Hello everybody,
Since Ive started frequenting this forum, thought I might as well introduce myself. I used to be active here around a decade back - used to post under a different username - but 7-8 years ago, life changes made me drift away. However, interest in sharp pointy objects never left me and this interest has resurfaced, so here I am! My interest in, and association with khukuris and Gurkhas goes back quite a bit. Im originally from the Sikkim/Darjeeling Himalayan region of India. My father was an officer in the Indian Army Gurkha Rifles and I spent a large part of my childhood as an army brat moving from one part of the country to another following dads battalion. In addition, my grandpa (paternal) was an officer in the Bengal Police from the British days, served mostly in Darjeeling/Sikkim hills where most of his police force consisted of Gurkhas. Ive lived the past 14-15 years in the U.S., mostly NYC, but last year family business needed a helping hand so my wife and I returned home to see them through the rough patch. Hoping to return back to the U.S. sometime soon.
With that being said, I do not have as much experience in using khukuris to the extent that quite a few of you guys do. I have minimal training in weapons-based martial arts a few years of on & off traditional Japanese weapons system (Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo) and a few months dabbling in FMA (Doce Pares Escrima). Im also not quite an outdoors/bushcraft guy, so minimal experience wielding blades in the woods. Thus, I am looking forward to learning from all the experts on here.
I found this forum when I came across an article on HI and Uncle Bill in a knife magazine (I think it was Tactical Knives) back in 1998 or 99. Very excited, I wrote to Uncle Bill and next thing you know I was on this forum. Nice to see some familiar names from back then still actively posting here. Very sad to hear about the passing away of Uncle Bill, Rusty and others. Anyways, enough writing, time to post some pics:
First, some photos of my old HI khukuris, all bought between 1999 and 2001, apologize for my poor photography skills. These are all in storage in NYC at the moment, so I cannot give exact specifications, weights, etc. I had a few more that I gifted, including a very nice shop 1 Angkhola with scrolled buttcap that I regret giving away. Hopefully some of you may find these old HI pieces interesting.
Kumar Kobra with filing marks on blade and funky cho, I think around 20 -22 OAL, light & fast.
Hanuman model. Good, solid piece. The HI Web site has a section showing the difference between their old Hanuman model and their newer offering (scroll down towards the bottom of this page: http://himalayan-imports.com/khuk1.html ). This one is definitely the older model.
Garud model well, actually the head looks more like a leopard or some sort of jungle cat than a Garuda head. My least-favorite HI khukuri. Very heavy, just look at the spine. If it was just heavy it's one thing - my AK was heavy, but it felt 'right' in my hand. This one feels ponderous and dead in my hand, thus my bottom-of-the-totem-pole ranking for this piece.
Since Ive started frequenting this forum, thought I might as well introduce myself. I used to be active here around a decade back - used to post under a different username - but 7-8 years ago, life changes made me drift away. However, interest in sharp pointy objects never left me and this interest has resurfaced, so here I am! My interest in, and association with khukuris and Gurkhas goes back quite a bit. Im originally from the Sikkim/Darjeeling Himalayan region of India. My father was an officer in the Indian Army Gurkha Rifles and I spent a large part of my childhood as an army brat moving from one part of the country to another following dads battalion. In addition, my grandpa (paternal) was an officer in the Bengal Police from the British days, served mostly in Darjeeling/Sikkim hills where most of his police force consisted of Gurkhas. Ive lived the past 14-15 years in the U.S., mostly NYC, but last year family business needed a helping hand so my wife and I returned home to see them through the rough patch. Hoping to return back to the U.S. sometime soon.
With that being said, I do not have as much experience in using khukuris to the extent that quite a few of you guys do. I have minimal training in weapons-based martial arts a few years of on & off traditional Japanese weapons system (Shindo Muso Ryu Jodo) and a few months dabbling in FMA (Doce Pares Escrima). Im also not quite an outdoors/bushcraft guy, so minimal experience wielding blades in the woods. Thus, I am looking forward to learning from all the experts on here.
I found this forum when I came across an article on HI and Uncle Bill in a knife magazine (I think it was Tactical Knives) back in 1998 or 99. Very excited, I wrote to Uncle Bill and next thing you know I was on this forum. Nice to see some familiar names from back then still actively posting here. Very sad to hear about the passing away of Uncle Bill, Rusty and others. Anyways, enough writing, time to post some pics:
First, some photos of my old HI khukuris, all bought between 1999 and 2001, apologize for my poor photography skills. These are all in storage in NYC at the moment, so I cannot give exact specifications, weights, etc. I had a few more that I gifted, including a very nice shop 1 Angkhola with scrolled buttcap that I regret giving away. Hopefully some of you may find these old HI pieces interesting.
Kumar Kobra with filing marks on blade and funky cho, I think around 20 -22 OAL, light & fast.
Hanuman model. Good, solid piece. The HI Web site has a section showing the difference between their old Hanuman model and their newer offering (scroll down towards the bottom of this page: http://himalayan-imports.com/khuk1.html ). This one is definitely the older model.
Garud model well, actually the head looks more like a leopard or some sort of jungle cat than a Garuda head. My least-favorite HI khukuri. Very heavy, just look at the spine. If it was just heavy it's one thing - my AK was heavy, but it felt 'right' in my hand. This one feels ponderous and dead in my hand, thus my bottom-of-the-totem-pole ranking for this piece.
