First noticeable difference is finish. Village Khukuris are tools, made to be used in the field in rough service, and little is gained by taking the extra steps to make them "pretty". Next, sometimes, is materials. Village kamis almost always use auto/truck leaf springs for their basic steel, but don't have the advantage of a buyer, who can go out into the economy and select specifics, like Mercedes truck springs. Third is workmanship. While there are kamis in Nepal who are the equal of those at BirGorkha, they are at the mercy of their own training and experience. Those at BirGorkha are the cream of the crop, to the extent that crop has been sampled, but they also have to meet the quality standards set by the Royal Kami, in a production environment. Kamis like Jag and Prem, Ganga Ram, and others, have proven they can meet those standards, and even add to them, but there is no doubt that even the best who have come to BirGorkha have learned more about their craft, whether they remained or moved on. BirGorkha is the only shop in Nepal that takes in prime talent and runs it through a "finishing school", a PhD for Masters, if you will, with the result of turning out the best of the traditional blades. My villager was rough, but cleaned up very nicely, hammer folds and "just basic" finish not withstanding. It is a tough little blade, capable of years of hard use, several notches above the "tourist" blades, but still a few below HI's standards. All kamis seem to have strong pride. Sanu, when asked to make a hasiya like they used in his village, said "I would not put the HI mark on such an ugly tool", and proceeded to turn out a small garden sickle with bone handle, engraving and inlay fit for a princess to prune her orchids with. That is a big part of the difference.
