Ganga Ram Villager/Bura's new helpers

[hollowdweller]

I went and picked up the Ganga Ram Villager I got this week at the PO.
I haven't had a chance to go outside and hack anything yet but my first impressions are really favorable.

Like a lot of khukuris this one's handle was too fat, so I spent the last hour or so trimming it down, polishing and put some linseed on it and now it is righteous.

But in the sale thread Bill said everyone was watching Bura and he had new helpers and I think it must be helping.

This blade has excellent cho positioning, even compared to an older non village Ganga Ram I bought several years ago. The balance and finish on the blade, even though it's a villager is really good and one of the things that really impressed me is that it is actually sharp! I was so used to new khuks being dull I actually cut myself some when i was working on the handle. Also it has a REALLY NICE THIN CONVEX EDGE!! Looks almost like the profile on a Bark River blade. I can't recall ever getting a HI with this sharp of an edge right out of the box!!

This year has been great as far as new and interesting models. Now it seems to even be shaping up for super good quality! I still have to chop something to test the hardness of the edge of course, but from what I am seeing so far I can't wait to get my YCS!

 

[Roadrunner]

Very, very cool. Maybe that sneaky tang trick was a blessing in disguise if it motivates Birghorka to improve QC. So far the results seem to be favorable.

 

[hollowdweller]

Checked out the edge. With a little stropping on leather it was shaving at the tip (!) and from the curve to the cho. Weird was that there was a 2" section in the sweet spot that was dull. Holding it up to the light you could see the light reflecting off of the flat part. I wonder if they dropped it and hit that section against a metal table or something, cause it looked sharpened and then flattened.

I used some 400 grit in that little section and got it shaving like the rest of the blade and went out and tried it on a hard dried maple limb. It was slow going cause the limb was so dried but it cut fine and no bending or rolling!! And this was a really tough piece of wood.

Hope whoever is helping Bura stays on. This one is excellent!

Speaking of kamis is Whiz Kid (trishul) still working? I haven't seen any of his stuff in the bargain bin lately.

 

[Bill Martino]

Speaking of kamis is Whiz Kid (trishul) still working?

He comes and goes. As is the case with many kamis I think he probably owns a few square feet of land which he tries to farm. He's probably been doing a little harvesting and working at BirGorkha when he has time free from farm duties. Sher took Dasein, a couple of weeks unpaid vacation, and Tihar -- a couple of months total and spent the time working his farm. It's wise of the kamis to hang onto the little bits of land they have. In a crunch they can live off the land if there is nothing else available.

I think Bura is going to pay much more attention to the work being done by his helpers from now on. Additionally, everybody is eyeing his end of the shop so no shortcuts going on.

Nice report on the villager. For the buck I think they are the best bargain we offer.

 

[Nasty]

Yup...just don't get enough Villagers...and it figures since the shipping for a full price one is the same!

BTW, from my experience sharpening, that sweet spot where the steel is the hardest is always the last spot to come up to sharp...but of course the balance is that it is the last part to go dull (and takes the most abuse).