Early history of Himalayan Imports and early H.I. customers?

Yvsa

Yvsa

Joined
May 18, 1999
Messages
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Just got to wondering.

Correct me if I'm wrong here Bro.....
Just thinking that some of the history of how Himalayan Imports got started might be interesting to some of the new forumites.

It's my understanding that when H.I. first started that all of the H.I.Khukuri's were from the village kami's and that someone had to go around and scrounge for really good village model blades so the quality would be there, if not the looks.
I also understand that the first khukuris were on a 1st come, 1st served basis and that you couldn't be for sure what style or size of khukuri you might be getting.
And also that sometimes the wait for a khukuri could be a fairly long one.

I have seen and handled one of these first H.I.Khukuri's and believe me anyone of us here would love to own it.
The khukuri is about a 14"-15" Village AK with a beautiful bone handle and an engraved blade. It's definitely not up to BirGhorka standard's but it is definitely a working blade and has held up very, very well under some of the circumstances it has seen and the work it has done.

I wonder how many of us would buy khukuris under those kinds of circumstances today?
I believe I would just to be able to get a really good and unusual knife from another part of the world and something that the average person wouldn't have.

How about you?
 
Hi Yvsa! Even though I am still A youngen(23) I got my first HI(a 9 inch Dahnkuta) in 1993. I also got a few Ak's a BAS a WWII etc. I did end up giving some to friends recently for gifts but I still have An AK,Dahnkuta and a WWII! All from 93-95. I know these are not from the first days of HI but were made well befor BirGorkha. The quality is still very high and the blades are marked "H.I." I'll bring them to the convention!!!

P.S. I think the longest I waited for a khuk back then was 1 1/2-2 months...not to bad at all really!;) Uncle Bill was always quick concidering!!!
 
What I remember was the advertising cost. I think the first year all our gross income went to magazine advertising. We were in Knives Illustrated first, then expanded into Fighting Knives and Blade along with some other mags.

And, Bro, you're right in that we got the knives where ever we could find them. We used to commission some of the old village kamis like Kancha Kami to make knives for us but they could not make very many and it was slow going.
 
Ray C was Mr. HI for 6 or 9 months back in 1991 when we were living (and almost staying!) in Nepal.
 
If it is appropriate to ask... Who is Tom Holt?
It just seems that in the past he has written on certain issues that would require 'inside knowledge' of HI :confused:
 
Bill,
THAT NDN would go NUTS if he could go back in time & see what Ray was showing at shows! The HI advertisements were not large by any means, you've come a long way! Met Ray in 91,handled all of the HI he was showing,knew then I would wind up getting"one" in the future, I managed to fill that promise to myself!Now I have another, if I can just get John Powell to quit procrastenating, & get that book published,I'll buy it!!
jim :D
 
Tom Holt is an forumite although he's not been around lately. He lives in the UK, writes for a living, and makes and collects blades of various types. I think he has a half dozen or so HI khukuris. He's very fond of the kobras.
 
:
I wish I had of inquired long ago about the H.I.Khukuri's.
I kept seeing the ads in the knife rags but I blew it off thinking that they were probably like all the others or were so expensive to be beyond my reach, and they may have been beyond my reach at the time.:(
But that's all in my past life and nothing to be done about it now. I wasn't too trusting of anyone back in those days. Like everyone else I had to deal with some real life reality checks and I didn't always handle those well because I had been so trusting before then.
I still wouldn't mind having a few of those older first run village khukuris though.:)
And especially that bone handled AK with the engraved blade I mentioned at the beginning.:D
That AK is a prime example of the village kami's art!!!!!!!

I had already been caught up in the Atlanta Cutlery deal and had had enough of those sorts of khukuris.
But I have my share now and perhaps then some and I don't plan on getting rid of many in the near future.
I have promised Samurai Dave one of my GRS's and will start polishing it up when we get back to Catoosa. It's gonna take a while:D
And that's about the only one I would let anyone talk me out of right now. Some will be passed down to the kids and grandkids such as the Hanuman Special and the YCS's I have as well as the BGRS and the like.
They're, some of the grandkids, gonna have to grow a bit in order to handle the larger khukuris.:D
 
NDN,
Ok,Dave gets a K,which "one" do I get?? You know,the one you would give to someone as trusting as me! Do I get a choice?? :p
jim:D :D :D
 
Gotta admit Jim is always in there trying ( and whining and crying ).;)

Sometimes this forum sounds like the reports I'd get on my wife's old 3rd grade class ( or maybe I'm thinking of Charles Schultz' "Peanuts" comic strip ). I guess that's good, isn't it?:confused: :D
 
Aside from the other attributes of this forum, and the forumites, this is the one place I can sometimes feel like a kid again. It's also a great place to show your wit, even if that only works in half my posts :eek:
 
I will tell yall what. I will show all of you the GRS that I am recieveing from YVSA at the Convention, and if one of you wants one of Yvsa's blades I just might be able to part with it (That is a big MAYBE). Of course under certain restrictions set only by myself and YVSA at that point in time.

(The idea of a blank check or the title to a certain cave full of kuks comes to mind.)

Since YVSA is unable to part with any other blades I will be expecting a large premium on such a rare and valueble Kuk. The GRS will have that NDN edge only YVSA can create, and since I respect him as such a friend and mentor I can only show him and his work respect by asking top dollar for such a wonderful Kuk. :D :D :D :)
 
Yvsa can get an edge as well as anybody I've ever seen. And, I'm going to send some goodies to him so we will have plenty to play with and take home if we like. Convention prices will be substantially lower than shipping from Reno.
 
I bought a few Ang Kholas from Uncle Bill some years ago that still serve me well. I recognize a few names from the board, Yvsa, Rusty, et al.
Nice to check in again.
Dave D, formerly Zensho.
 
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