Jerks who abuse HI warranty suck

Years past I spoke out against the buyers abusing the HI warranty. I guess it just has gotten worse. There has been the rare failure of a blade and was promptly replaced.

I believe this will remain in place with HI.

The new warranty gives Aunt Yangdu the oppurtunity to stop the flagarant misuse and devious claims of a few idiots.
 
Billy516 said:
a big signal that confidence has slipped in the quality of the product.
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I don't think it is a signal that confidence in the quality of H.I. product has slipped at all, but a clear case of Yangdu having to cover her backside (as roger put it) because of a few people taking advantage of the warrantee and her good nature.
I'm quite sure that the quality of H.I's product is as good as it's always been.
Yangdu has a discerning eye for khukuri and can probably tell in a heartbeat if one has been abused. Our lady has seen and used more khukuri in her lifetime than most people see in ten lifetimes.

It sucks that it has come to this, but maybe it is for the best. She has to be able to cover H.I. somehow against the problem.

" First Khukuri - Recommendations and Reasons" thread said:
All our Khukuris are guaranteed for life to the original owner against defects in workmanship. Intentional misuse or abuse, however, does not fall under the warranty and is not honored in any way.
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What are some real-life examples of abuse or misuse of a HI Khukuri? I'd like to know how some of the khuks were damaged.
 
It is truely sad that this has happened but what is sadder is that it has caused comments such as these, about a choice made by a honest business person to protect their business. A business that has done nothing but supply quality product and excellent service for many years. The truth is there seem to be a growing number of idiots in the knife and sword community who think that beating their weapon/tool to the breaking point and beyond is the way to test it's quality and then when it fails at doing tasks it was never meant to do cry foul and expect someone else to pay for their stupidity. HI (Yangdu) should be honored for the fact that she has had such a open policy for so long and supported in her current choice. The quality of HI products should never be in question only the intelligence of the purchaser.


"Might as well say "our knives are crap, don't buy them."
"Ya this is a total blow to their credibility!
They'll loose more purcheses due to lack of good warrent then just repairing the miss used knives!
bad choice on their part..."
"sending a big signal that confidence has slipped in the quality of the product."
 
I'd like to hear some facts like what is the actual warranty? I'm confused why the OP says he received a letter. Has it not been finalized? Is that why you're not posting a link to the HI website?
Also rather than generalizing, I'd like to know examples of HI products that were abused. It seems to me that the handle could be broken rather easily if reasonable care were not taken. But the blade?
 
Back when I first found the HI forum in 2000 or 01 it was a much smaller group of regulars. People have come and gone. New regulars appear and take the place of some that have moved on. The HI forum got so populated and trafficed that the Cantina had to become an actual seperate section of the forum. There were many old timers to help guide the newbies through the process of buying, using, testing and customizing their new khuks.
Time moves on, the HI forum has become one of the more visited forums on BF. More new people have heard of the khuk and wanted to try out this magical blade that so many of us love.
I own khuks by many makers, more by HI than all others combined by a huge margin. Having collected 40+ khuks, 30+ are HI. In that time I have only had a couple of edge rolls and/or chippings in all of them. I test all of my blades as Bill and Rusty and Ysva suggested over the years. I also had the understanding that a lightweight Kobra, or Gelbu or Sirupati would not be as tough to abuse as a chirua AK or Ganga Ram.
I am afraid that it was an unavoidable happening that as HI grew and the sales increased that there would be the increased chance of people trying to abuse the warrenty. The only way for any company to survive is to cover itself and adapt their policies to reflect the changing climate in their market.
More abusers can really cut into what is likely a small profit margin, and I think the policy of checking the blade before covering it for automatic replacement is a sound decision. If I am not mistaken most of the high end knife makers will cover a knife EXCEPT for intentional abuse.
I will continue to buy from HI and trust in the fact that I KNOW that Yangdu will take care of me as she has in the past. Trust is earned and HI and Yangdu have mine.
 
Until we see an actual complete text, we are speculating wildly about what Yangdu really wrote and what it meant. Bits and pieces out of context are necessarily distorted.
 
Much like Karda I also have seen this as an inevitable future for HI. I am saddened by the necessity of the change but I also understand and agree from a legal standpoint on this. HI's quality is NOT at stake here, used properly the HI blades more than stand up to the job at hand (used properly here means that the blade is used for its INTENDED USE, not for anything else). Most blades of any manufacturer are not meant to be abused or used for any jobs outside of their intended use. All knives and/or swords have an intended use that they are engineered for and to stray from outside of that use is just plain folly. Aunt Yangdu has merely taken the same course of action that many larger companies have taken (e.g. Craftsman, Snap-On, etc.) with their line of tools. If you abused any of their tools they also would not honor their warranty. I know for a fact that if you use Craftsman tools for your profession the warranty is voided as they are made specifically for the hobbiest, not the professional. I personally agree with this choice by Aunt Yangdu and HI.

Kudos for a great product and still one of the best customer service policies around!

Your faithful fan,
Jack
 
Amen, ArchAngel!

AF said:
Is that why you're not posting a link to the HI website?
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AF- a link to the HI website is at the top of this page, under the user toolbar, where it has always been.

Himalayan Imports Your place to find information about http://www.himalayan-imports.com/, manufacturer of the finest khukris in the world.
 
To be honest, I was always surprised that HI's "across-the-board" warranty was something that the company is comfortable with, precisely because it offers the potential to be abused. Therefore, that they decided to be more specific is not only logical, it's unsurprising.

Moreover, the knives that are listed as still being covered by the hard-use warranty seem to be the most popular ones, the knives that everyone buys, uses, and endorses: Ang Kholas, WWIIs, BASs, M43s, etc. It seems to be the knives like the Kothimora and Silver-Mounted Dhankuta that are no longer protected against being kicked around. Again, this makes perfect sense.

Although I agree that we should read the full text of the warranty, based on what I've seen, I'm prepared to accept and agree to Yangdu's terms. This is how most reputable companies arrange their warranties, since allowing themselves to be abused by pranksters damages their credibility. Far from undermining HI, I believe that this policy establishes HI as a more serious company, not less, and therefore marks a POSITIVE turning point.
 
Sucks that folks have taken advantage of a good thing. I understand perfectly well what she's having to do here. The same thing has happened with other companies. It is, unfortunately, necessary. She's running a business, and in a business, you have to have measures in place to prevent people from screwing you over. This won't affect my feelings about her or her product in any way. I love my HI products, and will buy many more.
 
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First. We must all realize that we are dealing with Yangdu here. Probably the fairest most honest and decent person most of us have ever had the pleasure of dealing with.

I am sure she will continue to be just as fair as before. This is just a move to try to make things fair to her and the Kami's as well.

Second ONLY th decorative knives aka wallhangers are excluded from the hard use warranty. I still wouldnt hesitate to purchase any kukri in the lineup.

My personal experiences with my M-43 are well known. A lesser knife wouldn't have survived at all.

While it is unfortunate to see this change take place it is understandable why the change was made. Just like all things this arose due to causes and conditions.

I have seen several posts in the last year that I am sure were abuse of the warranty. Why should Yangdu and the Kami's have to reward their dishonesty. It seems to me that some of these folks are unaware or don't care that H.I. is not some big corporation backed by millions in the bank. It is a group of Kamis in Nepal who live in what is to us great poverty and hardship. When they defraud Yangdu they tke food out of other foks mouths, literaly
 
What were the specific returns, were they ones which were highly decorated, that were abused and then the buyers wanted replacement due to cosmetic damage?

My understanding of the "old" warranty was that if you're able to break an HI khuk in normal use, then it was obviously defective and needs to be replaced.

Would I expect a highly decorated khukuri to survive chopping through a small concrete block without a blemish? No. But I would genuinely expect it to survive such treatment without rolling the edge, chipping, tearing, bending, etc. That's the entire point of buying an HI instead of a cheaper tourist blade, after all (that, and more of the money goes to the people who make them, of course)! Let's say I was buried under my house after a tornado and had only an HI "display" blade available to chop my way out. If it snapped in two while chopping, I'd be pretty mad! Scratches, scuffs, and stones falling out of their settings, however, are only be expected.

Personally, I would rewrite the warranty something like this:

Unless otherwise noted, all Himalayan Imports knives and swords are warrantied against all mechanical failures of the blade and grip which should occur through normal use. Certain villager models made by outside smiths are not warrantied for handle failures. Decorative and embellished models are not, under any circumstances, warrantied for cosmetic damage occuring through normal use. Under no circumstances will any HI blade be replaced or serviced if it has been subject to abuse.

Abuse is defined as follows:
All HI khukuris other than the Kumar Kobra and decorative models - placing the blade in a vise and bending it.
All HI non-khukuri swords and knives, including the Kobra - chopping things which you cannot realistically expect the blade to cut, such as metal poles and very strong rocks, and any form of prying with the blade.
All HI decorative khukuris and other blades - any sort of chopping or cutting whatsoever.
 
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The HI warranty used to be something like, "If you break it, send it back and get 2 new ones, no questions asked."

BUT, from what I've seen on the forum over the past few months, it looked like a few noobs and lurkers thought it would be a brilliant idea to TAKE ADVANTAGE of said warranty by purchasing old HI khuks off eBay, deliberately damaging them, and getting new replacements which could then be resold . . . but that is admittedly speculation. And now I see some more noobs complaining and criticizing the necessary and reasonable steps HI has taken to protect itself from FRAUD.

Unfortunately, I can't post the warranty in full at the moment as it was not sent via email and my scanner is down. 2 page letter in an envelope that I almost missed at the bottom of the box my outstanding DOTD 15" Chitilangi blem came in yesterday. Great khuk and perfect size for trimming the hedges around my parking space . . . for only $55, including insured priority shipping.

I'm sure Aunt Yangdu can post it in full when she has time to do so, or anyone with a scanner who is due to receive a HI product could do so as well.
 
tyr_shadowblade said:
The HI warranty used to be something like, "If you break it, send it back and get 2 new ones, no questions asked."

BUT, from what I've seen on the forum over the past few months, it looked like a few noobs and lurkers thought it would be a brilliant idea to TAKE ADVANTAGE of said warranty by purchasing old HI khuks off eBay, deliberately damaging them, and getting new replacements which could then be resold . . . but that is admittedly speculation. And now I see some more noobs complaining and criticizing the necessary and reasonable steps HI has taken to protect itself from FRAUD.
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Yes; I've noticed that the most vocal complainers are people that no one recognizes. However, I was hesitant to point it out, being relatively new myself.....
 
The HI warranty used to be something like, "If you break it, send it back and get 2 new ones, no questions asked."

This was in reference to the 16.5" chiruwa AK. Only one every failed to my knowledge and the custumor did get 2 in the mail. I personally voiced my objections sending two khuks, but Uncle Bill honored the ad.


Other examples were bent swords used for foolish chopping then demanded the money back. Some young users chipped a blade and wanted a refund. Of course the chipping was caused by an idiot chopping bricks and other stupid things.
 
Other examples were bent swords used for foolish chopping then demanded the money back. Some young users chipped a blade and wanted a refund. Of course the chipping was caused by an idiot chopping bricks and other stupid things.
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Honestly, sounds like that was the result of poor form, not because of what was being chopped. There's a video on Youtube of a 12" AK being used to chop through a 2" thick slab of concrete. No chips, just a slight tear at some point from poor form and hitting the concrete where the edge is a little softer.

Here it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChlY1GqRE78

Things like bricks are less forgiving of form, but whacking a piece of wood can also bend or tear a blade if your form is bad.

Not that I advocate chopping bricks or anything like that, it's still a really bad idea. It just can be done without edge damage if you know what you're doing. I have split concrete blocks with a cheap axe before, while removing the posts for an old chain link fence. The axe didn't suffer anything that didn't file out in about 5 minutes.

About the only "test" that an HI blade will do terrible at is the ridiculous vise bending "test." Which is absolutely idiotic. Any historical blade will also bend and take a set if you did that (and the high-quality katanas that are actually meant for cutting things are also actually known--among those who actually use them instead of the 13-year-old fanboy market--for bending and taking a set if your form is off). Working and combat blades were tempered stiff, so they wouldn't flex or vibrate while hitting things. But then at some point, some enterprising, dishonest businessman decided that being able to bend the blade and have it return true is a good thing, thus modern sword repros tend to be flexible and whippy, more like a tape measure than a sword, and totally unsuitable for hard use.
 
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I'd just like to know where my beloved Chitlangis stand on this new decision.

I've been using khukuris for over 20 years. I started out with the lesser "kukri" from India until I found HI many years later.

I have never broken a khukuri. Not even one of the cheap Indian ones. I shattered the wood handle on one, but the blade is still good.

I have enough HI khukuris now that I can pick and choose which ones to use.

I know that using my 20" Sirupati to chop a 15" diameter log into firewood would not be a good idea. That's what my 20" AK is for.

However I have a super beefy 23.75" Chiruwa Chitlangi that can pretty much keep up with my AK.

I've used chitlangis extensively over the last few years. I don't consider them 'decorative' by any means.

That they are not mentioned as heavy users such as the AK, M43, Ganga Ram, etc... bothers me.

But I will await what Ms Yangdu has to say.
 
tyr_shadowblade said:
The HI warranty used to be something like, "If you break it, send it back and get 2 new ones, no questions asked."
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Sams is right, that was only for the Chiruwa Ang Khola. The rest would be replaced if it was in normal use, that was always the case. I think Uncle Bill and Yangdu took it upon themselves to not push the matter if an established customer had a problem. I noticed a lot of the new "problems" were from people new to HI and the forums, and she asked for the blade back, which I don't remembering her doing in cases with those well known to her.

But I'll say again, it's no bad reflection on Yangdu, the fact is that any change, including a seeming more detailed explanation on what is covered and what isn't, is brought about by the shenanighans of a bunch of ROTTEN PRICKS.

Apologies if I step on toes, but chopping cement, metal pipes, bending stuff in a vise, is a bunch of DUMB CRAP, that should not be handled by the warranty. These are primarily agricultural tools, and part time weapons. They cut vegetation, to include trees, vegetables, weeds, reeds, etc. And also cut meat and bone (whether livestock or the enemy), they are not for sectioning your driveway or removing plumbing.

I don't have a problem with destruction tests. If that's what you want to do, fine. But keep in mind, you are setting out to destroy the thing (hence the term "destruction test"), and don't expect warranty service. If you are limbing a tree and your klukri breaks in half, ok, expect warranty service. Easy, right?

But, no. Some people have to be walking fartholes and try to take advantage of a nice person. To those responsioble: you deserve a kick in the balls.
 
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