Thanks for the suggestion. i tried but seems to have no effect.
<property name="Meshfile" value="@:Other/Items/Weapons/Melee/Knives/boneShivPrefab.prefab" local_rotation="90,0,0"/>
I am not sure if I am using the correct syntax. I also tried the localRot="90,0,0" paramater similar to "deco" tags, but to no effect.