Quality control at Kathmandu

[golok]

I understand the standards of khukuris produced by HI are some of the highest in the world.

Who is in charge of quality control in Nepal where the khukuris are made and produced?

Say, for example, for every 20 khukuris, there could be 5 rejects. What do they do with the rejects? Are they melted down and re-forged to produce a better one?

What do the quality controller look for in an excellent khukuri?
What are the tell-tale signs of a defective khukuri?

 

[Bill Martino]

When I was in Nepal last Bura brought over a half dozen khukuris to be shipped to the US. I started inspecting them. Bura said, "samai kera phalnu."
That means roughly, "you're wasting your time." And, I think that pretty much tells the story.

The kamis of BirGorkha have learned that quality is the number one consideration, taking on much more importance than quantity or even cost. A good kami knows when it's time to quit and recycle a piece of spring so a lot of the inspection is done while the work is in process by the kamis themselves.

Bura, Pala and Gelbu give the khukuris a going over before they are shipped. They inspect for fit, finish, hardness and appearance. The blems I get here are usually shipment damage or damage incurred by change in climate.

 

[Yvsa]

Originally posted by golok
I understand the standards of khukuris produced by HI are some of the highest in the world.

The finest in the world bar none!!! "Not some of the finest."

Who is in charge of quality control in Nepal where the khukuris are made and produced?

Supposedly the kamis themselves? I don't know if there is any stringent quality control policies in most shops. Although pretty knives sell well to tourists who usually just want something to hang on the wall. And they probably wouldn't know any really good knife from one that wasn't any good. That helps reinforce that poor quality knives are okay as long as they're bought by people who don't know.

Say, for example, for every 20 khukuris, there could be 5 rejects. What do they do with the rejects? Are they melted down and re-forged to produce a better one?

Usually in most of the kukri sweat shops in Nepal the defective ones are just passed on through unless it's a glareing, very noticeable, flaw in fit and/or finish. (That doesn't happen at H.I.)
And that's why kukris, khukries, Cookrees, and all the other spellings given to the true khukuri a bad name in the world of knives.
There's still lots and lots of people who aren't aware of H.I. and really quality khukuris and among those people there's probably quite a few who are real knife people that still believe there isn't any good khukuris because they have never seen one.

However mistakes do happen occasionally in the best of shops but H.I.Khukuri's are guaranteed for life, not just the original owner just in case a defective blade might slip through.
No one has 100% no defects IMO although there are many shops that approach that mark. H.I. is one of them.

What do the quality controller look for in an excellent khukuri?
What are the tell-tale signs of a defective khukuri?

According to the village models any khukuri with a soft blade. They're ugly and tough, but they work hard and last, many, many years. The village person has the advantage of being able to take the khukuri back to the kami and raise hell if he doesn't make the blade right.

For Himalayan Imports.........

soft blades.
uneven fullers.
crooked bolsters and butt caps.
edges too thin.
loose parts.
rough handles.
sloppy inlay and scroll work.
Anything not absolutely perfect.

Actually the UBDOTD's reflect what Himalayan Imports think of as a defective khukuri and most time the customer can't find the flaw that Uncle Bill sees.

And as usual Uncle Bill had the short answer.

 

[Bill Martino]

Thanks for good and valued input, Bro.

 

[mohd]

... "samai kera phalnu.". That means roughly, "you're wasting your time." ...

Golok - I guess what Bura means is that BirGorkha is actually practicing a quality assurance in their working process rather than a quality control - this humble Kamis are not just making Khukuris to confirm with the good standard quality Khukuris but they go beyond that - as what I see all the Kamis are actually in an everlasting effort to beat the best Khukuris ever made from time to time! - Each of them are trying to prove to themselves as well as to prove to all of us that they are actually a bunch of the best Kamis in Nepal!

 

[RonS]

I have worked in manufacturing for 23 years, as a machinist, foreman and CNC programmer. I have found that no amount of quality assurance programs, SPC programs, policies or procedures mean a thing unless the people making the product care about what they are making. They can be useful tools in a large operation but in most large operations they are not used properly because the managers think that the tools of quality management are the substance of quality. A tool will lie on the bench until it rusts away unless someone picks it up and uses it with skill and purpose. Making khukuris is what the kamis do; it is their identity, who they are. Yes they get paid, they need to work to earn a living, but when they are making a khukuri it is because they are making a khukuri. The khukuri is not a byproduct, they didn't come to work on Monday and someone told them that today you are going to make khukuris and tomorrow you are going to make hammers or hoes or shovels. Their khukuris reflect this. They understand the reality of quality, it is doing the best you can all of the time, not just meeting some arbitrary standard in a book. Think of it this way, the kamis work at every detail of a kukuri until it reflects what they are trying to express. This is not a scientific process, they probably couldn't even describe some of the things that they are doing. Can you even list all of the features of a kukuri? You can measure, weigh, hardness test, find the centers of mass and balance, measure the roughness of the polish of the blade, describe the exact color of the wood but you have not defined the kukuri. The kami defines the kukuri because the kukuri defines the kami.

 

[Bill Martino]

Very nicely put, Ron.

In support of your observation let me toss this out. Bura will make the best khukuris coming out of Nepal. He made khukuris for the late King Birendra Bikram Shah Dev. But he is tempermental and once in awhile he will send a khukuri he should have recycled because he was having a "tempermental" day. Kesar, on the other hand, will have a very hard time making a khukuri that is as good as Bura's. He can come close but no cigar. However, he will never send a khukuri that should have been recycled.

When somebody asked for individual kami strong points that's why I tagged these two like this:

Bura -- excellence
Kesar -- dependability

There's room at BirGorkha for both.

 

[Walosi]

My Dad was a master machinist - 45 years in shops all over the west and southwest. He retired as a moldmaker, with HP in Loveland, CO, using a computer-controlled, sonic vibration, acid etching set-up which removed metal from specific areas in amounts of less than one ten thousandth. All this time, no matter what his title (machinist through Chief/Mechnical R&D), when asked he would reply "I am a machinist", no frills or additional "tags". His highest compliment to the work done by anyone, trainee or old-timer, was "That's pretty", which covered everything that was supposed to be present in the finished work. His most condemning statement, about anybody, in the shop or not, was "He ain't no damn machinist".

Ron, it is very clear to me that you know your shop people

 

[Bill Martino]

And to me.

Yvsa made the comment that shop people are the same all over the world and he's dead right.