Whats up with dis...why so cheap.

[Kreg Whitehead]

Sooooooo a week or so I get hit up on fb....I see the word knife and accept the request.

Then this person is sending me private messages asking if I am interested it some blades.

I respond  something like dude...I have over 40 blades of my own for sale...not interested.

Sends me another message yesterday with a pic of this kukuri.

I respond....that is pretty kewl...how much is it. He reply's 110.00 shipping and sheath included.

I ask if he takes paypal and where he is located.

He says he does paypal....and is in UAE.

I google UAE because I have never heard of it. United Arabic something or other.

I always here bladesmiths knocking blades from Pakistan....is that what this is...or equivalent?

Whats up with that.....just crappy steel??  Seems like a heck of a deal at 110.00

 

 

[Ted Stocksdale]

United Arab Emirates, the most famous is probably Dubai.  If you've heard of Emirates air lines - that's them.  A WHOLE lot more affulent than Pakistan, but someone else would have to speak to their smithcraft.

 

 

[Gerald Boggs]

The folks of UAE make nothing, they have immigrate servants to do all the labor. And as it's one of the more expensive place to live in the Middle East, I doubt anyone there is making knifes for export.

[steven smith]

that steel is instantly identifiable as crapmascus, the mismatched handle with way too many spacers and some horn just for kicks is not a good sign on any knife from any part of the world. 

 

why this crap-knife style is a thing, i have no idea, maybe wherever these come from they dont know good knives even exist. 

 

these are the word salads of knives.

 

the funny thing is that these probably take just as much work as a good quality knife would. this is why its important to study blades instead of just looking at them, and why its especially important to study good blades. 

 

[Kreg Whitehead]

He has sent me a ton of pics...there is another kukri thats pretty kewl too. I may edit a pic or 2.

Its only 100....I may be forced to try one...havent got much to lose.

I havent gone on yet....but my kid says I should be able to see his paypal reviews.

[steven smith]

this is what you will get from one of those knives. 

 

 

[Kreg Whitehead]

21 minutes ago, steven smith said:

this is what you will get from one of those knives. 

 

 

Yikes......The phrase ya get what ya pay for is coming to mind. I am gonna have to block this guy. He is waaaaaay to pushy.

[steven smith]

for traditional khukri check out himalayan imports, and search around a bit for other similar sources of real khukri, there are boatloads of reviews and recommendations for himalayan imports and a couple other sites i cant remember. they can be very affordable, mostly around $200 from himalayan imports.

[Alan Longmire]

I can't tell you how happy I am that Kyle made that video and even more that you posted it here.   Those guys (Pakistani or Indian, but probably Pakistani) have really improved in the last few years, probably from reading here on the forum! But, for being more or less actual slave labor you really can't blame them for poor welds and sloppy HT.  The guy in the UAE is probably getting the the one that sells for $35 for maybe $5-$7 each, which means that each guy on down the food chain is getting literally pennies for each step of the construction.  I'm glad Kyle didn't bash on them as much as he could have, they're stuck in a bad situation.

 

The Himalayan Imports folks are an actual fair trade kind of thing.  

[Joshua States]

I love Kyle. He is such a goof, but I love his videos. 

That $110 Kukuri sort of thing is definitely Pakmascus of some sort or another. The Guy in UAE is buying them in bulk and reselling them to anyone foolish enough to buy one at a huge markup from what he paid for it.

Run away, fast.

Edited February 27, 2021 by Joshua States

[Dan P.]

I was relieved to watch it through to the end where he offered that it was in fact a very good deal for $35, otherwise it would have been unfair.

And frankly expecting a knife to be shaving sharp after “finishing” it on what appears to be a crummy kitchen steel... no.

[JeffM]

I've run into this several times....the blades are NOT actually made in the UAE...they are imported to the UAE from Pakistan or China.

Then in turn they are pushed thru the marketplace at lowball prices....You see the same thing with a lot of damascus blades shipping from England

they also are imports from Pakistan and China...

 

What it really comes down to is a cheap attempt at masking the point of origin for where the blades were made because it's widely known that Pakistan and China both use poor quality steel and in some cases they completely mis-represent what actual steel was used to create the blade

 

At several knife and gun shows that I attend there is always a lowball damascus dealer that sells cheap imports...I constantly hear comments about why are my blades 200-300 dollars for damascus steel when they can walk a couple booths down and buy a damascus blade knife for 85-100 dollars....constantly drives me nuts.....

 

Just my two cents worth on the subject

[Brian Dougherty]

2 hours ago, JeffM said:

At several knife and gun shows that I attend there is always a lowball damascus dealer that sells cheap imports...I constantly hear comments about why are my blades 200-300 dollars for damascus steel when they can walk a couple booths down and buy a damascus blade knife for 85-100 dollars....constantly drives me nuts.....

 

My answer to that genre of questions is usually, "If you have to ask that question, you won't understand or appreciate the difference in quality anyway.", but I don't make a living by selling knives.  (Now you know one reason why :))

 

I share your frustration with this.