Kirpan Sarbloh Or Steel?

[Harkiran Kaur]

If you have a desire in your heart for becoming Guru-wala banda, please don't hesitate and please don't delay. As Gurbani states, who knows if we will draw our next breath? You don't want to miss this rare golden opportunity that has finally come after who knows how many lifetimes. Do not waste a moment more, hurry to Guru's sanctuary. You will never regret it!
AoG

As if my wait was not bad enough for September! haha. Now you have me wanting it right now! But I have to wait for September and my trip to India!

 

[Harkiran Kaur]

Okay so I received the kirpan... all I can say is WOW. The craftsmanship is evident! I know that most taksali kirpans from India are mass produced and no care is given to weight, balance etc of the blade. This is absolutely gorgeous (from a professional blade standpoint) Aside from it being modern in design, it still looks like a kirpan. There is an inlaid khanda on the side and both the blade / handle and the scabbard are precision assembled by hand... you can run your hand over the entire thing and there is not a single bump or piece sticking up etc.

I realize it's made by a 3HO member, but I have seen quite a few non-3HO members carrying his workmanship. As I understand it, he was a blade smith before he became involved with 3HO 30 years ago. Various historical gurdwaras in India actually possess full 3 foot swords created by him, with inlaid artwork of historical events and darbar sahib etc. One is in Anandpur.

The size I was surprised by.... I knew it was small... 3" blade. But it is actually tiny in my hand. Overall length is just a touch under 6". At first I thought it was too small actually but then I tried it on, and since I am a small girl anyway (5'2") and I try to stay active, this size is perfect for wearing under a shirt etc, and the gatra that came with it is adjustable, so its easy to shorten it so it's high and snug to your body so if you play sports etc it will never flop around or get in the way.

And as I said... unlike a lot of the mass produced taksali kirpans, the blade on this is an actual formidable (and sharp) blade. The blade has a khanda etched on one side and in Gurmukhi it has Ik Onkar, Satgur Prasad on the other. (I think you can actually have other things engraved as well as per your choice but this was a gift and already made for me)

I think this will be my everyday kirpan, and I have a more traditional taksali kirpan that is also a bit bigger for special events.