Damascus Kukri with Rosewood Handle and Brass Bolster

This is the dress version of the forward curving Nepali knife. The blade is 13 inches of Damascus with 18.5 inches overall, a polished brass bolster where the steel meets the wood, and an oiled rosewood handle. Damascus on a kukri is a modern piece rather than a traditional one, and we say so plainly. It goes to buyers who want the ladder pattern along that curve and a scabbard carved to match.

Specification

The blade

The steel is Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core and etched so the light and dark ladder layers step along the whole flat, with the bevel polished bright. At 13 inches the blade leaves the handle narrow, sweeps forward and down and widens near the tip, so the heaviest steel sits furthest from your hand. The cho at the base of the edge stops a cut running back into the handle. The core is carbon, so it darkens and rusts if left wet.

The handle

The handle is oiled rosewood, dense and close grained, with the traditional raised ring at the middle and a flared butt that keeps the knife in your hand on a hard swing. A brass butt cap finishes it and a polished brass bolster sits at the front. The tang is hidden, running through the length of the wood rather than showing along the sides.

The karda and the chakmak

Two small knives ride in pockets on the back of the scabbard. The karda is the sharp one, for the fine work a 13 inch blade is too heavy for. The chakmak is blunt, used to true up a rolled edge and traditionally struck to raise a spark. Serious Nepali makers include both and name both. Ours come with the knife.

The leather

The scabbard is water buffalo leather formed over a wooden core, with a brass cap at the tip, a leather belt frog and hand stitching down the seam. The two pockets on the back hold the karda and the chakmak. The face carries deep floral tooling edge to edge inside a beaded border, cut and shaded in damp leather rather than printed.

Who it suits

This is the piece people buy to look at as much as to use.

• Collectors who want Damascus in a large blade
• Buyers who want rosewood and brass over synthetic scales
• Anyone giving a serious gift
• People who already own a plain kukri

What comes in the box

• The Damascus kukri
• The tooled leather scabbard
• The karda and the chakmak
• A care card

Every piece is different

Each blade is forged, ground and finished by hand, so runs stay small. The Damascus pattern never repeats and the rosewood has its own grain, so yours will differ from the photographs.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry after use and never put it away wet. The gray patina that builds is normal and protects the steel. Sharpen with a stone or a file following the existing bevel, working the belly of the curve. Oil the blade before storage and let the leather dry away from heat. More in our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece and you add it on this page. Around 30 characters fits on a blade or a handle. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Is Damascus traditional on a kukri? No, Damascus on a kukri is a modern piece rather than a traditional one.

What is the notch at the base of the edge? That is the cho, and it stops a cut running back into the handle.

What are the two small knives for? The karda is a small sharp knife for fine work and the chakmak is blunt, used to true up an edge.

What does the brass bolster do? It sits where the blade meets the handle and finishes the joint.

Will my kukri look exactly like the photo? No, the pattern, the rosewood and the tooling differ on every piece.

Will this steel rust? It can, so dry it after use and oil it before storage.

For the same steel in a shorter blade, see the Damascus kukri with black micarta, and for rosewood in plain spring steel the 15 inch kukri with a rosewood handle. More sit in kukri knives, in Damascus steel, and in rosewood handle knives.