Genuine British Burma WW2 Mk II 1945 Gurkha Kukri Knife with Leather Combat Scabbard

Here on offer is a Genuine British Burma WW2 Mk II 1945 dated Kukri Knife with Leather Scabbard.

The Gurkha Kukri is possibly the most recognisable and famous fighting knife ever developed.
Indigenous to the mountain Kingdom of Nepal, home of the Gurkhas who were "absorbed" into the British sphere of influence with the Treaty of Seguli in 1816. These ferocious fighters were infamous for their valour and for using the kukri an amazing "Tool of Death".

It is a forward leaning leaf shaped blade, which provided the user with leveraged striking power.
The kukri was became an everyday tool as much as it was a deadly weapon.

Introduced long before the British arrived in the early 19th century, the Kukri became standard equipment for Gurkha Regiments serving in the British Army.

The Mark II Kukri was produced during WW2, each was maker marked in western script with WW2 dates and military markings. They where issued with a British WW2 dated hard leather over wood combat scabbard.

I am told these Kukris are the most rare of all, as many never returned to arsenal storage after service in WW2.

This Kukri knife has a fascinating story to tell:

I was informed that the Gurkha Kukri knife was used against the Japanese in Burma during WW2 and saw the Japanese surrender of its 52nd division.
It was then used against the Indonesians during the initial period 1945/6 of the Indonesian War of Independence.

A gruesome belief is that the edges of the leather scabbard have been purposely scored with multiple period cuts that represent the number of Japanese victims it has taken during its service life!

I do not have any provenience to support this story only that it was passed to me from the curator of a museum that was closing and selling off its contents.

The knife itself has the traditional Kukri curved blade and this one has had the tip purposely clipped. I have seen this done on other service issued knifes that where used specifically on night manoeuvres to avoid accidentally stabbing your colleagues with the tip?

On onside near the grip the blade is stamped with the British Military “Broad Arrow” and “K 45” for the year of issue 1945.

The blade shows rough grinding marks on both sides where it has been cleaned and sharped in the field during its service life.

The grip is made from two slabs of carved hardwood that are held in place by two massive steel rivets.
There are some chips and knocks to the wood as you would expect given the life it has seen.

The dark brown leather over wood scabbard is in excellent used condition and it retains its original black painted brass chape. The front of the scabbard is impressed with the year of manufacture, 1945 and what looks like C (Broad Arrow) 903? Possibly an arsenal or unit mark?

The blade measures approximately 11.5” (29.3cm) long and the knife is 16” (40.6cm) in total length.

With the scabbard, it weighs a heavy 780g.

This knife clearly has a story to tell and is now a rare knife to find.

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

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Code: 50575