The Rampuri (रामपूरी चाकू) is an Indian

gravity knife A gravity knife is a knife with a blade contained in its handle, which opens its blade through the force of gravity. This mechanism of opening is fundamentally different from the switchblade, which extends its spring-propelled blade automatically u ...

with a single-edged blade roughly long. This includes both

switchblade A switchblade (also known as switch knife, automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, flick knife, gravity knife, flick blade, or spring knife) is a pocketknife with a sliding or pivoting blade contained in the handle which is extended ...

knives and also step-lock types. The name Rampuri comes from the town of

Rampur, Uttar Pradesh Rampur ( ; ISO: ''Rāmapura''; formerly Mustafabad) is a town and the municipality headquarter of Rampur District in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was formerly known for its various industries, like sugar refining and cotton milling. It ...

. The royal

bladesmith Bladesmithing is the art of making knives, swords, daggers and other blades using a forge, hammer, anvil, and other smithing tools. Bladesmiths employ a variety of metalworking techniques similar to those used by blacksmiths, as well as woodworkin ...

s of local

Nawabs of Rampur Rampur State was a 15 gun-salute princely state of British India. It came into existence on 7 October 1774 as a result of a treaty with Oudh. Following independence in 1947, Rampur State and other princely states of the area, such as ...

started making knives after the popularization of

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

s after the 18th century. The Rampuri is still in use today as a criminal weapon by the local

Indian Mafia Organised crime in India refers to organised crime elements originating in India and active in many parts of the world. The purpose of organised crime in India, as elsewhere in the world, is monetary gain. Its virulent form in modern times is d ...

, although locally made guns and sophisticated automatic pistols have largely taken their place. However, in the mid 1990s, the

Government of Uttar Pradesh The Government of Uttar Pradesh (International Organization for Standardization, ISO: ''Uttara Pradēśa Sarakāra''; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appoin ...

banned making such knives longer than in blade length, which led to a drop in popularity of the knife. The knife was often featured in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

crime thrillers in the 1960s and 1970s.

References

Knives Rampur, Uttar Pradesh Indian martial arts Weapons of India Crime in Uttar Pradesh Culture of Uttar Pradesh {{India-hist-stub