9 Gurkhas Kukri vendors listed (any opinions on who is the Offical Vendor)?

[JJHollowman]

BudK is a joke.

And they are, but in the case of the $20 kukris they sell, I have to say owning 2, .. they aren't bad. They come dull as my ex wife's family and are just as ugly, but if you have zero qualms about power sharpening you can get em pretty sharp. Sharp enough for first-world use, anyway. 1/4" thick too. The sheaths are junk, I wound up wrapping the sheath from #1 in black tape and when the second one came I went proactive and just wrapped it before it failed. They don't look the greatest but for a piece of steel just to beat around with and chop stuff they hold up fine. I actually didn't want a second one but I had loaned out #1 and figured I'd never see it again and lo and behold it returned, right when the borrower (my Son) needed a small cash advance. Imagine that.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

I bought a BudK kukri years ago. Never needed it. Someone asked about them so I made him a real good deal for it and it turned out as you said, did a perfectly good job as a basic chopper. I was into the Marine Combat-Utility style for woods-bumming. Much easier to carry. (Especially around New York City!)

 

[fugglesby]

In my experience having worked with khhi, the contract for the actual service issued knives is given to whoever of the manufacturers is willing to do it for the least by the government. The blades themselves are usually of lesser quality as a result than what you'd actually buy from the store as a customer. The reason that manufacturers all try to get that contract is so that they can advertise as having been the official manufacturer, however because so many of them have had the contract for say 2009 and still advertise it today, the clout that comes with it has lost almost all meaning. If you're looking for an indicator of quality, never having cut enough corners to have won that contract and not having been the official manufacturer is a good place to start. Tora Blades and Kailash Blades have both never engaged in those bidding wars and their quality has been consistent as a result.