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Poor attitude and insults from Tora blades owner/worker Simon hengle

S

smodtactical

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So I was looking at videos of various khukuris on youtube and I came across this guy Simon hengle who is feverishly measuring all different khukuri's and comparing them to antique ww2 ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mae-F9fvR1U&google_comment_id=z12qszjwuxv2itl0r22mub2wnmvac3522

I noticed that not only does he attack Khukuri house... but he also attacks the venerable Himalayan imports calling their work a shiny piece of tourist junk (in the comments) under the discussion with user 'smood47'. He doesn't seem to understand the concept that people might want a khukuri that is over built and super strong and heavy for fun chopping purposes and maybe splitting wood and they aren't necessarily Gurkha warriors needing a blade to go into combat with and survive with.

He has a similar discussion with another youtube user 'Torbjørn Larsen' who asks for a heavier khukuri and responds to that by saying 'he lacks skill and knowledge' thats why he wants something like that.

What is this guys problem? I'm seriously turned off on Tora blades and will not be ordering from them. Good job Simon.
 
Im not sure if you know what is considered a large number of views on youtube, but 255 is not enough for me to really want to worry about it. I can't go worrying about everyone who wrongfully badmouths a competitor on youtube. There're just too many people with too many wrong opinions and not enough time in the day.
 
pachiderm said:
Im not sure if you know what is considered a large number of views on youtube, but 255 is not enough for me to really want to worry about it. I can't go worrying about everyone who wrongfully badmouths a competitor on youtube. There're just too many people with too many wrong opinions and not enough time in the day.
Click to expand...

I think he was referring to the amount of views on this thread.
 
Well, my thoughts are...

Who is Simon Hengle? Never heard of the guy, maybe others haven't either, which would explain why nobody's jumping at the chance to talk about him. Googling his name brings up Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter accounts along with a martial arts studio in the UK.

I guess maybe he's too irrelevant to warrant talking about.
 
Oh, that would make a lot more sense. My bad, ignore me, I'll go back to lurking.
 
You know the saying, "Ask the wrong question and you'll get the wrong answer." :)
On Bladeforums, ask the wrong forum, and you may not find people with an answer at all. :D

Khukuris are beautiful and useful knives but most Westerners are more familiar with KLO -- Kukri-Like Objects -- than with the Nepalese originals. Cold Steel, for example, makes several really nice kukri-shaped machetes.

Read our Himalayan Imports forum for information and access on real khukuris.

Go to the H.I. Cantina for discussion of khukuris from other companies. Simon Hengle doesn't have a great reputation among us H.I. users and collectors. :eek: ... not surprisingly ...
 
I was trying to order a khukri from tora blade but i emailed them first asking if the khukri (pre order) eta with in 2 months be ok.
Quess what Simon respond, not only he start lecturing me how he's kamis work... making the khukri but what really make me sad/mad was when he say ....if you can wait 3 to 4mo for your khukri
Then tora is not for you....what. he did not even ask how many i was ordering....simon your customer service really sucks as well as your persnality lucky your in london...hope you visit us someday.
.
 
Khukri82us said:
I was trying to order a khukri from tora blade but i emailed them first asking if the khukri (pre order) eta with in 2 months be ok.
Quess what Simon respond, not only he start lecturing me how he's kamis work... making the khukri but what really make me sad/mad was when he say ....if you can wait 3 to 4mo for your khukri
Then tora is not for you....what. he did not even ask how many i was ordering....simon your customer service really sucks as well as your persnality lucky your in london...hope you visit us someday.
.
Click to expand...

Geez man, no need to make threats!
 
smodtactical said:
So I was looking at videos of various khukuris on youtube and I came across this guy Simon hengle who is feverishly measuring all different khukuri's and comparing them to antique ww2 ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mae-F9fvR1U&google_comment_id=z12qszjwuxv2itl0r22mub2wnmvac3522

I noticed that not only does he attack Khukuri house... but he also attacks the venerable Himalayan imports calling their work a shiny piece of tourist junk (in the comments) under the discussion with user 'smood47'. He doesn't seem to understand the concept that people might want a khukuri that is over built and super strong and heavy for fun chopping purposes and maybe splitting wood and they aren't necessarily Gurkha warriors needing a blade to go into combat with and survive with.

He has a similar discussion with another youtube user 'Torbjørn Larsen' who asks for a heavier khukuri and responds to that by saying 'he lacks skill and knowledge' thats why he wants something like that.

What is this guys problem? I'm seriously turned off on Tora blades and will not be ordering from them. Good job Simon.
Click to expand...


I don't think this simon guy realize khukuris were originally designed as weapons. A heavier, thicker blade makes dismemberment much easier :)
 
Khukri82us said:
I was trying to order a khukri from tora blade but i emailed them first asking if the khukri (pre order) eta with in 2 months be ok.
Quess what Simon respond, not only he start lecturing me how he's kamis work... making the khukri but what really make me sad/mad was when he say ....if you can wait 3 to 4mo for your khukri
Then tora is not for you....what. he did not even ask how many i was ordering....simon your customer service really sucks as well as your persnality lucky your in london...hope you visit us someday.
.
Click to expand...

It must be a true privilege to wait so long for a piece from them. As for the implied thread, that is not going to fly around here, seriously.
 
Indeed Simon Hengle {Often known as sirupate on weaponary type forums} who the owner or tora kukri & tora martial arts from Plymouth, in Devon England was banned for life from this site many years ago for using multiple identities to back himself up in discussions & arguments. He has since more recently been caught & banned again for using a fake identities to advertise his martial arts club or weekends...

spiral
 
It seems Simion Hengle of Tora kukri is still selling kukris on facebook & has upset these guys in Australia & indeed Nepal according to them in this youtube videos from OZ.

[video=youtube;LItejNI_uoQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LItejNI_uoQ&sns=fb[/video]


[video=youtube;45OEKfH3Rv4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45OEKfH3Rv4[/video]


[video=youtube;64aj6Z6-vTM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64aj6Z6-vTM[/video]
 
stonproject said:
I don't think this simon guy realize khukuris were originally designed as weapons. A heavier, thicker blade makes dismemberment much easier :)
Click to expand...

And a higher fatigue rate :). He is right, up to a point.

In all honesty, khukuries have always been a mixed bag, weight-wise, but you won't really find any person on the battlefield looking forward to carrying a heavy chopper instead of a fighting knife. That's why people weren't using felling axes, but tomahawks, as secondary weapons.
 
Moonw said:
And a higher fatigue rate :). He is right, up to a point.

In all honesty, khukuries have always been a mixed bag, weight-wise, but you won't really find any person on the battlefield looking forward to carrying a heavy chopper instead of a fighting knife. That's why people weren't using felling axes, but tomahawks, as secondary weapons.
Click to expand...

Yes for fighting {if your not expendable} speed is of the essence. If your using it as a utility tool weight is preferable.

Ive had 19th early 20th century military Nepelese longleaf kuris that weighed a kilo {36 oz.} The were carried by tough solders, when they didn't carry hundreds of rounds of ammunition instead.

One of my favorite longleaf kukri I still have, which is more likely made for a British Gurkha in the late 19th century weights 890 grammes, it was at that time period when the fame of Gurkhas & their deeds with kukri became really famous.

Their average height was 5 foot 2 inches at that time, weight of 8 stone modern western people are somewhat larger in proportion. {But not toughness!}

In this article http://www.ikrhs.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&p=12542 I talk about many military kukri.

Most in the 20th century are lighter than many today.


An accurate reproduction would exhibit good distal taper & have unwarped blades. That's rare on tora kukris according to the many complaints Ive heard about them.

Kukri of all weights & sizes should be made, people can then buy what they want or need for their purposes.

Ive handled many tora kukri, ive never kept one, The originals Ive got are better made. As a Nepali said to me in Nepal, if its a 100 year old army kukri, you know the blade will last a long time, With a new kukri you don't know how long it will last.


spiral
 
spiraltwista said:
Yes for fighting {if your not expendable} speed is of the essence. If your using it as a utility tool weight is preferable.

Ive had 19th early 20th century military Nepelese longleaf kuris that weighed a kilo {36 oz.} The were carried by tough solders, when they didn't carry hundreds of rounds of ammunition instead.

One of my favorite longleaf kukri I still have, which is more likely made for a British Gurkha in the late 19th century weights 890 grammes, it was at that time period when the fame of Gurkhas & their deeds with kukri became really famous.

Their average height was 5 foot 2 inches at that time, weight of 8 stone modern western people are somewhat larger in proportion. {But not toughness!}

In this article http://www.ikrhs.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&p=12542 I talk about many military kukri.

Most in the 20th century are lighter than many today.


An accurate reproduction would exhibit good distal taper & have unwarped blades. That's rare on tora kukris according to the many complaints Ive heard about them.

Kukri of all weights & sizes should be made, people can then buy what they want or need for their purposes.

Ive handled many tora kukri, ive never kept one, The originals Ive got are better made. As a Nepali said to me in Nepal, if its a 100 year old army kukri, you know the blade will last a long time, With a new kukri you don't know how long it will last.


spiral
Click to expand...

As usually, a very succint and right-to-the-point addition. I was too sleepy to expand on the weapon vs tool nuances, although the fellng axe vs tomahawk was my (poor) and "condensed" attempt at doing so. Indeed, distal taper, point of balance and percussion...of utmost importance.

And your point about finding a proper-made kukri today, makes me even more convinced that sticking with the KLOs which do exhibit distal taper and lower weights, straight blades, even if they don't tickle my fancy in so many other ways, was the right way to go. I would not keep a historical one but in a display case, certainly not risk any harm happen to it.

The classic kukri does hit so many high notes for me, though, that I may document one's characteristics someday and have a weapon smith make me one. There should be someone, today, in Europe, that could reproduce a nice one. IKRHS will deff. be my starting point in research - as it's always been the primary source for my documentation. (Thank you, for contributing and making it what it is today, Mr. Spiral.)

Can't wait to check the videos. Some people rubbed me the wrong way, instinctively; wondering whether my gut feelings were justified.
 
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That was a lot of effort on their part for two really small time guys. Simon I will agree is a dick but sweet is just a dude doing knife reviews in his backyard. These two talk like Simon and Sweet are are completely dismantling their business.

I have no care or respect for Simon or Sweet but these two in the video need to lighten up a bit.
 
Those videos were a bit of a hatchet job, weren't they? Especially going after someone for running a small business. Do you know anyone that runs a business on the side? I know a few. Some of them get big enough that the owners can quit their day jobs. Most don't. It doesn't mean that their product isn't good, especially in a very niche market. They haven't gotten a contract so their khuks suck? I hate to name names here in a negative light, but Windlass has gotten a contract or two over the years IIRC. Ever tried out one of their khuks? The bored can run a search here for my posts on "the lion-headed wonder," if you want to see what a khukuri built by a contractor looks like. Getting a government contract means that you built a product to a price point, and not necessarily that you built a good product. (In fact, it very often means the opposite - you built a barely adequate or even bad product, but you built it on the cheap.)

I haven't talked to Simon in about a decade. The last time that we interacted in person, he seemed like a good guy - stubborn and opinionated, certainly, but I'm a bit opinionated myself. Some stuff doesn't come across well electronically. We actually talked about his banning here at the time. Not making excuses, but his explanation made sense to me. (Basically, don't get drunk and troll a forum with your buddies from the same physical location, lest a botched login winds up looking like sock puppetry.) So love him or hate him, as I can understand both positions. I'm not really sure where I stand on the issue, as again, we haven't talked in a long time.

The khukuris though? I don't know what he's selling today, but what he was selling ten years ago was pretty good stuff. I'm actually going to be downsizing my collection significantly in the near future as I get things organized and my Toras wound up in the "keepers" pile. That's not to say that they're necessarily better or worse than what other manufacturers make (and indeed, other manufacturers will be outnumbering the Toras in the "keeper" pile), but they're good. Light for the length? Usually, yes, but I typically like khuks that are light for their length - did then, do now. Tora is not the only seller of such things though, which is why that's not the only khuk that I'm hanging on to. Regardless of their weight and balance, those of you that know me know what I did to new khukuris, and his held up all right. Are they still this good? I have no idea. I'm stuck in the past here.

I'm sorry that you guys had your falling out, Spiral. You two used to be tight. I can understand it though. He can be an asshole at times.

As for people getting angry about trying to place an order and being told that if you can't wait, don't bother...surf TGBU forum for a bit and tell me how many complaints you see from people placing orders and not getting their product when expected/promised. I'd like to see more makers and sellers giving realistic lead times, not less.
 
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