Q for Unk and all...

S

stevomiller

Joined
May 4, 2001
Messages
1,553
Uncle, I have a question that perhaps has been answered before. How many khuks does the average Nepali own? In relation to say Nepales daily wages how much would a good village khuk cost (since I doubt many are carrying BirGorkha's)? Just wondering. P.S. I passed a car the other day that had a bumper sticker with the Gurkha crossed K's. The guy appeared to be about 30yrs old, and to my eyes resembled some of my friends that are from Laos/Thailand. Maybe he was the real deal? Stevo
 
...gleaned from many posts, the HI Site, FAQ, etc. Since many Khukuris are passed on, father to son to grandson, it is obvious they are valuable items on the Nepali economy. I doubt that many have a cash value, in rupia, that could be translated. So much of the economy in a very poor nation is bartered goods that any one Khukuri could have changed hands over what the kami, himself usually too poor to carry much stock, needed at the time of the transaction. A knife magazine article, cited on the forum a while back, told of the author going to a scrap yard to buy spring steel because this was customary - the kami he intended to make the knife had no stock. I would guess that for the ordinary Nepali, buying a knife from BirGorkha, would equate to an SS recipient buying a Les Baer .45. Purchase of an "ordinary" Khukuri from a kami would involve much negotiation and the exchange of what the buyer had in surplus and a few rupia to close the deal.
Although the kami would have a set price for his knives, and other items, the few in his area able to pay cash would also have enough influence to moderate those prices. The poor man always gets the frayed end of the rope.
 
Wal's got it pegged pretty well. A village kami is generally willing to make a khukuri (typical village model -- down and dirty, partial tang, no buttcap) of average size for a couple of bucks US -- sometimes a bit lower, sometimes a bit higher depending on the situation. To put it all into perspective the per capita income in Nepal today is about 200 bucks per year.
 
Interesting question Stevo, thanks for asking it:)

I learn things here I didn't know, I didn't know:D
 
"I passed a car the other day that had a bumper sticker with the Gurkha crossed K's"
The Burmese martial art of Bando uses that emblem and is widely practiced here in the U.S. I know that they do indeed have weapons forms (kata) utilizing the khukuri.
 
I've got a couple of Bando patches on shirts somewhere. If enough people bug me I'll post a pix -- if I can find them.
 
how about a HI bumper sticker? I want to be the first kid on my block with an HI t-shirt!
 
I want to be the first kid on my block with an HI t-shirt!
Click to expand...

Uncle had some, nicely embroidered by hand too, but they were pretty small or I would have gotten one:( Didn't want to show off my flab,er, muscles that much:o :D
 
Vicks wrote:
I want to be the first kid on my block with an HI t-shirt!

Uncle has offered these in the past. Here's a picture of one. A nice embroidered design, but apparently they don't come in extremely large sizes as Uncle explains, "The T-shirts are made in Nepal for Nepalis and there's not three men in Nepal who take a size 50. We always get the biggest we can find and they are too small." <br>
 
Those were indeed nice shirts. I would have got one but I think I had two khuks in the mail at the time and a rather large number on my credit card bill. :(
 
Maui,
Bill, brought a few shirts to the Fl. K Konv. & I got one,diff.
than the one pictured & yes it is a "little tight!Course I buy just about anything Bill sells ,like Tarwars & Katanas & K's etc..! hee!
jim :D
 
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