I'm sure Karda will reply shortly to make it official but I believe everything they make is 5160.
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Fighting with a CAK?
- Thread starter JNKoehn
- Start date
I'm sure Karda will reply shortly to make it official but I believe everything they make is 5160.
You were able to get notifications before? I never knew that!
Correct. Recycled 5160 leaf springs to be exact.
Yep, if you look here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/673-Manufacturer-s-Forums
You will notice that every manufacturer forum except for HI's has an orange RSS icon. Buck and Busse sales forums have RSS links in the knife exchange area, too. I used to be the first one to take a look at Himalayan Imports stuff for sale, so I'd get to buy it first. That's how I got my WWII, kind of impulsively I should add. I needed "impulsive" though, because I've wanted a kukri since I was a kid, and decades later, I still didn't have one. Without that RSS notification, I'm sure I would have decided to keep waiting for no good reason.
HI doesn't like to take business advice from me, but when potential buyers believe they are the first to be offered a unique and irreplaceable item (like all of HI's products), they are much more likely to make a quick decision to buy. Multiply the effectiveness of that sales process by 10 when the buyer feels he can rely on good resale values to get money back to repeat the sales process again as a repeat customer.
On the other hand, if buyers are certain that other people saw the item before they did - AND NOBODY WANTED IT - then in the worst case, they end up feeling like maybe there's some flaw they're overlooking, so they decide not to buy. In the best case, they delay making a decision later about whether they will buy or not, and then they forget about it until something else from a competitor catches their eye. Then the buyer's knife budget is gone, and there's nothing left for the companies like HI that are unknowingly encouraging their clients to avoid buying from them.
Multiply the effectiveness of that failed sales process by 100 when the buyer feels he CAN'T rely on good resale values to get his money back to repeat the sales process again as a repeat customer.
Himalayan Imports has done all the hard work to build a good business, so improving it is easy now that they're established with a loyal customer base. HI is nowhere near the limits of what is possible, and they could dramatically improve their business cheaply and easily with just a few minor changes - but what do I know? Obviously I know nothing.
I've tried to explain to you the reasoning behind what we do. I've tried to be civil about it.
I understand where you are coming from, your reasoning and that you are trying to help.
In the future there may be time and cause to reopen the forum.
I've tried my best to make you understand that posts like this do not help the company or make us want to listen.
If i have to keep reading posts like this on the forum, you will leave me no choice other than to remove you.
It is not a choice i relish having to make.
Please take heed.
Last edited:
kookery:
Your posting here about RSS feeds and HI business strategy is completely off topic in a thread about "Fighting with a CAK." What you're doing is perpetuating the same argument in multiple threads, and essentially ignoring the explanations about HI philosophy and practical issues given by people with far more knowledge and involvement on the subject than you with your one khukuri that you are just beginning to learn how to hold.
At best your argument belongs in the Cantina. Perhaps it doesn't belong in the forum at all, certainly not repeated over and over in multiple threads.
You seem to have gotten upset because the elimination of the RSS feed deprived you, personally, of a competitive advantage in sharking, and you've labored to turn that into some kind of general argument about what's good for the business. By this logic, someone with a lot of money could argue that the low prices here are depriving him of a competitive advantage. Someone who has no computer access during the day could argue that he can't compete with others who do, and HI should change its practices accordingly. Someone who lives in the wrong time zone can argue that Yangdu really ought to post DOTDs in the middle of the night.
Most of your arguments would apply equally well if HI were selling paint remover, or used cars. Your earlier example of the business strategy of Toyota Corporation shows how far afield this is from what HI is all about.
You have also been disingenuous in answering some people. Earlier you attacked traditional handle design as "goofy" and "palm stickers." When someone called you on that you replied that you were just criticizing the kami's craftsmanship -- but that was never at issue. In other words, you changed from disrespecting the tradition of a centuries-old Nepalese knife design, to disrespecting the workmanship of the particular kami who made the WWII khukuri that you claim to love. I don't recall which kami made your WWII knife, but he probably spent decades learning to make the khukuri that you barely know how to hold in your hand with a proper grip. Now if that isn't cultural chauvinism, I don't know what is.
I suppose that ideally people should ignore your comments, especially after two or three times of repetition, but it's hard to ignore, especially when it might influence people new to the forum who have little or no experience or background information. I regret that you've pushed this to the point that Karda has had to issue a warning, but he is fully justified.
-- Dave
Your posting here about RSS feeds and HI business strategy is completely off topic in a thread about "Fighting with a CAK." What you're doing is perpetuating the same argument in multiple threads, and essentially ignoring the explanations about HI philosophy and practical issues given by people with far more knowledge and involvement on the subject than you with your one khukuri that you are just beginning to learn how to hold.
At best your argument belongs in the Cantina. Perhaps it doesn't belong in the forum at all, certainly not repeated over and over in multiple threads.
You seem to have gotten upset because the elimination of the RSS feed deprived you, personally, of a competitive advantage in sharking, and you've labored to turn that into some kind of general argument about what's good for the business. By this logic, someone with a lot of money could argue that the low prices here are depriving him of a competitive advantage. Someone who has no computer access during the day could argue that he can't compete with others who do, and HI should change its practices accordingly. Someone who lives in the wrong time zone can argue that Yangdu really ought to post DOTDs in the middle of the night.
Most of your arguments would apply equally well if HI were selling paint remover, or used cars. Your earlier example of the business strategy of Toyota Corporation shows how far afield this is from what HI is all about.
You have also been disingenuous in answering some people. Earlier you attacked traditional handle design as "goofy" and "palm stickers." When someone called you on that you replied that you were just criticizing the kami's craftsmanship -- but that was never at issue. In other words, you changed from disrespecting the tradition of a centuries-old Nepalese knife design, to disrespecting the workmanship of the particular kami who made the WWII khukuri that you claim to love. I don't recall which kami made your WWII knife, but he probably spent decades learning to make the khukuri that you barely know how to hold in your hand with a proper grip. Now if that isn't cultural chauvinism, I don't know what is.
I suppose that ideally people should ignore your comments, especially after two or three times of repetition, but it's hard to ignore, especially when it might influence people new to the forum who have little or no experience or background information. I regret that you've pushed this to the point that Karda has had to issue a warning, but he is fully justified.
-- Dave
I am slightly aggrivated. Nothing i won't get over.
You are still welcome here, as far as i'm concerned. As long as you understand that Auntie nor i have time or inclination to fight over things like this on the forum. It does noone, least of all business here in the showroom, any good.
Auntie has been doing this the same way for 25 years. I have been here for 5 years as a contributing member. 2 years as moderator.
We are old dogs, but not above learning new tricks, it just takes more time for us to understand and implement things. Some things may not be implemented out of respect for lineage and cultural differences/difficulties.
Thank you for the help, Dave.
Last edited:
- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 12,674
Just to chime in here, and I apologize for the continued wandering from the topic
, but I sort of like the fact that people have to...ya know, participate in order to snag the deals of the day. I like the luck of the draw, I like the feeling randomly clicking open the forum to see Yangdu's new DoTD posted with ONE view! The land of milk and honey spread out before me
I even like being out-sharked by my friends. If one spends just a little free time here, I can promise you that you will not be khuk-poor. You'll find one that you love and fate will put you in the right place at the right time if you are just marginally patient.
Yangdu isn't unloading unwanted merchandise with the DoTD. She could just as easily add a Blems section to the website and move these pieces 20 at a time. However, they are sort of like little gifts to those of us who populate this little corner of the web. It's her way of thanking us for keeping the community thriving. If you HAVE to put a business spin on it, it's a good way to move product at a lower profit margin by selling to a base who has a proven track record of not just collecting but AMASSING product.
HI's business model works. I, for one, and not all that aggravated when someone questions it once or twice. Then again, I'm not an employee of HI. I'm a very humbled volunteer who cherishes the honor of helping out the forum in a small way for a company that has done SO MUCH good over the last quarter century. I do apologize if I get a little defensive. It's a character flaw that carries over from my own business.
I currently run my family's small 60 year old construction firm. There are some things that are 21st century cutting edge tech, and there are a lot of tricks of the trade that cannot be streamlined and kept as perfect as the old school way. There are certain things that we do when laying out a job that are not only hold overs from when my grandfather started the company 60 years ago but techniques that HIS father taught him. Some of the knowledge goes back 100 years+ and is NOT efficient, but it does translate into a finished product that our competitors can't replicate. To top it off, many of the techniques that I use in sales and treating customers I gleaned from watching Uncle Bill work. I simply can't thank HI enough for educating me on how to treat my customer base. I know for a fact it is what keeps my phone ringing and my build calendar filled months in advance.
, but I sort of like the fact that people have to...ya know, participate in order to snag the deals of the day. I like the luck of the draw, I like the feeling randomly clicking open the forum to see Yangdu's new DoTD posted with ONE view! The land of milk and honey spread out before me I even like being out-sharked by my friends. If one spends just a little free time here, I can promise you that you will not be khuk-poor. You'll find one that you love and fate will put you in the right place at the right time if you are just marginally patient.Yangdu isn't unloading unwanted merchandise with the DoTD. She could just as easily add a Blems section to the website and move these pieces 20 at a time. However, they are sort of like little gifts to those of us who populate this little corner of the web. It's her way of thanking us for keeping the community thriving. If you HAVE to put a business spin on it, it's a good way to move product at a lower profit margin by selling to a base who has a proven track record of not just collecting but AMASSING product.
HI's business model works. I, for one, and not all that aggravated when someone questions it once or twice. Then again, I'm not an employee of HI. I'm a very humbled volunteer who cherishes the honor of helping out the forum in a small way for a company that has done SO MUCH good over the last quarter century. I do apologize if I get a little defensive. It's a character flaw that carries over from my own business.
I currently run my family's small 60 year old construction firm. There are some things that are 21st century cutting edge tech, and there are a lot of tricks of the trade that cannot be streamlined and kept as perfect as the old school way. There are certain things that we do when laying out a job that are not only hold overs from when my grandfather started the company 60 years ago but techniques that HIS father taught him. Some of the knowledge goes back 100 years+ and is NOT efficient, but it does translate into a finished product that our competitors can't replicate. To top it off, many of the techniques that I use in sales and treating customers I gleaned from watching Uncle Bill work. I simply can't thank HI enough for educating me on how to treat my customer base. I know for a fact it is what keeps my phone ringing and my build calendar filled months in advance.
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2012
- Messages
- 42
My two cents worth as a newbie to the site (or two pence worth , as we say in UK) . Only been a member for a matter of weeks , but already am feeling I am being drawn into a community of like-minded people. As a customer of HI, it is not simply a sterile buyer/seller relationship-it is a participation and sharing in a product that delights in an age of stifling uniformity and with a company that has an ethical spirit . As far as I am concerned , these khukris are superb works of craftsmanship ,bordering on works of art.
If someone is so dis-satisfied with what is on offer, the answer is perfectly simple-go elsewhere.The Darwinian model will ensure that truly awful companies who ignore their customers needs will wither and disappear. I sincerely doubt that is going to happen to HI anytime soon.
Tartan George
If someone is so dis-satisfied with what is on offer, the answer is perfectly simple-go elsewhere.The Darwinian model will ensure that truly awful companies who ignore their customers needs will wither and disappear. I sincerely doubt that is going to happen to HI anytime soon.
Tartan George
Ok, I want to chime in too. I think Kookery's ideas are interesting and well thought out. Obviously, the discussion he is inspiring may be more appropriate for the cantina, rather than clogging up the showroom. Obviously HI is under no obligation to implement, or even respond to his ideas. So, why didn't his posted just get moved to the cantina, and get left at that?
I agree and appreciate his efforts, however, it was not so much what he was saying, but how he went about saying it.
Giving his posts their own thread and ignoring them would not solve the problem. We've been down this road a couple times before.
There are reasons why Auntie or i do the things we do that may not be readily apparent.
We are a family here. The deals here are for our family. We like to encourage fun and amicable participation in this forum.
I said it earlier and I'll say it again, this is the best forum community I've ever been a part of, and I've had my share. There's a mystique to this place and these blades, especially to a new user like myself, kookery and TG. In a little over a week I learned more than I ever could have gathered about khukuris than I ever could have gathered on my own from what I would call experts in the field. Hell, you turned a decades long sword nut away from what I thought was the ideal sword (the everest katana) during my time lurking with your seasoned talk about these wonderful knife/axe/sword things. The community here guided me along and gave me plenty to dwell on when considering the khukuri that would fit me best. I gave it a great deal of consideration, an extremely dangerous thing during finals time, but it was all for naught.
Monday I decided I was going to go ahead and pull the trigger, I locked up my budget and set out to buy a khukuri either from a DOTD or at full price. I inquired about some knives that I was interested in from past DOTDs but was met with disappointment, Yangdu politely letting us know that they were unavailable. I got home to see that nice tin chirra on the christmas special, but unfortunately it had also been taken. Tuesday as I sat in class I decided to email Yangdu about the tin chirra, as part of the christmas deal, and was excited when I got a response back from her as I was walking home saying that she had another tin chirra she would sell to me at the same price. I sit down at my computer before I ate lunch and decided to check for the next christmas deal before I responded to auntie. Lo and behold, just as Steely Gunz talks about, there sat the 12/4 christmas specials, 1 view, 0 responses. I jump right in there and there sits my dream knife, an 18" satisal M-43. Good god, there's SG again, the knife found me, I need to listen to you guys more often. I didn't even scroll down any further, and turned that open response to Yangdu into an order and sent that sucker, followed by an immediate copy and paste into the quick respond bar. But damn, I forgot my address, I definitely just screwed up any potential for this deal to happen. I apologized and sent my address in another email in, I think, under a minutes time. It was after about an hour of some serious angst that I got the email back from Yangdu saying the deal is good. I check the forum and there it is, sold before a second response. Feels good man.
I know its a wall of text, but thats my experience with ordering my first Khukuri. I feel that a good deal of that intensity and the satisfaction that I feel now would be lost if all of this became wide open and well known to the world it would lose a great deal of its mystique. I'm more excited to get my khukuri than I am to receive my diploma here in a week, and that's saying something for me. These knives are deadly serious, but appeal to everything the wide eyed kid in me adores, and I love how they're made by gentlemen that live in what some more uncouth people call stone age conditions, with tradition and experience guiding hammers rather than computers guiding cutting machines. As I understand how the model works now is already a bit of a strain on those involved with Himalayan Imports, and while getting the HI brand out there may skyrocket sales, it would probably make the work backbreaking for Yangdu and the crew. I'm delighted with how things work now, and I hope I get to experience that more in my life. I've decided my goal is to get en everest katana and a tarwar off of some DOTD's. I love you folks, this place is killer.
TL;DR I have a new appreciation for Karda's avatar, and Yangdu needs a secretary
Monday I decided I was going to go ahead and pull the trigger, I locked up my budget and set out to buy a khukuri either from a DOTD or at full price. I inquired about some knives that I was interested in from past DOTDs but was met with disappointment, Yangdu politely letting us know that they were unavailable. I got home to see that nice tin chirra on the christmas special, but unfortunately it had also been taken. Tuesday as I sat in class I decided to email Yangdu about the tin chirra, as part of the christmas deal, and was excited when I got a response back from her as I was walking home saying that she had another tin chirra she would sell to me at the same price. I sit down at my computer before I ate lunch and decided to check for the next christmas deal before I responded to auntie. Lo and behold, just as Steely Gunz talks about, there sat the 12/4 christmas specials, 1 view, 0 responses. I jump right in there and there sits my dream knife, an 18" satisal M-43. Good god, there's SG again, the knife found me, I need to listen to you guys more often. I didn't even scroll down any further, and turned that open response to Yangdu into an order and sent that sucker, followed by an immediate copy and paste into the quick respond bar. But damn, I forgot my address, I definitely just screwed up any potential for this deal to happen. I apologized and sent my address in another email in, I think, under a minutes time. It was after about an hour of some serious angst that I got the email back from Yangdu saying the deal is good. I check the forum and there it is, sold before a second response. Feels good man.
I know its a wall of text, but thats my experience with ordering my first Khukuri. I feel that a good deal of that intensity and the satisfaction that I feel now would be lost if all of this became wide open and well known to the world it would lose a great deal of its mystique. I'm more excited to get my khukuri than I am to receive my diploma here in a week, and that's saying something for me. These knives are deadly serious, but appeal to everything the wide eyed kid in me adores, and I love how they're made by gentlemen that live in what some more uncouth people call stone age conditions, with tradition and experience guiding hammers rather than computers guiding cutting machines. As I understand how the model works now is already a bit of a strain on those involved with Himalayan Imports, and while getting the HI brand out there may skyrocket sales, it would probably make the work backbreaking for Yangdu and the crew. I'm delighted with how things work now, and I hope I get to experience that more in my life. I've decided my goal is to get en everest katana and a tarwar off of some DOTD's. I love you folks, this place is killer.
TL;DR I have a new appreciation for Karda's avatar, and Yangdu needs a secretary
- Joined
- May 9, 2002
- Messages
- 12,674
Also, somebody please tell me about Rajkumar, I want to know more about my new favorite kami
Glad to hear you've been bitten by the khuk bug. Welcome to the fold. I stopped in here back in the spring of '02 to buy a khuk for a camping trip when I was poor college kid...well, I never left
Rajkumar makes an impeccable blade. I have one of his Manakamana Specials sitting next to my desk, and it may be the finest khuk I have ever owned. It's balanced, powerful, sharp, and has held its edge through an entire weekend of chopping wood. I haven't touched it up or even really cleaned it since July when I used it last. I still dang near nipped my finger testing its edge. The man knows how to work steel. You'll be very pleased, I think
Congrats on your diploma. There is nothing more important than education be it formal or through experience. One always uses wisdom wisely
Glad to hear you've been bitten by the khuk bug. Welcome to the fold. I stopped in here back in the spring of '02 to buy a khuk for a camping trip when I was poor college kid...well, I never left
Rajkumar makes an impeccable blade. I have one of his Manakamana Specials sitting next to my desk, and it may be the finest khuk I have ever owned. It's balanced, powerful, sharp, and has held its edge through an entire weekend of chopping wood. I haven't touched it up or even really cleaned it since July when I used it last. I still dang near nipped my finger testing its edge. The man knows how to work steel. You'll be very pleased, I think
Congrats on your diploma. There is nothing more important than education be it formal or through experience. One always uses wisdom wisely
My 1st Manakamana Special was also my first Khukuri made by Rajkumar and it blew me away too. Up until that point I had never handled a Khukuri that sharp. I really liked how small and clean the cho was with a short ricasso. The grind was extremely even as well with a slight concave shape to it.
I read your review Steely and it seems, from what I can gather, that a manakamana is slightly more back balanced, longer handled khuk than an m-43. I saw how impressed you were with it and was wondering, can I expect similiar handling to how you describe if their both made by Rajkumar, or is there some inherent difference between the two blades that will make them handle differently? I guess I'm still slightly unfamiliar with the precise characteristics of an m-43.
Did you get the Rajkumar M-43 from the 12/04 DOTD, or did someone beat you to it with an email?
I wrote a very positive review of the Manakamana Special awhile back. You can find it, if you like, by searching the forum for posts by davidf99. To sum it up, I feel that this new design as implemented by Rajkumar managed to combine many of the best features of several models in one knife.
I also have an M-43 of about the same size, by Bhakta Kami. They do feel different but both are extremely capable knives, and beautifully made.
If you got one of each made by Rajkumar I think they would feel different, but both would feel good.
One thing I like about the M-43 is that the blade shape resembles some of the historical khukuris, from back in an era when they were used more as weapons rather than mainly wood choppers. Those older knives tended to have thinner, lighter blades because the intended targets were not made of wood.
-- Dave
I sure did Dave, though I am going to have to hand it over to be gifted to me, so don't expect a review for at least a few weeks :-/ I like to think that I sharked the hell out of it, and by God am I proud of myself for it. the anticipation is already killing me.
Last edited: