kamagong
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2001
- Messages
- 10,937
Here's a knife that I don't use all that often. I got this back in May or June 2000. It's the first Baby Ganga Ram Special (or BGRS) that Uncle Bill offered for sale. She spent several years on the HI website as the exemplar of the BGRS model. I wish I could share stories about the adventures she and I have enjoyed, traveling the world together. Unfortunately she has had a more mundane existence. This beauty spends her days in my car underneath my seat, ready to go should I need her services.
Some might consider it wasteful to use such a wonderful knife for car duty. After all this piece comes from what I consider the golden age of Himalayan Imports. This was right when BirGorkha opened, shortly after HI stopped stamping "MADE IN NEPAL" on its knives and instead switched to taped pieces of paper to indicate country of origin. Bura was at the height of his powers then, and as the Royal Kami made khukuris that were second to none. As you can see this particular specimen does not have any of the "improvements" that the kamis added to later HI knives. There is no habaki bolster and minimal cho creep.
The handle on this one is as close to perfect as they come. Crafted from nicely grained saatisal, I gave this knife the Walosi Tru-Oil treatment as soon as I got it. It has the ideal egg-shaped cross section and is just the right length as it was made before the kamis got it into their heads that Americans have Yeti-sized hands. She hasn't had the slightest hint of a crack in all the years she's spent in my cars, a testament to the durability of well-seasoned wood.
The blade came with a satin finish. While not as pretty as the later "magic stone" finish, I actually like it better for working knives. The best part is that it came with very simple markings, just the engraved initials for H.I. in Devanagari. I vastly prefer this to the markings that come on HI's wares nowadays.
I just oiled the BGRS and returned her back to her place of honor in my car. While I don't doubt that she would be more monetarily valuable today had I kept her in mint condition, I've always felt that this particular khukuri's true worth is as a trusted tool, sharpened up and made to work.
Some might consider it wasteful to use such a wonderful knife for car duty. After all this piece comes from what I consider the golden age of Himalayan Imports. This was right when BirGorkha opened, shortly after HI stopped stamping "MADE IN NEPAL" on its knives and instead switched to taped pieces of paper to indicate country of origin. Bura was at the height of his powers then, and as the Royal Kami made khukuris that were second to none. As you can see this particular specimen does not have any of the "improvements" that the kamis added to later HI knives. There is no habaki bolster and minimal cho creep.
The handle on this one is as close to perfect as they come. Crafted from nicely grained saatisal, I gave this knife the Walosi Tru-Oil treatment as soon as I got it. It has the ideal egg-shaped cross section and is just the right length as it was made before the kamis got it into their heads that Americans have Yeti-sized hands. She hasn't had the slightest hint of a crack in all the years she's spent in my cars, a testament to the durability of well-seasoned wood.
The blade came with a satin finish. While not as pretty as the later "magic stone" finish, I actually like it better for working knives. The best part is that it came with very simple markings, just the engraved initials for H.I. in Devanagari. I vastly prefer this to the markings that come on HI's wares nowadays.
I just oiled the BGRS and returned her back to her place of honor in my car. While I don't doubt that she would be more monetarily valuable today had I kept her in mint condition, I've always felt that this particular khukuri's true worth is as a trusted tool, sharpened up and made to work.
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