Question about Bura

E

ernesto

Joined
Feb 1, 2004
Messages
49
Can anyone tell me the quality,hardness, consistency etc. of Buras' work during the late 90's ? I know he is the Royal Kami but from reading the forum it seems during different periods there has been somewhat of a QC problem. Did the Maoist uprising have a bearing on production output & quality? I may be way offbase here but if I am someone will correct me. I'm sure. No disrespect or badmouthing intended. I'm a newcomer & have been quite satisfied with all my HI purchases.
 
I don't have any 90's but I have 3 by Bura from the last couple of years. I think he puts the best edge profile of any kami for cutting. On the other hand it seems like the tempering is not the best. The sweet spot is too small. I have a Ganga Ram Special and an AK bowie that had some bending. I have never had a problem with any other blades bending except Buras, but on the other hand the other ones also have a thicker steeper edge, which would be less likely to bend when you hit really hard wood.

On mine I managed to sharpen the edge back past the thin soft spots and on the bowie I have had no more bending. On the Ganga ram the edge still bends when you hit hard stuff some, but it doesn't bend big time like it used to when it had the original edge.

The other good thing I like about Bura is most of his knives don't take much work on my part to sharpen. Some of the others I have had to spend hours getting a good working edge on.
 
I agree with HD. I really like the the profile of Bura's blades. However, i have had some edge trouble in the past with his thinner ones. I don't believe they were made in the 90's, though. What he lacks in edge toughness he makes up for in ease of sharpening. I just received my new AK bowie by him and it was as dull as the proverbial backside of a butterknife. just a few minutes with some stones, a butchers steel, and a chakma and it was up to razor sharp. I had no idea it would get that sharp that fast. I have the bandaid to prove it:)
 
Bura's stroke took away some of the excellence that was his trademark. He has had to use helpers since the stroke, something he had never done before, and I suspect he is not able to watch everybody 100% of the time. He is still probably the best kami in Nepal but, like me, he can't do the job today as he once did. Simply a sad fact of life.
 
I wasn't here in the 90's, but was here pre-stroke. As Bill says, there are changes. I have noticed though that most of these have disapeared, and Bura is nearly or is the same. This is my opinion. It cannot be empircal- (i"m having a damn hard time spelling this AM) any more than say Hollow's, who has been here less time, and with any of us having only a few samples or reports to work with.

Are the reports listed here what we go by?
How many blades sold are actually used hard?
How many blades don't we hear about that do fine?
Among the hard users, how to compare?

I think Bura's edges are fine. I have noticed just the opposite of what was said in previous posts, namely, that he tempers the edge very hard and consistent and the sweet spot is large. His edges tend to be straight cuts- maybe saber cuts someone once opined, and are not like Sher's almost convex edge.

When the Kamis went very thin two years ago there were edge failures. Bura had some of these. Big deal. So did Kesar and Sanu.

I have a Bura Movie model made less than one year ago and it is outstanding. Period. Hard edge- harder than Kesar's ever were, and a sweet spot that does not end. I have a Sanu too soft on the end. Remember- there is a reason for a 'sweet spot'. Kumar's edges seem almost to go from a couple inches from tip to nearly the curve near the bolster- that's fine, but is not without it's own hazards.

Summing it up- I would buy a Bura in a heart beat. I've always liked Sher and Kumar, but you don't have to twist my arm to appreciate what is still the best- the Old Man.

munk
 
I think what Munk said was very true.

We don't really know how many of Bura's have bent versus anybody else, and like he said all of mine are recent. Also I would have to say if I had used mine to cut only green or downed wood they probably wouldn't have bent. The main bending I have encountered is on dried well cured wood. Like a tree that is blown down and dries.

Plus the 2 out of 3 I have by Bura that are soft are maybe not representative of all sold.

I remember Pen said that he had a couple Ganga Ram's that failed, but I couldn't find the thread to see who made them.

In a thread dated 9/4/03 SkagSig40 mentioned cracks in his cho, but he didn't mention who made them. In the same thread Skeletor mentions a Bura Chiruwa AK he had that the blade broke and Tohachi NM also mentions a Bura Chiurwa AK that broke.

In a thread 2/04 MRoss mentions a broken blade but he says it wasn't Bura.

A thread 4/08/04 mentions the Bura AK with the bend in the blade that Logan had for sale, I think that Semper Fi got that one.

A Jan 04 thread by Truck mentions snapping a tang but doesn't mention the maker.

10/03 Yvsa mentions a rolled edge on a Fox Folly (not Bura)

7/23/03 Eikervearing mentions breaking a khuk in 2 (Bura) and in the same thread Raghorn mentions breaking a 20" AK but doesn't mention the maker.

Those are the only references I could find regarding blade failure.
 
I broke a Bura Blade, and the Bura blade Bill sent to replace it broke too. How's that? I used to keep the small peice of metal on my computer but threw it away about a year ago. The Bura Blade Bill sent as a replacement was a bit of a heart breaker because it was a finger grooved Chiruwa AK.

I also dented a Kesar. All during the Maoist uprising. Haven't broke one since. The test I used on the Tora was invented for Bill's blades, None have failed since the Spring of 2002. I have wailed the holy terror out of Bill's blades from all the Kamis. Very sappy hard pine, too. None have failed. A Sanu edge nearer the tip did roll.

I think Hollow is right about Sher's edges. They are more failsafe. I think Bura is the King of a thin blade that works, though I've noticed many Kumars since that are close. Kumar seems to switch between a relatively thin edge and the almost convex one of his brother Sher.

Another thing- Bura used to be known for the hardest edges of all- 60 to 62 R. That's hard to sharpen for a Klutz like me. I couldn't say if he's toned that down, as my recent Bura's are still pretty hard.

Bill stopped listing R hardness. He used to.

I'd like to know what metal the Kamis are getting nowadays. This might change what is happening too.
You know, I always liked Sher because his blades were tough. I dont know about better- certainly not as good looking most of the time. But I liked Kesar's too- and he had a very small sweet spot. But Kesar made his blades to use. If you used the blade as it wanted to be used and held, his blades held too.

I know from talking to Hollowdweller he uses his blades. If there's a weak one in his possession, sooner or later it will fail.

I am sorry for the horn cracks recently. That never happened before this- never in so many. It used to be a fairly uneventful uncommon experience having to do more with lack of conditioning than anything.

munk
 
I think the Swastika kami's are good, and like you say Sher, but despite the bending I think Bura's chop the best for me, you know, take out more per chop. The others are slightly more durable but the fatter edge doesnt' chop as deep.
 
With all this talk of the Royal Kami Bura, Ive just looked to try & find old posts that illustrate the work hes done for the Nepalese Royal family, But cant find any, Has anyone got photos of that work?, I am sure all us newer members who havent been here for 6 or more years would love to see examples of that work, I know I would! Or was this earlier work all hush hush, perhaps?

Cheers,
Spiral
 
I looked back at the thread I created when my Chiruwa broke and I said I thought it had a trident on it. Looking at the Kami marks I think this means Murali or Shanker made it.
 
Skeletor said:
I looked back at the thread I created when my Chiruwa broke and I said I thought it had a trident on it. Looking at the Kami marks I think this means Murali or Shanker made it.
Click to expand...


Sorry, this was the one I was looking at:

"I know of three cho failures, one was a GS I saw not too long ago. The other two, one of which was mine, were Chiruwa AKs. Bill figured that the full tang threw off the hardening process or something like that. I think mine was by Bura, and the other by a newer guy. The cho looked fine, probably lots of microscopic cracks though, and the first solid target broke the AK. Now take into consideration that this is three kukris out of how many that have been sold? Besides, worst case scenario is the knife brakes and it gets replaced, in my case it was replaced two fold!"
 
When you've got 3 wives, your chances of going to work p.o.'d and distracted are much higher than for most guys :D
 
Two years ago we talked about Bura making a blade (s?) for the Emperor of Nepal. Somewhat after, Bill talked about it briefly, saying he guessed that made HI the Royal Shop, or some such thing. I don't recall ever seeing pictures of what Bura made.



munk
 
Thanks Hollowdweller. I remember Bill saying one of the Chiruwas was by Bura and the other a new guy. Thinking mine may have been the Bura was a random notion created well after the fact, my mistake.
 
Sheesh, skeletor, when i got my 25" AK I thought it was by the Whizz Kid. I even wrote it up as such. Later I looked more carefully and realized it was Sanu's mark.



munk
 
My Whiz Kid AK probably has the hardest blade I got. Still I like Bura's edges the best. What was it Thomas Linton said about an axe's "angle of attack"? I guess that's what I like about Bura's.
 
You're right about deep cutting. But for instance, it takes smash power to delimb. My 25 AK cuts too deep. It sticks. That's the other side of the coin.

I finally got an Amtrack kami sample. I've no Whizz Kid.


munk
 
My Bura WWII's blade bent today. Not extreme but there is a bit of curvature to the sweetspot. I had a wooden gate replaced and use it to test out my WWII. The wood was old and dry and about 1 1/2" thick(two pieces of plywood put together). I managed to chop through the top two pieces which took about 60 or so attempts showing no mercy :D. No damage to the edge but slight curvature was present along the top half of the blade(edge only, spine is still straight).
 
That does not sound like the Bura we know.

First horn, now Bura. What else is going to break around here!!!? Hopefully, with Bill's health improving and a new co moderator, perhaps some QC issues can be addressed.

I really don't like to hear this. But HI has been resilient in the past when problems developed. There haven't been that many problems, and it is somewhat shocking to me.

Hollow- I did tell you my last two horns cracked, didn't I?


munk
 
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