Check out the competition.......

HI offers its wares. Others offer theirs.

All are welcome. Some folks involved in Tora post here, and are welcome.

This is an astonishingly accepting site, mostly because of Bill Martino. I think some of us would be overly protective of HI if it were not for his excellent example.

Be at peace.


Kis :)
 
Indeed. Nevertheless, I will only ever buy from Bill because of the excellent service and quality H.I. provides, and the philanthropic nature of his organization.
Peace back at you.........
 
Its funny how ruthlessly loyal some people can get to a brand.
Take a look at any car forum for that, the usual chevy ford debacle where chrysler is neutral ground for example. Even worse is the ferrari boys. Scuderia or nothing.

If I wanted to deal with that I would go back to supercars.net.

Now that I think of it, its a welcome relief.

I'm a chevy guy and arguing with me won't change it. :D
 
And the khuks posted on ebay tend to be their seconds, like Uncle's blems. Only Uncles blems do just fine by most of us. They feel their khuks are better at a thinner spine and lighter weight. For general purposes they have a point - but them Cantinistas have been known to use their khuks to split redwood for kindling. ( Come to think of it, some folks around her are a bit odd. )
 
"I was doing really well until that Mr. Potato Head incident...but I'm feeling much better now." "---
Night Court, Judge's Father, Buddy.Played by John Astin




Odd? ;)






Kis
 
Kis: I'll have you know I resemble, er, I meant resent, yeah that's the word I meant to say, resent, that remark!
:eek: ;) :) :D
 
Hi Walking Man...

Rusty gives a fair comparison of Tora blades vs. those of H.I. The owner of Tora is a martial artist who teaches khukuri fighting techniques; his blades reflect their intended use... There's no competition involved, really, as both companies are thinking out of the box, and not supplying the world with more tourist models... :D

Tora's prices would be quite high for Americans with the cost of shipping and added duty charges. Here on the other side of the pond, their prices reflect the high European duty fees. I don't think Tora's owner is looking for an American market...

I've purchased a tin chirra khukuri (or khukri, as our friends over YOUR side of the pond call them) from Tora, and they are quality knives. Tora has excellent costomer service too.

BTW, just ordered an H.I. Chitlangi last week... :D

Dan :)
 
HI's product and customer service speak for themselves. So no put down of other's products is necessary.

Atlanta Cutlery's current manufacture khuks from Windlass in India are often put down but some or them turn out decent for the price. The ones bought from the Nepali's arsenal dating back to the First Word War and earlier are a bargain from what I've heard.

Cold Steel's blades are a completely different market, but they serve to make folks aware there are others out there like the HI made ones.

Ontario's initial khuks, several years back, were absolutely terrible but I believe they corrected that problem.

I just never felt the need to go elsewhere for a sterile feeling machine made khuk when HI blems give so much value for so little money spent. But that's my opinion.
 
I have bought 2 khuks from NKH that were pretty, very expensive, but clearly targeted to the tourist trade.

I have bought 3 khuks from Tora, and found them to be superlatively made, although a bit expensive, with a traditional bolster and no cho creep, and perfectly fitted scabbards, and their customer service is excellent. They came out of the box sharp as hell, and are clearly designed for martial arts and slicing/dicing.

I don't mind saying that honestly and giving them their due, because my current ratio of HI khuks to Tora is about 20:1. There is enough of a market for both. For pure chopping horsepower HI has a line of khuks that can't be matched let alone beat, plus has a far larger product line of close to 70 items to Tora's 10 or so, PLUS has consistently much better prices for the same or better quality, and that's not even mentioning the Yangdu specials and UBBB's which make the price gap an even wider one.

With that kind of output and wide product line there are very occasional problems, but Uncle Bill either sells them up front as blems, or makes it right down the road. I like both lines, but it is a definite "apples vs. oranges" comparison, and I would not say negative things about either Tora Martial Arts or HI.

In a forum like this there is a definite "brand loyalty" that sets in, but I can appreciate the competition. To me, if I could pick only 2 or 3 khuks to carry with me the rest of my life it would be a simple choice and they ALL would be HI blades, but that doesn't mean that a Tora martial arts blade is a piece of touristy junk either.

Thanks! (BTW, my 3? 21" HI Chitlangi; 18" wood HI Chiruwa AK "tank", and a 15" HI Sirupati.)

Norm
 
Walking Man said:
Indeed. Nevertheless, I will only ever buy from Bill because of the excellent service and quality H.I. provides, and the philanthropic nature of his organization.
Click to expand...

Bill Martino, A.K.A. Uncle Bill, definitely supports the kamis and their families, and doesn't have an opulent lifestyle. He's known to prowl the streets of Reno, Nevada in an innocuous looking 1972 El Camino. However, when an unsuspecting wiseass comes too close to his rear bumper, (appropriately emblazoned with a bumper sticker reading I BRAKE FOR KHUKS!) this mild mannered Buddhist undergoes a distinct personality change...

He's well known to figuratively blow the doors off of all competition, and even silver haired widows are not immune when he decides to "put the pedal to the metal!" :D Law enforcement in Reno has been completely frustrated in their attempt to issue Uncle Bill a speeding or drag racing citation.

Ever since he began supplying the world with khukuris, the kamis, (knowing of U.B.'s automotive blood sport) perform regular pujas, seemingly giving him impunity to race around town...

Simon of Tora, on the other hand, is hardly the head of a philanthropic company... He reportedly tools around the posh digs of Plymouth in a chauffered Rolls Royce Phantom, and his bodyguards and driver are all alarmingly gorgeous females, attired in Ghurka style uniforms.

The uniform donned by these femme fatales has one visibly distinct difference from those issued to the Ghurka troops. Instead of the field tested trousers, the women wear micro minis. O.T. -- Simon's chauffer is from Glasgow, and I always wondered what a Scottish woman wore under......! :D

Dan :)
 
Dr.Dan, did I mention Simon's significant other posts on this forum from time to time? Well then, as long as you already knew that...
 
I thought she was just here from MP-5 to keep an eye on all the CIA activities on HI.


I love my Tora khuk. It's not the one I take packing, but it's stood the test. I was very sorry to see the example HI M43 Kohei had developed some minor chipping. I mean minor. (less than even the ridiculous resale Uncle offered of late.)

It is likely HI sells about 8 to 1 of what Tora does, though naturally that's just a guess. HI flaws could easily be exaggerated without understanding the math. HI might sell 10 to one or 15 to one or?

There is room for all.


munk
 
I don't feel like I have any competition. I know what comes out of BirGorkha and I know what comes out of the other aruns in Nepal and it is not the same stuff.

The folks at Tora seem very decent to me. If my memory serves me correctly they wrote a very favorable review of an HI WWII which appeared in the British Blade forum. That's the mark of good guys.
 
Drdan said:
O.T. -- Simon's chauffer is from Glasgow, and I always wondered what a Scottish woman wore under......! :D

Dan :)
Click to expand...

Simon has a chauffer from Glasgow?? I'll have to have words with him, even I didn't know that!!!!! LOL!!

Personally I think there is room for both HI & Tora. At the end of the day both are promoting kukri's, supporting the Kami's (and their families) and Nepal and that can only be a good thing.

Cheers
Kohei
 
I have 4 Tora khuks (and 14 from HI), and find them to be excellent quality. I've also corresponded by e-mail with both Simon and Leanne and find them to be fine people. Simon has a lot of knowledge and has a lot to offer from a slightly different perspective. They are campers as well as martial artists, and Simon has military students in his classes. There are some interesting posts on his forum as well. We all share a lot of the same interests. It's not a case of khuks vs khuks, but khuks vs kooks! :D
 
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