Hello All ,
I have been after a traditional Kukri knife for a long time now but after reading many reviews regarding different companies and their products it has taken me some time to actually make my mind up . I am not new to the world of knives as Ive both owned and made them in different forms since I was young , so I think I have a reasonable understanding of the many different styles , uses and types of metals used for their manufacture . There has been a great deal of criticising and bad mouthing on the various knife forums from certain people of the various manufacturers of kukris including a certain owner of a UK based kukri manufacturing company who should know better and should in fact stick to just promoting his own products which I think are quite good anyway . all of This bickering only confuses genuine people who would like to purchase a traditional hand made kukri which are made in Nepal . My aim therefore is to try and give an un-biased account and state some facts with my interpretation of present day kukri manufacturers and their products for anyone interested in buying one .
First of all as far as I am concerned as well as many other people , there are three main Kukri manufacturers in Nepal and they are "Khukuri House Handicraft Industry " , "Tora Blades" and "Himalayan Imports" , yes there are quite a few other small companies but many of them are illegally stealing and using website information , photos etc and copying kukri knives from other companies sites mainly from Khukuri House Handicraft Industry who are IN FACT the original and largest kukri manufacturer and retailer of genuine hand made kukris in Nepal . So my warning to anyone who is interested in buying a kukri is " BEWARE" , TRY AND STICK TO THE MAIN COMPANIES .
Now after having seen products from all three companies and doing a great deal of background research , this is my take on the three main companies , and they all have their supporters and their detractors .
Himalayan Imports are an American based company who import their kukris in from Nepal . By all accounts they are quite a good company to deal with and customer service seems satisfactory . They do tend to make what many people class as over built kukris with quite thick spines making them robust but a little over heavy , in my opinion this is not good for general balance . My dislike of HI kukris is that nearly every model has quite a straight made handle instead of the more traditional slightly curved handle which is a little less strain when using the kukri in a practical way ie chopping .
Tora Blades , once again need no introduction and they make a nice selection of historical kukris tending to stick with the original sizes , weights and measurements etc , making them an all together lighter blade to handle . As with HI , Tora seem to have their own fan base , but one of the problems with Tora seems to be the length of time you can wait from ordering one to actually receiving it , I have actually read posts where people have had to wait four months or more , which does seem a bit strange . Without denigrating the owner of Tora Blades , it is a well known fact that he has the knack of upsetting quite a few people with his comments and the way he denigrates other companies products . Why he does this I do not know as it can only be bad for business . By what Ive read this is why he is banned from certain knife forum sites .
Khukuri House Handicraft Industry as stated is the original and largest manufacturer of kukris in Nepal and it is where I decided after much research to buy my kukris from. They have a large range and selection even though I prefer the more traditional / historic kukris . I have just purchased two traditional semi custom kukris which are faultless and I received a British Standard Issue kukri ( FREE ) including postage thrown in with their Christmas offer if you spend over a given amount and you cant be fairer than that . They also give the customer the choice of order now and pay in instalments at a later date (at no extra cost) if you are struggling for cash . I found Mr Saroj Tamang Lama . the Managing Director more than helpful and understanding in my choice of design for the two semi custom kukris . In the UK I get quite frustrated with poor customer service from many companies I buy products from but KHHI are an absolute pleasure to do business with and Mr Saroj Lama seems a very polite man in his dealings . Without spoiling it for him , I know that KHHI have many new and innovative ideas coming up in the near future in the New Year which I am sure will impress new and old customers alike and will certainly be bringing big improvements to their kukri knives in general . I also happen to know that KHHI are looking at new ways to improve their Kamis (blacksmiths) working conditions and general lifestyle improvements with financial incentives .
Hopefully this short resume will give forum members a greater general understanding of what the various companies have to offer in the way of kukri knives , and as I say these are only my observations and conclusions I came to having done a lot of background research .
Many thanks