George Azar
: Thank you. I love the blade shape of your Hanuman too (with those deep fullers) [the handle is nicely crafted, but I prefer the traditional style ones myself, with the
Harhari - : the round circles in the handle]. I would like to ask you what those 6 mini-knives are...aside from karda and chakmak, what else is there ? What would be their purpose ?
OFF-TOPIC : With all due respect, as to manufacturer "X" versus manufacturer "Y"... or, better yet, dealer "X" versus dealer "Y"...
I don't want to offend anyone, and this is just my personal opinion ; if you take common sense into account, both companies buy from the same class. Let me detaliate : the kami's live in the same country, Nepal. From both companies, the kami's have a long tradition and skills from many years of hard work, they tend to use the same raw material for the blades (leaf springs). They use the same (most of the time) type of tools : hammers, anvils, forge, and the same kind of heat treatments.
The most obvious difference between "X" and "Y" I found would be the quality control and finishes of the blades; in that respect, Himalayan Imports sets a standard (and only one other company can
claim to be close to) [HINT : it is not company "Y"].
Don't get me wrong, I too love HI and without talking about the price, I think it is by far the best : they have a great reputation, there are a lot of users that swears by them (and it is impossible that so many people can be wrong at the same time), the warranty is real (as stated by so many people), Mrs. Yangdu is a great person and the image of the company (as Sal is for Spyderco), not to mention about what Bill Martino's goal was - to help the nepalese people be known, and help the hard-working kamis. I also love the shape of the blades (more in line with the traditional style) and the markings (I might be wrong, but I think HI were the first to individualize the kukris).
That aside, I like diversity ; I want to learn more and, to do that, I must experience for myself. In my country, it is said that "smart people learn from other people's mistakes, regular people learn only from their mistakes" ; that puts me in the second cathegory
.
That's why I want a similar shaped kukri from another company. I want to be able to compare the two and learn from that. It is also about the price/performance ratio (as detailed above : same source for the raw materials, same kind of manufacturing, HT, etc.) - even if that's not the main reason, just one to consider.
There is also the psychological aspect : I would rather use a lesser quality knife/blade to work with instead of a working piece of art. As an example, I tend/prefer to use my Tramontina latin-styled machete and not my Fallkniven A1; one costed ~10 USD, the other more than 300 USD, one I see as just a tool (that I too am attached to
), the other as the companion that I trust my life with.