A virtual tour of HI in Nepal

Howard Wallace

Howard Wallace

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Red Flower and I finally got a chance to sit down and edit some pictures and video from our recent trip to Nepal. We thought the forumites might like a glimpse of HI from the other side.

There are some potential issues that we thought long and hard about before posting this. Please consider them and exercise your good judgment.

  • HI is not set up to entertain visitors. Red Flower and I have a long friendship with Kami Sherpa and Yangdu. We visited Kami Sherpa in Nepal, and incidentally had the chance to observe the manufacturing operations. HI management may have good reasons for not allowing customers to visit in general. In the past the political climate was dangerous and volatile. There are also cultural considerations with visits that may be difficult for many of us to understand.
  • The shops would not pass an OSHA inspection. Safety issues in the video may be disturbing to some. Yangdu (and before that Bill) has been addressing this for years, with perhaps limited success. Again, some of the difficulties may be difficult to understand from our cultural perspective. My understanding is not complete, but I do have a sense of the very different nature of the culture in Nepal.
The video takes just under 15 minutes. There are lots of still pictures and some video. You may want to watch with your finger on the pause button so you can get the details. There are many process steps we didn’t capture because they were not happening when we were there. Of what we did capture, I may not be able to explain. Watch carefully. The pictures, I hope, will be worth a thousand words and not lie.


Red Flower and I hope you enjoy this glimpse into how your tools are made.


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1593893921769&l=4851835530936492305
 
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Marvelous!

I think you just speed up my decision to visit them soon!

BTW, what's that Gigantic khuk you were holding on at 14-22 sec?

That's crazy thick spine! Looks like a hair away from an inch thick!
I wonder if i need a bigger bag to get all the khuks i need in the shop. :D

Good job Howard and Red Flower. Glad to see all this.

Once again i cannot contain my gratitude to you!

Tapadh Leibh !

Jay
 
That was very interesting, thanks for sharing the video.
 
Thanks for sharing. Always fascinating to see how these tools are made.

At 7:13 looks to be a big drop-point bowie on the left. I like it.:D
 
Just finished watching it. The electrical circuits are indeed a tad frightening, but being born and raised in the Philippines and having visited several times since - it's nothing I haven't seen before.

Out of curiosity, was that an m43 that kami Tirtha was adding a handle to? The profile and thickness seemed spot - that's nearly my ideal kukri.

wrxguyusa said:
Thanks for sharing. Always fascinating to see how these tools are made.

At 7:13 looks to be a big drop-point bowie on the left. I like it.:D
Click to expand...

I'd call it more a clip point and that's an unfinished Cherokee Rose ;)
Here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=772697
 
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killa_concept said:
Just finished watching it. The electrical circuits are indeed a tad frightening, but being born and raised in the Philippines and having visited several times since - it's nothing I haven't seen before.

Out of curiosity, was that an m43 that kami Tirtha was adding a handle to? The profile and thickness seemed spot - that's nearly my ideal kukri.



I'd call it more a clip point and that's an unfinished Cherokee Rose ;)
Here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=772697
Click to expand...

I was coming back to correct myself. It's late...I was too slow. Thanks for the info.
 
Very cool to see, thank you for sharing it. I can't believe that one point in the video of the kami forging the tang of that knife, without gloves! That blade would still have been very hot!
 
I can watch that over and over and over.
I notice different things every time.
Great Video. Thank you very much Howard and Red Flower!
 
Thanks Howard; that was great. Kind of cool to think they might have been working on one of mine in the video.
 
Very nice work Howard. This is the kind of stuff that makes a business feel more like family. And it certainly demonstrates to us what goes into making our kukris.

It would be incredible one day to have a documentary done about this process. You would need at least an hour or two of finished product to really tell the whole story from hunk of metal to finished product.

Bill
Virginia
 
Excellent, Howard. My respect for the Kamis continues to swell. How easily they make the crafting of a blade seem to be, is testament to their skill.
 
thank you for this video. viewing this made me appreciate the labor, skill and soul poured into each piece even more than before.
 
Fascinating! Thanks for the insight into where and how the blades are made. I was cringing at the grinding and hammering without any form of eye protection. I don't know how they do it. I'd be blind the first day. :D
 
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