How Would You Like The Initialing On The Khuks To Be?

I think the statement about handwriting the UB initial is pertinent.
In twenty years that may have the more substancial statement than that of a tidyier but uniform stamping. UB handwritten; crude or not, that means something. MO
I think it's great we're talking about this. Yangdu has opened up so many avenues.

In a little while, we might be able to ask her to slenderize the Karda's some, as Yvsa and others have long wanted. Why not?
I'm only sorry HI doesn't make single shot rifles....I think we could knock Winchester for a loop.
Heck, I'm thinking too small; how about a Space Shuttle that works?


munk
 
I believe that hand cut kami marks, and "UB" cut by hand are more in keepingwith the thought"handmade in Nepal by master craftsmen".
 
I've a couple villagers where the UB is in Devangari; still, whatever the kamis and LY want to do is fine by me. They make 'em, marks are a part of making.

Ben, Aroun No More, called it graffitti once; :grumpy:

Look at KH, their knives are made by Kami "unknown".

I like mine having a pedigree.


Ad Astra
 
munk said:
Heck, I'm thinking too small; how about a Space Shuttle that works?
munk
Click to expand...
No matter how well it worked, we'd still be complaining about the shape of the tiles and the style of lettering on the name... And of course the kamis would put a cho on the tail and then we'd be back to cho creep and then, sooner or later, habaki airlocks....:D
 
Greetings:
These are my thoughts on this subject:

1. Allow the kami (the creator, artist and maker of the blade) to have his space on the blade for his own personal identifying marks as he sees fit. He is not to be dictated to in any way at all on this matter. He is the creator of the blade and will be allowed to place his own identifying marks on the blade as he sees fit. Presently he has the complete left side of the blade to use for this purpose, which I think if very fitting in that it gives him the recognition that he fully deserves as the creator, artist and maker of the blade.

2. Allow a space on the blade for the recognition of Uncle Bill, who as the founder made all of this possible because of his vision and dream of how to make it all happen. I think that it is very fitting that Uncle Bill presently has this space dedicated for his initials on the opposite side of the blade of the kami's identification marks. I really like the fact that the kami honors Uncle Bill by placing Uncle Bill's initials on the blade. I personally like the initials U. B. as they are presently done.

3. Allow the space on the blade for identification for the Bir Ghorka factory where the blades are being made. J. W. Kilpatrick
 
My thoughts: don't screw with it. Let them concentrate on getting the blades, cho creep, bolsters, and handles right. Seems like a big enough job, right there.
 
I agree with Walking Man about keeping the kami symbols consistant. Them changing symbols periodically was what brought about the initials in the first place. :grumpy: And ditto with everyone who wants the UB marks handwritten instead of stamped.

As for Rusty's initials, perhaps on certain models that he was fond of. Off hand I know he liked the 12" Sirupatis, the 12" "pocket battleship" AK, the Chainpuris, and IIRC the Ghoptes. Oh and can't forget the WWIIs. ;)

Bob
 
My kukuries are already engraved. I chose Devengari.





munk said:
I thought I'd ask. How do you want the initials and markings on the HI khuks to be? We have for a long time, if I'm reading posts correctly, wanted to see the script in the Nepalese language rather than in English.
Is this true? Weigh in, and let's tell Yangdu what we think.

JimmyJimminez has opined that the UB commemoration be in English, as Bill was English. Does that make sense? Maybe Yangdu could answer that one- after all, Bill's ashes went back to Nepal.

I've spoken to Yangdu and she is receptive to your opinion.
I never thought I'd see so many changes, but Life is going on, and we are walking forward.

I wonder if we could ask for a limited run of "RS" on some khuks.

thanks for your input,

munk
Click to expand...
 
with all these multiple variations of perfectly valid opinions and no clear concensus, all correct in their own way, i would suggest, like i wish would happen in government, that the best course of action is usually to do nothing.
 
Ghostsix did give Bill the name. Ghost six was a great Warrior once, a long time ago. Bill served on a USN Destroyer once a longer time ago.
Bill was an aronautical engineer. At least he knew what a Reynolds nunber and a P factor was.
This child never did ask his bona fides.
And I would welcome any inqury about airfoil design.
I will refer it to Bill.

Yvsa said:
Bill Martino was born in Cherokee Kansas if I'm not mistaken and was educated in the good ol US of A.
Bill lived most of his life right here in the States and was an accomplished engineer that worked in aviation and was also an accomplished author.
If I'm not mistaken Ghostsix gave Bill the name Uncle Bill.

I wouldn't mind seeing the kami's initials in Devangari script and was under the impression the new khukuris coming out now were in fact inscribed in this way. Am I wrong?
I also wouldn't mind seeing the initials UB done in another font but you have to remember where the khukuris are coming from.
I don't know if an elegant English Script would be possible or even an Old English Script for that matter.
Personally I would like to see Uncle Bill's initials stamped on the spine of the khukuris instead of on the right flat of the blade.
Neatly done and placed on the spine would make them less obtrusive and the location has precedence for script.
Actually it would be nice if the kami's initials and mark's could be placed on the spine near the bolster as well.
I liked the blades better before all the writing on them became the vogue.
Click to expand...
 
Burt Rutan already thought of that.


munk said:
I think the statement about handwriting the UB initial is pertinent.
In twenty years that may have the more substancial statement than that of a tidyier but uniform stamping. UB handwritten; crude or not, that means something. MO
I think it's great we're talking about this. Yangdu has opened up so many avenues.

In a little while, we might be able to ask her to slenderize the Karda's some, as Yvsa and others have long wanted. Why not?
I'm only sorry HI doesn't make single shot rifles....I think we could knock Winchester for a loop.
Heck, I'm thinking too small; how about a Space Shuttle that works?


munk
Click to expand...
 
Again, I personally see the English U.B. marking as being not only a good and noble idea, but it also seems to be in the most appropriate language. The only thing that I would suggest, is not that it go away or be changed to a Nepali script, just that it be done more gracefully. Whether it be done by hand or by stamp, this marking is in honor of this well respected man, so let that mark of honor be done with the utmost care and grace.

The kami marking should, imo, remain hand done, but should be either a particular mark or initials in the well liked Nepali script, not both. I see it as overkill in having both a mark and initials. Just like a painting, signing it once is enough, with the craftsmanship of the work itself being the other proof of who made it.

The current HI company marking not only seems to be very elegant, but is also placed in a well accepted location.


Just for ha ha's, here is a lousy looking drawing I made showing just one idea that comes to mind. It's an idea that may be acceptable to the principle of the HI company and Yangdu:

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/338/dscn04924bi.jpg




It shows a simple yet classy U.B. lettering that can be done with limited practice by hand. It also shows a fake example of a kami marking representing a possible location for it to be placed at.
Bill thought highly of the kamis, and he also worked hand in hand with them, so having them side by side on the blade seems right, at least in my mind.

The drawing shows a way of having the U.B. initials and the Kami marking right next to each other on the left side of the blade. Except for the standard HI company marking on the other side of the blade, the knife would have no other markings.
You would end up with a knife that has the HI company marking, the Kami's marking, and the U.B. initials honoring Bill. A very simple but logical idea. This would give all the credit and honor where it is due, but would not overwhelm the blade with more markings then are needed.

Imo :)


PS.
I'm sure you all noticed that my lousy drawing of a khukuri blade has no cho creep ...... LOL! ;)
 
I am quite happy with the way things are, I do not mind a little bit of lettering that is not graceful and perfectly even.
As long as the Kamis do not take after firearms makers and stamp the whole damn thing with warnings I will continue to enjoy them as they are.

Danger: Sharp things can cut
Danger: Heavy things can hurt if dropped on toes
Danger: Do not stick tongue to frozen Khukuri
 
Whatever you guys decide. I'm averaging about a khuk every 2 years at this point, so I don't feel like I should have much of a say:o
 
MauiRob said:
Whatever you guys decide. I'm averaging about a khuk every 2 years at this point, so I don't feel like I should have much of a say:o
Click to expand...


LOL You and I buy at about the same speed!

But I'm VERY happy with the few I have. They were the ones that jumped up and I said "That's the one!" Someday another will present itself...I'm in no hurry.
I do have to disagree with the notion that we as infrequent buyers have little to no say.


JimmyJimenez, That is exactly what I was trying to describe in my probably poorly worded post.:thumbup:
 
Yes, I disagree with the notion that less frequent buyers have less say.




munk
 
shappa said:
LOL You and I buy at about the same speed!

But I'm VERY happy with the few I have. They were the ones that jumped up and I said "That's the one!" Someday another will present itself...I'm in no hurry.
I do have to disagree with the notion that we as infrequent buyers have little to no say.


JimmyJimenez, That is exactly what I was trying to describe in my probably poorly worded post.:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Shappa,

After reading your post above, I went back to check out your previous post. Sure enough, you and I are very much on the same page in most regards :)

I just wanted to share my personal views on this subject, and surely don't want anyone to think that I expect HI to act on any of them. It's all just casual forum talk to me :)
 
What has basically happened recently is that newbies are asking the questions previously long asked by the older hands; and guess what? Yangdu is in charge now and to our delight is changing a few things.
We are coming from a time of sadness over passings into a time of new things and changes. That is as it should be, right?

It's all good.
Not to worry.
I don't think anyone is going to lecture Bura on how to write "UB" better, though.


munk
 
Hi all,

Some great ideas here.

I like the HI in Devengari where it is. I would like the kamis to sign in the same style script in the same place on the opposite side. I would like to see the U.B. on the spine, or over the Cho, in case some Khukuris get re handled to eliminate cho creep. I always am concerned about the markings in their current location disappearing in this way.

I wonder, (I am an engraver by trade ) if each Kami cuts the HI letters, or if one person does all that work? It seems that the Hi initials look better to me than the other lettering and symbols. It could be familiarity that makes the difference.

Also, since we are so intimately familiar with the roman alphabet, ( we see it in perfect form everyday, all over the place!) we will much more readily notice flaws in execution, whereas the devengari looks like an abstract design to our eyes, so we don't know if it is right or wrong at all! Also, curved lettering is easier to make look good than lettering with a lot of straight lines.

I hope this is OK to say here. If anyone needs some lettering done, let me know. After the first of the year I will be stopping most of my outside work, as the day job is going very well, and is now paying enough to support the family. I hope to have some time for fun projects that have been languishing for some time. If the kamis think it practical for them to do it, so much the better. I wonder if it would be practical though.

Honest, I will renew my Gold membership soon!

Thinking some more, maybe script for the English lettering would be better than the roman/block they use now. Still in English, but more like devengari in style/execution?

If the Kamis need some lettering charts, I can get some together.

Take care,

Tom
 
How about LARGE Nepali writing on the blades and smaller alphabet writing on the spine?
I like the Nepali script, its beautiful. The Salyans are awesome because of the writing.
I think however they do it, the alphabet lettering does need to be cleaned up, and smaller might be better...
 
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