Ever since childhood I've been fascinated by the shape and history of the khukuri. This interest sparked anew this November, when my parents returned from a trip to India and Nepal, not only with sad depictions of poverty and despair, but also with a genuine, bona-fide khukuri. This khukuri had "Gorkha Army" engraved on its spine, along with a four digit serial number, and seemed to be of decent quality. My father told me that I could have it, but I just couldn't take it. He has always been too generous.
I had to have one for myself. I started reading through countless pages of countless sites, trying to sort the good from the bad. It felt like I was searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack, as the asian online marked often appears dodgy at best. And the HI site didn't grab my attention initially, as it's nowhere near as glossy as some of the others. In addition they were, for reasons I'd later come to understand and appreciate, significantly more expensive than the competitors. I've always been a sceptic when it comes to net trade, and this case was no exception.
Then I registered on this forum.
What I found was an intimate, yet open community of immense warmth. As I read I through the threads, the level of politeness, love and mutual respect I saw put a smile on my face, and the smile's still there. Soon thereafter I started reading the story of Bill Martino, the Kamis and Nepal, and it struck me that HI was way more than any common knifeshop. It's a philosophy.
From there things just fell into place, and ended with me placing an order for a 15" Ang Khola and a 15" baby Ganga Ram villager an hour ago. I think what I'm trying to say is: Publicity like this can't be bought with money. The HI-community sold me these khukuris, not the HI-webshop. Thanks to you, I have no doubt that these are the best khukuris in the world. And Yangdu's impeccable service made it happen. It's great to communicate with a human being for a change - the net is usually such a cold place.
In other words: In the future, if someone comes to me for a knife recommendation, I will not only refer them to the shop but to the community. And I do hope both HI and the forum persists, as my sixteen month old son will surely need a decent knife then the time comes.
I had to have one for myself. I started reading through countless pages of countless sites, trying to sort the good from the bad. It felt like I was searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack, as the asian online marked often appears dodgy at best. And the HI site didn't grab my attention initially, as it's nowhere near as glossy as some of the others. In addition they were, for reasons I'd later come to understand and appreciate, significantly more expensive than the competitors. I've always been a sceptic when it comes to net trade, and this case was no exception.
Then I registered on this forum.
What I found was an intimate, yet open community of immense warmth. As I read I through the threads, the level of politeness, love and mutual respect I saw put a smile on my face, and the smile's still there. Soon thereafter I started reading the story of Bill Martino, the Kamis and Nepal, and it struck me that HI was way more than any common knifeshop. It's a philosophy.
From there things just fell into place, and ended with me placing an order for a 15" Ang Khola and a 15" baby Ganga Ram villager an hour ago. I think what I'm trying to say is: Publicity like this can't be bought with money. The HI-community sold me these khukuris, not the HI-webshop. Thanks to you, I have no doubt that these are the best khukuris in the world. And Yangdu's impeccable service made it happen. It's great to communicate with a human being for a change - the net is usually such a cold place.
In other words: In the future, if someone comes to me for a knife recommendation, I will not only refer them to the shop but to the community. And I do hope both HI and the forum persists, as my sixteen month old son will surely need a decent knife then the time comes.
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