Do you see what you let yourself in for Dan? Everyone wants something custom to them, which is human nature, so no one will end up being 100% pleased. Heavier / lighter, big handle / small handle, habaki / non-habaki, pointy tip / rounded tip, straight handle / curvy handle, etc., etc.
Personally, I would opt for the one you picked, ideally about 18" and 27 or 28 oz., and then go with a std. bolster and the nice handle you mentioned. A run in hill walnut or some dark wood would be a nice change. However, as long as you got the dimensions within 10% I'd be happy. (Let's try and make it easy!) This knife is a chopper extraordinaire IMO, and needs more than 24 oz. behind it.
The Bura samshers all ran about 18 to 18.5" and 29 to 30 oz. or so They are an excellent blade IMO. One or maybe two lucky folks got them from Bura with standard bolsters, but the other 2-3 he made came with habaki bolsters. I have the 18.5" 29 oz. one (habaki) that laid Yangdu's hand open, and it is a sharp SOB. I have no idea why he varied the bolsters. They all came with chandan IIRC, but some were the very bright red chandan shown in your pic.
Sgt. Khadka kicked off the design with two models, a 20" 40 oz. that I snagged, and a matching 17" that someone else got. Those were the only two he made. I can tell you the 20" is an incredible knife, but a 17 or 18" knife at 12-13 oz. less is a lot more fun to work with for longer periods.
Really I would think that all you would have to do Dan is ask Yangdu to pass a message on to Bura:
1) More Samshers just like the last few you made, but a few oz. less. (Same weight / length as your standard BGRS.)
2) Std. bolsters and the same metal work.
3) Mix up the woods.
With that we should start getting some to those specs. As I recall, the last few sold from $95 to $125, so to me with those features, that higher price would be just about right considering the special request.
Norm
