Much Sought After! Interwar 1927 RFI (Rifle Factory Ishapore) British MK II Ghurkha Kukri

A SCARCE EXAMPLE OF THE MUCH SOUGHT AFTER INTERWAR RFI (RIFLE FACTORY ISHAPORE) MKII KUKRI. THIS RFI PRODUCED KUKRI IS SOMETHING OF A RARITY, WITH KNOWN EXAMPLES ONLY PRODUCED IN SMALL BATCHES IN 1926 AND 1927. (PLEASE SEE ONLINE SOURCES) MANY WERE HELD IN STORE, AND ISSUED DURING WW2.
 
The hardwood grip has a central grip ring, something which was removed post 1943 to cut down on production times. It has three other grip rings, which match indentations in the tang or shank as it is nestled in the wooden handle. It has its correct steel butt plate, also plated. 
 
With a 32.5cm long blade with single spine fuller, and impressively large kaudi. (Located between the blade and the handle and is shaped like the hoof of the cow, a sacred symbol in Hinduism)
 
THE BLADE IS CORRECTLY MARKED R.F.I. MKII ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WITH INSPECTION MARKS AND A DATE OF 1927.  A VERY SCARCE MILITARY PATTERN KUKRI, BY A RARE MAKER, WHICH DONT COME UP ON AUCTION OFTEN.
 
MARKINGS:
R.F.I. (Rifle Factory Ishapore)
MK. II (Mark II meaning the second version of military hardware. The First official numbered British Indian Gurkha military kukri the mk.1 was in production by 1903 up until at least 1915. The mk.3 kukri came into being in 1943.)
 
SIZE: BLADE LENGTH 32.5CM OVERALL LENGTH 44.5CM
 
CONDITION: SOME SMUDGE AREAS AND PATINA SPOTS ON BLADE. STILL SHARP IN SOME AREAS OF BLADE EDGE. HANDLE IN GOOD CONDITION. MARKINGS CLEARLY VISIBLE.
 
FAMOUS GURKHA KUKRI:
The Kukri is the traditional knife of the Gurkha people of Nepal, a small country on the border of China, in the Himalaya mountains. Whilst Kukri knives have many general uses as everyday tools, they are most recognisable and famous as the weapon of Gurkha Nepalese soldiers.
The first well-documented (written) accounts of the knife and of the Gurkha tribes come from the British who had taken control of India in the 1800's. The British had been advancing Northward, but suddenly encountered fierce resistance as they advanced into what is modern day Nepal. THE BRITISH SOLDIERS HAD FINE RIFLES AND WERE THE RENOWNED MARKSMEN OF THE DAY. THE GURKHA WERE ARMED ONLY WITH KUKRIS. The Gurkhas not only resisted the British troops, they drove them back. This is something that the British were not at all used to.
THE ACCOUNTS OF WHAT HAPPENED ARE AS FAMOUS AS THEY ARE GRUESOME. The Gurkhas seemed to materialize out of the jungle itself for long enough to cleanly lop a head or limb, and would then disappear before the guns came to bear. The British would set camp for the night, with men found in the morning with their heads cleanly removed, yet the sentries would not see or hear any intruders.
THE BRITISH WISELY WITHDREW FROM THESE AREAS, AND THEN THEY DID SOMETHING VERY UNCHARACTERISTIC. THEY SENT EMISSARIES TO MAKE PEACE WITH THE GURKHA. TREATIES WERE MADE THAT HAD FAR-REACHING CONSEQUENCES. SINCE THAT DAY, THE GURKHA HAVE FOUGHT ALONGSIDE BRITISH TROOPS IN EVERY MAJOR ENGAGEMENT, INCLUDING TWO WORLD WARS, AND HUNDREDS OF MINOR SKIRMISHES.
Today, Gurkha warriors still stand side-by-side with British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the famous Kukri knife is still their fighting knife of choice. In many villages, Gurkha warriors still hand make their own knife, a skill passed from father to son when they reach maturity.
In the British Army, serving Gurkhas are issued with a kukri from which they are never separated. And to this day, the standard military issue Kukris for Ghurka forces are individually hand made. Making a Kukri is a task that takes four men an entire day. There is no machinery used, and as such, no two Khukris are alike. It is also claimed that a Khukri has never been broken in battle a bold statement indeed.
"The Kukri is the national as well as the religious weapon of the Gurkhas.
It is incumbent on a Gurkha to carry it while awake and to place it under pillow when retiring."
- Maharaja Padma Shamser Jangbahadur Rana
(Prime Minister and Supreme Commander of Nepal during Rana Regime)
 
PLEASE ALSO SEE MY OTHER ITEMS LISTED. I HAVE VARIOUS OTHER DAGGERS AND KNIVES ON AUCTION THIS WEEK. COPY THE URL UNDERNEATH AND PASTE INTO GOOGLE AND IT WILL TAKE YOU DIRECTLY TO ALL MY LISTINGS THIS WEEK. NOTE ALL MY AUCTIONS END AT 22H30 SO IT IS ADVISABLE TO PUT IN AN AUTOMATIC BID (HIGHEST PRICE YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY) EARLY.
https://www.bidorbuy.co.za/seller/3685641/ErnRex1545