These are decorative pieces. It's my understanding from John Powell (from whom I acquired one of them) that they were the original tourist kukris, made for the original tourists - British officers in India who wanted exotic, if not necessarily authentic, souvenirs of their days in service to the Raj. Old tulwar handles were joined to a piece of flat, soft metal resembling an exaggerated kukri blade, decorated with exotic motifs of tigers, elephants, and Hindu deities, to create the ultimate wall-hanger for the family home back in England.
The illustration is from the Francis Bannerman Catalog of 1927, showing how these and other decorated arms could be used to create a striking display - "Prices Quoted On Application".
