Volley one

Status
Not open for further replies.
Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
Messages
34,096
I received so much email asking me to respond to a thread in a forum I never post in or visit I had to take a look and here is my first response.

The statement:

"However, now that TB has stopped selling
khukuris to HI...."

The implication is that it was TB's choice to stop making khukuris for HI.

The Truth:

In a phone conversation from Pala a couple of years ago give or take a couple of months the conversation (although I cannot recall it verbatim) went like this:

"I am sick of begging TB for khukuris, have them arrive a month late and then have to reject one out of four. I am going to open my own shop and we will make our own khukuris from now on."

BirGorkha and the 25 + employees now stand as a living testament to the veracity of Pala's statement.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)

[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 11-03-2000).]
 
Remember that HI doctrine stated the production facility called Shop I was owned by HI. This is false. It is and always has been, in fact, owned by TB. Bill's post above shows this. How many of you were lead to believe that HI owned it's production facility where it produced the "Shop I" khukuris? That's what I thought until I went to Nepal. If you connect the dots, you'll learn that Bill or Bill's representative in Nepal in fact bought khukuris - not village models, but scrolled buttcap, HI marked, "Shop I" khukuris from TB. This is different from HI doctrine, which seemed always maintained the impression that it owned the shop.

And if anybody denies that such an impression - that HI owned it's own production facilities - then consider this quote:

. . . HI owns the shop where their goods are made . . .
Click to expand...
(Quote by Jim March, post 2230, 3-08-2000).




[This message has been edited by Craig Gottlieb (edited 11-03-2000).]
 
As I recall what I said was that Pala and TB had a limited partnership, a gentleman's agreement. I don't think I ever said Pala or HI owned the shop. I even had a site for awhile and I remember distinctly saying of a picture of TB and some workers that there was Shop 1 owner and HI foreman, Bai Bishwakarma. Pala paid premium prices for premium khukuris. We got priority delivery and we got the best coming out of the shop.

Shop 1 was so named because when Pala and family entered into the arrangement with TB we were doing business with several small village shops. Pala said, "this will become our number one shop" -- thus, shop 1.

For the first several years it was more like a family effort than a business. Money was loaned back and forth and gifts and tools were given to the shop. This was before the days of Lalit and the internet and TB was very happy with the arrangement. We never sold many khukuris but we sold the best that could be had at that time. It only went sour when production demands on the shop put HI on the back burner and the quality started to fade.

I have no representatives in Nepal. I am the HI representative in the US.

We have always bought village models and still do on a regular basis.

The quote is by Jim March not by me.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (18,000+ posts)



[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 11-03-2000).]
 
The criteria for "Truth" in the writings of William James were three:

CONGRUENCE

USEFULNESS

and LUMINOSITY

As you listen to Bill as opposed to Craig consider which maintains his congruency, whose words on a topic lead it into usefulness rather than contentiousness, and whose words shed light rather than obfuscate the situation. Notice who demeans the other and who has practiced tolerance rather than respond responding to the other's mosquito bites.
 
BEWARE folks! This is just more misdirection. What HI doctrine is being referenced? Here's a direct quote from Uncle Bill writing on the HI forum at KnifeForums in March '99: "...Became adopted brother to two kamis, Kancha Kami of Phera village, and T. B. (Bai) Bishwkarma, who makes the HI khukuris and a lot of "other" khukuris for sale to dealers in Kathmandu..." Unlike another, there is no attempt to mislead. If anyone would like to read the full post it is at http://www.knifeforums.com/ubb/Forum27/HTML/000367.html on KnifeForums.

Many US knife companies do not own their production facilities. Does this make it wrong for them to refer to their factory? There is a vast difference between the ecomony of language in referring to "our shop" and deliberate attempts to mislead.

------------------
Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.

[This message has been edited by bcaffrey (edited 11-03-2000).]
 
Here's another quote of Bill's that spells things ou rather clearly: "In Nepal, we were searching for a way to standardize our khukuri. We discovered a shop in SE Nepal that was making khukuris for the tourist market, down and dirty cheap, but the operator was capable of making a high quality khukuri to our specs. So, we made a "paca", a deal. We would try a joint venture, making a top quality khukuri with a decent sized handle aimed at the US and world market. We would make the best that could be made and pay the price -- and this is what we have done." Full thread is at http://www.knifeforums.com/ubb/Forum27/HTML/000352.html



------------------
Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
Originally posted by Bill Martino:
How do you find all those old threads?
Click to expand...

Motivation.
wink.gif




------------------
Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top