Himalayan Imports vs. Khukuri House

Bill Sanders · Oct 20, 2009

Reading this thread, I find that HI has the best khuks, for the best price. (But then, I knew that) And from personal experience, the BEST customer service. The only reason to buy from someone else, is if you are looking for something that HI doesn't have.

Bill

b.c.molin · Oct 20, 2009

tedwca said:
CLICK HERE TO SEARCH BLADEFORUMS USING GOOGLE

Kudos to the creator of this custom search. :thumbup:

Another way is to enter in the subject of the search followed by site:Bladeforums.com ...

Example: Bonecutter site:Bladeforums.com

Duzzy · Oct 20, 2009

tedwca said:
Paying memberships are good, but until then use Google. It works fine for searching BF.

CLICK HERE TO SEARCH BLADEFORUMS USING GOOGLE

I've used the Google/BF link in the WSS Forum and wasn't terribly impressed. But if it works for what you need...

paua · Oct 20, 2009

Cpl Punishment said:
Khukuri House blades tend to have a worse fit and finish than HI's standard (polished and finished wood) blades. They also usually have handles sized for Asians, which are small for many Americans. The other thing is they are lower in price than HI, which a lot of guys hold against HI, but KH pounds you on shipping, where shipping is included for HI products (for US addresses).

That's just about how most people see traditionally made Khukuri as KH has the majority of the world market.

DocH · Oct 20, 2009

Well Done Ted!!
Ed

HARPERSGRACE · Oct 20, 2009

tedwca said:
Paying memberships are good, but until then use Google. It works fine for searching BF.

CLICK HERE TO SEARCH BLADEFORUMS USING GOOGLE

Thanks, makes life easier...

C.S. Graves · Oct 20, 2009

paua said:
That's just about how most people see traditionally made Khukuri as KH has the majority of the world market.

Considering Uncle Bill was apparently interested in having the kamis take extra time and effort producing a different class of khuks for the Western market, no real shocker if most folk think of the average khukuri as being, well, average.

sta94 · Oct 21, 2009

If anyone is interested, I just posted a rudimentary review & pics of some khukuris I have from KHHI & KHT over at ramanon.

John Shields · Oct 21, 2009

sta94 said:
If anyone is interested, I just posted a rudimentary review & pics of some khukuris I have from KHHI & KHT over at ramanon.

Can you link that?

Patrik78 · Oct 21, 2009

With my limited experience from HI, KH (Patan), Torablades etc I must say that it very much comes down to taste, some company would suite one person but perhaps not another. In terms of quality both KH (Patan) and HI can produce an excellent working blade. The models and sizes can differ, HI offers khukuris with an american twist and KH offers khukuris with an western twist when it comes to handle material for instance.

KH (Patan) has an excellent customer service, very kind and they seem to work hard to get the customers happy. However on my last order from them I recieved 4 khukuris, of these 2 of them had some type of fault. One had a pretty badly twisted blade, and another missed all of the rivets that would secure the belt loop. And another kukri had a blade that in terms of size mismatched the scabbard, despite my efforts on making it fit. So I dont trust their quality control (about 10 months ago). I just think they have gotten to big not beeing able to maintain standards, but that just my guess. Beeing on location in their showroom I could settle for their khukuris, but beeing there in Kathmandu/Patan there in many other shops buying from and most of them seem to be selling just about the same quality and models as all the others. 3 weeks ago I visited KH showroom in Thamel, and yes its very much the same as the others laying in the same block.

So in the KH vs HI I dont have a simple answer, I think that HI QC is somewhat better, but I have comed to learn that the smaller grips for Nepali hands some of KH handles have is better for my small hands.

So again, its very much down to a matter of taste. :thumbup:

sta94 · Oct 21, 2009

John Shields said:
Can you link that?

Here you go, hope I'm not breaking any forum rules! http://forum.ramanon.com/showthread.php?t=73856

Patrik78 said:
Beeing on location in their showroom I could settle for their khukuris, but beeing there in Kathmandu/Patan there in many other shops buying from and most of them seem to be selling just about the same quality and models as all the others. 3 weeks ago I visited KH showroom in Thamel, and yes its very much the same as the others laying in the same block

I remember noticing this back in 1998 as well when I was last in Kathmandu. There were a couple of similar shops back then too with very similar/same khukuris on offer - decent quality, but very difficult to tell one shop's khukuri style apart from the other. Now, I'm sure there are more. You can see this when you check out the various online stores too: KHT, KHHI, KNH, KP etc.

So in the KH vs HI I dont have a simple answer, I think that HI QC is somewhat better, but I have comed to learn that the smaller grips for Nepali hands some of KH handles have is better for my small hands.

So again, its very much down to a matter of taste. :thumbup:

Same situation here, being from the Himalayas myself, the smaller handles are much more suitable for me.

C.S. Graves · Oct 21, 2009

sta94 said:
Here you go, hope I'm not breaking any forum rules!

I think technically they don't like links to other forums here... though if it's not done in a malicious, cross-forum flaming kind of manner SOME mods will let it slide.

John Shields · Oct 21, 2009

sta94 said:
Here you go, hope I'm not breaking any forum rules!

Well I did ask for comparison reviews... so if it's against the rules blame me.

But that was very well thought out and the pictures were great. That V-12 looked to me like a smaller M-43 (only thinner). Seemed to have the same extreme downward curve.

All good points throughout the thread. Definitely the return policy and ease of returns is huge for HI. Not to mention the quick support that I myself have seen. I also really like the goal of actually helping those Kamis out and would be happy to pay a little bit extra if it helps them out.

All of this will help people make the decision when I point them to the comparisons. I'll likely use this thread as a good starting point for anyone interested in Khukuri's and find it hard to choose between companies.

Patrik78 · Oct 21, 2009

sta94: Thanks for the comparison. :thumbup:

Where you are living is an issue when it comes to returns... and sometimes just recieving it the first time. Living in Europe everything sent from outside (US, Nepal etc) will get taxes and other costs of about 25-30 % of the total value added. But when it comes to Torablades for instance that cost is already put on, so I dont pay an extra penny when ordering from them. So when it comes to choosing a company to order from where you live will make a difference. Folks from the US will have easier in that aspect ordering from HI as europeans gets from Tora. While ordering from KH (Nepal) will pose equal "problems" for both europans and americans in terms of postage and other costs (I think). So like many questions whats best for me may not be the best for somebody else, it all depends on our perspective.

When it comes to picking up khukuris in Nepal both KH (Patan/Thamel) and HI can let you do this, I got really nice help from HI when I picked up one of their khukuris about a year or two ago. I asked Tora about this if I could pick it up an location (Kathmandu), but as I understood it there werent any possibility doing so right then.

My collection of khukuris is most likely one of the smallest here at the forum, not that impressive in either quality or quantity. Happy amateur you might call me.

Nowdays my interest is mostly in historical/older khukuris, KH (Patan) has done various of these types, but from what I understand failed in re-creating details, if they would succeed more of my money would be going there. I have their Gurkha issue 4 and it differs quite much from the photos of old ones I have seen.

Empire_ian · Oct 22, 2009

I have the ghurka service model kukiri from NKH, it came with many small pits and blemishes, and it takes damages toward the top of the cutting edge almost every time you use it. Additionally, the butt plate is loose. It is a good knife, it was cheap, but it is not very tough, and it's beauty is tarnished.

sta94 · Oct 22, 2009

Patrik78 said:
sta94: Thanks for the comparison. :thumbup:

You are most welcome! Glad you and others liked it.

Where you are living is an issue when it comes to returns... and sometimes just recieving it the first time. Living in Europe everything sent from outside (US, Nepal etc) will get taxes and other costs of about 25-30 % of the total value added. But when it comes to Torablades for instance that cost is already put on, so I dont pay an extra penny when ordering from them. So when it comes to choosing a company to order from where you live will make a difference. Folks from the US will have easier in that aspect ordering from HI as europeans gets from Tora. While ordering from KH (Nepal) will pose equal "problems" for both europans and americans in terms of postage and other costs (I think). So like many questions whats best for me may not be the best for somebody else, it all depends on our perspective.

I'm in a similar situation, in Asia currently and ordering from HI and Tora, I get hit by considerable shipping costs.

When it comes to picking up khukuris in Nepal both KH (Patan/Thamel) and HI can let you do this, I got really nice help from HI when I picked up one of their khukuris about a year or two ago. I asked Tora about this if I could pick it up an location (Kathmandu), but as I understood it there werent any possibility doing so right then.

Yangdu mailed some khukuris directly from Nepal to me several months ago, while other more recent ones I ordered directly from USA. I believe Tora is considering option of having part of their stock ship directly from Nepal, so perhaps you may be able to grab them on location in Nepal if things work out.

My collection of khukuris is most likely one of the smallest here at the forum, not that impressive in either quality or quantity. Happy amateur you might call me. Nowdays my interest is mostly in historical/older khukuris, KH (Patan) has done various of these types, but from what I understand failed in re-creating details, if they would succeed more of my money would be going there. I have their Gurkha issue 4 and it differs quite much from the photos of old ones I have seen.

I am very interested in the older historical khukuris as well, have been picking up a few interesting old pieces, as well as some modern reproductions. Yeah, the ones from KHHI seem to lack the closeness to the old ones. I was considering that Gurkha Issue 4 as well, but the photos just did not look impressive enough.

sta94 · Oct 22, 2009

John Shields said:
Well I did ask for comparison reviews... so if it's against the rules blame me. But that was very well thought out and the pictures were great. That V-12 looked to me like a smaller M-43 (only thinner). Seemed to have the same extreme downward curve.

Thanks, glad you found it interesting! RE: V-12, it's actually quite different from my HI M43. While there might be some similarity with the continously curved spine and smooth, chiruwa-tang handles, that's where the resemblance ends. The V-12 is a very light, very slim, fast slicer, almost feels like a feather in the hands, whereas my M43 feels solidly hefty in the hands and has the weight to do some serious damage. The handling is quite different too, above-mentioned weight (or lack of it), different balance, a different 'feel' in the hand ... that's why I compared that one to a CS Kukri.