No Sherpa style?

[Rusty]

In another thread that I really don't want to resurect, your response to a comment by Ghostsix confuses me, Uncle Bill. What you said was:

" I can't get the Sherpa style khukuri anymore. There's nobody left to make them."

Could you enlighten me as to what the problem is, especially if you get shop #2 going?
Surely there must be some remaining sherpa styles left to use as models, in the Nepali or British museums, if not local families.
And I was under the impression that the master kamis made all kinds of tools, so that making a different style should not be a problem, witness the Cobalt Special.

Your mention that you had tried to buy back a couple Sherpa styles and were turned down makes me even more confused. Did HI make a Sherpa style in the past? Were they made by others and then located by HI and exported?

For that matter, are there other styles besides the Sherpa that are no longer made? Why not make several of each of those for museums and collectors before they really are lost?

 

[Bill Martino]

Rusty, I'm going to have to dig through the 10,000 pix file and see if I can find a picture of the Sherpa style khukuri close up.
There's a not so good picture here. Top of page.

http://members.aol.com/Nepalkamis/index.html

Shop 1 used this picture and a sketch and what they produced was just not the same thing that Kancha Kami made. I can't find the real thing for them to use as a model.
It is really the way the handle is made that defines this model. Solid brass pommel, rounded, with a sort of Z shaped keeper.

This khukuri was made by kamis in the Solu Khumbu region of Nepal where the Sherpas live and I figure that's why people called it a Sherpa style. The number of kamis in that region have dwindled down to almost none. I knew of two kamis who made this knife. Kancha Kami was one and he is too old and blind to make knives anymore. The other fellow had a son who married a wealthy Japanese lady who bought him a trekking hotel. So now he runs the hotel and no longer makes khukuris. I don't know of any other kamis who made or can make this khukuri. Kancha Kami used to make a few khukuri for us but that's finished. I made the mistake of thinking he'd always be around to make a few more. That's why I didn't keep one for myself. Mistake!

Our Hanuman is a replica of a 19th century model that hangs in the Royal Armouries in the UK. Not quite the same but close.

Uncle Bill

 

[Howard Wallace]

Bill,

Do you think there is any chance of enticing the trecking hotel owner down to shop number two to pass on his knowledge of how to build the brass pommeled khukuris? A combination of monetary incentive and the knowledge that he may be the last person in the world able to keep that tradition alive might convince him. If that doesn’t work, perhaps Kami could "wine and dine" him in Kathmandu.

Perhaps even Kancha Kami, although unable to make a blade, could still teach. It might be quite an honor for a blind old man to be brought to Kathmandu, made a fuss over, and paid handsomely to show his skills to the "city folks."

The Sherpa style would give you another alternative to the buttcap you have been using.


[This message has been edited by Howard Wallace (edited 02 May 1999).]

 

[Bill Martino]

Howard, the now-hotel-owner kami is getting rich. When my brother-in-law contacted him last about making a half dozen Sherpa style khukuris the guy laughed. No chance with him.

But the possibility of Kancha Kami coming in to visit and instruct some at shop 2 is a possibility if he can make the trek. He is very old, almost blind, and to get to Kathmandu he will have to walk to the nearest road to catch a bus. But thanks for the suggestion. I will ask Kami about the possibility. He and Kancha are long time buddies and neighbors.

Uncle Bill