Khukuris in Eastern Himalayas

b.c.molin said:
I received them with much appreciation and interest but am wondering if you received my replies?:confused:

I have emailed you again this morning. I hope you receive it.


bruce
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Got your most recent email & replied, not others you may have sent after the first one. My account is definitely acting up! :grumpy:
 
Ironhandjohn said:
Great read!!

What jumped out at me was how tiny the handles are compared to HI's models. I have an M-43 andappreciate every millimeter of handle space I can get my paws on. I'd be afraid to swing a 'local' kukhri very hard, for fear of losing my grip on it...
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Ironhandjohn, glad you enjoyed, thank you!

Yes, there is a BIG difference in handle size between HI khukuris and locally made khukuris in Nepal. People over here are usually quite a bit smaller than average Americans and Europeans with correspondingly smaller hands, thus the smaller handles fit them perfectly. Bill Martino in his early days saw this difference and started making bigger handles for his HI khukuris to cater to his Western customers' bigger hands - with much success :)

I have an HI M-43 too, and mine seems to have a longer handle than other M-43s, so even though I'm of over-average height out here (5'9"), my hands seem pretty small for this khukuri's long handle.
 
Great post and pix, thank you for sharing!
 
I was interested to see that the handles on these blades are straight, as are the HI blades, in sharp contrast to those of certain HI competitors.
also, they seem to flare a little more at the pommel than HI blades. Interesting...
I REALLY like the nearly-closed cho...
 
I'm just jealous that someone else gets a trip to Nepal, and I'm stuck here in Austin! <grrr>
 
Nicholas said:
I'm just jealous that someone else gets a trip to Nepal, and I'm stuck here in Austin! <grrr>
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Hi Nicholas, these photos were not taken in Nepal but in neighboring Sikkim and Bhutan, which are further east to Nepal, in the same Himalayan belt.

I too want to make a visit to Nepal someday soon. It IS a lot closer to me from where I am right now, so perhaps I should seriously plan something in the near future.
 
DannyinJapan said:
I was interested to see that the handles on these blades are straight, as are the HI blades, in sharp contrast to those of certain HI competitors.
also, they seem to flare a little more at the pommel than HI blades. Interesting...
I REALLY like the nearly-closed cho...
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DannyinJapan, I think the nearly-closed cho is more a forging flaw than a purposeful design. These khukuris probably got cranked out without the smith taking too much time working out the finer details. :)
 
sta94 said:
Hi Nicholas, these photos were not taken in Nepal but in neighboring Sikkim and Bhutan, which are further east to Nepal, in the same Himalayan belt.
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Actually, I knew where they are (I read some interesting articles about Bhutan recently); I just forgot that it was WHERE you were! Sorry.:eek:

The point is, everyone gets out, but me.......:(
 
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Nicholas said:
Actually, I knew where they are (I read some interesting articles about Bhutan recently); I just forgot that it was WHERE you were! Sorry.:eek:

The point is, everyone gets out, but me.......:(
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No probs! :)

Don't feel too bad, I may be in the exotic Himalayas, but most of the time I spend all day either in a rundown office in a nondescript industrial town or a factory waaaay out in the boondocks where the mountains end and the hot plains of India begins! No quite my idea of fun!
 
Thank you Sta94 for sharing your fascinating journy & expieriences of kukri there & confirming that kukri are popular in Sikkim & Bhutan as well as India & Nepal.

Spiral
 
sta94 said:
Don't feel too bad, I may be in the exotic Himalayas, but most of the time I spend all day either in a rundown office in a nondescript industrial town or a factory waaaay out in the boondocks where the mountains end and the hot plains of India begins! No quite my idea of fun!
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sta94, how about some pics of the area you're in if allowed?
Also if you're permitted are you there working for an American company or a company from another nation? Of course if you'd rather not say I'm good with that as well, just interested in where you're from and what prompted you to work overseas.....:thumbup: ;) :cool: :D




.
 
Hi Yvsa, I'm originally from these parts, spent last 14-15 years in the U.S. - first school, then work, mostly in NYC, media/marketing research area. The past year wife & I had to come back to Asia looking after family business that got hit with several crises, was hoping it'd be a short visit, but still here & will prob. be here for a while longer (c'mon global economy, recover already!!!)
 
sta94 said:
Hi Yvsa, I'm originally from these parts, spent last 14-15 years in the U.S. - first school, then work, mostly in NYC, media/marketing research area. The past year wife & I had to come back to Asia looking after family business that got hit with several crises, was hoping it'd be a short visit, but still here & will prob. be here for a while longer (c'mon global economy, recover already!!!)
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Global economy, local economy, fuel economy: I don't care, as long as it recovers!
 
iBlade said:
Nice photos and information, how do they chop compared to your HI ones?
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Well ... I'm quite the amateur when it comes to outdoors, woodsman type stuff, so my chopping experiences are not as extensive as some (most) of you folks on here. On top of that, I haven't had the time to do a lot of chopping with my recent khukuris over here, but my guess is that with the two HI khuks I have at present (M-43 and Foxy Folly) being bigger and heavier than these two villager khukuris, the HI ones will probably chop better.

Don't count out these villagers though. They feel pretty well-balanced (speaking from minimal experience!) with weight nicely distributed towards the forward end, they also feel pretty 'lively' in the hands.

If/when I get around to do some serious chopping I'll try to put together some coherent observations. :)
 
spiraltwista said:
Thank you Sta94 for sharing your fascinating journy & expieriences of kukri there & confirming that kukri are popular in Sikkim & Bhutan as well as India & Nepal.

Spiral
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Hi Spiral, glad you liked my rambling posts :) Actually Sikkim is a part of India these days (since mid/late 1970s), although it's a lot closer geographically, ethnically, culture-wise to neighboring Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet than to mainstream India.

Then again, it's the same with many Indian states on the fringes - Ladakh in the far northwest is practically 'Little Tibet,' states like Nagaland, Manipur, etc. in the far northeast bordering Burma/Myanmar will seem more SEAsian than mainstream India. It's generally all good though, makes for a lot of diversity in the country. :)
 
More photos ... posted these on other forums so thought I should share them over here as well.

These are the types of knives and short-sword-type blades carried daily by folks in the rural areas of Bhutan, very similar to Tibetan designs. I took these photos in the same area as the fellow with the khukuri on his waist several posts above - southeastern Bhutan. While the khukuri is generally the preferred EDC for folks of Nepalese descent, these straight blades are more often carried by the Bhutanese. Then again, it's not uncommon to see a crossover in style preferences. Heck, I've seen even the Indian road construction laborers (brought in from faroff states) in the Bhutan-India border freely use khukuris, Bhutanese knives and short-swords, Assamese choppers (dunno exact details yet on this interesting blade), etc. in their daily work clearing the thick jungles around here.

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Here are some of my non-khukuri blades, hope I don't come off as a show-off :D

Top to bottom:

Tibetan dagger - looks kinda pretty but blade looks like bad quality, thin, does not take an edge.

An older Bhutanese 'Patang' short-sword. This one seems shorter than most regular Patangs. Feels like a weapon rather than a jungle-slashing tool. Well built, light, good balance, feels 'right' in my hands.

Bhutanese short-sword of the type usually used for bolo-type jungle clearance/everyday use, including as weapon. Thicker and heavier than my Patang above.

I'm still sorting out the exact terminologies for these blades.

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