Secrets of the Khukuri Handle (With pics!)

Subj: failed khukuri
Date: 10/17/2004 11:29:29 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: HIMIMP
To: birgorkha@enet.com.np
File: disassembledkhuk.ZIP (229148 bytes) DL Time (TCP/IP): < 1 minute



Here are some picctures of a khukuri that failed. It is marked with Bura's mark but I do not believe he made this khukuri. He would not make such a poor khukuri.

This failure has hurt our business, especially with the pictures being posted on our forum for everybody in the world to see. If this kind of thing continues we will be run out of business. Much more care needs to be taken in matters like this in BirGorkha.

I want you to print these pictures and post them on the shop bulletin board for all to see. Tell the kamis if they resort to tricks like this that we will soon have no work for them and then they can work in some other shop for a dollar a day.

This kind of stuff makes me very angry and should never happen.

Alert Pradeep, Pala, and all the senior kamis to be on the watch for such lowdown tricks. I am quite ashamed of this.

Bena
 
ddean said:
...! Or, chiropracters...
they used to do full-size back x-rays.
Click to expand...

Hmm...I know a Chiro. I'll check with him to see if we could do one. I've got um... a few. If I can get it done, I'll post the info with a link to the images. :cool:
 
impressive responce from HI, but then Hi understands the meaning of quality...
 
I bought a cheapo kukri awhile back and was curious if the tang went all the way through to the buttcap, so I checked for electrical continuity with my multimeter. I was pleased to find that the blade was electrically connected to the buttcap (no electrical resistance!). This test still won't tell how beefy the tang is, though.

Geoffrey
 
Shame about that kukri, very decitfull, I would be pissed at that one.

Partial tang= Fine.
Pretending its full= innaprpriate con.

But top response from Uncle Bill. {as always.}

Pity some defects can only be found by destroying the kukri.{ or tecnology not easily available in Nepal.}

Spiral
 
Here's a little info I got from Gelbu regarding this matter. I'm going to print as received with translation notes in parenthesis.
====================================================

It is so sad when Birgorkha produces such poor quality khukuris. Didi (Yangdu) what I guess
about this failure is that Kamis helper cheated us and did this. When ever there is anything
wrong in khukuris then we don't pay them. They hide (hid) this mistakes (mistake) from us and finished
up the khukuri.

Didi as we are dealing wiht (with) kamis (sadly, kamis are very low caste and therefore are expected to lie, cheat and steal) so it is not easy working with them
they always try to hide those failure. When they fixed the handle then we can never abale(are unable to) to
find out those mistakes unless the handle broked out. (handle failed)
I will try to find out the right solution. I will let you more in next mail. Didi I fell(felt) so
shame (ashamed) to see this. I know it is hard to answer the customer when they wants(want) to know the details about
such failure.
Didi I will warned (warn) everybody here, and if we repeat such blander (blunder)mistakes again then we
can loose (lose) our feeding (jobs). I will take care as much as i can.

=====================================================

We will find the culprit and dismiss him. This is tantamount to setting the guy out to starve and it bothers me to do it to anybody but whoever is responsible brought it upon himself. The action was dishonest and this dishonesty put the reputation of HI on the line in a very bad light and this I will not stand for nor will Pala. I can asssure you the action will strike fear into the hearts of the kamis and I'm reasonably certain we will never see anything like this happen again.
 
Wow... I'm really amazed at the response, I never expected to cause this much discussion. It really shows how committed to quality UB and HI are. I'll still feel bad if some kami apprentice gets fired because of this, though.

Geoffrey, that's a very clever idea, checking for conductivity to see if the tang goes all the way through. I tested the Chainpuri I got as replacement for this broken khuk and it does have, as expected, a full hidden tang. I didn't bother to test my Chiruwa AK...

(The Chainpuri is absolutely beautiful by the way, I really love the sheath style, the sheath looks almost diamond-shaped in cross section, with a ridge running down the middle)

That's all the khuks that I have... does anyone care to give me a few free ones so I can test them out?
 
I think that was a swift and just action, Uncle Bill. It kinda bites that the trickster has to lose his shirt over his mistake, but you have to sleep in the bed you make. I look at this as if someone at my office was skimming petty cash, not ringing things up and taking the cash, or charging items to the business account. Anyone of those things is an automatic "Hand in your keys. Good luck. Goodbye." at my place. If they do it once, they'll usually do it twice. Part of me would like to know if any of my khuks are constructed in such a manner, but part of me just doesn't seem to care. These things are obviously going to outlive me. I chopped up four HUGE tree limbs with my 22" GRS just yesterday. I have a hard time imagining that it would ever break even if it was constructed with a partial tang.
I see no cause for alarm with any of my khuks. If i were going to be in a survival situation, then i would simply take with me a chiruwa khuk or one that i had beaten the hell out of. I figure that even if it is partial tang and i don't know it, then i'll be dead from the elements long before i have the strength to break it. KM and JS, thanks for posting those pics in such a manner as you did. Very class act. Informative and polite. I've seen more than enough post of someone that bought a khuk and broke it, then rhey'd raise nine kinds of hell about it in a post instead of contacting Uncle Bill or posting the statement in a polite manner on the forums. More guys should be like you fellas.

Jake
 
Geoffrey Raiser said:
was curious if the tang went all the way through to the buttcap, so I checked for electrical continuity with my multimeter
Click to expand...
Smacks self in head, hard.
Picks self up off floor.
"Why hadn't I thought of that,
I've got one sitting right here!"
:rolleyes:

~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>call me 'Dean' :)-FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-TWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links--A--T--H--D
 
Bill Martino said:
from Gelbu
"... what I guess about this failure is that Kamis helper cheated us and did this. When ever there is anything wrong in khukuris then we don't pay them. They hide (hid) this mistakes (mistake) from us and finished up the khukuri. ........ "
Click to expand...
What I'm wondering
is about the organization of production
that this would be unobserved in the doing.
Maybe everyone is so absorbed in their own efforts
that they pay no attention to the person beside them?
Any case, a good demonstration of excellent management response.

~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>call me 'Dean' :)-FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-TWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links--A--T--H--D
 
Make sure that Laha isn't conductive first, but then yeah, i'll be hitting my head right after you, as hadn't thought of that myself.
 
Hi!

I don't believe that Laha conducts electricity because the bolster seems to be insulated from the blade on the khukuri I tested.

Geoffrey
 
duh...


Geoffrey just invented the wheel.

OF COURSE that would work!

howcome you tool-users never thought of that?

Nice, Geoffrey.

Shame, the rest of you. We artists depend on tool-users. Do pennance.





Kis
enjoy every sandwich
 
This is the first time I've seen a tang botched like this since BirGorkha made its first khukuri and I'm almost certain it will be the last time.

We'll find out who did this and will fire them. I'm hoping with all my heart that Bura didn't decide one day at closing time when he was tired, worn out and disgusted that "what the hell. Nobody will ever know. I'll fix it up and get paid for the knife.". Because if Bura is guilty of this major infraction he'll have to go and this will break my heart.

Heart will be broken first because of the betrayal. We have done more for Bura and his family than any kami. If you recall when we thought he had a brain cancer Pala took Bura into his own home to care for him properly and thanks to the wonderful generosity of the forumites we were able to cover all Bura's medical expenses and still do. To repay such kindness by putting out a hokey khukuri is one of the worst forms of betrayal.

Second reason my heart will break is because I know what Bura and his family will be facing outside BirGorkha. Kiss goodbye to the medical benefits. Kiss goodbye to the Manakamana bonus equal to a month's salary and other's like this one. Kiss goodbye to the Dasein bonus which Bura will get tomorrow -- maybe! Kiss goodbye to the scholarship fund for 2 or 3 kids. And look forward to trying to make it on maybe a dollar a day working at another shop. Bura and his family will be next to starvation if he has to go.

This all makes me feel so damned bad I'm looking for another form of punishment that will be effective and teach the needed lesson but I have not found one so far.

Any suggestions to save Bura if he needs it which I'm hoping he won't -- and to save my heart? I've worked for some of the biggest and the best, Boeing, Lockheed, Caterpillar, Cessna, and others, and fully understand from personal experience what it takes to run a business well. And, I have compassion for others that the Buddha recommends. Sometimes the two don't mix at all and this is where life gets very, very difficult for me.
 
I don't know Uncle Bill. I could maybe offer a suggestion or two if this happened here, but I don't know enough about the culture differences to say how this should be handled. I think you will need to pray for guidance in this one. Hopefully Bura won't be involved at all.
 
Uncle Bill, we ran into something like this a couple months ago at my office. I had an employee that was very good with the customers, knew his stuff, and could be trusted enough to handle the store when i went on an appointment or estimate or just took the day off. However, we found that he had charged $13.46 to the company charge at the gas station across the street. We were in quite the pickle with this one. On one hand, the guy had been a great assest to the company and had helped us bring in 1000s of dollars. On the other, he had stolen and did not fess up until we confronted him. Even then it was the same ol' song "I was gonna pay it back, but i kept forgetting." Finally, came up with the punishment that he pay the money back and that he was to take a week off without pay. He has a lot of bills and smokes (you smokers know how expensive that can be) so a week off from his hourly wage job really put a hurting on him. It didn't sink him, but he knew that we mean business even if it is only 13 dollars. It worked out well. He learned his lesson and knew that if he ever pulled that stunt again for any amount that he would be gone. period. We were able to keep a valuable employee on for the rest of the season without too much headache for the company (mainly me having to do everything).
I'd say that if it was just an assistant that tried to pull a fast one, then can him and let him pay for his crime. He's probably a young enough guy to learn and find work again. Bura has proven himself time and time again to be the best at what he does. I think some forced time off (if it is indeed Bura who made the bogus blade) would do two things. First, it would punish him for his mistakes without losing him to another shop or starvation. Second, it would show the other kamis lower on the totem pole that if the Royal Kami can be punished for shoddy work, then what would happen to them if they ever tried to pulled a fast one. Do what you think is fair, Uncle Bill. You are wise enough to know what is just.

Jake
 
Bill Martino said:
This all makes me feel so damned bad I'm looking for another form of punishment that will be effective and teach the needed lesson but I have not found one so far.

Any suggestions .
Click to expand...
Maybe instead of firing,
a suspension for a 'reasonable' period of time.
Long enough to get the point across firmly.
Maybe include that he be shunned for the duration.

Shame? :
"there existeth in man a faculty which deterreth him from, and guardeth him against, whatever is unworthy and unseemly, and which is known as his sense of shame. This, however, is confined to but a few; all have not possessed and do not possess it."----Baha'u'llah

Glad it's not my decision to make,
whoever it is.

~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>call me 'Dean' :)-FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-TWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <>Baha'i Prayers Links--A--T--H--D
 
I'm sure no one at BirGhorka would even think of pulling off the stunt again. He would also be obliged to listen to your request of producing only khukuris with non habaki like bolsters and no cho creep! :rolleyes: :D
 
Good point, Dan. Maybe the kamis will perk up their ears a bit if they know they are being watch carefully. i wouldn't count on it, though. Besides, I'm sure this was a fluke thing. Part of the HI charm is the fact that you have shop of bladesmiths pounding away like they have done for generations, then handing them a new design to copy to the best of their abilites. the results are interesting to say the least. This will all work out. All Uncle Bill has to do is be firm and crack the whip. Its not easy being a boss, but I know things will be handled in such a way that the company will not be ruined nor will anyone be destroyed that didn't have it coming.

Jake
 
What is hard for me to understand is "why?" Hi produces some khukuris with stub tang -- no butt plate. This could have been such a khukuri. Why go to the effort to fake a full-length tang? More pay? :confused:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top