What steel are the HI made of..??

Battle Creek Knives

Battle Creek Knives

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Feb 23, 2010
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I went to the website and was perusing khukris I couldn't find any specs that had detail about the steel they used...

I was only there a brief time but can anyone tell me the what the options are with steel...

One I seen had a sick warranty, break or bend it and we'll give you two..!!
 
What's the source of the leaf springs? A scrapyard? How many Mercedes leaf springs can be laying around in Nepal?

In other words, should there be any concern of Bir Gorkha running out of their stock on Mercedes springs can having to rely on more readily available but lower quality springs?
 
moogoogaidan said:
What's the source of the leaf springs? A scrapyard? How many Mercedes leaf springs can be laying around in Nepal?

In other words, should there be any concern of Bir Gorkha running out of their stock on Mercedes springs can having to rely on more readily available but lower quality springs?
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Nepal and India, there should be no concern, there are plenty of leaf springs available and the kami's know their steels very well.
 
Karda said:
Nepal and India, there should be no concern, there are plenty of leaf springs available and the kami's know their steels very well.
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there's a lot of mercedes trucks that suddenly go flat ;)


5160 is good stuff. people in the states pay a premium for it.


Bladite
 
 
Mercedes trucks and busses are used extensively around the world and arte nearly as common as Toyotas in india where most of the springs are purchased.

They are a high grade 5160 steel.
 
As already said, they are made out of leaf springs. There's no guarantee as to the exact steel but it is generally 5160. That said, the kukris are handmade by kamis with many years of blacksmith experience: guys who take pride in their work - enough so as to put their personal marks on them. They use their knowledge to judge the integrity of the steel prior to working it and then test the final product to insure that it meets their expectations. Several hours of concentrated focus and effort goes into each knife, so if there is a flaw, it's probably going to get picked up on...

Personally, I would be much quicker to trust a knife that is laboriously handmade in this manner (even out of unspecified steel) by an experienced blacksmith who relies on the work for his livelihood... over a knife, made of a specified steel, stamped out by an indifferent machine - with perhaps one out of a thousand in a batch being checked over for "quality assurance." If the idea of it isn't convincing enough, the lifetime warranty should suggest that this company and their workers stand behind their products
 
The HI blades are hand made almost to the extend being exclusively custom made lately.
Steel is, as stated, 5160. It's one of the best there is for this kind of blades.
If you are a blacksmith and custom make a blade for a client I doubt you'll pick a bad
material to start with, considering it will take you a day pounding just to shape it right.
I'm yet to hear of a HI blade that's been used properly and failed.
If it happens...HI has a policy of taking good care of their customers.
 
How many Mercedes trucks could be laying around Nepal? Well, I'm sure there are many British and Chinese trucks that had issues in the mountains :D
 
One of India's largest manufacturer of trucks and buses are Tata Motors. Back in the 1950s they got a start in heavy motor vehicles by partnering with Mercedes Benz. See here - scroll down to the bottom of the page: http://www.tatamotors.com/50years/products.php

For the longest time Tata trucks and buses used the Mercedes Benz logo on the front of their vehicles. Even now it's not surprising to see older Tata vehicles with MB logo plying the Indian roads. Perhaps this Mercebes Benz leaf spring story came about from Uncle Bill seeing these trucks with the familiar logo and naturally assuming these were Mercedes Benz trucks??? Speculating here ...

Edited to add: Tata Motors is the same company that now owns Jaguar and Land Rover. Their steel company owns Corus Steel, etc. They're quite a big name. Seems they still maintain some links with Mercedes/Daimler. However, their vehicles have been known as "Tata" rather than "Mercedes Benz" for the longest time. Also, until a decade-and-half ago, India was a closed market with very little foreign brands allowed in, esp. when it came to transportation, so domestic brands like Tata and Ashok Leyland formed the largest number of trucks and buses plying the Indian roads, and thus I'm also presuming the largest source of leaf springs for our khukuris.

Just wanted to throw in what I know, having grown up in the Indian subcontinent ...
 
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Mercedes are very popular.

If you travel outside of North America, you'd see that Mercedes are actually fairly inexpensive in other parts of the world.

Also, 5160 and 6150 spring steels are a very well known commodity, and most vehicle manufacturers use them to make their springs from
 
From the HI FAQ
http://www.himalayan-imports.com/faq/Maintenance.html

"When we run low on springs some kami will hop a bus to India -- always the cheapest bus which is full of chickens, goats, pigs, people, merchandise and about everything else imaginable. They have their favorite junk yards they visit and will pick up old junk leaf springs.

First choice -- Mercedes Benz
Second choice (almost never available) --Saab
third choice -- Japanese cars

When they accumulate enough springs for a hundred or maybe 150 khukuris it is back to the shop.

They almost always ride atop the bus, never inside. Against the law here but a common practice in Nepal and India."
--BILL MARTINO 12/19/98
 
Wathever the case maight be...I still don't think you can use inferiour steel for making ANY truck spring leafs...
It's the cheapest resource of decent steel the kamis can use...
How about they use imported D2 and we all pay 3x the price atleast...:barf:
 
I'd rather use 5160 for this type of tool than just about anything else out there anyway. In my opinion it just adds to the authenticity of these handmade traditional Nepalese tools.
 
DanSmithy said:
Wathever the case maight be...I still don't think you can use inferiour steel for making ANY truck spring leafs...
It's the cheapest resource of decent steel the kamis can use...
How about they use imported D2 and we all pay 3x the price atleast...:barf:
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D2 would actually be a worse choice for this application than 5160... it's less tough and without a properly done heat treat, can become brittle fairly easily. 5160 is well known for being easy to work with, easy to harden, quite forgiving, and a very good compromise of toughness and hardness (especially when deferentially hardened as with these kukris). All things considered, it's probably one of the best choices for this application.

If you've ever seen a video of anyone trying to pass the ABS knife performance test, 95% of the time they're going to be using a knife they made out of 5160.
 
killa_concept said:
D2 would actually be a worse choice for this application than 5160... it's less tough and without a properly done heat treat, can become brittle fairly easily. 5160 is well known for being easy to work with, easy to harden, quite forgiving, and a very good compromise of toughness and hardness (especially when deferentially hardened as with these kukris). All things considered, it's probably one of the best choices for this application.

If you've ever seen a video of anyone trying to pass the ABS knife performance test, 95% of the time they're going to be using a knife they made out of 5160.
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My point exactly.:D
 
TheLastDaze said:
there is another manufacture in nepal that makes khukris.. would it be safe to assume they're all of the same steel? quality?
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Same steel... probably. Same quality? Eh - debatable. Ethical business model, care for their workers and dedication to their customers? Sorry - no way anyone is beating HI there. Those other places might be cheaper and produce kukris of fair quality, but they don't have the sort of background that HI does. HI pays their workers a very good wage so that they can support themselves and put their kids through school. They back their products with a lifetime warranty because the kamis take pride in their work and HI wants their customers fully satisfied.

Those "other" manufacturers also ship directly from Nepal, which means an added ~$40 to shipping costs and a 4-6 week wait. If you have any issues with your product, you're dealing with someone overseas and even if you get cleared for warranty service, that means $40 for shipping it back. With HI, you get to deal with Aunty Yangdu who lives in Nevada - if you have any sort of issue with your kukri, she'll do everything in her power to ensure that you end up happy with your purchase. Honestly, she is one of the most pleasant people you will ever have the pleasure of dealing with :thumbup: HI also has this forum built around the business. It's a great community with amazing, helpful people and a wealth of knowledge.

Ultimately, it's your call as to who you go with. All I can really say is that I went with HI when I faced the same decision a year or two back... I'm completely satisfied with my decision: I feel great about supporting such an awesome company, love the products, love the community, and have received nothing but outstanding service.
 
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killa_concept said:
Same steel... probably. Same quality? Eh - debatable. Ethical business model, care for their workers and dedication to their customers? Sorry - no way anyone is beating HI there. Those other places might be cheaper and produce kukris of fair quality, but they don't have the sort of background that HI does. HI pays their workers a very good wage so that they can support themselves and put their kids through school. They back their products with a lifetime warranty because the kamis take pride in their work and HI wants their customers fully satisfied.

Those "other" manufacturers also ship directly from Nepal, which means an added ~$40 to shipping costs and a 4-6 week wait. If you have any issues with your product, you're dealing with someone overseas and even if you get cleared for warranty service, that means $40 for shipping it back. With HI, you get to deal with Aunty Yangdu who lives in Nevada - if you have any sort of issue with your kukri, she'll do everything in her power to ensure that you end up happy with your purchase. Honestly, she is one of the most pleasant people you will ever have the pleasure of dealing with :thumbup: HI also has this forum built around the business. It's a great community with amazing, helpful people and a wealth of knowledge.

Ultimately, it's your call as to who you go with. All I can really say is that I went with HI when I faced the same decision a year or two back... I'm completely satisfied with my decision: I feel great about supporting such an awesome company, love the products, love the community, and have received nothing but outstanding service.
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thanks for the advice and I think I will yield to it..

I just bought 3 new machetes from the 'specialist' and now I'm looking to get the ultimate kukri.. that foxy folly was one sweet knife that sold earlier>> ouch..
 
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