Direct comparison of HI and KH

jamesraykenney said:
I am waiting on a tow truck before going to work, when I get there I will try to do a scan of the knives...
I think there is a small crack(Actually 'check' is the proper term, if I remember correctly) in the grip of one, but it is so small that it might actually be just a deep part of the grain...
I did not look at the cho that closely, but I will as soon as I get some free time at work.
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I have not had time to scan anything today, here at work, because it has been CRAZY here today...
Sorry about the delay, but I have STILL not had time to do any scans, or chopping of anything(but air of course:D) yet.
<update>Still no pics.
<update>Pictures added!!!

But, an update...

Bahadur
Bahadur.jpg

Scabbard​
The picture(the web picture, not mine:D) is wrong... The scabbard HAS a chape... But WHAT a chape!!!
It is like some of the ones I have seen in pictures of OLD chapes...
It is ROUNDED at the end, and seem to have been done by cutting the metal in an interesting pattern and folding and soldering(or brazing) the seams. It is completely smooth and rounded and, until you look REALLY closely, looks like a casting!
I have not seen anything like it in hand made work in a LONG time...
HI needs to beg, borrow, or steal the guy who made it away from KH right NOW!!!... The only problem with it, is that the rounded chape now precludes it's use as weapon...:D
Accessories​
None
Knife​
There is no cho on this knife, so there is no problem there... The 'Blood Dripper' is ok though...:rolleyes: It this REALLY what the cho was for???
I think it is POSSIBLE, as the idea is not new... People with hammocks tie little strings to the support ropes to redirect the water down the strings rather and down the support ropes to keep the hammock dry in the rain.(This is for covered hammocks of course.)
I just REALLY like this knife(I did ever since I saw a picture of it, so this is NOT an objective opinion.
Usage​
In progress

Aitihasik
Aitihasik.jpg

Scabbard​
The picture is wrong... The scabbard does NOT have a chape... This is strange...
Exposed rivets(or maybe tacks) and nails.
Accessories​
Nicely done
Pencil in pocket
Karda has a butt cap with tang button and keeper. 5 1/4" total. 5 1/8 without button and keeper. 2 3/4 blade 2 1/2 sharpened. Some rust.
Chakmak has a butt cap with tang button and keeper. 5 3/8 total. 5 1/4 without button and keeper. 2 7/8 blade.
Tender Pouch is VERY dry and seems very britle... Extra stitch prevents opening fully...
Knife​
Convex edge.
Cho from 1/2" to 1"
No crack in cho.
Full width full length tang.
Tang is a little wider than grips with somewhat sharp transition, making it a little rough on hands.
butt cap is also a little over sized with sharp transitions.
Rivets are interisting... White metal(steel?) with a sheath of brass or bronze(or gold, but I would not think so!) around them.
Grips are oval.
Usage​
Just cut down part of a tree in my yard with this one...
Pictures of this are coming.
Feels good in right hand, but hurts my left hand.
Cuts very good and seems to hold an edge well, right out of the box.
TreeChop01.JPG

TreeChop03.JPG

TreeChop04.JPG

Sorry about the quality of the pictures, they were taken by someone with a phone...
In progress

Ganjuwal
Ganjuwal.jpg

Scabbard​
Very nice with some texturing that is not visible in the pictures.
Exposed rivets(or maybe tacks) and nails.
The two brass rivets that are used for decoration on the front of the scabbard are, in my opinion, just a BIT, 'cheap' looking...Not as far as cost, but just that they look a bit 'modern' for this scabbard.
Accessories​
The Karda had a little rust on it.
The Chakmak is great, with a kind of fish-head very lightly engraved into the surface, but I am not sure what the two cho-like indents toward the back are for. Does anyone with experience with OLD ones have any idea?
Fire-steel use maybe? Little bit of rust on this too.
Nice little chisel.
Nice little button-hook.
SHARP awl.
Some rust on tweezers, also bad fit in jaws(but that may be from HUGE bur on edge.
Pencil in pocket
Tender Pouch is VERY dry and seems very britle...
Knife​
Convex edge.
Cho from 5/8" to 1 1/8"
No crack in cho.
Very nicely done, feels rather choppy in the hand, but it is still light... I have not figured this out yet...But it IS supposed to be a utility style.
The butt cap has THREE tang buttons and keepers!!!
Grips are oval.
Usage​
In progress

Will have to finish later.
 
stevomiller said:
Jimmy, most of the cracking of handles you hear about on this forum concern the water buffalo horn handles and not the wood handles. Horn is likes the changes in humidity even less than wood does unfortunately:( I haven't had any problems with any of my wood handles from HI.
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Thanks for the info :)

And thank you JamesRay for keeping us updated on your new knife findings. Very interesting :)
 
Gator97 said:
Does anyone know what is the steel used in Bahadur and others?
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I don't know the exact steel being used, but don't they use the common method of using car and truck leaf springs? If this is the case, then unless "all" vehicle leaf springs are made of the same grade of steel, then there probably is no "one" grade of steel being used.
 
One of the most common steels for knives in third world countries is railroad track steel. Khukuris made from it are called "Rail Common" khukuris.
A good khukuri can be made from RR track steel but it needs to be hardened just right so as to not be brittle.
RR track steel hardened to a spring temper does just fine. It's not as hard a temper as found on spring steel khukuris nor does it hold an edge quite as well but it is quite serviceable and will do a lot of work.
If a RR track blade is hardened too hard it has a tendency to chip badly just like any steel hardened too hard, it's just a little more critical to work with than spring steel.
 
If it's the Khukuri House we are speaking of, they claim on their website to use vehicle leaf springs (truck springs to be exact).

Here is how they put it on their website:

"Surplus Indian truck steel (suspension leaf spring) are imported from Kolkata (western India) to Dharan (eastern Nepal) and transported to factory located in Chaukibari . The steel is carefully observed for cracks or puncture and then the selected ones are stored with other raw materials."
 
He he :) Kewl. Mainly I was afraid of "stainless surgical steel" so popular in some knives ;)
 
JimmyJimenez said:
If it's the Khukuri House we are speaking of, they claim on their website to use vehicle leaf springs (truck springs to be exact).
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Jimmy I wasn't talking about any specific manufacturer, just all in general. They can say anything but lots of houses make the rail common khuks. There's nothing at all wrong with them when done right and the majority are.:thumbup: :D :cool:

There was one Khukuri House some time back that, I think, went by the name of Ghurka House.
They made some decent khuks and said that they made both spring steel and rail common khuks. They were hardened differently and came with a different finish.
I don't know what happened that made them shut down but wish they could've/would've continued as I would've liked to have had a few of their khukuri's.
One of the things I highly disagreed with them over was that they were copying HI Khukuris down to the habaki bolster and were trying to ride on the coattails of HI's success.:(
 
Yeah, I agree that you gotta take what all these foreign companies print with a grain of salt. I know that it was common in days gone by for khukuris to be made of railroad track steel.

With that said, I imagine that the leaf spring size and shape make them an easier item for them to forge into bladeware (especially when compared to average railroad tracks). I mean, it surely is closer to what their end product will be shaped and sized at ;)
With so many vehicles in the world being junked every year, it's got to be some pretty easily available material :)
 
Dang. I've tried to order and shippind came out like 52 or 53$. Anyone know their local dealer or something?
 
I got a 15" Sirapute (10" blade) from the Khukuri House USA. It was only something like $38 in ebay, with shipping from California so the rates are low.

It's a nice knife but has a generic feel compared to my HI's. I'll keep buying HI, although I'll get some more KH in the future, too.
 
losangeles said:
I got a 15" Sirapute (10" blade) from the Khukuri House USA. It was only something like $38 in ebay, with shipping from California so the rates are low.

It's a nice knife but has a generic feel compared to my HI's. I'll keep buying HI, although I'll get some more KH in the future, too.
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Their Chit ain't the same Chit !
 
Yvsa said:
There was one Khukuri House some time back that, I think, went by the name of Ghurka House.
They made some decent khuks and said that they made both spring steel and rail common khuks. They were hardened differently and came with a different finish.
I don't know what happened that made them shut down but wish they could've/would've continued as I would've liked to have had a few of their khukuri's.
One of the things I highly disagreed with them over was that they were copying HI Khukuris down to the habaki bolster and were trying to ride on the coattails of HI's success.:(
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GHURKA HOUSE, was run by a guy out of Virginia who mainly dealt with WWII Bayonet collections. He decided to get into the Khukuri Business and got Kamis in Nepal to do what was being done by HI.. I think he meant well, but he was copying the HI khuks in every way except price. The Ghurka house Khuks were much cheaper in price and this is what forced Bill to drop his prices, I think, which was sad, since I know for fact that the HI Khuk Steel was done way better than the Ghurka house.

I once cut two chords of wood one winter using my 18 inch and 15 inch (mostly the 18) AK's. I had two Ghurka house Khukuris as well. I used one of the Ghurka house khuks and the handle came loose quickly and the steel rippled not more than an eighth of a cord into chopping. The rippling was little chips n the steel upon closer examination. It is almost like the forging was more of a case hardening and there was no strength behind the edge. The HI khuks blades didn't look the worse for wear after nearly two chords(Cord and a half to be exact.)

I think the difference was the attention to quality control while being made. The HI khuks of Shop 1 were awesome. The blades would just keep on chopping without showing any wear and tear.
 
Thanks Cobalt. I'm know now I mis-spoke when I said Ghurka House. I was thinking of the new outfit that was a flash in the pan and where Hollowdweller got his Bonecutter khukuri.
Sorry, I should have verified it with HD before I spoke.:o
This outfit was mostly on Knifeforums IIRC.
 
It might still be the same outfit since it was a flash in the pan as well. I remember Doc Ron doing a review of the Ghurka house Khuks in a Tactical Knife magazine back in 2000 I think. He spoke highly of them and if he never handled an HI that would make sense. If you have nothing to copare to then your product is good.

In any case, I was just adding some history to it. :)
 
Cobalt said:
It might still be the same outfit since it was a flash in the pan as well.

In any case, I was just adding some history to it. :)
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You did good as my history was flawed and I'm glad you brought it up. I sure don't want to put incorrect info up at anytime if I can help it and the name was definitely incorrect.

The outfit I was talking about flared up long after Ghurka House went defunct and were making some excellent khukuris and were honest about the rail common and spring steel models but were dishonest in copying Uncle Bill and the HI khukuri's.:(

I remember that article and I have it here among my library somewhere. It was a good review but anyone knowledgeable about khukuris could tell from the pix that the GH khuks didn't hold up well at all.
The fellow running GH here in the states tried his level best to get Rusty and me to try his goods but never succeeded. Even when he brought out his excellent video of the GH kamis making a khukuri would we buy the tape although each of us got a copy later on sent to us by other forumites in the HI Forum.;) :D
 
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