Quality question?

M

maxumus88

Joined
Mar 22, 2013
Messages
5
So im kinda new to the kukri knives but have studied them quite a bit the last week or so. I was leaning towards CS Gurkha Kukri but after reading in here i looked more into a real nice traditional kukri bc of blade design and just the over all cool factor of having a blade with such history made by its originators or close, anyways i have several questions. Are the HI and KH knives the top quality i'm looking for bc i know that CS Kuk is gonna be super solid fit and finish right out of the box. Im not real big on the handle shrinking up on the journey over that kinda scares me. I'm scared i'm going to order a knife that more favors a Pakistan blade from the flea market. Also i been leaning to the 12'' chinautee (remote village) plus the mini raw unp trekkerx from KH and i like the 18'' AK from HI but i can get the two from KH plus shipping for same price or near as the AK from HI, is there that much quality difference? How long do you have to wait for these knives, are they already made or do you have to wait for one to be made cause if i cant get on to my door within about 2 weeks that would probably be a deal breaker at atm. Sorry for being so long winded guys :-) Thanks in advance
 
IF you buy a KH house knife then you are basically throwing your money away.... I have one and it is junk. Himalayan Imports reaches a quality that could steel could only dream of. There is just something in a blade being hand crafted. Each blade has character. The traditional handles take some adjusting to but with a little practice they feel great in the hand. Real khukris have a convex grind that is awesome for chopping... This means that you can wood and bone no problem. the Cold Steel ghurka khukri has more of a hollow grind which gives it a more flat profile which is not so good for chopping. Don't even waist your time with KH. Its all garbage. Check the dotd if you want to get your foot in the door at a discounted price. Lets put it this way, I have several cold steel, sog, and ontario knives... I don't think I will ever go back to factory made.
 
KH prices do not include shipping, which takes months and also brings the price more in line with HI. auntie yangdu ships from colorado so fast after you order that it usually arrives in about 3 days after you order if it's a DOTD or in stock. it saves the wait for the shipping from nepal as they are in the USA already. special orders may take longer. quality is top notch for a hand made working knife. here in the UK, customs and paying import taxes and duty adds about two weeks, but it's out of auntie yangdu's control. if you want one from the website, you can ask auntie yangdu if it is in stock before you buy, saving some frustration if it isn't. she usually will have what you want tho.

you must remember tho, they are all individually hand made and forged, not machine made like cold steel's chinese mass produced stock removal ones. each one is slightly different even within the same model. hand made means there may be the occasional variation in fit or finish, none affecting the use. slight imperfections are usually caught by yangdu, and they may be discounted accordingly and appear in the DOTD (deal of the day) threads with the defect noted. these are usually easily correctable. many people like these as it allows some bonding as you fix and personalise the knife to your preference. some DOTD offerings are 'villagers' which are knives made by kami outside of HI to a rougher but good standard, may not be polished, rough woodwork, etc. and are so noted and generally a lot cheaper. HI buys them from known reputable village kami (smiths) to help them feed their families.

if you join the HI family, i doubt you will regret it. most of us wind up buying more. and more. and more.
 
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Welcome:)
As the other's have said, there is no comparison between KH and HI. I had a CS years and years ago made out of very good Carbon V which they can't get anymore. I gave it away after falling in love with HI. It was a nice large knife...but not a real khuk.
As for shipping, you're in my neck of the woods. Usually I get my HIs in 2-3 days as Yangsu ships priority mail out of Reno, NV.
I understand your concerns. A cheap Paki khuks from a flea market put me off khuks for a decade. It wasn't until I found HI that I learned what a real khukuri is. I promise you, your HI will be top notch.

BTW, where is Nancy,KY? I'm pretty familiar with the western, northern, and southern parts, but southeast of Louisville and Newport, I get a little lost:p
 
Awesome guys im sold. lol def going with a HI. I really like the authenticity and sounds like the quality is amazing. Also i dont mind a small imperfection or two at all as i love to tinker with stuff like that. I'm jacked ill let you guys know what i order. Ummm Steely_Gunz Nancy is small town just a mile or two outside of Somerset, KY we are south of Lexington buy about an hr or so.
 
Ahh I figured you were in the Lexington area. Beautiful part of the state, but I rarely get south of Louisville and when I do it's only to the southern central part arojnd Bowling Green.

Once again, welcome to the forum:)
 
Ah I know the Bowling Green Area pretty well, thats where my wife if from. Oh where can i find the DOTD?
 
Just my 2 cents...HI is the only Kuk I'll by, I have 3 knives, 2 for display, a Silver Carved AK, and a Uncle Bill Especial carved, for a friend from Nepal and I presented it to him at his retirement party. I also have a BAS for camping trips and it workes great! Hell, I gave my machete up, which I love. I have an obscene amount of CS knives, I love them all, but there is no comparison between a CS Kuk vs a HI kuk, there is no doubt, that the HI kuk is the real deal. Not taking nothing away from CS, but their CS kuk is garbage, I used it once, and let's just say the blade edge was gone after a few whacks! This was the san mai III steel too. Auntie Yangdu is great, and the knives are top notch. Have no doubt, once it's in your hand, you'll be a fan too. I prefer to have my knives custom made, so it takes 4-6 weeks for my knives to be made in Nepal and shipped, but everyone else is right, if Auntie has it in stock, it'll be at your doorstep in a few days, really, really, fast, companred to other companies.
 
Re handle shrinkage, my oldest was acquired before most of you had ever heard of HI, in 1994.
The horn has shrunk living here in Utah & while I have another horn handled one that's more recent, I wouldn't buy one again.
The wood on the other two HI knives hasn't shrunk a bit. :)

The horn MAY be a longterm issue, may not be.
I've used a couple things to resist shrinkage on that oldest one, has not helped.

This is not a criticism, just an advisory.
Denis
 
markksr said:
DODT (Deal Of The Day) gets posted right here in this forum most days.
Click to expand...

yes, they're usually started as 'Deals for...' by yangdu. if she's got some special deals, she might start them with something more appropriate.

basicly look for anything started by 'yangdu'.

you have to be quick, the sharks circle continuously looking to feed and they are hard to beat. there is a sticky on how to order, which is to email aunty yangdu saying which one you want with all your details, name, address, tel. no., how you are paying, etc. etc. see this linky for the full details. 1st to get their email in wins. i keep missing the baspati. ah, well. one day.
 
DPris said:
Re handle shrinkage, my oldest was acquired before most of you had ever heard of HI, in 1994.
The horn has shrunk living here in Utah & while I have another horn handled one that's more recent, I wouldn't buy one again.
The wood on the other two HI knives hasn't shrunk a bit. :)

The horn MAY be a longterm issue, may not be.
I've used a couple things to resist shrinkage on that oldest one, has not helped.

This is not a criticism, just an advisory.
Denis
Click to expand...

Denis, which two horn handled Khukri's do you have?

The horn handle on my 16.5" WWII that I got 10 years ago has shrunk and made the Butt cap loose. One of these days, I need to sand it smooth with the handle and apply some black JB weld. Thinking that I may also round down the top of the bell while I'm at it. That way, there is no chance of it stinging my palm when using it bare handed.

FYI; No horn handled Khukri has ever failed on me, but a few have shrunk [like my WWII above] and some have cracked. Black JB welt fixes them right up. The 2 wood handled Khukris that I have, have never shrunk. One chipped out after getting banged around in a move, but no shrinking.
 
Heber,
My oldest one was bought from Bill when the operation was still in (I think) California.
As I think back, it was probably closer to '92. We actually spent about half an hour on the phone talking about the knives one day, nice guy.
That one, far as I recall, had no particular model name. This was before all of the model types & names HI shows today. :)

The second one's been here long enough for me to forget which one that is. I have the two hornies, one wood Chiruwa AK, and one wood Bowie-style non-khukri from a while back that I've also forgotten the name of.
I do like the things, but I'm not a dedicated enough fan to follow the models & kamis religiously. :)

Just my own preference, I like the full-tang woodies over the rat-tail hornies. :)

Again, no criticism of other preferences or types.
Denis
 
I wanted a Pen Knife pretty bad and a beauty came on DOTD. It has a horn handle which I had reservations about even before seeing one. It's beautiful but slippery to hang on to. I took some sandpaper to it and that helped but then it looked unfinished. I ended up checkering the horn which worked out quite well. I don't know how it will hold up. The end cap is already slightly loose, just a tad.
Like you I don't offer this as criticism, but I most likely won't go with another horn handle. I liike the blade so much that if I end up having to rehandle the thing, I'll do that rather than give it up. She's a beauty.
I got a Bashpati with a bone handle and I love it, very nice and no issues at all so far.
 
haha you guys are great, i spend more time on this forum now than facebook lol. Im looking for a nice big heavy blade that i can make a rig to carry on my back maybe under my turkey vest or....anyways so i can go in and make a quick blind or hang a tree stand, chop some wood for a fire ect. i'm looking at the 18in Ang Khola with wood grips....that fit the bill? Or is there something you guys see better suited?
 
The AK will do it. Or an ASTK....
maxumus88 said:
haha you guys are great, i spend more time on this forum now than facebook lol. Im looking for a nice big heavy blade that i can make a rig to carry on my back maybe under my turkey vest or....anyways so i can go in and make a quick blind or hang a tree stand, chop some wood for a fire ect. i'm looking at the 18in Ang Khola with wood grips....that fit the bill? Or is there something you guys see better suited?
Click to expand...
 
Heber,
Judging from the photo of the mini for sale, my non-khukri is a Chitlangi Bowie.
Been so long I couldn't recall the model.
Impressive. :)
Denis
 
DPris said:
Re handle shrinkage, my oldest was acquired before most of you had ever heard of HI, in 1994.
The horn has shrunk living here in Utah & while I have another horn handled one that's more recent, I wouldn't buy one again.
The wood on the other two HI knives hasn't shrunk a bit. :)

The horn MAY be a longterm issue, may not be.
I've used a couple things to resist shrinkage on that oldest one, has not helped.

This is not a criticism, just an advisory.
Denis
Click to expand...

Wyoming is also a dryer state - I have several Randall, Puma and custom knives that I have to stay on top of as well as the HI knives. As part of the maintenance routine I use Ballistol as a cleaner and preservative on the knives and sheaths. Disclosure - I am bias towards Ballistol as I have used and sold it as part of my stores inventory since mid 90's. I supplement the Ballistol with other products. I soak handles for a week or so when I get one and let the horn suck up some refreshments. Typically they will expand just a bit and if loose tighten up a bit. You have to allow for them to bleed of some of the oil over the next months and when you store them wrap in a rag or something you don't mind the oil bleeding out on until they stabalize. I don't stay from horn but know if I buy some it will take more care.
 
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