A master kami discusses employment at shop no. 2 -- you gotta read this one!

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
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The boss, Kami Sherpa, had a master kami drop by to talk about possible employment at shop no. 2. Here's the story as Kami told it via phone, shortened for publication here.

Kami handed two HI khukuris to the kami and said, "Can you make khukuris as good as these?"

The kami carefully examined both khukuris. He sighted down the blade checking for true and top grind. He checked the edge grind. He checked for edge hardness. He examined buttcap and bolster. He took a chakma and clicked it over the entire blade. (Cobalt will love this!) Then he licked the blade.

"It's made out of a Mercedes-Benz spring," Kami Sherpa said.

"I know," replied the kami.

"Can you make a khukuri of this quality?" Kami Sherpa asked.

"Actually, I can make one better than this. I am the best kami in Nepal," replied the master kami.

Then Kami Sherpa asked, "What about the scabbard?"

The master kami replied, "I am not a *sarki* (shoemaker or cobbler in Nepali). I am a kami."

Now you know why I have to love the kamis. I hope we get this guy!

Uncle Bill

 
Bill :

Then he licked the blade.
Click to expand...

Did he make a comment after doing that? I definately have to remember that the next time someone hands me a knife to look at. "Hmm ... tastes like stainless"

Looks like you are off to a good start on the new shop. By the way, how many master kamis are in the current shop?

-Cliff
 
Cliff, I am sure that kami could not tell anything by licking the blade -- but maybe he thinks he can. If he made any comment Kami didn't mention it. He might have been able to tell the blade was spring steel by the way it felt and sounded when he way playing with it.

But, since I've never tried to identify steel by tasting it maybe I should not jump to conclusions. Not good practice for an old test engineer. But I've smoked for fifty years and my taste buds are burned out so maybe I'll let Cobalt be the test subject for steel identification by taste.

At the other shop we have about six master kamis but they are not there full time. They have to tend to their farm and animals besides pounding steel.

So far shop no. 2 doesn't have a master kami but we are searching and recruiting.

Unlce Bill
 
Kami Homer Simpson, licking a HI blade sometime after it has been blessed:


"Mmmmm.....Gurkha."


This disturbing little tidbit brought to you by Coronach and his Stream-of-Consciousness-Webcam.

Mike
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Hey! Uncle Sam!

(_!_) Nyah nyah nyah!

Refund! You lose!
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[This message has been edited by Coronach (edited 20 April 1999).]
 
Bill,The inspiration of the above messages has encouraged me to lick the blades of all my khukuris. After the third or fourth test my tongue was cleaved down the middle and everything tasted like blood, then I realized I wasn't supposed to be licking the sharpened edge. I've wrapped my wound with an ace bandage and have finished all 66 knives; my results: most of the WW II pieces taste like Jeep springs, WW I blades have a basic French mud flavor with Turkish overtones, the pre 1900 knives were very dusty, curry was predominant in the Indian made khukuris, repros and tourist junk tasted like I was being ripped off, and my HI BAS licked back! Well, I'm off to start on the chakmas and kardas for dessert.

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JP
 
Hmmm, it actually tasted good. I will taste all my knives now, see if there is something to it. Since I'm a foodaholic, my taste and smell senses are very keen.

I will now start judging knives on taste also. Will need to get some experience on this, first. After some experience I will be able to say, " Yuk, this steel tastes like crap, your heat treat sucks".

Are the chances good that the Kami will hire on?
 
Taste is one of the five senses. A lot can be felt by touching with the tip of the tongue.

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I haven't tasted any khukuris yet. As I said, after fifty years of heavy smoking there is not much taste or smell ability left.

But, who am I to question "the best kami in Nepal?" Of course, that's what they all say and is one of the reasons I enjoy them so much.

Cobalt, the problem we are going to encounter with getting master kamis is geographic. The shop is fairly close to Kathmandu and most master kamis are village folks, farther out.

We will run into the problem of the kami having to take care of his farm and commute to shop no. 2 to work. Can't be done on a daily basis but perhaps something like three or four days per week at the shop and three or four days on the farm. And, we will have to provide room and board while they are at the shop. It is not going to be easy but I think it can work. If you offer enough pay the kamis will have to come. It will take a bit for word to get around but I think when they learn they can earn as much as a degreed school teacher we are going to get a few takers.

Uncle Bill

 
I jumped to the immediate conclusion that one could tell nothing by taste and then criticized myself for doing so. Not good practice for a test engineer. You could be right, ghostsix.

Uncle Bill
 
Actually, taste can tell you quite a bit.

You can taste rust when you can't see it; you can taste poor alloying, etc.

I can actually smell the difference between carbon steel vs stainless...the carbon steel has a distinct and pleasant odor.
 
Thanks for input, Sis.

Maybe our old master kami is not so crazy after all and maybe I am too quick to jump to conclusions.

Uncle Bill
 
Uncle..
Its just training and how to recognize data. Professional wine tasters can tell you what year and what vineyard a particular wine came from. I've even read that Sicilian fishermen can taste a fish and tell what fishing grounds it came from.
Untrained, the sense of taste has the ability to distinguish 1 part out of 2,000,000 parts. Ya just have to be trained to recognise what the tastes mean
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