Blems, Villagers, and more. Oh my!

[CAVEDWELLER]

First off sorry for my stupid Thread title. Anyway got a question about Blems and Villagers, and since Bill is on vacation I figured I'd bug you guys. What would the typical blemish be on a HI khuk, if there is one. Also are the Villager models cheaper than the regular line-up of HI Khuk's? What is the general price for each, Villager and Blem model of say an 15" AK? Really wantin'a M43, but I'll have to wait a bit with our crappy economy. Thanks for your help.

 

[Josh Feltman]

Cavedweller-- blems vary, but typical examples include small cracks in horn handles, chips out of wood handles, rust spots on blades, and occasionally a loose buttcap or bolster. Most of these are very easy to fix. Rust scrubs off in about two minutes, and most handle cracks can be fixed with superglue or epoxy. Most blems are functional as-is, but can be greatly improved with a little TLC. I think one of the neatest things about HI khukuris is the fact that you can work on them yourself, even if you are not a highly skilled craftsman.
--Josh

 

[ddean]

A...List all posts for about the last 100 days
(option is at the bottom of the HI forum thread listing,
---Select the time period, then you Must click GO)

B...Then click on the Thread Starter column label to re-sort the thread listing.

C...Then Page down to the B's to find Bill Martino.

Most of the posts he starts are sale offers.
Browse these posts to get a good idea.

Blems are 99% appearance, and sometimes virtually un-noticable.
The best deals around.
And you get to actually see what you're buying.

 

[Rusty]

Originally, villager khukuris were exactly that. A khuk made by one of the kamis in villages that came by the old shop and sold them to the shop manager. He'd check them out, and if good enough buy them.

They'd be sold at a very reduced price because what they were was a well made but cosmetically untouched khuk. Exactly what the Nepalis who went to village kamis made. Rough finish but tough as all get out.

Unfortunately, with the political situation, BirGorkha moved without leaving a forwarding address. Add to that the Kamis are illiterate, and it cut off the supply of true villagers.

What is being done now is the HI/ BirGorkha shop periodically does up runs of khuks that are equivalent in finish, and stamps them BG in devanagari rather than HI as is normal. These are khuks whacked with an ugly stick, but do the work as well as any khuk. Grind marks, handles with minimal sanding, etc. if the HI's and BirGorkha's were shotguns, the HI's would be $1600 Browning Superposed over/unders, and the BG's an old used $250 max Savage Side by side.
Both do the saame job on ducks,

 

[Red]

Cavedweller;
Most people I show my Kobra to can't see why it's a blem. There's a little bit of rust on the tip and some solder on the buttcap.