Kukri
- Thread starter AndrewT
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Cliff Stamp
BANNED
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If I was not concerned about toughness then I would consider it, the basic design (blade geometry) and composition (high carbon steel) is there. By the way does anyone know of their warrenty policy? And just one small comment, somethings can look very similar and perform very different.
For more details check out the HI forum on knifeforum.com where these were discussed in some detail.
-Cliff
For more details check out the HI forum on knifeforum.com where these were discussed in some detail.
-Cliff
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- Oct 28, 1998
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If you want a khukuri, get it from Bill Martino. The quality, craftsmanship, durability, customer service, and spiritual aspects of these blades make them a bargain at any price.
Joel
Joel
Cobalt
Gold Member
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The Ghurka house Khukuri looks like a good piece, especially for the money, along with the Ontario. Both very fairly priced and should do well and probably more bang for the buck than the CS khukuri's.
Now, if you want the toughest khukuri and quite possibly one of the toughest knives on the market, the HI khukuri is it. Check out Cliff S. excellent testing reviews as well as the HI board on the "other" forum.
Now, if you want the toughest khukuri and quite possibly one of the toughest knives on the market, the HI khukuri is it. Check out Cliff S. excellent testing reviews as well as the HI board on the "other" forum.
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I would suggest dealing with Bill Martino at HI, especially if you are going to use the
knife. The quality and service are beyond reproach. The HI blades are one of the few
knives that I trust in a serious life threatening or survival situation.
knife. The quality and service are beyond reproach. The HI blades are one of the few
knives that I trust in a serious life threatening or survival situation.
I must admit I am more experienced with guns than knives. I like HK guns best, but I am not saying all others are junk. Also, just because HI khukuris are good does not mean all others are substandard. The service from Gurkha House was excellent for me. Craig Gottlieb from Gurkha House was very helpful and gave a money back guarantee if unsatisfied. The Khukuri I ordered from Gurkha House is made in Nepal and is current military issue with Gurkha troops in Nepalese Army, and I wanted an issue khukuri. I like that khukuri and got it for less than half the price of HI products. Very good value. Ossi
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Any khukuri from Himalayan Imports is sent with a money back satisfaction guarantee PLUS an unconditional no nonsense lifetime guarantee against failure of any kind, both blade and handle.
Our khukuris, customer service, honesty and integrity are tops as may be witnessed by customer testimonials. We do not steal pictures off other websites and claim these knives to be ours.
And, Ossi, sorry to disillusion you, but there are no Gurkha troops in the Nepal Army so what does this say about your "issue" khukuri?
Bill Martino, GM
Himalayan Imports
[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 06 March 1999).]
Our khukuris, customer service, honesty and integrity are tops as may be witnessed by customer testimonials. We do not steal pictures off other websites and claim these knives to be ours.
And, Ossi, sorry to disillusion you, but there are no Gurkha troops in the Nepal Army so what does this say about your "issue" khukuri?
Bill Martino, GM
Himalayan Imports
[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 06 March 1999).]
Cobalt
Gold Member
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By the way the Gurka House guarantee is not unconditional, but it says that it will replace any blade under normal use, whatever that means. Like I said earlier, for the money theyl do in a pinch. But if you are going to own just one khukuri, the HI is it. Unfortunatelly once you buy one, it's hard not to get more.
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Hi Cobalt:
80% of our sales are repeat orders going to satisfied customers just like you.
I think this says something about the HI khukuris, customer service, and guarantees.
And, whose khukuris are on display at the National Knife Museum in Chattanooga? And, at the Canadian Army Museum in Halifax?
Bill
80% of our sales are repeat orders going to satisfied customers just like you.
I think this says something about the HI khukuris, customer service, and guarantees.
And, whose khukuris are on display at the National Knife Museum in Chattanooga? And, at the Canadian Army Museum in Halifax?
Bill
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My name is Craig Gottlieb, and I am the owner of Gurkha House. I've read the comments here about my khukuri, and I want to clear the air about my products to avoid any confusion.
How I came to import Khukuris: I am a Marine Officer. One of my friends, knowing that I am an avid knife collector, sent me one from Nepal. I was so impressed by its quality that I decided to import them (I own a small import company).
RE Himalayan Imports: I will not comment on the quality of Bill's Khukuris because I have never ordered one before. He obviously enjoys an excellent and well-deserved reputation and knows much more about Gurkhas than I do. I urge somebody to buy one of my Khukuris and do an honest comparison. I will say that I have owned numerous other khukuris, and mine beat them hands down. I urge somebody to do an honest comparison. I believe in my products and I think they will fare well next to Bill's. I am willing to send one of my knives to an independent third party if Bill is willing to send one of his.
RE My warranty policy: I have never had an unsatisifed customer. If, however, somebody is unsatisfied, they can return my knives for a full refund or exchange. The bit about "normal use" was put into my return policy to avoid having people try to chop down steel lamp posts and then trying to return them. But, since I see that people are having a problem with this "stipulation," it is hereby removed (look for a change on my website soon). Thanks, people. I've learned a valuable lesson.
As for their being Gurkha soldiers in service today, there ARE. During my service as a Marine Officer, I have worked with many British Army officers who routinely sing their praises.
Finally, I urge anybody who is interested in my khukuri (its quality, durability, whatever) to visit my website or call me on the telephone. I have only sold about 30 khukuris since I began offering them. All of my customers have been extremely satisfied.
The call is out to Bill Martino to have an independent third party do a comparison between comparable models. Frankly, I'm curious myself.
------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
How I came to import Khukuris: I am a Marine Officer. One of my friends, knowing that I am an avid knife collector, sent me one from Nepal. I was so impressed by its quality that I decided to import them (I own a small import company).
RE Himalayan Imports: I will not comment on the quality of Bill's Khukuris because I have never ordered one before. He obviously enjoys an excellent and well-deserved reputation and knows much more about Gurkhas than I do. I urge somebody to buy one of my Khukuris and do an honest comparison. I will say that I have owned numerous other khukuris, and mine beat them hands down. I urge somebody to do an honest comparison. I believe in my products and I think they will fare well next to Bill's. I am willing to send one of my knives to an independent third party if Bill is willing to send one of his.
RE My warranty policy: I have never had an unsatisifed customer. If, however, somebody is unsatisfied, they can return my knives for a full refund or exchange. The bit about "normal use" was put into my return policy to avoid having people try to chop down steel lamp posts and then trying to return them. But, since I see that people are having a problem with this "stipulation," it is hereby removed (look for a change on my website soon). Thanks, people. I've learned a valuable lesson.
As for their being Gurkha soldiers in service today, there ARE. During my service as a Marine Officer, I have worked with many British Army officers who routinely sing their praises.
Finally, I urge anybody who is interested in my khukuri (its quality, durability, whatever) to visit my website or call me on the telephone. I have only sold about 30 khukuris since I began offering them. All of my customers have been extremely satisfied.
The call is out to Bill Martino to have an independent third party do a comparison between comparable models. Frankly, I'm curious myself.
------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Craig,
I have several of Bill's Khukuris in stock. I would be more then willing to send one around with one of yours for local evualation and, perhaps a larger circulation to people like Joe T. I will of course wait for Bill's response to your offer. Expect a call from me today.
Sid
Joe and others,
Do you have the time and desire to take a couple of knives out and give them a good thrashing?
Sid
I have several of Bill's Khukuris in stock. I would be more then willing to send one around with one of yours for local evualation and, perhaps a larger circulation to people like Joe T. I will of course wait for Bill's response to your offer. Expect a call from me today.
Sid
Joe and others,
Do you have the time and desire to take a couple of knives out and give them a good thrashing?
Sid
Jim March
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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I can think of one difference right off the bat. Bill has family back over there inspecting and running every aspect of production. Bill isn't the owner, it's one of the family members in Nepal that actually owns the business.
And therefore Bill is *not* a "knife importer". He's the US branch of a Nepalese *export* company which at least implies Himalayan Imports has far greater control over product standards and availability. That's mebbe why his catalog is 20x the size of Craig's, and as long as you can scrape up six customers for it you can get something different. I've no doubt at all that Craig is trying to import the best Nepalese product he can find *and* his stuff will be worlds better than the "still warped as hell barely heattreated $25 Indian junk" that gave Khukuris such a terrible rep.
Just thinking out loud here, not trying to insult. And if corrections are in order from Bill OR Craig it ain't gonna offend me.
Jim March
And therefore Bill is *not* a "knife importer". He's the US branch of a Nepalese *export* company which at least implies Himalayan Imports has far greater control over product standards and availability. That's mebbe why his catalog is 20x the size of Craig's, and as long as you can scrape up six customers for it you can get something different. I've no doubt at all that Craig is trying to import the best Nepalese product he can find *and* his stuff will be worlds better than the "still warped as hell barely heattreated $25 Indian junk" that gave Khukuris such a terrible rep.
Just thinking out loud here, not trying to insult. And if corrections are in order from Bill OR Craig it ain't gonna offend me.
Jim March
Brian Jones
Moderator
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Craig,
Are those HI khukuris in the pictures on your site?
Best,
Brian.
Are those HI khukuris in the pictures on your site?
Best,
Brian.
- Joined
- Mar 5, 1999
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- 34,096
Jim March is right. Himalayan Imports is owned by Kami Sherpa, Yangdu's dad, who is in Nepal at this very moment checking progress at the shop, inspecting khukuris, shipping them, and trying his best to figure out a special order for Howard.
Himalayan Imports should have been named Himalayan Exports but that is the way things go in that part of the world. Established in 1988 with name, logo trademark and all that paper jazz duly registered with HMG in Nepal.
In US, dba in Calif in 1989 and Nevada maybe five years back.
About Gurkha service as mentioned by Craig. Yes, there is Gurkha service today. I have one brother in law serving in Brunei who will retire from Gurkha service in November. I have another brother in law in Singapore serving with the Gurkha Police Contingency.
At last count there were about 3200 Gurkhas still in British Army. And the Indian Army employs a substantial number of Gurkhas but exactly how many today I am not sure.
However, there are no Gurkhas in the Nepal Army as was implied. The Nepal Army and Gurkha service are two completely different ball games.
As far as the faceoff of khukuris. Here is an excerpt from an email sent by me to Craig at 9:05 AM, March 8, 1999:
---------------------------------------------
I have been in business since 1989 -- had ads and articles in Fighting Knives, Blade, Combat Knives, Tactical Knives, SWAT, and others both here and abroad over the years -- Combat Knives ran an article on a few of my khukuris last year and the writer in intimately familiar with the HI khukuris. My suggestion would be simply send one of your knives along with your standard guarantee and ask for an evaluation and comparison.
In the meantime, I'm busy and would rather concentrate on matters at hand rather than getting into a bickering contest. Hope you feel the same and good luck.
Bill
PS: I am not sure about lamp posts but I have had users chop junk cars and 50 gallon drums to pieces and the knives just kept on going.
[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 10 March 1999).]
Himalayan Imports should have been named Himalayan Exports but that is the way things go in that part of the world. Established in 1988 with name, logo trademark and all that paper jazz duly registered with HMG in Nepal.
In US, dba in Calif in 1989 and Nevada maybe five years back.
About Gurkha service as mentioned by Craig. Yes, there is Gurkha service today. I have one brother in law serving in Brunei who will retire from Gurkha service in November. I have another brother in law in Singapore serving with the Gurkha Police Contingency.
At last count there were about 3200 Gurkhas still in British Army. And the Indian Army employs a substantial number of Gurkhas but exactly how many today I am not sure.
However, there are no Gurkhas in the Nepal Army as was implied. The Nepal Army and Gurkha service are two completely different ball games.
As far as the faceoff of khukuris. Here is an excerpt from an email sent by me to Craig at 9:05 AM, March 8, 1999:
---------------------------------------------
I have been in business since 1989 -- had ads and articles in Fighting Knives, Blade, Combat Knives, Tactical Knives, SWAT, and others both here and abroad over the years -- Combat Knives ran an article on a few of my khukuris last year and the writer in intimately familiar with the HI khukuris. My suggestion would be simply send one of your knives along with your standard guarantee and ask for an evaluation and comparison.
In the meantime, I'm busy and would rather concentrate on matters at hand rather than getting into a bickering contest. Hope you feel the same and good luck.
Bill
PS: I am not sure about lamp posts but I have had users chop junk cars and 50 gallon drums to pieces and the knives just kept on going.
[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 10 March 1999).]
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Wow, what an interesting forum. Definitely lively. Here are some responses to some of the comments posted lately on the forum. First, here are some comments in reply to Jim Marchs recent posting:
There was concerned expressed over quality control and product availability. Sure, I cannot guarantee that I will not receive a defective khukuri from Nepal. I can guarantee that each piece is inspected by me when I get them in, and that I would never send out a defective piece. Of course, I have never received a defective piece. As for availability, the reason Bill has more to offer is simply because hes been in business longer. No brain science there. With each order to my supplier in Nepal, I am getting more of a selection. I am, for example, about to receive larger 28 inch (overall length) pieces. Look for brass-handled pieces in the near future, larger khukuris, as well as various blade art. As for custom orders, send them to me. My supplier has already filled custom orders from me. They are arriving on my next shipment, due in tomorrow (Thursday), weather permitting.
As for Brians posting asking whether or not the pictures on my website are HI Khukuris, they are not. I took those myself. They are of my khukuris. Sorry about the poor quality. They were done with my scanner. Look for better ones soon.
Im still waiting for the khukuri face-off. One of my customers who owns a HI khukuri will be receiving one of mine that he just ordered from my site. Well see what he has to say. My khukuri business is brand new, and I dont pretend to know as much about gurkhas and Khukuris as many of you. I do know a quality product when I see one, especially where knives are concerened. I have been a collector of edged weapons for many years, and love them for their beauty and functionality. Thats why I decided to bring my knives into the country. Only time, and the wonders of capitalism, will tell whether or not my Khukuris are better/worse/on-par with HI Khukuris. If customers decide that my khukuris are terrible rip-offs, then I suspect that I will not be in business for very long. If they are on-par or better than HI, then that would be great for me and for my customers.
There was concerned expressed over quality control and product availability. Sure, I cannot guarantee that I will not receive a defective khukuri from Nepal. I can guarantee that each piece is inspected by me when I get them in, and that I would never send out a defective piece. Of course, I have never received a defective piece. As for availability, the reason Bill has more to offer is simply because hes been in business longer. No brain science there. With each order to my supplier in Nepal, I am getting more of a selection. I am, for example, about to receive larger 28 inch (overall length) pieces. Look for brass-handled pieces in the near future, larger khukuris, as well as various blade art. As for custom orders, send them to me. My supplier has already filled custom orders from me. They are arriving on my next shipment, due in tomorrow (Thursday), weather permitting.
As for Brians posting asking whether or not the pictures on my website are HI Khukuris, they are not. I took those myself. They are of my khukuris. Sorry about the poor quality. They were done with my scanner. Look for better ones soon.
Im still waiting for the khukuri face-off. One of my customers who owns a HI khukuri will be receiving one of mine that he just ordered from my site. Well see what he has to say. My khukuri business is brand new, and I dont pretend to know as much about gurkhas and Khukuris as many of you. I do know a quality product when I see one, especially where knives are concerened. I have been a collector of edged weapons for many years, and love them for their beauty and functionality. Thats why I decided to bring my knives into the country. Only time, and the wonders of capitalism, will tell whether or not my Khukuris are better/worse/on-par with HI Khukuris. If customers decide that my khukuris are terrible rip-offs, then I suspect that I will not be in business for very long. If they are on-par or better than HI, then that would be great for me and for my customers.
Cougar Allen
Buccaneer (ret.)
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- Oct 9, 1998
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- 72,653
I nominate Cliff Stamp for independant tester. If he's impressed with the quality of a kukuri we'll all be impressed. Send him one of yours, Craig -- he's already tested a HI kukuri and posted a review. I can assure you he'll write an informed and objective review and send it back when he's done if he doesn't decide to buy it. I can't guarantee he won't send it back in pieces, though -- if anybody can break a knife in normal use Cliff is the man for the job.
-Cougar Allen :{)
-Cougar Allen :{)
Brian Jones
Moderator
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Craig,
If my question seemed a little forward and direct, please forgive me. An outfit on Ebay has been fraudulently using his pics to market their non-HI stuff, and I guess we're a little defensive of him right now. Apologies if there was too much of an insinuation in my question.
Best,
Brian.
If my question seemed a little forward and direct, please forgive me. An outfit on Ebay has been fraudulently using his pics to market their non-HI stuff, and I guess we're a little defensive of him right now. Apologies if there was too much of an insinuation in my question.
Best,
Brian.