leaveing the fold..selling out

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I got pretty close to perfection with my $70 Chitlangi. That was a great buy!
 
bigjim said:
//Lastly Thanks but I have found a several sources of knives that meet my needs.

I did not mean for this to be a debate.... Just a expression of my thoughts. Heck someday I may buy another HI knife. Just not now. I have found what I see as better values.
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I'm curious about this "other source". What other source is there? The other Nepali kukris from companies like KH are no more or less "finished looking" than the HI ones. The American ones that I've seen thus far from Cold Steel and Kabar are pretty flimsy, more like machetes than khukuris. If you have found an American company that makes solid 16-20" khukuris that have 3/8-1/2" thick spines, superior heat treating, synthetic handles, and the sort of fit and finish one expects from a modern American knife, PLEASE let us know. If you don't feel comfortable posting it, feel free to PM me.
 
bigjim said:
medbill Munk your both right and insightful. Let me be blunt I have found a American maker that works in hand forged carbon steal that charges as much as 10 times what HI does and still produces what in MY OPINION is a better value.

This maker is not alone. I would rather own one knife that make smy soul sing than a dozen that don't. Or at least no longer do.
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While I would very much be interested in purchasing a knife of the dimensions of say an 18" HI Ang Khola with the fit and finish and modern handle construction of an American knife shop, there is no way I could justify paying $1500 for a khukuri I was going to actually use to chop stuff with.
 
BigJim,

I wish you had emailed or called Yangdu to clear up this bura thing before posting all that.

I agree with Munk's original post in it's intent. You can dislike these blades: it's your right.

I do dislike your accusations of dishonesty however. Like I said above, yangdu has at least earned the courtesy of a phone call or email to clear that up before posting that sort of thing on the internet.

Yangdu can handle it I'm sure. I doubt she will be fazed by it. I just hope you haven't cost the Kami's and their families business by folks reading this who might have believed what you accused her of without proof. That would be a shame.
 
I will say this...I have ordered from Yangdu several times and the customer service has been outstanding...and thatis coming from someone that likes SMALL knives..lol

Also this...

There are times when I make a holster, that I dont do 100% of the work myself...My arm just wont take the strain at times

Neighbor kid wants some candy money?? OK he can trace the templates and cut them out...he can pull those holster's out of the vat and hang them on the line...He can put my mark on the inside after they are inspected

Girlfriend wants to help?? ok how about packing them and taking the stuff to the PO or UPS store

All under my watchful eye...Does this meen that he does them?? nope I do all the hard stuff, he just does the stuff that leatherworkers DONT like to do..

Custom holster maker's do it all the time..

So do custom gunmaker's...

What I am getting at is this...Someone else doing some of the work DOESNT meen that it isnt a BURA blade...Apprentices have been doing this stuff for hundreds of years...

It is how they LEARN...so that someday if they are good enough THEY will be the master with an apprentice..
 
I am not of the calibur of the other forumites. Additionally I will not be addressing your "points" as I don't see any metle in them and my fine coforumites have covered them adequately. I am a jackass, and here goes.

Your post sir is low rent. If you had called Yangdu a liar in front of me you had better have been prepared to parry. I think this thread shows a level of cowardice, a lack of understanding about business, and knives, and a disrespect for this forum. I wont be buying any of your knives for fear you have sucked the soul out of them. Good riddance. This sentence represents me thumbing my teeth at you! Why is there no smiley for flipping the bird!!!!!!!
 
arty said:
I got pretty close to perfection with my $70 Chitlangi. That was a great buy!
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I bought last summer a blemished villager (with a split scabbard) for a similar price. I fixed the scabbard, cleaned away the jeweller's rouge from the khukuri, and now this knife is close to perfection in its class. It has beautifully grained saatisal handle with great form and feel in the hand, a beautifully shaped blade and a nice inlay on the back of the blade. Most of all it chops and cuts great. I like the small imperfections which don't impede function or maintenance. I prefer this individuality over the perfectly machined Gill Hibben reproductions for example, made of soft stainless and sold for the same or higher price.

By now I could have been probably able to buy at least 2 large Buxton bowies with the money I spent on HI products. While I admire his work, I still feel I got better value for my money with the HI products.
Also, I would be most likely scared and unwilling to use a Buxton bowie hard or use it at all. I don't have this problem with a HI khukuri, even with the full priced pretty finished ones.
Somehow I don't expect bigjim to use on hiking trails or on hunting trips a $1000 Buxton knife either. Of course I might be wrong.
 
Statements like these in a manufacturer's forum are trolling. They are not quoted in their entirety because it is too long, but you may go back into the thread to find them in context.

bigjim said:
...This is not a cultural misunderstanding, its a lie...

2. Crude manufacture is crude manufacture...
The religion that has evolved around the Kamis is silly at best...
6. The handles suck...
7. The scabbards suck, bulky and cheap...

I have purchased 14 HI knives in the last year or so...

I can no longer make due or be an apologist for shoddy work and dishonest marketing...

I know this will get me flamed and the post may end up deleted...

I fear Fan boys with huge investments in the product will carry the day...

I did not mean for this to be a debate.... Just a expression of my thoughts. Heck someday I may buy another HI knife. Just not now. I have found what I see as better values.

Yet Almost everyday Yangdu says things like...Made by bura. Made by the royal Kami of Nepal and so on. She does not say...Creation supervised to some degree by Bura. This is really not a matter of debate, its a matter of integrity.
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Jim, please refrain from trolling this forum. Many here enjoy fine craftsmanship wherever they see it. It is often a topic of discusion. However, that is not what you are doing.

You have questioned Yangdu's integrity publicly in the HI forum. Even though it has been explained to you that the use of assistants has never been a secret, and even though quotes showing that have been given to you, you continue. This is in poor taste.

I hope you have a continued good time with your knife collecting, and you are welcome here as long as you maintain an attitude of courtesy and respect within this forum. However, that is not what you have shown in this thread.
 
I had to catch myself pretty hard after reading some of the cracks about Yangdu. Persons who are at peace with themselves and their place in the world, who are deliberate about honesty, hard work, and conduct, are not easy to insult. The words do not stick, you see. The injuries haven't landed. How could they, without any weight?




munk
 
As many have already said, honesty and criticism are welcome - not everyone is happy with their khuks and that's just fine.

Unfortunately, you have voiced your feelings in the form of an attack on both the quality of the product and the integrity of the fine lady who is running the show. I think this was done in very poor taste - Were you less established on this forum as a person of good standing, I would go so far as to call this post trolling. It seems almost as though you were hoping for a fight, and I'm glad that my fellow forum members have declined to give it to you.

If that was not your intent, then I would advise you to re-examine your words and ponder the reactions here carefully. Not everyone is as civil as the gents on this forum, and were you to deliver a similar statement 'in the real world' I daresay you might end up in some trouble. Please be careful - I know I've said some boneheaded things in my days.


Finally, I would appreciate hearing you answer one question:

After you've paid 10x the price for your Buxton blade, will you be using it, or admiring it?
 
MauiRob said:
Yangdu can handle it I'm sure. I doubt she will be fazed by it. I just hope you haven't cost the Kami's and their families business by folks reading this who might have believed what you accused her of without proof. That would be a shame.
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I wouldn't sweat it, Rob. Jim has stated his piece, which we have all said he is entitled to. However, any rational person that reads this is going to see the civility and tact that many of those of us a bit longer in tooth with HI have addressed Jim's claims. I think that is proof enough that we are not blindly following as sheep to Little Bo Yangdu:) HI cannot be everyone's cup of tea. Heck, I've tried out a couple of Spyderco's. I think they are great knives, but just not for me. Do I hate them? No quite the reverse. I think they are excellent values for what you get. I just keep leaving them at home in place of my SAKs as I need tools more often than cutting performance. I enjoy Spyderco's position as a great American knife manufacture, and I'm really impressed that Sal spends so much time listening first hand to his customers here. I WILL buy Spyderco again, but right now when I have 40-100 bucks sitting in my pocket i buy one of Yangdu's DOTD. The new Endura's a looking mighty tempting, though:)
That said, HI is not short in any way shape or form in regards to a customer base. Opinions are just that. Jim has his. I have mine. Munk has his. etc etc etc. If a knife was made that fit everyone's needs all the time for every task, then there would be a lot of wailing and knashing of teeth in the knife world. What a boring place it would be:)
I guess HI is just in the eye of the beholder. I gifted a 15" AK to my friend after I got done helping him move over the weekend. He's a firebug and loves to burn in his firepit. I gave him the AK because i knew it would get used by him more than I would use it. His eyes lit up. He asked me how much I had spent on it. I told him not much. Then he called me a liar and said anything built of this quality, size, and finish had to be at least a couple hundred bucks. I laughed knowing that the little AK didn't cost me anything near 200 clams and told him that over a 20 year friendship that he'd probably accrued enough favors to deserve a fine cutting tool. He's a history teacher at a private highschool. He plans on doing a lesson on the Gurkhas just so that he can show his class a piece of living history. This is why I stick with HI. One big circle of good deeds that keeps on giving. Yangdu cuts me a deal, I pass it on to a friend of 20 years, who in turn takes the gift and inspired to teach a class of midwestern white teens about some of the greatest warriors of some of the most noble people. HI has a ripple effect that no amount of opinion can flounder.

Jake
 
Mama used to say, "if you don't like what's on the table, it's easiest to not eat with your mouth shut".

Jim, a knife is just a tool, if it does it's job well, then it's a good tool. If you're looking for happiness, purpose, and fulfillment in a piece of steel, then I suspect you're going to be dissapointed no matter who made it. If you spend your life fixated on tools, you're liable to forget they are just objects, and the real task at hand is to live a full and rich life. We ain't here for a long time, best be here for a good time.

Sarge
 
According to his own words, until yesterday, bigjim himself was a "Fanboy with huge investments in the product".
Just because he regrets now his own past choices, he should not have to write here such hysterical posts.

As others pointed out before me, there might be something else going on in the background.
That is why I think bigjim is not trolling.
It could be that he has some big personal problems and this is just a way to went his pressure.
It wasn't nice, and I do not approve his behavior. However I would not equate his behavior for example with that of several khukuri dealers and their budddies trolling here in the past.

I think the best thing to do is what the majority of fellow Cantinistas already did: to wish bigjim well in his new Buxton collecting hobby and go back to our normal Cantina routines.

Goood luck to you bigjim!
 
on thinking about this and reading more posts...

how about i offer $100 for his entire collection, assuming ONE is at least a good one :) shipping included. thanx! :)

bladite
 
Sylvrfalcn said:
a knife is just a tool, if it does it's job well, then it's a good tool. If you're looking for happiness, purpose, and fulfillment in a piece of steel, then I suspect you're going to be dissapointed no matter who made it. If you spend your life fixated on tools, you're liable to forget they are just objects, and the real task at hand is to live a full and rich life. We ain't here for a long time, best be here for a good time.

Sarge
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Thanks Sarge, that's just the piece of advice I need at this time in my life. It's really making me revaluate some of my priorities.

Sometimes someone will say something that just clicks when you are at the place to listen.

Thanks,

Ted
 
Does this mean I should scratch the 'K' off of my Dan Koster Kerambit because he used his friend's power hammer to make the cable damascus?:confused:
 
I literally collect quotations like I do khukuris. Except quotations are free and the good ones can cut through tough spots in one's soul like an AK going through green wood. One of my favorites is just too long to include in a signature, so I post it here as a fitting cool-down for a thread that has aroused strong passions and perhaps been at times more than a little divisive. I am impressed that this one comes from a world-renowned physicist. Who'd a thunk it?


“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

(Albert Einstein)
 
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