So I should have posted this earlier, but better late than never, right?
I've been around knives for a while, but never really understood the "community" that builds around various companies. The subforums of bladeforums were always one of my least used features; I'd buy a knife for it's design, not the manufacturer, and never understood the communities and passionate defenders of various manufacturers. To me, subforums represented little more than either advertising, a way of organizing the website to keep various fanboys from waging war over the front page, or a place to ask specific questions about particular models.
This Saturday I was in Reno. I think you can guess where this is going.
One of my favorite experiences was handling 500+ year old Javanese keris' in a gentleman's home discussing the intricacies of pamor until... something more, something not present in manufactured blades, became apparent to me. There was power in those old keris'.
I got to meet the famous Auntie Yangdu. The longest conversation I've had with a manufacturer or seller (aside from trades) was about 5 minutes, and by the end I there was the awkward feeling the seller wanted me to buy and get out of there so he could move on with his life. I spent more time than that greeting Auntie. And that was only the beginning of the morning. We talked, I drank tea, and instead of buying a knife, I bought into a family.
About halfway through, there was a bit of a mind flip, and I realized I felt the same feeling I felt back in the living room handling the handmade relgious and magical keris'.
I think I understand the point of subforums now.
Also, for anyone who has NOT handled a kukri, especially an HI kukri... it's pretty much impossible to describe until you get your hands on one. First thing is first: I have a western 49 I've been in the process of Bagwellizing. I first had a knife called "scary big" with my rat-5. The western 49 then epitomized "large knife" for me, and pretty much was all I thought I would need to win a Dundee "that's not a knife" contest. Then I handled various models, from WWIIs to Gelbu special, Dui Chirra, warjasawki, majushree, cherokee rose, and I forget how many. There is, quite simply, no other knives I know that are of such thick stock, but don't feel clumsy.
For comparison, I have a cold steel norman sword I got for a screaming deal, but the weight balance is simply atrocious. It's good for building muscle and messing around, but I'm seriously considering taking a belt grinder to it to try to give it enough distal taper that it balances out.
From the katana to the baby WWII that was there (the pen knife is simply too small to even talk about balance characteristics), the balance is exceptional. Seriously, what makes these kukris so amazingly different in handling is how heavy they are, but balanced the are. Even the largest ceremonial kukris I picked up, they balanced- but in a way that told you what they were meant for. A properly balanced knife "tells" you what it is meant for, and it feels just like a conversation- stay on topics and strive for rapport, and you will be smiling ear to ear and everything will feel natural; try to introduce awkward topics that don't fit the mood and things will feel stilted, strange, and uncomfortable.
These kukris talk. They have opinions. There is really no substitute for actually talking to someone, or else dating algorithms would have made bars and conversations in cafes obsolete. I feel amazingly lucky I was able to handle all these kukris, because they all have a different feel to them.
In conclusion, there is something more, something deeper about HI. The handcrafted quality just makes them feel different than production blades.
Note: Due to negative prevailing scalp conditions that day, I don't have many photos I wish to share, but may post some more if I can crop or add enough filters that such conditions wouldn't distract from the topic of discussion.
Zero
I've been around knives for a while, but never really understood the "community" that builds around various companies. The subforums of bladeforums were always one of my least used features; I'd buy a knife for it's design, not the manufacturer, and never understood the communities and passionate defenders of various manufacturers. To me, subforums represented little more than either advertising, a way of organizing the website to keep various fanboys from waging war over the front page, or a place to ask specific questions about particular models.
This Saturday I was in Reno. I think you can guess where this is going.
One of my favorite experiences was handling 500+ year old Javanese keris' in a gentleman's home discussing the intricacies of pamor until... something more, something not present in manufactured blades, became apparent to me. There was power in those old keris'.
I got to meet the famous Auntie Yangdu. The longest conversation I've had with a manufacturer or seller (aside from trades) was about 5 minutes, and by the end I there was the awkward feeling the seller wanted me to buy and get out of there so he could move on with his life. I spent more time than that greeting Auntie. And that was only the beginning of the morning. We talked, I drank tea, and instead of buying a knife, I bought into a family.
About halfway through, there was a bit of a mind flip, and I realized I felt the same feeling I felt back in the living room handling the handmade relgious and magical keris'.
I think I understand the point of subforums now.
Also, for anyone who has NOT handled a kukri, especially an HI kukri... it's pretty much impossible to describe until you get your hands on one. First thing is first: I have a western 49 I've been in the process of Bagwellizing. I first had a knife called "scary big" with my rat-5. The western 49 then epitomized "large knife" for me, and pretty much was all I thought I would need to win a Dundee "that's not a knife" contest. Then I handled various models, from WWIIs to Gelbu special, Dui Chirra, warjasawki, majushree, cherokee rose, and I forget how many. There is, quite simply, no other knives I know that are of such thick stock, but don't feel clumsy.
For comparison, I have a cold steel norman sword I got for a screaming deal, but the weight balance is simply atrocious. It's good for building muscle and messing around, but I'm seriously considering taking a belt grinder to it to try to give it enough distal taper that it balances out.
From the katana to the baby WWII that was there (the pen knife is simply too small to even talk about balance characteristics), the balance is exceptional. Seriously, what makes these kukris so amazingly different in handling is how heavy they are, but balanced the are. Even the largest ceremonial kukris I picked up, they balanced- but in a way that told you what they were meant for. A properly balanced knife "tells" you what it is meant for, and it feels just like a conversation- stay on topics and strive for rapport, and you will be smiling ear to ear and everything will feel natural; try to introduce awkward topics that don't fit the mood and things will feel stilted, strange, and uncomfortable.
These kukris talk. They have opinions. There is really no substitute for actually talking to someone, or else dating algorithms would have made bars and conversations in cafes obsolete. I feel amazingly lucky I was able to handle all these kukris, because they all have a different feel to them.
In conclusion, there is something more, something deeper about HI. The handcrafted quality just makes them feel different than production blades.
Note: Due to negative prevailing scalp conditions that day, I don't have many photos I wish to share, but may post some more if I can crop or add enough filters that such conditions wouldn't distract from the topic of discussion.
Zero
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You dont live near WA do ya? You should be ok for a while till they get him off life support. Just make sure he knows you came in peace
