UBDOTD -- Ganga Ram by Bura. Special Labor Day Weekend deal.

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
Messages
34,096
You have all seen the pix so no need to post and those who attended the convention have seen this knife in person. It is the one I rated better than Ganga himself could do it -- and met with criticism for saying that!

It is 21 inches and 3 pounds of beautiful steel as only Bura can do it. Fit near perfect, finish magic stone mirror, hardness about 60 Rc in chopping area. Good karda and chakma. Good scabbard but not made by sarki with no name, and 50 year Hi superfrog.

This weekend only we will deliver this beautiful beast to your door for $150.

Call or email if interested.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)
 
Excellent! I don't know how I would possibly pay for it but I'm sorry I wasn't here first! Good catch buoy! Those are just beautiful.

Gregg
 
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The GRS's made by Bura that I have are the only khukuri's I have that will connect with where I am aiming time after time.
One of these days I am gonna have to have a baby one if the Yvsa Cherokee Special doesn't perform as well.

I think Howard mentioned much the same thing when he got his Original GRS. If I hadn't of had 2 by Bura I would have taken that one home Friday Night before the Wallaces' got there.
biggrin.gif

And the baggage guys and gals at the airport would have been fileing Workers Compensation for a hernia from lifting the Really Heavy Suitcase with God(s) only knowing what was in there.
I wonder if anyone has ever shipped a tank in a suitcase?
biggrin.gif
(VBESEG)



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>>>>---¥vsa---->®

"There's no trick in being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you."

...............Will Rogers......

Khukuri FAQ
 
Nope, but one time a friend picked up my suitcase and asked " Jeeze, what have you got in this thing, lead?" Then he looked at me and went "Oh!". ( He's the one who used to cast his own bullets ).
 
Bill,

Oh, not so, Good Sir! There was no criticism, at least from my part, and if you infered such, I'm sorry.

My contention was that both blades were well made and that Bura's was technically the better knife, certainly the better finished. Ganga Ram's on the other hand had some design refinements (not finish refinements) that were lacking in Bura's knife.

Lest anyone here doesn't understand what this is all about, I'll explain: Ganga Ram is in his 80's and has been making Khukuries longer than Bura is old. During that time he probably hasn't made more than a half dozen different styles, so that over time certain refinements of those styles crept into his work, that became uniquely his.

Bura may never be able to have such subtle nuances become part of his work, because he is expected to make such a variety of different styles and variations of those styles, not to memtion custom ordered blades.

So the thing that both Howard and I saw and felt in THAT particular knife (GRS) had nothing to do with any other knife nor did the comparison with that particular Bura made GRS Khukuri reflect badly on his work or any other work that he has done, including any other GRS's that he has made or will make. Howard's and my assessments were purely subjective and our's alone. Bill's opinion wasn't at all wrong when he stated that the Bura made was the better GRS. THEY were just DIFFERENT. [all word caps were for emphasis...I wasn't yelling]
Dan
 
Yeah! What Dan said.

The differences I remember was that Bura's was slightly heavier. The distal taper started further back on Ganga's, giving the knife less weight forward and a reduced moment of inertia about an axis perpendicular to and through the handle. I don't think Bura's had carving on the handle either, but I'm not sure about that. (Maybe too much khukuri rum.)

Both were fine knives. Ganga's fit me.

It's kind of like a pair of boots.
 
And, there we have it straight from the experts and many thanks.

I think there were a couple who felt I might be betraying Ganga by stating that Bura made the better GRS but that is the truth of the matter. I felt that defending Ganga was entirely appropriate and perhaps I confused that with a better knife.

The major difference I thought was Ganga made one GRS and Bura made the other.

I had a customer who was extremely happy with his Ganga until I told him it had been made by Bura. When he found out it was not made by Ganga he returned the knife and traded for other khukuris.

But how many Randall's are made by a Randall?

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)
 
As an owner of each (an original made by Ganga Ram and one made by Bura) I consider them both to be great khuks -- masterpieces of the kamis' art. However, IMHO, the khuk made by the old master has far more spirit than the other, and has a uniqueness all its own -- virtually everything about it sets it apart from the work of any other kami. I thoroughly like my Bura-made Ganga Ram, but, in all honesty, if the opportunity arose, I'd trade it in a heartbeat for another original Ganga Ram. In fact, after receiving my first, original Ganga Ram Special, I was so impressed that I immediately ordered another. Unfortunately, at just about that time the old kami was no longer working, so I was out of luck.

[This message has been edited by Steven F (edited 09-03-2000).]
 
Thanks, Steven, for input.

Some of our models carry names of the designer like the GRS, Kumar Kobra and Karda but these models are made by any kami in the shop unless a special order is placed asking that a particular blade be made by a particular kami. Many only want a karda or kobra made by Kumar but in truth Sanu and Bura make them just as well and sometimes better.



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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)
 
Bill.
I have Randall made knives from Bo, circa '56 and from some of the nameless smiths working for "Randall made Knives" and yes there are differences, also there are differences from smith to smith working there today. That's why I was careful to point out that my opinion was ONLY regarding those two particular knives.
Dan
 
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