Secrets of the Khukuri Handle (With pics!)

Bura's the one guy that didn't do it- his name is on it! HE's the last one that wants a knife to fail and him look bad... Possibly a helper salvaged this one from a reject pile....

When they find the guilty, punish him by assigning him to work ONLY on the new sub-Kagas Katne khuk for Gurka G.I. Joe... That would drive anybody mad... trying to hammer out red-hot tiny blades...

AA :D
 
I would think that being suspended and having to admit to being the one that risked everyone elses rice bowl would be a pretty stiff penalty.

The good thing, at least to me, is that this doesn't really endanger what is HI's real source of fame.

No one hand-makes a perfect tool. I don't think that it has ever been done on a consistant basis. It is the HI posistion on guarantees, and fair basis of treating customers that makes me come back time and time again. I've dealt with lots of companies and individuals before the UB and Yangdu team soured me on them all, no one has the relations skills they have.
 
Hey Bill,

I'm sorry this happened. While I doubt if it is Bura who is the culprit, let's say for the sake of discussion it was. Now, how to punish HIM and not you.

I'm Irish.

I was raised Catholic.


Try guilt.



"Bura, how could you do this to the dying man who has given us so much? Can you imagine that the pain of this insult is worse than any physical injury? Do you know how Beni will lie awake at night, wanting to look at his life as a good thing, only to think of how someone he trusted betrayed him?

It hurts, Bura. So much hurt...you must make your own punishment."


Trust me.



Kis
enjoy every sandwich
 
I'd be likely to try some form of suspension. Plant the seeds of compassion for the culprit to face up to.
 
Tell the culprit I'm selling indulgences. :rolleyes:

Dunno about the punishment but time out without pay will probably make an employee that won't do something like that again.
 
That was a heck of a khukuri that Bill had to guarentee.



As if the other problems weren't enough.


munk
 
Namaste, Uncle Bill

If Bura did it while suffering from medical problems, make him apprentice to another kami for a month. For someone of his skill, the shame would likely be worse than starvation, yet his family can remain fed.

I agree that no other kami should receive such lenience if you want to maintain your business and reputation.
 
You know, since the tang wasn't long enough for a handle, I wonder if he originally intended to pin it?



munk
 
I don't know how to run a company, so it's "easy" for me to "give suggestions".

First, there is a clear evidence of cheating (i.e. deviating from advertised specs), on the other hand the failure was not due to this.

Second, the knife is signed by Bura, while he is working with helpers.
This should not be a problem if there is
a.) a reliable system of supervision;
b.) clear documentation of who has done what.

In the absence of that, innocent guys might be accused and the guilty ones might escape consequences. Also, friends, relatives of the accused ones might sabotage later the work the ones who got away (justly or not).

So, I think the punishment in this case has to address the prevention of future problems too, not only to retaliate for the mistake done.

I don't know, what are the customs in Nepal, but paying for the non-spec knife AND for the replacement one seems just and plausible for me.
Additional punishment could be not paying Dasein bonus, or at least not the whole bonus.

At second/further case of dishonesty: the responsible one(s) loose(s) his/their job.

Check lists with every knife: the kami and the apprentices check in front of the manager the actual work performed by them, everyone taking responsibility by this. Helps the payment issues too.

Apprentices can be identified by small marks near the kami's mark (dot patterns?) in case their contribution was important to the integrity of the knife.

The conductivity test as mentioned above, performed by the manager or foreman could help the quality control too.
 
As a CMA grad I have to respectfully disagree with letting Bura go. This opinion is based on limited knowledge on the situation so my opinion is up for debate.

Positive and negative reinforcement must be correctly applied to the correct situation. Using one when it is unnecessary or for a incompatible situation is not effective.

When you reward employees on non-performance, such as X-mas time, it can be viewed as an allowance. Depending on the worker, it can be viewed as a gift or something owed to them... but not for anything work specific. Which is why alot of big companies don't do it anymore.

Anyways, I'm not going to write a mgt paper, but the point is how many khukuries has Bura made great vs bad. It should be by no means necessary that this situation should be ignored. But the person responsible should be taken aside and be seriously warned. Continued acts like this demonstrate defiance to the company... these are the blokes that need to be fired.

Once an employee begins to feel that their company is like their parents, than that's where you get trouble. Likewise if an employee feels that the company is a dictatorship.

Kicking Bura out like this has it's consequences. You as mgt must anticipate these consequences.

Great mgt starts with making employees feel good about their contributions but expects continual growth.

-D

(long eh?) ;)
 
No one can credably suggest letting Bura go- that's plain ridiculous. I do think he should be asked about this.


munk
 
If Bura leaves,
then the Royal Kami would likely find work at another factory
& that factory might wave the "Royal Kami" banner
& point out that he left HI.
Not a good business move.

~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>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
 
Too early yet to decide exactly what course of action to take IMO. Throwing out too many hypothetical situations and ideas about what to at this point is just overshadowing what we do know, which isn't much. The only thing I'll say for sure is that I don't think Bura should be let go. It blows my mind to imagine he would do this intentionally based on his prior work. It just doesn't add up. Good luck finding the culprit Uncle Bill, I'm sorry you have to go through something like this now. :(
 
I just wanted to go on record to say that I am not interested in mounting somebody's head on a stick. HI has a small quality control problem and it needs to be addressed. Whether you find and fire the culprit responsible for this particular problem, or not, you may still be exposed to more of the same. Turn this into a witch hunt and burn the wrong person and the problem will only be compounded.

My suggestion would be to talk with the Kamis to make sure they understand the gravity of the problem. Then work with them to put in place some additional safeguards to ensure that these mistakes are identified and corrected before they leave the factory. They know their businesss better then anyone and will probably come up with far wiser suggestions then we can.

We can't do anything about the past; so try to stay positive, and focus on the future. Once you make quality a priority, you may be very surprised and happy with the results.

n2s
 
as far as Bura being responsible, when you sign something just like a contract …you just are. These blades are a form of art and art should be authentic when sold as such. No artist could disagree with the implications that can come out of such a thing.



However to fire him is drastic, I think the replacement was the right thing to do and the fact that they will be watching close is a positive result. I’m sure he got the message and his pride will take it from here.



Just for the record I have over 50 blades made by Bura and am very happy with every one of them.

 
I feel like I have to say something here.

I feel terrible about this. I like the kamis, but with some of the the things they have pulled recently with Uncle Bill, I just dont know. I really feel bad about having something I did on a whim evolve into a starving family a half a world away. If it was an apprentice, he probally should be fired, considering he hasnt proven himself yet and im sure there are dozens of honest boys ready to take his place. If it was Bura, he should be kept, he has done alot to help HI and has gained our respect. He has earned more leeway. Uncle Bill, that pity you feel inside towards Bura is justified.

Also, let me say that I dont think this was a Bura. I never wanted to say anything to KM, but that knife just didnt feel "right". The fullers dont really line up, the brass diamond on the buttplate was way off center, and the handle wasnt really well done. From what I had heard of Bura, I expected a flawless blade. I dont believe he did this. When I got my Kumar WWII, I was happy to find all of the things out of place on his were flawless on mine. That so called "Bura" pice was the worst HI khuk I had ever handled. Every single one he has bought after that have been perfect.

I hope I one day get to hold one of that masters real works.
 
As The Master (and RoadRunner) said: it is a capital mistake to theorize in advance of the facts.

Let's find out who is responsible, and Pala/Bill will act accordingly.

Having said that, we tend to cut each other a LOT of slack when one of us slips up. Shouldn't we do the same for one of the kamis, where it's much more serious? I would be MUCH more inclined to do this for one of the oldtimers (sorry about that), since I feel that they have (probably more than) paid their dues.

Live and let live. After you kick them in the a$$ for screwing up.
 
Many thanks for valuable input and help. Maybe I'm jumping the gun. I'll wait and see who the guilty party is and then worry about it. If it's an apprentice it's easy and problem is solved. If it's Bura then I'll worry.

Scarlett O'hara syndrome.
 
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