Tora Tora Tora ???

Hi Tora,

Well I would say the Atlana WW1 & WW2 riveted tangs are definatly are useable! the partial tangs, I am not so sure, depends what you hit with them! {just like brand new patial tangs I guess!}

Yes re. the pioneer, thats it 12.75in.blade handle a bit more like a machette, reported as carried by English troops, Thats the one, I cant find photos of any soldiers with it! if I knew the units, maybe I could track the pix down!

Cheers,
Spiral
 
Hello Spiral,
There are pics of british trops troops wearing them, I have not sen them though, however at a guess it would be the Highlanders who have a very close relationship with the Gurkhas and might have been influenced by the Gurkhas, that might be a good place to look. Infact i was with A co 1st GR. last year, who are based with the Highlanders in Edingburgh, and they still have a good and close Regimental relationship

I have questione Ms Gupta of Windlas on these kukri as there never has been a factorey production run of Kukri in Nepal, which is were she claims they came from, she hasn't replied yet though!!?
 
Cheers for your thoughts Tora!

mmmmmmmmmm thats an idea some of the Hussars as well perhaps? or the Burma Regiments even I thought! O well more research!

As for Atlanta I Doubdt if they will answear your e mail! They just want to sell thier stuff!They are well known for not answearing e mails!

most of there WW1 & 2 kukris seem to be Indian, most of there Victorian ones seem to be Nepalese!

Has there realy never been a production line for military Kukris in Nepal?

Spiral
 
Hello Spiral,

Apologies for the spelling in last one, but i was on the way out for dinner with the family!!
You could well be correct about the Burma rifles, who traditionaly had Nepalese in the regiment.
The Nepalese have never had a sophisticated factory production of likes in England or India and certanly nothing like it back in the 1930's, when most of the kukri were produced in India and some in England.
Most of the Kami in Nepal live in their house/flat (which is like a room that all the family live in) and outside they have a bamboo shak which is where they make their kukri.
By the way the largest recorded blade issued to the Gurkhas was 15.5" and that was in the 1890's.
Film time now see you all Tomorrow, Keep Chopping Tora
 
Hi Tora,
Your spelling doesnt bother me! Just look at mine!
Military issue with a 15.5 in blade? wow that sounds good, what sort of style is it? & who records that sort of stuff? Is it the Curator at Winchester?

You obviously have a lot of knowledge & you point out you used Kukris at school & your mum got you one when you were 9 does this all mean you are the son of a Gurkha officer or somesuch?
{I quite understand if you wish to preserve your privacy} I am just curious as to how you learnt all this stuff, obviously you havnt run Tora for 36 years!

Best wishes,
Spiral
 
Thanks about my spelling Spiral,

My father who was in WWII had a few Gurha Officer friends, and also at Boarding School there were ex Gurkha Officers who were my teachers, also one of my friends from that time was the son of the British Actor M.Bates who served witth the Gurkhas in WWII and my careteker was in SAS in WWII and had great knowledge of close quarter fighting, as the others did as they had been there and done it, some of them having used their kukri for real.

So I gained a lot of real knowledge about how to use it for combat and general use, and when i was good enough to form my own style I introduced the kukri into the system, and it went from there.

I am afraid all but one of my fathers friends (including Dad) have now passed away, they were really lovely people that had been through hell itself, and quite insperational to me as a person.

My knowledge on kukri is just through years of studing the Gurkhas and being very privilaged to have many friends in the Gurkhas.

Hope that has been of help, off to work now!! Must win the lottery!!!

Keep Chopping Tora
 
No probs mate, great to talk to people interested in the Gurkhas and their kukri,

All the best Tora
 
Hi Sirupate

Thanks for your part of story ... which I found out quite interesting & informative.

Being an ordinary layman I just like to collect various model of khuks. Some long & heavy eg. about 2 lbs 25" Sirupati. Some light & short eg. few ozs 5" Kagas Katne. Some old fashion eg. Malla, 18th Century Model. Some believe to be military replicas eg. 15" BAS, 18" WW II. I have thick spined khuks i.e. 1/2" as well as thin spined khuks i.e. less than 1/4".

I make use all those khuks for various field purposes by taking into accounts it's individual spects (i.e. length & thickness). The light & thin spined khuks eg. 1.25 lbs 25" Sirupati just suit for cutting grass & small branch. The heavy & thick spined khuks 1.5 lbs 15" AK, 1.75lbs 18" UBE for cutting bigger branch. My 18" Tin Chirra is a beau wall hanger! I guess my less than 1 lbs 15" Sirupati and 12" Dhankuta are good enough for close quarter fight ... untested! It is just as simple as that!

I am now waiting for my new 21" Dui Chirra Berk Special to arrive! While at the same time I am longing to own a 18" hanshee model!

In other words ... short & precise ... I like HI khuks because of quality + variations ... replicas of various old & new models ... genuinely made in Nepal by those Kamis who dedicate their lives just making khuks! Few of my khuks were made by Bura the Royal Kami ... few others were made by Sonu a young experienced Kami etc. One other thing is that all my HI khuks are having life time warranty! BTW ... either the weight, length & spine thickness of my khuks conform with those with the original models is not that important for me as long as I know how to make use and manipulate each of them correctly and effectively! Nepal Ho :D
 
Hello Mohd

I dont like to disapoint you, but kami in Nepal are not dedicated to making kukri, it is a job and it is a job that is pretty much dictated to by their caste system.
It is not a chosen career move like a Japanese Swordsmith which is a highly respected profession in Japan. Kami are of the lowest caste and that in itself brings a different view point to how higher castes in Nepal look at them and their profession.
As for HI kukri I am sure they are very good, but the best Kami live in two seperate districts, and that is were the best kukri are made.
We order our kukri to our spec as does HI and that is fine, it is good that their are two companies trying to promote good quality kukri even if they have different spec. Our military kukri are based on what the Gurkhas actually used and still use, in this respect I am very fortunate to be English and have been brought up alongside former Gurkha Officers and to have friends in both the Gurkhas and the Gorkhas. This has given me a great insight into the Gurkhas and knowledge of blade types used in the Gurkhas at certain periods.
Also as a side benifit about two companies selling kukri is it promotes the Gurkhas and an interest in Nepal, which is also great.
I dont know about the Royal Kami but I will find out, I have many friends in Nepal and i am intrigued about him, sound interesting!!
I am glad you know how to use the different type of kukri you have, but if ever your in England look us up and you will be welcome to one of my seminars on the kukri if you hear when one is on.
Keep promoting kukri and keep chopping Tora
 
Sirupate, I appreciate your input on this forum, but I would also appreciate it if you would refrain from speaking ill of HI blades until you have used them for yourself. They are without exception some of the finest blades I have ever seen or used. It is true that kamis are in the lowest caste in Nepal, and that's sad. While it is a job, there is no doubt in my mind that they take a lot of pride in their work. If they were simply pounding out blades without care the blades wouldn't be so impressive. Pala, the owner of HI, treats them with the same respect as he would anyone of a higher caste. While they may not be respected in their homeland, they have my respect and the respect of Uncle Bill here in the states, as well as many loyal HI customers. HI does not order their khukuris to spec anymore, they are produced in the Birghorka shop. All of this information is available on the HI website if you would care to learn more.
 
Hello Roadrunner,

If you care to read what I have written, I have said that I am sure HI blades are very good, so I think you owe me an apologie!
And I do know about HI blades as I have been supplying a major knife retailer in the UK who used to get their kukri from HI.
Also I know Nepal and its people very well, and the vaste majority of kami do just churn out kukri. On the other hand if you go to the better kami and offer them more money to produce a beeter quality kukri that is what will happen, however there are not that many kami who can do that.
About the caste system, although it is not as distinct as it was, it is still very much a part of Nepali life, but having said that there is a much thinner line in terms of relationship between the Vaishya and Sudra caste than there would be between the Ksatriya and Sudra caste, were you can from the tone in the conversation who is who.
In England the caste system breaks down quite a bit in the Nepali community, except in the Gurkhas were it is still very evident.
You must remeber that Nepal is very much a third world country and that the average wage is only £180.00 a year ($288.00), so you are generally not going to get dedicated kami in the same way as you would get a dedicated Japanese Swordsmith!!
However once again I will re-iterate what I said before, and that is it is good that there are two companies promoting kukri, although different designs, and that this in turn promotes the Gurkhas and Nepal!! Now how is that slating HI!!!!!!!!!!
 
Hello Cliff,

Not sure how you would do it to be honest, is it long enough to be riveted?
One other problem with short tangs is the stress that it puts on the handle, the handle has been known to snap were the tang ends.

Best of luck and Keep Chopping Tora
 
Cliff, the AC blades are pretty stout - thinnest I have so far is 11/32". Bhojpure is 7/8". Plenty of tang to pin.
 
Sirupate:

You've posted over 30 times now, almost all of them on this forum - which is indeed the HIMALAYAN IMPORTS FORUM .

Himalayan Imports is owned by Kami Sherpa and run by family. He is over 80 years old, and his son Gelbu is assuming more of the load of the business.

One of his daughters, Yandu, is married to Bill Martino. Bill himself is ill, and has gone back home to seek medical care beyond that available in Reno.

The night he arrived back home his father had a heart attack at age 90. The latest we've heard is that in the last week Bill is finally getting around to having the needed medical workup on himself done, but it remains ongoing.

Wife Yangdu and brother-in-law Samten Lama (married to Yangdu's sister) are trying to keep things going despite a lack of experience on the computer.

I've been courteous to now. I'd appreciate your courtesy in return.

Feel free to post your webpage when it gets put up on here. In the meantime, feel free to post your e-mail address also.

Feel free to continue posting on other forums - like on the Blade Discussion Forum here at Bladeforums, or elsewhere such as on Knifeforums, or the Usual Suspect Net. Put up a bbs or forum on your own site for that matter.

At this point, I am uncomfortable allowing you to continue posts on the HI Forum. Until Uncle Bill returns, and is able to make decisions without having family and health matters interfering , I'm going to ask that you post your email, ( and website when it gets up )and then post elsewhere.

I'm not saying anything about you, simply that this is the HI Forum and you are to some extent a competitor. Thank you for your consideration.
 
Too bad. I thought a lot of the info he was putting out was interesting, but I understand. Shame there is no non affiliated Khukuri forum. I guess Ramanon is, but it isn't used much. This pretty much is THE khukuri forum where the most people with the most info seem to congregate, but shame there isn't a non affiliated forum where situations such as the above won't happen.
 
My turn,
Apologise to Sirup!!WHY???He uses HI to promote his products,compares HI neg. to his(read his posts),gives info that is BS!!Example Gurks. perfer Sirup.! Bill has already posted in the past who carries Sirup.! In all the looking I have done,I was able to find only "ONE" pic of a Gurk. carring a Sirup. & he was a MERK.!! As stated,I'll ask any info I require on K's from JP,NOT SIRUP.! These are "my"views!Will "not"give this guy ANY of my bus.nor time!
THE SAINT!:cool:
 
Well, since it has been said by someone much more imoportant then I, I will have to agree with Rusty and Kukri4302. Post knowledge and information not sales pitches.
 
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