GH & HI - An endangered species

Blackdog

Blackdog

Joined
Apr 27, 1999
Messages
620
Just a few comments from a consumers point of view. I have read at length and with great interest on the comparison testing between the GH and HI Khukuris. Both have been tested by people who are far more qualified than yours truly. I believe the tests were fair and the results were documented in a non-partial manner. For that I thank all parties concerned. My comments here today are strictly from a customers point of view.

It is seldom, in todays world of mass production and faceless commerce, that an average customer can find integrity, honor and true concern for customer satisfaction. I was fortunate enough to find these attributes in abundance when dealing with Craig Gottlieb of Gurkha House. I have not yet received the Service #1 Khukuri I ordered from him, but I know I will be satisfied with my purchase. Craig told me if I wasn't happy I could try something else and his knives carry a lifetime guarantee.

My order was somewhat complicated and Craig made it a point to call me long distance to make sure it all went right and to let me know what my options were. I wasn't an old friend or a repeat customer, I was a first time buyer and a stranger. You know you're a valued customer when the dealer spends his time and his money to make sure you're a happpy buyer. It was my first purchase from Craig, but will not be the last. He sends a little of himself in each knife that he sells.

I have not yet had the pleasure of dealing with Bill from HI, but from everything I have read in the Blade forums and magazine articles, I know I can expect the same care and treatment when I order one of his knives. His reputation precedes him and I'm sure you get a little part of him with each purchase.

Craig, Bill, you are part of and endangered species. Stay as you are. The average guy on the street needs to know that there is somthing out there he can count on and can trust.

Blackdog

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Una salus victus nullam sperare salutem. -Virgil
 
Blackdog, correct.

Integrity is not easily found,
In a society were crooks abound,
this is why I purchase so hastily,
every single type of khukuri
 
Well said BLACKDOG. Both Bill and Craig's belief in Nepal and their respective khukuries is honourable...

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JP
 
I have always been more than willing to go ou t of my way in search of honour, integrity an quality. I know for a fact that I could go get a CS Khukuri for a fraction of the cost that HI charges, and I also know that I'm so undemanding of my equipment that, as long as it is at least competently made, it would fare fine in my employ. I take care of my toys.

So why don't I buy a CS Khukuri? Well...HI is better. Sure, thats a big plus. I'm american. I want the best, and I want it in all its big-assed gas-guzzling V8 glory. Also, the CS machine-produced Khukuris seem cold and soulless and dead. But, another part of it is honour and integrity.

Craig Gottlieb I know nothing of, but by all the comments on here he seems like an all right guy. I'd buy from him. Bill's rep, however, has truly preceeded him. By all accounts, he's 100% stand-up, and that goes far in my book.

So I'm tossing out the extra loot to get a better product from an good guy, as opposed to feeding the CS Advertising Machine. I count it money well spent.

Mike

PS thats my buying philosophy in general, BTW. Its why I own zilch from CS, why I'm rapidly cooling on BM and becoming enamoured of Spyderco, and why I always buy anything from a family-owned business if possible, as oppsed to Wal-Mart
wink.gif
the only possible conundrum is what happens when the honourable guy is offering the inferior product. Huuh. but you know what? I've never seen that happen. Funny, isn't it?
wink.gif


PPS I just reread the paragraph where I mentioned both Craig and Bill. Hmmm...didn't mean that to sound like a diss on Craig. I'd just never heard of him or Gurka House until a few weeks ago. I'm a newbie.
smile.gif




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Hey! Uncle Sam!

(_!_) Nyah nyah nyah!

Refund! You lose! :)


 
CS has done a lot for the knife business,Lynn`s personality notwithstanding.At least he knows how to use his products.

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Thanks for input and kind words, guys. I don't know anything about CS -- never had a catalog or a knife from them.

Uncle Bill
 
Lynn is the cutting edge of non PC.heck,anti PC is not too strong designs.His risk taking led to a lot of makers entering fields that they would not have were it not for CS. starting it.

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Gurkha House ( Craig ) is a dealer selling khukuries made by a Nepali factory called, I believe, Khukuri House. It is the largest manufacturer of khukuris in Nepal if I remember right. It does provide issue khukuris to the Nepalese Army.

Himalayan Imports ( Bill ) is a family owned business making a much smaller number of khukuris, using master kamis to make the best khukuris that they can.

The kamis, the artisans, are a dying breed. There are few if any apprentices as the young can get easier, better paying jobs. The factories are taking over. Some do decent work. They ( factories ) will continue to provide export khukuris. If the demand is there for excellent quality knives, the factories will supply it. Ghurkha House will continue to be supplied. If GH becomes a significantly valued customer, then it can demand and get increasingly good quality, for a price.

Himalayan Imports, however, and the village kamis will be gone, and part of Nepal's heritage with them.

This is the bottom line. HI is the Randall of the khukuri trade. When the kamis go, so does HI. If HI starts to bring in products of the village kamis ( the local custom makers ), that may keep those kamis going a bit longer.

GH is the factory end of the khukuri trade. It is up to GH to determine just what quality it will accept and in turn sell.

When I buy from HI, be it their in house product or village khuks, I know that part of my money for that khukuri goes to pay the kami that made it for a his work. That kami may work at shop #1. If it's a village khukuri that kami may be Bill's brother Nara. It may be someone else. But I do believe they get paid fairly. If buying from HI helps a master artisan continue doing what his family has been doing for generations that pleases me. It also keeps alive a little longer the variety and different types of khukuries and examples of hundreds of years of human engineering and spirit.

Now I don't *know* what the people working in the factory Craig buys from make. I don't look down on the schmuck doing a job to stay alive.

But to me it isn't all about handmade versus factory khukuris. It isn't all about price versus performance.I don't run down the factory made khuks you bring in, Craig. The money helps give people jobs in a very poor country.

God forbid, but one of these days for a British Gurka to get a quality khukuri, he may have to buy it from a cottage industry of master bladesmiths in the U.S. working from
and inspired by the originals brought in by HI.

[This message has been edited by Rusty (edited 30 April 1999).]
 
Everybody (especially blackdog): thanks for the kind words. Rusty: you're right that I must be the factor in ensuring the quality of my khukuris. Although Bill said I couldn't do it, I have seen Khukuri House increase the standards by which they screen knives sent to me. For example, I asked that all future knives be screened for larger handles (that wouldn't throw off the balance of the pieces), and the very next shipment contained khukuris that satisfied my request. Also, they have told me to go ahead and screen them on this end, and to put aside khukuris that didn't pass muster. See, they know that I'm going to be visiting Nepal in the next calendar year, and they insisted that I bring the "rejects" with me to exchange. Of course, to date, I have only found two rejects: one that had a scabbard that was too large and one that simply had too small a blade.

And, for what it's worth, I remember reading one of Bill's threads entitled "Am I Qualified To Host The Forum." Bill is most certainly qualified, as I have learned tons from him and everybody else. However, in one of the paragraphs wherein he explained his qualifications, he mentioned that one of his suppliers was - Khukuri House. I'm sure there's a rational explanation for this posting (I can't seem to find the thread anywhere). Bill: can you help me out with this one? Could you please re-post that thread?
 
Actually, I decided not to be stupid: I used the "search" button, and found the posting:

Became adopted brother to two kamis, Kancha Kami of Phera village, and T. B. (Bai) Bishwkarma, who makes the HI khukuris and a lot of "other" khukuris for sale to dealers in Kathmandu. Another major "arun" (shop) is located in Bhaktapur, operated by Khadka Bahadur, who supplies Nepal Army khukuris and "other" khukuris to dealers. Major distributor is the Khukuri House, located in Thamel, (tourist capital of Nepal) Kathmandu and operated by Lalit Lama.

So I guess he didn't actually say that one of his suppliers was Khukuri House. Can you clear this up for me, Bill? Remember, I'm a Marine and therefore rather slow.
 
Thanks for pointing this out, Craig. As the old saying goes, "my memory is good, but my forgetter is better". Whatever Bill's precise relationship to Nara, men of good will treat others as brothers.
 
When we first started 11 years ago we tried to work with various village kamis but it was simply too much work. For example, it was a six day journey one way to get from Kathmandu to Phera where Kancha Kami lived and worked. It would take 12 days travel to pick up six khukuris. And this was typical. Many village kamis cannot read and write so any specs had to be delivered via word of mouth. It was simply too difficult so we entered into the partnership with shop 1. The owner had served with my brother-in-law, Lhakpa, in the 10PMOGR for several years and was no stranger to us.

For the past eight or so years our only supplier has been shop 1. If we get shop 2 going then it will be both. We can select our own materials, select the kamis who make the blades, inspect on site, and generally control the entire operation. This is why the HI khukuris are what they are.

Uncle Bill
 
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