For anyone who has bought khukuris from any of the Khukuri houses in Nepal will probably have their own favorite manufacturers for different reasons . In my personal opinion based on research and looking at various khukuri forums ,websites , books etc over a period of years . I admire and much prefer the traditional styles and historic models and if you think about it , why , looking back in history would the indigenous tribes people of Nepal and that part of North East India use a khukuri that was overbuilt , heavy and unbalanced as a tool or a weapon , apart from the fact that steel would have been a much harder commodity to acquire and an overbuilt khukuri would have been wasting much needed products . Many of the Nepalese manufacturers have been making overbuilt blades for years ! The original khukuris were not built with thick spines straight handles and no reasonable hollow grind to lighten the weight and distribute the balance as it would not have been practical . I have never tried out a Tora khukuri but apparantly they made them using historical reference with correct measurements , balance and weight in mind which can only be a good selling point . I have never owned an HI khukuri but have had the opportunity to use three different models in a bushcraft environment and find them overbuilt and way too heavy to be using constantly , plus they all had a straight handle . I am not saying they are not strong and well built , just overbuilt , but there again they might have newer models out now .KHHI were my go to company because for a little extra they would usually do a decent job of semi customising any model for you which in my case meant narrower spines , well made fullers or hollow grinds , and the right size handle greatly reducing weight and giving better balance and usage .
Now that I have recently been introduced to and convinced by their website and various reviews that "Kailash Blades" are definitely worth giving a try , as Andrew from Kailash seems to understand how a well thought out and manufactured khukuri should be made . I like the way they have embraced the narrower style of tapering blade together with some of the better hollow grinds and fullers Ive seen , plus the fact that they are oil quenching their blades when heat treating which in my opinion is a step forward in making a stronger khukuri . I suppose the argument can be made that this is not the traditional method , so for the real purists it might not suit , but I think that this is still a part of the hand making process and if I get a quality traditional "Mutiny" khukuri at the end of the day , I will be happy with that . One other small but important point in their manufacture of stick tang models is that they round the angle of the shoulder off as the tang enters the handle , this will obviously help to reduce the immediate stress point of the sharper 90 degree angle and thus reducing the chances of the blade breaking at the ricasso when in heavy use .
Thanks .
