Shop 1 Gelbu Special?

Svashtar · Apr 21, 2004

munk said:
Norm,
how much did this gem cost? How are shop one and earlier HI prices holding per original cost, and how do they compare to new prices today?

munk

Munk:

I do have some Shop 1 khuks, but thanks to the info from Kamagong in this thread (that I certainly did not know), it looks as if it must be a Shop 2 khuk. The blade characters are engraved, not stamped, and the buttcap is not scrolled as it is on 3 other Shop 1 khuks I have. And the info he provides about the frogs also makes sense, so thanks to you Kamagong for that info!

I did not know about the distinctions between the different Shop models, and was mentally and incorrectly classifying everything without Kami initials, and the old style bolster as "Shop 1."

The asking price was $180 for this guy, and I don't regret paying it. I think that's about current HI retail for a 21" GS, and although this is a bit shorter at 19", the other extras make up the difference in my opinion.

I'm not sure what the original Shop 1 and Shop 2 khuks sold for, but I would guess that they are selling at a slight premium now, if my experience is any indication. I would guess from 10 to 20% over what similar HI models sell for now (or maybe I'm just a fish and paid too much!) However, those are the prices I see. Remember, at the reasonable prices HI blades are going for, that could be as little as a $10 to $20 premium, which I personally think is fair, given some of the custom work I have seen on the earlier blades as well as their relative scarcity as opposed to current manufacture.

I still want to meet my goal of someday obtaining a sample of everything HI currently offers, but I also have been fortunate in so far finding a few earlier blades which show a nice history of how the art has changed over the past few years.

Thanks,

Norm

Yvsa · Apr 21, 2004

Svashtar said:
Shop 1 Gelbu Special?

I'm pretty sure this was a Shop 1 effort from some time past, and I wouldn't be surprised if Uncle Bill has seen it or something similar before, from what the seller told me.
Regards,

Norm

Sorry Norm, it's a BirGhorka blade.

Svashtar · Apr 21, 2004

Yvsa said:
Sorry Norm, it's a BirGhorka blade.

Hey, works for me, that's why I ended the thread title with a question mark! I was just responding to Munk with the info I got from kamagong, where he said that he didn't think GS's were made until Shop 2.

I know now from his posting the basic differences between Shop 1 and 2, but what are the diffs between BirGhorka and Shop 2?

FYI, this was not represented to me as a Shop 1 blade, I made that incorrect assumption myself. The 3 other khuks I have that were sold to me as Shop 1's do have the scrolled butcaps and other indications kamagong said were Shop 1 specific, so I think I'm safe to state they are authentic.

Please let me know how you are sure it is a BirGhorka as opposed to a Shop 2? All info appreciated.

Regards,

Norm

Yvsa · Apr 21, 2004

Norm the fit and finish And polish is much better than Shop 2. Also I don't think Shop 2 offered the carved handles.

Svashtar · Apr 21, 2004

Yvsa said:
Norm the fit and finish And polish is much better than Shop 2. Also I don't think Shop 2 offered the carved handles.

OK, that explains my mistake then. Both of you are right. It is newer than both Shop 1 and 2. For some reason I assumed that all BirGhorka blades had the Kami initials and newer frog, even though I know that as recently as a few years ago the old style bolster was still common.

The Shop 1's (I think I have) actually have the frog riveted in the back as opposed to being sewn, as well as the scrolled buttcap and other touches. Does that sound familiar?

So much to learn! Thanks for the lesson.

Norm

Yvsa · Apr 21, 2004

Svashtar said:
The Shop 1's (I think I have) actually have the frog riveted in the back as opposed to being sewn, as well as the scrolled buttcap and other touches. Does that sound familiar?

Norm

Yep......

munk · Apr 21, 2004

Yvsa, could you put this in chronological order for me? I thought I had it roughly figured out but now I'm lost again. Bir Ghorka? Please explain, if you would.

thanks,

munk

Svashtar · Apr 21, 2004

Munk, I know what you mean. I was confusing myself as well. It has to be Shop 1, then Shop 2, then BirGhorka which is the current outfit. BirGhorka used to make more custom stuff including carved handles, etc., and for a long time used the old style bolsters and some transitional frogs, but now has evolved to the models we get now. Still BirGhorka though.

I _think_ that's the sequence anyway! Yvsa will straighten us all out...

-Norm

Yvsa · Apr 21, 2004

munk said:
Yvsa, could you put this in chronological order for me? I thought I had it roughly figured out but now I'm lost again. Bir Ghorka? Please explain, if you would.

thanks,

munk

Shop 1- made under license by another shop, so to speak, short version.

Shop 2 - Rough and somewhat crude knives with really good quality, beginning of sewn frogs. Serial numbers stamped. Some stamped with Nepal.

BirGhorka. - Fit and finish perfect, super fine polish, final transitition to the super frog.

munk · Apr 21, 2004

Yvsa- what was the name of the shop that was under contract- shop 1? They are still in business as ?

Does Tora have it's own shop or ?

munk

Yvsa · Apr 21, 2004

munk said:
Yvsa- what was the name of the shop that was under contract- shop 1? They are still in business as ?

Does Tora have it's own shop or ?

munk

I'm not sure Munk. I thought it was Lalit's shop The Khukuri House....

Rusty expounded on this recently in another thread, last couple or three weeks.

I'm not sure what Tora's operation may be. I would've liked to have seen the GK outfit stay in business and I personally think there was other reasons than the one they gave for going out of business the way they did. That's one we'll never know the story on though.

munk · Apr 21, 2004

Well, anyway....

I get a kick out of Norm's collecting. Actually, I'd like to hear from other's who've scored older blades, as I know Raghorn has.

munk

kamagong · Apr 21, 2004

I think part of the confusion here is that there Shop 2 eventually evolved into BirGorkha. But I'm certain that the blade you have is not from Shop 1.

Yvsa's probably right. I guess it was the frog that threw me off. I thought that by the time BirGorkha was up and running HI was already using the superfrogs. I should have been paying more attention to the indicators, namely the fit and finish of the blade itself. But who knows? Maybe it was late Shop 2, early BirGorkha? Makes no difference really. HI has changed a lot in the past five years and I'll be surprised if anybody remembers this stuff in twenty years.

With regards to the prices, I think that some of you will be surprised to find out that a lot of HI's prices are lower than they were five or six years ago. When I first found HI, a 15" AK was $175, BAS was $150. Prices lowered when Pala built Shop 2.