Hello tao_m,
Replacing the knife does not take away that the damn thing could of killed me if it would of landed on my head...
First, I'm very glad that you weren't injured and hope for your continued good health. Bill Martino, the operator of Himalayan Imports until his death, developed a means for testing out a newly arrived khukuri to ensure that it was ready for field work. Here is the most recent post that speaks of Bill's "whack test";
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/869574-Help-!-Damaged-20-quot-Thirtha-made-AK-from-DOTD?highlight=whack+test
Bill realized that as skilled as they are, the kamis are human and the chances of something going awry was always a possibility. He tested as many khukuris that were shipped to him as he could and eventually shared his test methods to the Forumites so that they could test on their own. If you are so inclined and get a chance to, take your other HI khukuris and carefully run them through a whack test to ensure their suitability for use.
...but if your "half inch thick knive" breaks at the tang on your first 10 chops it is nothing less than dissapoiting !!!!!...
I can understand your disapointment, especially under the circumstances that the disappointment was made manifest. But what Karda was trying to say was to contact Yangdu with information on the failure of your khuk so that she could make good on a flawed product. Yangdu is Bill Martino's wife and the daughter of the Nepalese man that runs the manufacturing end of the business, BirGorkha. She works hard both for us in supplying us with the khukuris that we want and for the kamis and their families in BirGorkha's employ by supplying them with a good wage and educational opportunities for their children. She cares for her customers and wants them safe and happy. If you've experienced a blade failure through no fault of your own, please let her know so that she can make it good for you. I know that she cares for our safety and satisfaction.
This Forum is a sharing place for us all and we welcome all to share their khukuri experiences, both good and bad. This sharing can alert us to situations, conditions and possibilities that we hadn't considered before and result in us all having a safer and happier khukuri experience. In other words, we would have been glad to hear from you regarding your blde failure. At one time, everyone on this Forum has had the excitement of getting their first khukuri. While this is a wonderful feeling, it is our responsibility to learn what we can about the khuk and its safe use. Any information, no matter how many times it seems to be repeated, is welcome for the benfit of all. The Safety Sticky on the HI Forum is there for all of our benefit since we'll all have a khuk in our hand. My guess is that the "whack test" isn't there since blade failure is such a rarity from HI products. (Think I'm rambling now.)
Anyway tao, you interjected into this thread in a fashion that didn't seem to fit its title. It seemed negative and didn't even include the model of khuk that failed on you. We're all just trying to get along, with ourselves and each other. Let us know your experiences with your khukuris, both good and bad. Please, contact Yangdu and let her know what has happened. If you'd like to come back to this Forum and hang out, we'd love to have you. This is a great bunch of folks and we're always looking to increase our numbers.
Peace
Rick