Hand-Forged Bhojpure Kukri Knife, Bone and Horn Handle

Bhojpure is the broad, heavy-bellied kukri pattern named after Bhojpur, a district in the eastern hills of Nepal. What distinguishes it is the width and depth of the belly — more steel carried forward than on a slender pattern, which puts the mass where a chopping stroke lands and makes it one of the harder-hitting traditional profiles. It is a working knife more than a dress one: the Bhojpure is what gets used on a farm, in a forest and on a march, and it is one of the patterns Nepali households have relied on for generations. If you want something quicker and lighter in the hand, the slender sirupate is the pattern to look at instead, and we build those too.

Because Nepal's blade-making grew up village by village rather than in factories, and geography shaped what each place produced. A kami — a smith — worked in a particular valley, using the materials available there, making blades for people who used them for the specific work that landscape demanded. Over generations each area's output settled into a recognisable shape, and the pattern took the district's name: Bhojpure from Bhojpur in the east, Sirupate from the eastern hills where the siru grass grows, Chainpure from Chainpur, Dhankute from Dhankuta, each with its own profile, its own proportions and its own conventions of decoration. The terms are not marketing categories invented for export; they are how kukris have been described in Nepal for a very long time, and a Nepali buyer would use them the way a European collector uses Oakeshott types. It is also why a kukri made in Nepal by Nepali smiths is a different object from one made to a Nepali outline somewhere else.

Two separate terms describing this blade, and both are worth knowing. Angkhola means roughly "body hollowed": it is a build where the spine is left very thick and material is taken out of the flats below it, so you get a blade that is extremely stiff and strong for its weight, with the mass concentrated where it does the most good. Angkhola kukris have a reputation in Nepal as the toughest of the traditional builds, and they are what you want if the knife is going to be worked hard rather than displayed. Chirra is the Nepali word for a fuller ground into the blade, and smiths count them: ek chirra is one, dui chirra two, tin chirra three. This blade is a dui chirra angkhola — a thick hollowed spine with two fullers running along it. The fullers take out weight the stiffness does not need, so you keep the angkhola's strength without the whole thing becoming a club.

This is the traditional one. It is the only kukri we make that ships as a complete set with both the karda and the chakmak in a proper dap, and the only one with a jointed bone and horn handle and brass fittings. It is also the only one built to a named regional pattern. Our bushcraft kukri is a modern build with a contoured slab handle and a flat belt sheath, made to carry and use rather than to be authentic. Our battle kukri is the heaviest, with a blackened blade and sculpted steel fittings. Our tiger-etched kukri is larger at 16.5 inches with an etched blade and a karda only. Our fullered fantasy kukri has a nine-inch two-hand grip and a steel guard. Buy this one if you want a kukri the way Nepal makes them.

They are the two small blades that ride in pockets on the dap, and a traditional kukri is not complete without them. The karda is a small utility knife — sharpened, and used for everything the big blade is hopeless at: cutting cord, food preparation, fine carving, skinning. The chakmak is blunt, and it does two jobs. Run along the edge it trues and realigns the working edge without removing metal, the way a butcher's steel does, which is how a kukri edge is maintained in the field where there is no stone. And historically the hardened spine of a chakmak was struck against flint to make sparks for fire. Both are included here with handles matched to the kukri.

Yes. It is hand-forged from 5160 high-carbon spring steel, oil-tempered, sharpened, and built on a full tang. The angkhola section makes it particularly stiff for its weight, which is exactly what you want in a chopper. It will take down green wood, clear brush and handle the work a kukri is meant for. Do not use it on stone, metal, nails hidden in old timber, or seasoned hardwood knots, and check the edge and the handle fittings after heavy use.

The blade is forged from 5160 high-carbon spring steel, the same alloy used in heavy-duty truck leaf springs, prized for toughness and edge retention. It is oil-tempered for a hard cutting edge backed by a flexible, shock-absorbent spine. Nepali smiths have forged kukris from vehicle leaf spring for generations, long before anyone in Nepal was quoting an alloy number — it became the traditional material because it was available and because a chopping blade needs to absorb shock without chipping far more than it needs extreme hardness.

It is a jointed handle: sections of bone and dark horn cut, drilled and fitted together over the tang, then turned and shaped as one piece with rings cut into the profile, and finished with a brass ferrule at the blade and a brass cap at the butt. The rings are not decoration alone — they give the hand something to register against, which matters on a kukri because the forward bend generates a twisting load with every strike. Because bone and horn are natural, no two handles come out the same: colour, grain and translucency all vary, and small differences between sections are the material rather than a fault. Both materials want a little care, which is covered in the care notes.

The dap is the traditional kukri scabbard: built around a fitted wooden core covered in leather, with pockets on the back for the karda and chakmak. The wooden core is what holds the blade securely and stops the edge cutting its way out — a flat leather sleeve cannot do either. The decorated piece at the tip is the chape, a cast metal fitting that protects the point of the scabbard from wear and, on a good kukri, carries traditional Nepali scrollwork. It is the part that shows when the kukri hangs at the belt, which is why it gets the decoration. Keep the kukri out of the dap for long-term storage: leather is tanned with acids and holds damp against carbon steel.

Yes, sharpened to a working edge along the belly, finished by hand, and the karda is sharpened too. The chakmak is blunt by design — that is what it is for. The area of the edge near the cho and back toward the bolster is traditionally left unsharpened, which is normal and not an oversight. If you need the kukri blunt for display or to satisfy import rules where you live, choose the display-blunt option or tell us in your order notes, at no extra charge.

Yes to all three, and this is where the regional vocabulary becomes useful rather than decorative. Tell us the pattern you want — Bhojpure for chopping weight, sirupate for a slender quick blade — and the fuller count, from a plain angkhola with none through ek chirra, dui chirra and tin chirra. Blade length runs from a service size around eleven inches upward. Handle material and fittings are adjustable too. If you have an antique kukri you would like matched, send photographs and measurements and our smiths will tell you honestly how close they can get before quoting.

Yes. We ship worldwide from Nepal by DHL or FedEx in 7 to 14 business days with tracking. In-stock specs dispatch within 2 to 3 business days; fully custom builds take roughly 4 to 6 weeks to forge first. Import and blade laws vary by country, so please check your local rules before ordering.