almost everything of interest(not just militaria). Almost impossible for me to specialize, but certain trends remain constant- firearms, khukuris, women.

:D ;)

Patrick Mc
 
All right, I'll take up the challenge! I always read every thread that mentions guns. I thought about what English guns I have and what khuk's and decided that a Jungle Carbine and a Ganga Ram Special would be best (This is the one I got from Terry.). It gives me a chance to show off some stuff and use the digital camera (and Mac) as well.

This rifle is dated 1945. It is wearing a pre-WWII German scope like the Nazis liked to put on their sniper rifles. The scope is mounted in a German quick release mount.

EJC_GR.jpg


I was tempted to drag out every WWII era rifle I owned but that wouldn't be any fun. I would have to take the picture from so far away that you wouldn't be able to see any detail. Since the Garand and M39 would mentioned I pulled those out. I also threw in a Swiss K-31 since it is one of my best shooting rifles and you can buy them very inexpensively right now.

From top to bottom: Swiss K-31, 7.5mm Swiss. I looked up the serial number once for a manufactured date but I've forgotten what it was! Then there is a Finnish M39, VKT 1941, 7.62 X 54R (of course). Lastly is the Springfield Armory M1, 1944. DCM gun that I received while I was on US Army Active Duty in 1988.

I thought about throwing a big knife in with these girls but I didn't think the Swiss or Finns would have approved!

3_2.jpg


(These pictures are being posted from the mac.com domain. It is basically unlimited space for free if you are a Mac owner running OS 9 or higher. Sorry Windows people, talk to Redmond about giving you free space!)
 
?? The silence is deafening? Nobody liked the pictures? I'm going to go build some fence for awhile.
 
Just couldn't stop drueling long enough to type anything ;) I really like the M1 the M39 is nice also. I had a M39 but I sold it last year, now I want it back :( Did I mention nice pictures :p

Ryan
 
Pix are Suuhweeet!
Personally, I like the bolt guns. Enfields are getting more rare, but not too expensive. I just got a relacement bolt for an Indian No 1. enfield that's been sitting in the gun case for a year. It still needs the front and back handguards and sling band to get her back to issue shape. Oh, receiver is dated 1963, a pretty late one! A BAS would pair up with it pretty well, though.

Moisins are cheap now, as are the mausers. Garands are out of my proce range for now, though I'm savin' up. Khukuris don't go with them, though :(

Hmmm. Credit cards gettin' itchy!

Pat
 
Great rifles and pics! I've often wanted to do a nice picture of my Enfield No.4Mk2 and a good khukuri, overlaid with the words to Siegfried Sassoon's poem "The Kiss". If you can ignore the bad sides of fighting and war, there is no better piece of writing to stir the blood and send a chill through my bones...
 
Thanks guys! I guess I was fishing for some comments but it was disappointing after getting all the rifles out, etc. and then nobody said anything. I think you were all transfixed by Uncle Bill's Deals of the Day.

I've got my Curio and Relic FFL and highly recommend it. It only costs $30 for three years and then you can order and receive guns fifty years old or older directly to your home. I love it when UPS shows up with another WWII era gun!

Go to http://www.cruffler.com/ if you are interested in finding out more.
 
Did Terry Sisco do the handle on the GRS? Looks very nice. Not enough handle in that shot :D
 
Not enough handle, huh? OK, you asked for it!

I bought the knife from Terry. I'm 99% sure that the handle is original and not done by Terry. He did do a different type of carrying strap for it. He took a big wide strip of leather and created a strap that goes over your head and onto your opposite shoulder. It's kind of like the cross body straps that were common in armies pre-WWII. It allows you to wear the GRS in a way that doesn't drag down your pants! It is nice that you can pick it up, slip it on, go where the work is, and then pull the sheath off while you work. It is more convenient than threading something onto your belt. It's still a darn big knife and I only pull it out when I have something especially stubborn that needs to be removed.

I guess I should have taken a picture of the sheath but I didn't do it. I did take some pictures from farther away but I liked the ones that were up close enough to see detail on the rifle! Hey, I'm a gun person first! Here's one anyway:

4.jpg
 
Thanks for the cruffler website. Great information, just what I was looking for. I printed out the forms last night and will have the papers in the mail on Monday. It would be great if I got an CRFFL, I can quit paying those gundealers 10% to order a rifle.

Ryan
 
Ryan,

Glad to help get you going on your FFL. It's a very good deal. The first one or two old guns you buy will pay for the whole three year period and everything after that is a savings. There are so many places selling really nice old guns now for small amounts of money. Once your FFL comes you need to fire off ink signed copies of it to a whole bunch of different dealers. Some places will even give you dealer prices on stuff besides guns. Midway, for instance, doesn't even sell anything that needs an FFL but if you send your C&R FFL they will let you start buying stuff for dealer prices. I'm not going to complain. Brownell's is that way too. I couldn't afford to shoot if I had to pay retail for bullets, powder, primers, etc.

Let me give you two examples to get your started. Aim Surplus has a great reputation. http://www.aimsurplus.com/

And Wholesale Guns is kind of weird but they have great deals on MN M39's: http://www.gunsnammo.com/

If you want to buy guns from people that have hand selected the best ones, you should buy from either Allen (http://www.allans-armory.com/) or Empire Arms: http://www.empirearms.com/

And you definitely want to send your FLL to SOG although their website is very limited. They will send you a monthly price catalog: http://www.southernohiogun.com/

There are so many great places to buy guns. I just need a lot more money!!
 
tulsamal that is an odd set up with the Lee Enfield. Is the rear sight now welded to the gun? Do you have part of a Martini Henri trigger guard on the rifle?

Here in Canada Lee Enfields are quite common. Garands use be quite common and cheap too. The cheap ones are not of very high quality. I have always wanted a Garand but I did not like the clip concept much. I like the M14 much better but in Canada we are limited to 5 round mags. So a Garand with 8 rounds is the most semi-auto firepower you can legally own in Canada.

Will
 
Great stuff tulsamal!
I just put my forms in the mailbox so now I have the wait. I am really glad you posted the cruffler site, I never new how easy it was to get a CRFFL. Great gun sites too, you can bet once I get my CRFFL copies will be sent to everyone you listed. Thanks again,

Ryan
 
Seems I'm the only "Mr." amongst you ardent gun collectors! Patrick (Raven's Beak), you can call me Johan.

I'm more into the older guns and khuks, those that were used in the black powder era. But what really makes me sit up and drool, is the apparant ease you guys have with collecting clunkers. Gun collecting in this country is fraught with loads of licensing red tape and extra expense. You'd be flabbergasted if you knew first hand, the trouble we have to go through to be able to collect legally!

I'm going to bet all the khukuris under my bed amongst the dust bunnies that the handle of that GRS is original. Y' got that?

Go well!
 
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