Review - KHHI Kustom Khukuris

[twolfnm]

KHHI Kustom Khukuris:

Introduction:

Greetings, people. Here we have two heavily customized khukuris (kukris) from KHHI, Khukuri House Handicrafts Industry, in Nepal.

http://TheKhukuriHouse.com

They are based on the "Victor" and the "Service No. 1" models, and this is my second order from KHHI. But before I get into this, let me give you some background info.

I've been buying quality knives since I was a little kid, and have a decent collection of blades in various styles. Last May, I decided to create a khukuri collection. Khuks are definitely different, and I think they have a "coolness factor" going on for them. They're also very practical, being made in a variety of weights and sizes to fill almost any fixed-blade knife need. Best of all, they are relatively inexpensive. The average price of a stock KHHI khuk, shipped, is about $100.

I did an extensive amount of research, bought a few khuks, and to make a long story short, determined that KHHI would be my source for these tools/weapons. I didn't want to mess around with the "Khukuri-Like Objects", I believe it's best to get genuine Nepalese khuks.

Back in September, I posted a review, here among a few other places, of the first two khuks I received from them. The pics came out the best in this one, check it out:
http://www.sword-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18582

Between being busy with life in general and playing with different designs, I took my time in finalizing a second order, and did that on Feb 10. Six weeks later, Mar 25, these bad boys arrived. These blades, handles, and sheaths are made to my custom design specs, originating with those existing models on their site. My apologies to the purists, but I don't like the traditional handles with a stick tang. For a few good reasons, a riveted full-tang grip is just plain superior.

I also figured that since I'm ordering these from the other side of the planet, and these people are fully capable of building any khuk someone would want (within reason), why not go all-out and design some really unique pieces? Right?


Historical overview:

Once again, there's quite a bit of information regarding khukuris around the 'net. I'll be very brief here and let you fine folks do your own research if they interest you. Since I'm advocating KHHI, I'd say to start with the substantial amount of historical info and research compiled by Mr. Saroj Lama Tamang (SLT) on his main site, linked above.

Since the 1500's, khuks have been traditionally made in every blade length from 7"/17cm to 22.5"/50cm. The most commonly seen over time, either as weapons or tools, range from 10"-14" or 25cm-35cm and weigh 1.25-1.75 lbs or 550-800g. However, the Nepalese still use all different sizes and weights, with some of the most awesome being the sacrificial blades that are around 18"/46cm, 4 lbs/1800g, or far more. That's not practical at all for everyday usage, but one like that might be nice as a final touch to a collection.

The Service No. 1, also known as the British Service Issue, is a historical military blade that was probably first made in the late '40s and is still in use by the ferocious Nepalese Gurkhas. Earlier models are said to have been ~11.5"/475g, and later models are ~10.5" and 550g. Over the past 23 years, KHHI has regularly won contracts to produce these service khuks for various branches of the Nepali military and police.

The Victor could also be considered a historical khuk, but probably only as a sacrificial blade. I don't think that anything over ~900g has ever been used as a regular Nepalese combat weapon, and at ~1250g, it's the type of large tool used for serious chopping, like whacking the heads off of sacrificial beasts.


Full Disclosure:

Becoming even more familiar with the KHHI products, realizing who these people truly are, and what their goals and plans are for improving the future of khukuris, the Kamis (khukuri craftsmen), and the others involved in producing them? I'm continuing my relationship with KHHI. Having owned a business for decades, I offer business advice, website modifications, and much more to SLT and the people at KHHI. I'm also working up a discount deal for forum members. I received these khukuris as compensation for my efforts. So I am biased, but I'll do my best to be completely objective in this review of their products.

If I'm not, call me on it. I want to produce good, honest reviews, not commercials.

I simply want to show you what KHHI is capable of, and you can take it from there.

My camera is an old 2.1 megapixel rig, so I'll apologize in advance for the quality of some photos, close-ups in particular. I think it does OK with the other pics. Cloud cover came and went, so that's the reason for the color variations. I also tried to minimize any reflections.

So, here we go!


Initial Impressions and Descriptions:

My apologies if I repeat anything from last time, but a lot of this general info is the same. Besides, it's the new pics and descriptions that count!

The actual ordering to delivery process may have taken 6 weeks in this case, but I was impressed once again with the delivery speed. It took 3 1/2 days for the package to get from Nepal to NM! A regular stock order should take about a month total time, but since these were custom designs, an extra 2 weeks was fine with me.

To make this review load faster and save bandwidth, I won't post pics of the packaging, it's exactly like the pics in my first review I linked above. If you want, you can look at them to see what I'm talking about.
There is one improvement, though. I had suggested that they sandwich the blades in cardboard and wrap that with tape, to protect the tips from getting dinged up in shipping. They are doing that now.

So, they come in a standard heavy-duty cardboard box , but the individual khuk packages are wrapped with a clothlike Lokta paper. Then, there is a LOT of bubble wrap around each heavily oiled plastic-wrapped khuk. The handles are wrapped separately inside, and oozing with lightweight oil. This time it didn't smell like cosmoline, it seemed to be regular lubricating oil. I missed the cosmoline smell, but I guess this is nicer for most people.

Contrary to some other khuk manufacturers, these are oiled so well that there's no way the metal can rust, and the handles can't dry out and crack if they get stuck in transit.

The sheaths were also wrapped in plastic to make sure they stay oil-free, and had wood wedges in the mouths to maintain the size and shape of the openings. There's also a nice Letter of Authenticity from SLT, printed on some waterproof plastic-paper.

Unwrapping these and wiping them down, I started getting that feeling. You know, the one where all your anxieties and apprehensions over a custom order just vanish as you realize you have EXACTLY what you wanted! Well, the neighbors think I'm crazy enough already, so I kept my excitement down to a nonverbal level. But I'm a very happy camper. These khuks arrived in immaculate condition, no problems whatsoever.

The blades are close to stock profiles, but both are customized by being hollow ground, then finished with a semi-polish. They are VERY sharp! The Service No. 1 is ~750g instead of ~550g. This Victor is a little broader in the forward section. The grips are my original designs, with the dark wood. You can specify either light brown or dark brown handles/grips, both East Indian Rosewood. The fit and finish of both khuks are very tight and solid.

Sheaths can come in cream, brown, black and green leather. I'm making a collection and going for contrast and variation, so I went with brown and green this time. You MIGHT be able get them in a "natural" and color them yourself, but I still haven't asked about that yet, so just ask them if that sounds like something you might want to do. I also added that cool little crossed khukuri pin to the Service No. 1, just as an accent.

KHHI's philosophy is to make working grade khuks. You can create some interesting variations, but they don't want to promise anything they can't deliver to everyone in the future. So, no purple rosewood. That kinda stinks, but I can see their point.

Bottom line, and to be completely objective, there are very tiny flaws in a few places, and you have to be looking closely to see them. Most of these will fade with usage. Considering the extremely basic conditions, tools, and techniques involved in producing these khuks, determine for yourself if you would overlook these things.

I'll elaborate more on everything as I go through the pics. First, here's the numbers:


Statistics: (There are actually a LOT of khukuri dimensions, but I'm going to keep this simple.)

Service No. 1:

751g/26.5oz/1.65lbs
10.5" blade
4.5" handle (with guard and pommel stud)
15.0" Overall Length (OAL)
15.5" OAL in sheath
Point of Balance (POB): 2 5/8" in front of guard
Blade angle: 24*

The Victor:

1262g/44.5oz/2.78lbs
15" blade
4 5/8" handle (with guard and exposed tang)
19 5/8" OAL
20.25" OAL in sheath
POB: 5.25" in front of guard
Blade angle: 22.5*


Components:

So, here's a buncha pics, with my comments:
(As usual, right click and hit "View Image" or whatever to see the full pic.)

Here's the khuks and sheaths, laid out:



Ready to travel. Note the quality of the sheathing leather, this is a nice grade of material, not cheap and rough by any means:



Reversed, with the solid rivets on the belt loop/frog, not sewn. When I received these, the green Victor frog/belt loop was smooth and tight. However, we've had about 10-15% humidity here, and I think the inner and outer leather strips are drying out unevenly, causing those wrinkles. I'm going to try using some saddle soap or even some oil to hopefully even out the stresses:



A side view to show how thick the frogs are, with the doubled up leather. These are definitely more stout than the thin stuff I've received or have seen from the other two popular companies. As to the green frog, note the outer piece is not as thick, making me think the rate of shrinkage could indeed be different. Now is that a manufacturer's flaw? I consider it more of an unexpected development, this phenomenon might only be experienced in low humidity areas:



A close-up of the hollow ground blades. These khuks are perfectly straight, smooth, flat, and true from end to end. No twists, wavy lines, or little dips at all:



Another shot showing that these are absolutely straight. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to properly align both of these to be square with the camera, a millimeter makes a difference in appearance!



I thought I'd put my scale across the blades to show the extent of the hollow ground surfaces, just in case the other pics don't show it clearly:



Now to the grips. Notice the overall contours and tapers, and that there are no gaps full of filler. These guys do some fantastic woodwork, and followed my design specs and drawings very closely. Both handles fit me almost perfectly, I'll take a Dremel tool to them for the fine tuning:



Top side. The big Victor on the left, and it is flawless. I'll be extremely critical here, there's 2 tiny grinder skips on the Svc No. 1, but overall the wood to metal transitions are continuously tight on both:



The undersides. There's a dent in the wood to the left of the exposed tang on the Victor, but I did that. Ouch.
The light reflections caused it to look like there are waves in the finger grooves of the Victor tang. Those aren't really there.
Being highly critical once more, there's a grinder nick on the Svc. No. 1. Also, there's a little bit of glue that didn't get cleaned up at the intersection of both guards, but again very straight and clean overall:



A close-up of the pommel and stud on the Service No. 1, nice:




(Continued)

 

[twolfnm]

Handling Characteristics:

You guys and gals KNOW to be very careful and highly aware when using sharp stuff that might kill you or at least mess up your day, right?
OK then, there's my PSA for the day, back to the fun.

I might be getting older, but I'm still solid muscle, so I can handle more knife weight than most people, and I believe that khuks should be relatively heavy to begin with, no matter what the dimensions. I'll be designing more of the smaller and lighter khuks, but they will still be heavy for their size. I consider these two to be "medium" and "on the big and heavy side".

Service No. 1:

Since this is truly a combat blade, I'll focus on those aspects. At 10.5" and 751g, this is still an incredibly fast blade to maneuver. It has excellent balance, but the weight is definitely there. As we say with katanas, it has "presence".

The length is also obvious, but it doesn't feel like a long blade. It's perceptibly slower than any of my "regular" 6-8" and 250-350g combat/tactical knives, but not enough that it would make any real difference. It's still small enough to carry concealed, and light enough to carry all day in that condition.

Since everyone knows what a 7" KaBar is, I'll say I'd take this khuk anytime over that, despite it being 2.5x as heavy. But that's the point, this is virtually as fast, but it has the weight to easily sever stuff where the KaBar would just slice things. Once again, I can see why the Gurkhas love these babies. And given our size difference, I had this one made proportionally heavier to match me. (The average Gurkha is 150 lbs.)

Now as a hacker/chopper, this is more than sufficient to do anything you'd expect of it. It just won't be as fast as something over 900g/32oz. When I stab things with this khuk, it feels natural and does a good job of it. I've found it takes just a little time, but stabbing with a curved khukuri blade is easier than a straight knife in some circumstances!


The Victor:

At 15" and 1262g, this is a big and heavy khuk, but it's easily handled if you have good wrists and forearms. It's still light enough to move fairly quickly, but it's more like swinging a Eurosword. As a weapon, it will work fine, but it would wear on you in a prolonged engagement. As a chopping device, the Victor rocks. It will probably go through any material of reasonable size and density that you would want to tackle. If I was supremely motivated, I could swing this baby all day long, but that would truly be pushing it. I really draw the line at 1000g for that, one-handed. Stabbing with it actually feels instinctive, it handles just like a short sword in that respect.

But honestly? This one is more of a functional show piece for me, I want a few heavy khuks. I still plan on getting an 18" 1800g/4lb Panawal, just for kicks. But that is at the last of my list. As you continue on to the test cutting I did on a log, I want to let you know that this Victor cut far deeper into it than my full-sized ax!

Not bad a'tall ...


Test Cutting:

I'm back with a chunk of the 6" log I used in September, and this stuff is still DRY and HARD! The ax only went into it about 5/8", so this is not like chopping soft, green wood. Onward, then.

12 whacks with the 750g midsize Service No. 1, it is still kind of light for serious chopping, but it did well:



Now for the Victor. At 1250g and 15", this big blade did some damage! I hit the log with two wide hits first to see if I could just open up a channel, and it sent a huge chunk of rock-hard wood flying across the yard! I guess that was part luck, because after that it just threw chips and splinters everywhere. A dozen serious chops resulted in this:



BOOM-whacka-hacka-cracka, Muah-ha-HA! (Sorry, but ya shoulda been there!)


Some Quality Observations:

You've seen the pics, and I might have pointed out more little items than you would have noticed on your own. But there's no rust, twists, roughness, blobs of filler, or loose parts. No real issues at all. You decide what you think of that. And once again, these come from a place with dirt floors and very basic equipment, made by Kamis who have never even heard of a CNC machine. Yet they produce some very nice knives.


Conclusions:

You might be thinking, "Yeah, but those are custom ordered. They SHOULD be nice." Well, I've seen a lot of their production pieces, picked at random, and although the designs might not be as complex, the quality is precisely like these. I'll say it once again: I think the quality and craftsmanship of the KHHI products is simply the best. Then consider the variety, about 140 models of every shape, size, and weight. And as far as bang for the buck, you can't beat the price, especially if you want to customize yours. Even if you're a die-hard fan of one of the other two popular manufacturers, you owe it to yourself to give one of these a place in your collection. Better yet, keep one in your truck, along with your fire extinguisher and your handgun.
Necessities, ya know?

In closing, I think I'll make this my last review of KHHI khukuris. Some might think that no matter how objective I try to be, there is an inherent conflict in my reviewing their products. So, from here on out, I'll just post pics and descriptions of my future acquisitions, while still avoiding writing commercials.
That should satisfy everyone, I hope.

Thanks for reading, - TW

.

 

[Rockywolf]

Thanks for sharing! I really like the smaller one.

 

[twolfnm]

Thanks, man. Yeah, it's a great blade, and definitely practical for the mountains around here.

 

[CelticCross74]

Ive got the KHHI 3 chirra "Beast" and cant say enough about it. Those customs HAD to have been 250 each yes?

 

[twolfnm]

CelticCross, I also have the "Beast", and it's customized. You can see it in the link to my first review. I reshaped the grip on it with my Dremel tool, I decided that it should be smaller for a 2.25lb khuk, and exactly the shape I wanted. Pics below. I learned to design the grips a lot better by the time I made this second order.

As far as the cost, as I said, these were a partial payment for the things I've done for KHHI. I'd GUESS that the big Victor would go for about $200, and the medium-sized Service No. 1, maybe $100? The shipping on both to the US is $55.73, according to the website calculator. So, about $355 total? I'll have to ask, we're still working with rough amounts in trade.

You can find the customization rates under the "Design Your Khukuri" link on the left of any page you're on at their site.
Their rates are REALLY good!







Similar to the Victor, and I get a really good grip on that beasty thing! But those 2 will be the only full finger grip designs, I'm drawing up other stuff now.

 

[Derek the Destroyer]

Why the heck would you buy anything other than Himalayan Imports?

 

[twolfnm]

Hi, Derek. I guess for the HI fanatics, that is a good question.
Let me see if I can answer that nicely, OK?

If you read my review, I said that I did a lot of research before buying anything. I bought an HI to see what the fuss was all about, and have seen many more of their khuks in person, so I definitely know about them. I wasn't impressed with the one I got or a few of the others. 'Nuff said?

But overall, HI makes good stuff, there's no doubt about that. However, KHHI is better.

- KHHI has MUCH tighter Quality Control.
- Their quality is equal to if not better than HI.
- They have 4 times the selection/variety.
- They will do almost any custom build you want, NO problem.
- Most important: An average stock HI sells for $180, shipped. The average stock KHHI is only $100. (ETA: SHIPPED.)

So my question to you is, why WOULDN'T you buy a KHHI? At least just one, to compare, as I did with my HI?

There's another popular company besides these 2 heavyweights in the khuk industry. They produce some good, basic, lightweight stuff, but that seems to be random chance.

I bought one of theirs to compare also. I'll just say I use it for a beater while I wait for it to fall apart. If you want to know about them, just go to their site and read the threads where people complain about the khuks they bought. It seems the owner won't do returns or refunds, either.

So, get in touch with me when you're ready to buy your first KHHI khuk. OK?

 

[jac_solar]

Hi, Derek. I guess for the HI fanatics, that is a good question.
Let me see if I can answer that nicely, OK?

If you read my review, I said that I did a lot of research before buying anything. I bought an HI to see what the fuss was all about, and have seen many more of their khuks in person, so I definitely know about them. I wasn't impressed with the one I got or a few of the others. 'Nuff said?

But overall, HI makes good stuff, there's no doubt about that. However, KHHI is better.

- KHHI has MUCH tighter Quality Control.
- Their quality is equal to if not better than HI.
- They have 4 times the selection/variety.
- They will do almost any custom build you want, NO problem.
- Most important: An average stock HI sells for $180, shipped. The average stock KHHI is only $100.

So my question to you is, why WOULDN'T you buy a KHHI? At least just one, to compare, as I did with my HI?

There's another popular company besides these 2 heavyweights in the khuk industry. They produce some good, basic, lightweight stuff, but that seems to be random chance.

I bought one of theirs to compare also. I'll just say I use it for a beater while I wait for it to fall apart. If you want to know about them, just go to their site and read the threads where people complain about the khuks they bought. It seems the owner won't do returns or refunds, either.

So, get in touch with me when you're ready to buy your first KHHI khuk. OK?

I was under the impression that HI's products were considerably better than other khukuri producers. Do KHHI sell BLEMS? If not, what do they do with the "BLEMS"?

Anyway, I've been looking at KHHI's stuff for awhile -- they have a couple of designs that HI does not have, such as a 5 fuller Khukuri, and the Mukti.

But KHHI seem to run their Khukuris significantly thinner than HI. I'm not sure if this is an issue, but I'd really like it if they made them thicker. A 5 fuller, 0.5" thick, 15-20" blade, khukuri would be awesome.

 

[Karda]

It should be readily apparent that the items shown here are cherry picked items, given to the OP for services rendered. As a purchasing customer your experience may or may not be as good. Usage of the forum search function will bear out just about everything I'm about to say.

However, KHHI is better.

- KHHI has MUCH tighter Quality Control.

Their failure rate is vastly larger than any other khukuri company. Just the reviews on this very site/forum alone bear this out.
They don't sell Blem khukuri, they don't even QC for it. They pass them along to unsuspecting customers both in country and abroad.
It is known that cracks, inclusions, cold shuts and spotty heat treat are normal.
Heres a couple quick and fairly recent examples:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...d-Got-My-refund-2-22!?highlight=khukuri+house
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-Kukuri-failure/page3?highlight=khukuri+house

- Their quality is equal to if not better than HI.

I'll admit they have stepped up their game in the finishing dept recently.They are also beefing up their khukuri to heavier models.
What company do you think is responsible for their doing so?
Uncle Bill admittedly had no proof of this, but stated that HI was the forerunner for opening up the khukuri world to the western market back in the day.
Out of the 3 notable manufacturers, HI is the oldest by 3 years to KHHI and 10 years for the other manufacturer.

- They have 4 times the selection/variety.

HI has a limited variety of standard products, because quite frankly, it does not want to warehouse a bunch of designs that do not sell well and does not want to waste precious steel, horn, antler, silver....on items that may remain unsold for years,if at all. HI does not wish to squander precious resources or waste kamis talent on speculative product. There is far more that HI makes that is not listed on the website. Many, many variants, one of pieces and special designs have come and gone.
Part of the reason KHHI has so many models is that they steal designs from other manufacturers...and not just khukuri designs either. If you look at their site you will see designs that originated at HI, Tora and had models from notable fixed blade manufacturers such as Schrade and Camillus among others.
They and their affiliates have been caught several times using ad copy stolen directly from the HI website.

Notable designs stolen from HI
(observed as of this posting):

Uncle Bill Especiale -KHHI Chukuri Plus
Ultimate Fighter- KHHI Chukuri
R-10- KHHI Churi
Gelbu Special- KHHI D-881
Ang Khola Bowie- KHHI QL-5730
Bahadur Knife-Modern Craft
Spear Vala - KHHI QL5861
Farm Knife - Mukti

Designs from others:

Tora Havildar- (saw before, can't find)
Extrema Ratio- KHHI D-896/Extrema militia (even stole part of the name!)
Tom Brown Tracker- D996_B/Multicraft

- They will do almost any custom build you want, NO problem.

HI does custom orders too. From customer designs to redesigns of existing patterns, also no problem.

- Most important: An average stock HI sells for $180, shipped. The average stock KHHI is only $100.

In some cases. In others not. Then one must figure in the cost of international shipping.
By your prices above and their website pricing, they are no more of a bargain.
Then figure in that their warranty is only about 20 days from purchase and they will want you to place an order for another khukuri to "facilitate" shipping you your replacement in cases of warranty claim.

So, get in touch with me when you're ready to buy your first KHHI khuk. OK?

Not unless you are planning on purchasing a DEALER membership on Bladeforums.

 

[jac_solar]

It should be readily apparent that the items shown here are cherry picked items, given to the OP for services rendered. As a purchasing customer your experience may or may not be as good. Usage of the forum search function will bear out just about everything I'm about to say.



Their failure rate is vastly larger than any other khukuri company. Just the reviews on this very site/forum alone bear this out.
They don't sell Blem khukuri, they don't even QC for it. They pass them along to unsuspecting customers both in country and abroad.
It is known that cracks, inclusions, cold shuts and spotty heat treat are normal.
Heres a couple quick and fairly recent examples:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...d-Got-My-refund-2-22!?highlight=khukuri+house
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-Kukuri-failure/page3?highlight=khukuri+house



I'll admit they have stepped up their game in the finishing dept recently.They are also beefing up their khukuri to heavier models.
What company do you think is responsible for their doing so?
Uncle Bill admittedly had no proof of this, but stated that HI was the forerunner for opening up the khukuri world to the western market back in the day.
Out of the 3 notable manufacturers, HI is the oldest by 3 years to KHHI and 10 years for the other manufacturer.


HI has a limited variety of standard products, because quite frankly, it does not want to warehouse a bunch of designs that do not sell well and does not want to waste precious steel, horn, antler, silver....on items that may remain unsold for years,if at all. HI does not wish to squander precious resources or waste kamis talent on speculative product. There is far more that HI makes that is not listed on the website. Many, many variants, one of pieces and special designs have come and gone.
Part of the reason KHHI has so many models is that they steal designs from other manufacturers...and not just khukuri designs either. If you look at their site you will see designs that originated at HI, Tora and had models from notable fixed blade manufacturers such as Schrade and Camillus among others.
They and their affiliates have been caught several times using ad copy stolen directly from the HI website.

Notable designs stolen from HI
(observed as of this posting):

Uncle Bill Especiale -KHHI Chukuri Plus
Ultimate Fighter- KHHI Chukuri
R-10- KHHI Churi
Gelbu Special- KHHI D-881
Ang Khola Bowie- KHHI QL-5730
Bahadur Knife-Modern Craft
Spear Vala - KHHI QL5861
Farm Knife - Mukti

Designs from others:

Tora Havildar- (saw before, can't find)
Extrema Ratio- KHHI D-896/Extrema militia (even stole part of the name!)
Tom Brown Tracker- D996_B/Multicraft



HI does custom orders too. From customer designs to redesigns of existing patterns, also no problem.


In some cases. In others not. Then one must figure in the cost of international shipping.
By your prices above and their website pricing, they are no more of a bargain.
Then figure in that their warranty is only about 20 days from purchase and they will want you to place an order for another khukuri to "facilitate" shipping you your replacement in cases of warranty claim.



Not unless you are planning on purchasing a DEALER membership on Bladeforums.

Mukti, or Redemption, does not look like the Farm Knife, though.

In any case, the Mukti design is originally by "Knives By Hand".

 

[jdk1]

FWIW and to back up what Karda said, it seems at least in the past KHHI copied other company's blades. Though at times using a different name/sales outlet. This is not a big deal to me, as it's common across knife makers, but they actually copied the description right off the original company's website. I specifically remember seeing their copy of the Tora Havildar where the add even left Tora's name in. It takes a little work to figure out who is who as KHHI doesn't list the Havildar, but EGKH does. To connect the two, this comes from the EGKH site:

"Offline payment:
If you prefer not to use your credit card over the internet (Pay online) then EGKH also facilitates its customers by providing options payment methods. Please see below the various payment methods KHHI offers:"

So, while I don't have a huge problem with the design copies, the blatant cutting and pasting from other's websites was a bit of a turn-off. It looks like they've somewhat corrected that part though, so that's something at least. Though, to me, the use of multiple company names and sales outlets is odd. But, that's just me and I do enjoy the thorough reviews on these khuks. Take care.

 

[Chris C.]

But overall, HI makes good stuff, there's no doubt about that. However, KHHI is better.

- KHHI has MUCH tighter Quality Control.
- Their quality is equal to if not better than HI.

If KHHI has better quality control HI must be doing something like sending knives that are already in two pieces to save you the inconvenience of having to break it yourself.

As I wrote in my own damning review of a KHHI service no.1 khukuri, I expect I will never buy a knife from KHHI sight unseen because:

Rivets on sheath rusty

Sheath too small -knife can only be pulled out of sheath with significant difficulty even after years of use

Horn handle cracked

Brass pommel cap edges not closed, small opening gouges hole in palm of hand when used to chop

Blade "fullers" uneven depth, width, length, not straight, not even properly formed in middle when a thin strand of metal is completely level with surface on one side

Blade not at all sharp - run your thumb across and push down and not get cut dull

Blade chipped on arrival - that chip is still there, the blade is so thick and I'd have to grind it all back by yet another half mm which is more effort than it's worth

Blade very rusty on arrival, covered in rust

Blade so rusty it etched the surface which, after I cleaned the rust off, now has unattractive black oxide spots, managed to get rid of some with fine paper but some are too deep

Blade severely marked by grind wheel - looked like it had been attacked by a very coarse piece of sand paper, only all the scratches were neatly parallel, roughly perpendicular to the spine, because they came from the wheel

The whole blade, both sides and spine are covered by this. You can't stick a ruler anywhere and find more than 1/32 of an inch which isn't heavily scratched. It was worse before I put a bit of fine grit paper to work on it

I wonder if someone just shoved the knife in its too tight sheath and figured he'd take it out again to get rid of the grind marks and put an acceptable, if low grade, polish on it which would thin it down a little and allow it in and out of the sheath but then forgot about it.

I should have sent it back, but the high postage costs and risk of having my claim rejected--in retrospect the high number of faults and the severity of several of them make that a stupid consideration--stopped me from doing so.

The only redeeming feature is that aside one or two small chips (which I really don't think should be there and which I think are symptomatic to the first chip since they're all in the same region) it hasn't failed and I did buy it as a working knife and it's served quite well in that respect.

But I cannot believe that there was any quality control involved in marking it suitable for sale and, as I said at the start, the likelihood of me ever buying from KHHI again (and I was in the market which is why I wrote my review) is very slim unless I'm actually holding the exact knife in my hand. Since I don't have any plans to travel to Nepal it doesn't seem all that likely I will be doing that.

On the other hand, your pair of knives look nice. On the other hand, you'd expect that given you have a relationship with KHHI. Apart from the general blade shape they look nothing like mine.

 

[jac_solar]

How is EGKH quality?

I've been considering ordering a 5 fuller Khukuri -- I'm not sure where from, though. Both KHHI and EGHK carry some 5 fuller designs.. So, which company is the best?

 

[jdk1]

jac_solar, they're the same company. It's one company using multiple names/sales outlets.

 

[twolfnm]

Hi, people.

We took off to raise Hell on the Harleys all weekend, and when I got back, I noticed a handful of replies, some nice, some not.

In the "not so nice" column, I see two recurring themes.

- Conflating KHHI with other unrelated companies that have "Khukuri House" somewhere in their names.
- Dredging up old history.

The first is very important to me and KHHI because we have to correct that, and the second is of little concern to me, it's done and gone. I go into more detail on each of these in my following responses, but let me just give you the short versions of reality and what's significant or even applicable to me.

First, these are the sites that KHHI owns and controls:
www.thekhukurihouse.com
www.khukurihouseonline.com
www.gurkha-kukris.com
www.khukrimuseum.com
and only ONE showroom in Patan Industrial Estate, Lalitpur.

Guys, KHHI and EGKH are NOT the same company! They are competitors, and although EGKH stole a lot of KHHI designs, the quality and prices are NOT the same, KHHI is much better. Man, this is how all of this conflation and confusion keeps going on. JDK, I know you're trying to help, so stop it, partner! That is WRONG! Read my reply to you below, I have much more on this.

Anything and everything else aside from those 4 sites is NOT KHHI, but people continue to confuse them all. There's nothing I can do about this, except ask y'all to NOT get them mixed up for whatever reasons. KHHI gets blamed for everything that any of them does, and that sucks. Simon at Tora conflates them all on purpose, and that really sucks. In the past 10 months, I've had people swear up and down that KHHI was involved in something or another, only I find out differently and have to prove to these people that they were mistaken. A "khukuri house" is a generic term, despite KHHI having been previously named "Khukuri House" as an official business. So be careful about that.

Second, I'm an advisor to KHHI, among other things. But even IF they had done all sorts of awful things before I got together with them, those things are secondary issues to me. Even if it's true, I basically don't care about that old stuff, because it's already done and I can't do anything about it. I DO know it wasn't very prevalent, because it took me 2 weeks of research before I found out that certain people were trying to blow these things out of proportion.

But I am very involved in massive changes and improvements at KHHI. They are NOT the same company that they were even a year ago. Between everyone involved, we are creating and polishing up an awesome little enterprise. I'm very confident when I say they are now the best. So to anyone else who wants to bring up what I consider ancient history, kiss my grits. Enough already.

Now, as I clearly stated in my review, I'm in the middle of negotiations and expecting to have agreements with various knife/blade forums, to offer the members a discount on KHHI products. I hope to see a reply to my proposal for this site very soon. 'Til then, I won't open this up to anyone, but be aware that it's coming.

Bottom line, this khuk market is big enough for everyone that makes a quality product. And anyone can strengthen their business philosophy and become determined to be the best. It's just a matter of will, teamwork, and time.

Thanks, - TW

 

[twolfnm]

Hi, jac_solar.

First off, don't get me wrong, despite some of their representatives, I LIKE Ms. Yangdu and HI, and they're the only other khuk company I'd ever consider buying from. I just PREFER KHHI, and that's not only because I have an arrangement with them. I outlined my reasons above, and the huge price difference is the primary consideration, even in trade. Especially when I plan on getting at least a dozen khuks! I've only got 6 now.

It might have been true in the past that HI's products were of considerably better quality than other khukuri producers, but the khuk scene has changed lately. And as I said, they DO make some great stuff. But aside from some kothimoras, I don't think KHHI will ever produce some of those fancy showpiece-only khuks that HI does. They concentrate on creating working khuks. Those particular HIs might be completely functional, but I wouldn't go out and hack stuff up with them, I'd be afraid to scratch them.

So what I'm talking about here when I speak of quality is not ornate carvings and elaborate scrollwork, with a fine mirror polish. That's not quality, that's just artwork. As you can see, I personally don't like a high polish on my blades. Reflections and weapons don't go together in my world. But I'm talking about all the more practical aspects of the khuks and sheer consistency. That is where KHHI is at least equal to HI.

What I've been doing in the last 10 months with KHHI is to help them improve their business. The concise definition of our focus is on being the best in quality, variety, and price. Of course, the highest priority is on quality, where they have made VAST improvements. I see it all the time now in random samplings of their products, EVERY khuk is supposed to be tight and clean. In the last 8 months, they have made considerable changes. That's how I can justify saying these things. OK?

As to their factory seconds, or "blems", as you call them? I believe they sell those to the local street marketers. I DO know that they are NOT being mixed in with the orders that go out to regular customers. Now, of course there's going to be a substandard piece that gets through here and there. But that happens to EVERYONE in the production business. I have an HI that proves that.

Concerning thickness and weights that are proportionally greater than normal? Well, traditional Nepalese khukuris are NOT extremely thick and heavy for their size. That is an HI thing, and they will tell you that. Matter of fact, ALL of the historical evidence shows that most khuks were normally made in medium to lighter weights, and still are today.

But if you want a big, thick, heavy khuk from KHHI, just custom design the specs like I did with that Service No. 1, it's 36% heavier than their stock gov't issue model, which HI also offers at a light weight. The nice thing is that mine, with full custom design and specs, would still be cheaper than HI's stock British Army Service model.

Oh, one last thing, you posted this in response to Karda's vomiting screed:

"In any case, the Mukti design is originally by "Knives By Hand".
And Frank at Knives By Hand is a KHHI designer and dealer, similar to John McCurdy and Andrew Lucas. It's really tough to "steal" a design from a guy who designed something for you. That should clear that up.

Later, man.

 

[twolfnm]

Hiyas, jdk.

First off, thanks. I like doing these, it's fun. I also like to show off the capabilities of a buncha guys working in relatively primitive conditions with very rudimentary equipment.

Second, I don't know what to say about that Tora copying stuff, I think people have KHHI and someone else confused with each other. I imagine that was quite a while back, so I wasn't around then, I'd have to see the posts. All I know is that KHHI has good, honest designs and products, and that THEY are the ones who have their designs and names ripped off by others. Something about imitation and flattery, maybe?

I know a lot of knife designers/makers swipe ideas from each other here and there, but it seems that Nepal raised it to the level of a national sport! I think it's almost as bad as the archery companies, they all take each other's bow designs, openly!

Back to being serious, Karda mentions some so-called "copies" that vaguely resemble the KHHI khuks. That doesn't wash, I know for a fact that many of these are original KHHI designs or the designs of their customers. As to others, one noticeable variation, and something is no longer a copy. Once you have two major differences, it's pretty foolish to claim that one is a copy of the other.

Hell, since I completely changed the grip, the blade design, and the weight, I "could" claim my Service No. 1 as an original custom design, the only thing left of the original was the blade profile and the name. LOL, maybe I should, it took hours to do the drawings! Same for the Victor, the blade and grip are mine, but I kept the weight and the name. That one took even longer to design and sketch out.

Point being, mine are similar, but really nowhere close to being copies of the original designs. They truly are custom khuks. I kept the names simply as a point of reference for the Kamis.

Third, EGKH (nepalkhukurihouse.com) has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with KHHI. They are adversaries, so I don't know why they would post that bit with the KHHI name, and I couldn't find it on their site. Maybe they're just plain stupid and didn't catch it?

So it sounds like that Tora Havildar material was stolen by EGKH, NOT KHHI. Don't conflate the two, partner.
As to the Havildar design? It looks like a dozen other traditional khuk designs, it's commonplace. If Simon claims it's an original, he's full of it yet again. Nobody could say such a generic design was exclusively theirs.

Regarding EGKH stealing designs, look here for evidence that is probably true, these links explain a lot. Note the sites that stole unique KHHI designs:

http://www.thekhukurihouse.com/Content/our_appeal.php
and:
http://www.thekhukurihouse.com/Content/Support/kukri_misdeed.php

As far as consolidating the 4 official KHHI sites under thekhukurihouse.com alone, I went back and forth with SLT over that for 3 months, and he won't budge. If my powers of logic, persuasion, and debate didn't work, I doubt anything will. So what else can I say? I really tried.

Take care, man.

 

[twolfnm]

Hey, ChrisC.

I have to ask you: When did all of this happen?

I find it hard to believe that came from KHHI, I've never seen anything even remotely like that. That's shameful, and I want to see your review. This must have been long ago.
Regardless of when, that wouldn't be typical at all, and it had to have been when they used to sub out work to other kamis.
But that was in the past, and they were changing production crews up and eliminating the bad kamis long before I first saw them a year ago, or I obviously would've run from them.

I've only been working with these people on and off for the past 10 months, giving them a lot of new ideas and improvements, and they are listening and adapting, while coming up with advancements of their own. I'm helping them be the best, but there's a lot of things they still need to fix or adopt as new. But so far, the refined philosophy at KHHI has already put them ahead of everyone else.

Point being, I can't make any amends for what they might have done in the past, but I'm sorry yours came that way. All I can do is concern myself with what is recent, what is being done now, and what will be done in the future.

And even though you got a screwed up khuk, KHHI is not entirely at fault. You should have demanded a replacement or refund, but you said you never bothered to ask about either of those. Despite any objections you might raise to my saying that, you NEVER know until you ask. So your being stuck with that garbage khuk was your decision. And your dwelling on the past doesn't change the reality of the present.

Finally, as I said in my conclusions, "You might be thinking, 'Yeah, but those are custom ordered. They SHOULD be nice.' Well, I've seen a lot of their production pieces, picked at random, and although the designs might not be as complex, the quality is precisely like these."

So despite my association with them, the type of quality I received is what everyone should expect now. What happened in the past is only relevant to fanbois of other brands and people with lightly veiled agendas, or axes to grind.

 

[twolfnm]

Karda. Wow. You really shouldn't have made that post.

First, a few points:

- You have serious reading comprehension problems.
- You're grasping at a lot of straws to make your "case".
- Your post is full of hyperbole and pure BS. You make stuff up to fit your imaginary conceptions.

Anyways, fasten your seat belt, son. You're in for a rough ride. As strenuous as it may be for you, you need to focus and read this carefully and completely. I'm always factual, and I try to be as polite as possible, but you opened the door here. Deal with it.

"It should be readily apparent that the items shown here are cherry picked items, given to the OP for services rendered."

You start off by showing your miserable reading comprehension, I covered all of this in the original post. They were NOT "cherry picked", they are my own custom designs, I said so a dozen times, so of course they should be nice. But you lead with inferring that I was trying to be deceptive. Why? That's pretty stupid considering I was straightforward about everything. And whether I paid for them or received them in trade is irrelevant, unless you consider that a paying customer might have actually gotten a higher level of care. But I'll address that type of fallacy next.

"As a purchasing customer your experience may or may not be as good."

No, wrong. One of the major points I've been pushing at KHHI is that EVERYONE always receives a top-quality khuk. But like so many other things, you didn't know that.

"Usage of the forum search function will bear out just about everything I'm about to say."

No, it doesn't. There's far more good than bad. There were some screwups, but I also found people confusing KHHI with someone else, among other mistakes.

"Their failure rate is vastly larger than any other khukuri company."

That's a baldfaced lie, and I noticed that a lot of scathing reviews were done by HI fanatics. No biases or agendas there, huh?
Is that too harsh? OK, you sure do like to exaggerate to the point of hyperbole, but you know that KHHI is the largest producer of khuks in the world. So, yes, they MIGHT have a greater number of khuks that got past QC back when those posts were written, but their PERCENTAGE was actually very small. Since that doesn't fit your narrative, I thought I'd point that out.

"They don't sell Blem khukuri, they don't even QC for it. They pass them along to unsuspecting customers both in country and abroad."

Well, you really crossed the line there, Buckwheat. I can't cuss on here, so does FILTHY LIAR work for you? I told you they have the best QC in the business now, but I guess your selective comprehension missed that part. You have NO IDEA what they do with their seconds, so you just made that up. Then you try to make your speculations sound villainous, that's cute. IF I told you that they sold all their seconds to local storefronts, precisely what would be wrong with that? It's more efficient, and they DON'T get shipped out to the regular customers. Quit making up lies, dude.

"It is known that cracks, inclusions, cold shuts and spotty heat treat are normal."

You know that, you being a representative of HI, SLT can sue your butt off for all of the lies and BS you're spreading? Better watch it, Spanky. And I don't think you know what a cold shut is, these aren't welded anywhere.

"Heres a couple quick and fairly recent examples:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...d-Got-My-refund-2-22!?highlight=khukuri+house
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-Kukuri-failure/page3?highlight=khukuri+house"

"Recent", my butt. That first thread is over two years old, it's completely irrelevant. I know, you had to find SOMETHING to grasp onto, but you could've done better than that. At least the next one was in the timeframe that we are discussing, the last 8-10 months. I know, I know, it's OK. If we were talking about Mopars, you'd be dragging up everything from before Iacocca was there. Not that my situation is completely analogous, I'm just making a rough comparison.

Ah, but what is it about this second example you give that smacks of your desperation? Oh, I know, it's your red herring disguised as a black swan posing as a commonplace occurrence! Let's see what people had to say about it:

Laurence of Rhinoknives said, "I have seen the same thing "one time" on a Randall made knife. You can check everything and still once in a long while a hairline fracture or stress riser can make it past quality control."

Then YOU say, "In all reality, you can't expect an "assurance" from any maker as to whether or not a blade will fail under use.
Not just with reclaimed steel either. The steel makers aren't always perfect and neither is any maker.
In 25 years of doing business, HI has had only a couple of known failures like this. Both were replaced.
Like I previously stated, it's all in the manufacturing and quality control process."

So back up 27 months and it was cool with you, just an exclusively rare and basically unpreventable phenomenon that even occurred at YOUR shop. But now it's damning evidence of how those incompetent fiends at KHHI just don't know what they're doing, right? OK, I see how that works now. Or maybe you're a real piece of work?

Do you actually THINK before you post any of this stuff, or are you like a monkey scooping up crap and flinging it at the wall, hoping that some of it will stick? Bless your heart, you DO try ...

Back on point, I'm saying that KHHI is now better than HI in those respects. Or at least their equal. Prove me wrong.
Oh, KHHI has ONE known failure of that type in 23 years of business, and HI had "a couple"? Hmmm.
I recall something about glass houses and stones.

The bad part about this "sirupatespecial" dude is that he started complaining about a rare freak occurrence before contacting the manufacturer about a remedy. That's not cool at all, ALWAYS allow someone the chance to fix a problem before you go running off at the mouth about it. Stuff happens. The good part is that he not only got a replacement but another nice khuk at a huge discount. That's some disaster you brought up there, I'd say it ended pretty well.

"I'll admit they have stepped up their game in the finishing dept recently."

He says begrudgingly, trying to minimize the fact that KHHI is taking QC and customer service to a superior level. No more tolerance for even a measurably small percentage of khuks slipping by the newly trained QC guys. That's the current reality, Bubba.
How ARE sales going for you nowadays? There's quite a few people who've said they're buying KHHIs now, because they can get the same quality and more variety without having to pay 80% more for the HI name. And that's a fact, Jack.

"They are also beefing up their khukuri to heavier models. What company do you think is responsible for their doing so?

More unadulterated BS, and another product of your imagination. They are NOT "beefing up their khukuri to heavier models", a lot of them are lighter than they used to be last fall. Now, they have had a few heavy khuks all along, but nothing like the beasty babies at HI. Face it, they're adding new models across the entire spectrum, and weight has nothing to do with it, so don't make it sound like they are trying to copy your stuff.

Come to think of it, HI has a couple of khuks with finger grooves. Admit it, you copied those from KHHI.

Kargada, you're not only ridiculous, your straw-grasping is pathetic.

"Uncle Bill admittedly had no proof of this, but ..."

Hey, I respect Bill Martino, so don't go dragging his good name into your petulant little screed. You dishonor him.
And if he had no proof of it, then why bring it up? Or are you trying to pull an argumentum ad verecundiam? You don't know this, but that is a logical fallacy. Now you've gone and truly dishonored Mr. Martino, chump. Ms. Yangdu is not going to like that.

"Out of the 3 notable manufacturers, HI is the oldest by 3 years to KHHI and 10 years for the other manufacturer."

It's actually TWO years, but that doesn't matter here because your statement is IRRELEVANT! Nobody was talking about the years that each company started. That's a strawman, another logical fallacy. But if you really want to get down to specifics, both companies were formed at roughly the same time, but the old original Khukuri House wasn't incorporated until later.

"HI has a limited variety of standard products, because quite frankly, it does not want to warehouse a bunch of designs that do not sell well and does not want to waste precious steel, horn, antler, silver....on items that may remain unsold for years,if at all. HI does not wish to squander precious resources or waste kamis talent on speculative product. There is far more that HI makes that is not listed on the website. Many, many variants, one of pieces and special designs have come and gone."

That's all a buncha crap, because first off, you don't understand how a business like khukuris, or ANY business for that matter, should work. I can't believe you said that, and I honestly hope they don't let you anywhere near the business end of anything more complex than a sharp stick! Nobody in their right mind is going to crank out all sorts of different products at random and stock them, hoping that they'll sell someday. It's fairly simple, but it doesn't work like that. Go take a course in microeconomics, or better yet, go watch some 8 year olds run a lemonade stand first.

The other irrational part of your response is that HI doesn't list all of the products they sell. WHAT? Why not?
And I'm not talking about custom pieces, although ... You know what? I'm not telling you anything else. You're failing miserably in many respects, but I'm not gonna help you out unless you pay me. If I wanted to, I could double your profit margin in 6 months. LMMFAO, dude!

(Cont.)