How I got involved in Khukuri's

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37up

Joined
Jun 16, 2002
Messages
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Maybe I should stop posting late at night... seems like it's gotten me in a bit of well earned trouble.

BUT!

I'd like to hear how some members have gotten bit by the Khukuri bug.

My own story, I've been a long suffering sword collector and history buff for a while now. Amazingly enough, though I've lusted after many a sword, when I actually got them I felt... well, unimpressed.

Oh not to say all my swords failed to quench my thirst.

But the day I received my first khukuri, I couldn't believe the impact it had upon me. Most swords that I received I have had to warm up to. Not so with these knives. This was the first time I received a sharp and pointy and instantly fell for it.

Yes, I understand that maybe the quality of swords I have been collecting just don't cut it. But my collection consists mainly of "middle class" swords like A&A and Del Tin. And besides, thouse 3000 custom works of art are beyond my income scale. Maybe one day?

But I've decided to liquidate most of my collection. I don't think I'll miss them too much to be perfectly honest. I just purchased 3 more khukuri... one 15" in a wooden sheath, a sirupati, and the Dhankuta.

So that's my story and how I got here. I'd like to thank Keen for getting me involved in this area. The best part is... these things are a heck of alot less expensive than swords! Why, one sword with custom scabbard = 4 khukuri.

Vive Economics!!!

-D
 
I now have 2 khukuri, and fell for both as soon as I opened each package. I've always liked the way khuk's looked. Bought a cheap one from an unnamed internet auction site. A friend saw it and pointed me in the direction of HI. What a difference! One good thing about having the cheapie- I now have a practice blade for testing sharpening techniques. :D

Bill
 
I came for a little information, and stayed for the vast and wide-ranging knowledge of the Cantina folks.

And the humor.

And the compassion.

And the perspectives.

And the sense of what is "right."

And the astonishing skill of some folks...far and wide...who are capable of creating works of art that rival the kamis and yet still want to learn and share.

Nice bunch.
 
I saw pictures of khuks in magazines years ago. Thought they looked cool then but didn't buy any thing. Just before I retired the second time. I was working with a young lad that bought a terrible looking thing at one of the gun shows in Austin. The leather scabbard was in pretty bad shape, the blade had more than it's share of rust, even the handle looked like it had been kicked around in a toolbox some where for a very long time. I don't know what all he bought to work on that thing but the next time I saw it didn't look like the same knife.

The Blade was taken to a knife shop for final buffing to a mirror finish. the handle had been sanded and with boiled linseed oil thinned to about 1/2. The wood was soaked up a bit and when dry, he used a bit of beeswax and a lot of elbow grease. It was sure looking good. What was a slight surprise the bolster and butt cap were brass after they were cleaned up. The scabbard had been repaired but, he was in the process of making another one the same as the original. I'm not sure that it was an original either. It was of a very similar style as comes from the Sarki Shop. Open down most of the front and the small strap with the snap to hold it in the sheath.

Then one night while surfing the net I run across Blade Forums then found the HI forum and I have been here from then on. I don't have a lot of Khuks but I enjoy all of the ones I have. I just love'em. :) :D
 
I came for the knives and stayed for the freaks. :)

I did a search for a cheap, durable katana, saw the HI katana and checked the forum to see if this Bill Martino guy was on the "up and up". Ordered one of thems and after that a 15" Sirupati. Then a couple of others. I'm just staying around here until they decide to ban me. :)
 
My son has always been a history buff. In high school he wrote a very good paper on WWII and it included a section on the Ghurkas. He asked for a Ghurka knife for his birthday. I went to the local knife shop and didn't find one. A friend of mine ended up getting a cheap tourist model and had it mounted on a plaque for my son. He was happy with the display, but always wanted one a "real" one that he could carry and use. Just before he graduated from Army Ranger school, I found HI on the web. Now the dilemma...which one do I get him? I ended up with four different ones and took them all down to graduation to give him his pick. It was really neat to see the look on his face (and the faces of his buddies) when I opened up the trunk of the car. He chose the Kumar 18" wood handled Sirupati. What a grin when he pulled it from the scabbard. He said, "Now I've got a real one." He didn't forget. I didn't have the heart to shut the trunk on his buddies so I told them to help themselves. One young officer, who had emmigrated from Poland as a teenager actually had tears in his eyes. My wife had to nudge me for me to notice. I guess he felt a little self conscious and offered the explanation that as a child he had a set of metal toy soldiers. His favorite ones of the bunch were the Ghurkas. You talk about a grin when he pulled the Shanker 18" AK from the scabbard. The scene abruptly changed to laughter when someone shouted, "Look out! Ski's got a knife!" Seems this young man had a reputation for trying to throw knives at most everything. They never stuck and would bounce off with some of the guys experiencing near misses. My son leaned over to Ski and asked him to do us all a favor and not throw the knife.

Long story, but that's how I found Uncle Bill and this great group of people. And, I'm really glad that I did.
 
I really like that story Ben!

An old Army Ranger I met in '68 told me stories about the Khukuri "use" in Korea. He highly recomended one. I never found any I liked until I had a dream to visit this forum some 30 years later. Now I have 14 good ones, and have given away many to people who appreciate the history, the art, and the culture of this unique blade.:)
 
When I was a teenager, a friend of mine who's a history buff had read about the Gurkhas and was telling me about them. Then by pure luck, another high school friend had a beat-up old kukri of the Atlanta Cutlery variety with a duct tape wrapped scabbard, lots of grinder marks, and a nicked handle.
He knew I was into swords and knives because I had a Western M49 Bowie from my father, and some tourist stuff from a friend of the family who travelled a lot (thai swords, a kindjal, a Khyber knife, and some cheap tourist kukris).
He sold it to me for $5. I had that kukri for years, it took loads of abuse. I gunblued it. It ended its life as a gardening tool for my mom, she used it for edging and pruning. She left it outdoors over one winter and it had rusted so badly that she threw it out.
Then I found the Cantina and my kukri addiction returned. :)
We have a great little online community here. It's hard not to visit every day.
 
Well, my story's nowhere near as interesting as Ben's, but here goes. Back in 1998, when I first got access to the internet, I started searching for knife sites (of course!). I stumbled across one of Cliff Stamp's reviews, then found my way here to BF. After a little longer here, I found Cliff's review of the Ang Khola. I wanted one. Bad. The next summer I got my first job and managed to snag a blem, and the rest is history.
 
I don't exactly recall how I came to the HI forum.

During that period I was looking for info on Chinese swords.
Either I found a link that brought me in to HI directly,
or I was browsing Bladeforums & somehow opened HI.
Probably did a search on Bladeforums & opened a thread here.

In both cases it was the serendipity of a search.

Once I started reading and feeling the community sense,
and once I saw the khuk pix & the UBBB offerings
I was hooked.

None of that HIKV nonesense. :rolleyes:

Now, I need to plan my day.

Let's see, if I run a couple of errands,
then check back for new postings about 11am,
then mow about half the lawn & then check for new postings again,
then mow the other half of the lawn, & then check for new postings,
then weed one of the flower beds, & then check for new postings again,
then take a quick shower, & then check for new postings again,
then I need to oil some scabbards & shine on some khuk blades,
& then check for new postings again,
Then I need to go run a couple more errands,
pick up my daughter from school,
& then check for new postings again.

I do have a life apart from khuks ya know.

HIKV? Bah. Humbug.
 
I can't believe that I am going to type this, but I will. I have to agree with BruiseLeee "I came for the knives and stayed for the freaks." Granted one of the nicest groups I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with and dealing with Uncle Bill has been beyond belief.
 
I first heard about khukuris rather late in life (30), in a science fiction series called "Sten", by Alan Cole and Chris Bunch. There is an Eternal Emperor whose personal bodyguard is composed of Gurkhas. The authors seemed to have a good insight into the mentality of these people, and inevitably, descriptions of the khuks emerged. Since I liked the books so much, I really wanted to see one of the knives. I bought my first one from a catalog a long time later, and was rather underwhelmed. Wasn't sharpened, handle too big and uncomfortable, overall rather fugly. I spent almost as much to have it sharpened (yeah, I couldn't do it myself at the time) as I paid for the blade. Always had it in the back of my mind to replace it, so when a rather long chain of circumstances led me here, I sort of stuck. Been almost a year now.

The books are really good, btw.

Mark, agreeing with Bruise is the top of a very slippery slope. Beware. I did it once. But I got better.
 
I read a review of the 18" AK on Cliff Stamp's website, then started lurking here a bit out of curiosity. I picked up a BAS blem a little over a year ago, and I've been hooked ever since. I love the knives, and the Cantina is a great place to hang out. I don't think there is a finer group of people anywhere.
--Josh
 
Originally posted by Aardvark
Mark, agreeing with Bruise is the top of a very slippery slope. Beware. I did it once. But I got better.
Click to expand...

I'm starting my own cult soon. However, I don't know where to get cyanide flavored kool-aid. :( Has this flavor been discontinued? Would I have to add my own sugar? :confused:
 
You don't need the kool-aid for STARTING a cult. It comes in at the last chapter.

(Still unbelieveable, eh? What a species.)
 
Bruise-- I think they renamed the flavor to something like Guyana-Berry. It comes in both presweetened and unsweetened last time I checked.
--Josh
 
Well...here's how "I".....forget it!! I ain't gonna open the door for the unjustified abuse! :rolleyes:
THE SAINT!:cool:
 
My kid brother gave me one of those Atlanta Cutlery khuks (the officer's model with the horn handle) for Christmas one year, and told me if I decided I liked khukuris he could point me to some really good people making the real things available in this country. Of course the "really good people" he was talking about was this fellow named Bill Martino and an outfit called Himalayan Imports.:D

Sarge
 
I've always been attracted to anything sharp and pointy (must be why I like Duck, his pointy head). I found HI through the links on the Therion Arms site.

I noticed that's N2S gets good marks there too.
 
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