Every knife that comes out of Kailash blades is intended to be of high enough quality that it will last you a lifetime. However people use their knives differently, with some people demanding high cutting performance while others are mostly concerned with how much abuse their blade can take. In order to facilitate these different functional concerns, we offer different styles of grind on our knives, with different levels of warranty for each.
Our grinds are built with thicker or thinner edges to allow for differing levels of beatability or cutting performance depending on what the customer needs. We love offering as many opitons as possible but certain models of ours are naturally very beefy and the style isn't able to make the most of the geometry of a performance grind. Similarly some of our blade styles are inherently quite lean and even if we beefed the edge up to HD the rest of the blade wouldn't be able to keep up. As a result not all grind options are available on all blades. You can also use the default grind for a specific blade as a guide to the kind of utility that suits that blade best. A blade weight is given for its default grind, with about 10-15g step between tiers. If you do feel the need for a HD salyani we can help you out through a custom enquiry and discuss what beef needs adding where and how it'll affect the performance and balance of the knife.
Our standard grind is designed to be a balanced compromise between durability and performance for blades that see both hard impacts and slicing.
Our knives are made out of differentially hardened 5160 steel that has been put through a three stage normalisation and tempering process. This results in an incredibly tough and durable steel, so our standard grind should not be underestimated in terms of strength. With a meaty primary and secondary bevel, this grind is stout enough to stand up to chopping and batoning through all forms of wood, fresh bone and ice while still having chopping and slicing performance as a design priority. If your tang allows for prying and digging then this grind should be able to stand up as well as the spine. If the spine or tip bends when prying then bend it right back- our differential heat treat should allow for many straightenings before fatigue becomes a concern.
The knife receives a lifetime warranty on the primary and secondary secondary grind and point for any damage sustained under reasonable use described above. If you're looking to use this knife to split riverstones all day or hack up antlers/bricks/trains with then that type of use won't be covered.
Our highest level of warranty is reserved for our Heavy Duty Grind.
This grind is built sturdily enough and with tough enough steel that it should be able to withstand just about anything you can throw at it. Due to the intense impact loads this grind is designed to see we can only offer it on certain models that have the beef throughout the rest of the blade to handle what the edge will be put through. It is best suited for blades that are planning to be used and abused very roughly. While it will still perform reasonably well when chopping and batoning, slicing and general cutting performance takes a hit.
This grind is suitable for all forms of chopping, digging, prying and batoning as the standard grind is, but should also be able to handle chopping through brick, stone, bone, horn, metals softer than itself, gravestones, zombies, shoes and caravans. The only thing we'd suggest not cutting through is another one of our Heavy Duty knives as the results have only been speculated upon by theoretical physicists and could be catastrophic. If something happens to the steel that can't be sharpened out or bent back straight then we'll replace it.
This knife has what we call a "uniconditional" lifetime breakage warranty on both the primary and secondary grinds, the point and tang (full tang only). The one condition our warranty refers to is that you present us with photographic or video evidence of the damage as well as a description of what exactly you were doing when you managed to lay our steely beast to rest.
This is partly so that we can build our knives stronger in future but mostly just so we can hear the incredible story of how you broke it. Accidentally leave it on the train tracks? Cut a Toyota Prius in half?
We'd really like to know.
Our grinds are built with thicker or thinner edges to allow for differing levels of beatability or cutting performance depending on what the customer needs. We love offering as many opitons as possible but certain models of ours are naturally very beefy and the style isn't able to make the most of the geometry of a performance grind. Similarly some of our blade styles are inherently quite lean and even if we beefed the edge up to HD the rest of the blade wouldn't be able to keep up. As a result not all grind options are available on all blades. You can also use the default grind for a specific blade as a guide to the kind of utility that suits that blade best. A blade weight is given for its default grind, with about 10-15g step between tiers. If you do feel the need for a HD salyani we can help you out through a custom enquiry and discuss what beef needs adding where and how it'll affect the performance and balance of the knife.
Our standard grind is designed to be a balanced compromise between durability and performance for blades that see both hard impacts and slicing.
Our knives are made out of differentially hardened 5160 steel that has been put through a three stage normalisation and tempering process. This results in an incredibly tough and durable steel, so our standard grind should not be underestimated in terms of strength. With a meaty primary and secondary bevel, this grind is stout enough to stand up to chopping and batoning through all forms of wood, fresh bone and ice while still having chopping and slicing performance as a design priority. If your tang allows for prying and digging then this grind should be able to stand up as well as the spine. If the spine or tip bends when prying then bend it right back- our differential heat treat should allow for many straightenings before fatigue becomes a concern.
The knife receives a lifetime warranty on the primary and secondary secondary grind and point for any damage sustained under reasonable use described above. If you're looking to use this knife to split riverstones all day or hack up antlers/bricks/trains with then that type of use won't be covered.
Our highest level of warranty is reserved for our Heavy Duty Grind.
This grind is built sturdily enough and with tough enough steel that it should be able to withstand just about anything you can throw at it. Due to the intense impact loads this grind is designed to see we can only offer it on certain models that have the beef throughout the rest of the blade to handle what the edge will be put through. It is best suited for blades that are planning to be used and abused very roughly. While it will still perform reasonably well when chopping and batoning, slicing and general cutting performance takes a hit.
This grind is suitable for all forms of chopping, digging, prying and batoning as the standard grind is, but should also be able to handle chopping through brick, stone, bone, horn, metals softer than itself, gravestones, zombies, shoes and caravans. The only thing we'd suggest not cutting through is another one of our Heavy Duty knives as the results have only been speculated upon by theoretical physicists and could be catastrophic. If something happens to the steel that can't be sharpened out or bent back straight then we'll replace it.
This knife has what we call a "uniconditional" lifetime breakage warranty on both the primary and secondary grinds, the point and tang (full tang only). The one condition our warranty refers to is that you present us with photographic or video evidence of the damage as well as a description of what exactly you were doing when you managed to lay our steely beast to rest.
This is partly so that we can build our knives stronger in future but mostly just so we can hear the incredible story of how you broke it. Accidentally leave it on the train tracks? Cut a Toyota Prius in half?
We'd really like to know.
Our final grind type is our Performance Grind.
These knives are where our skills in design, metallurgy and blacksmithing all combine to do what all knives should do. Cut things up as best as they can.
These are thinner in both the primary and secondary grind are optimised to minimise cutting and chopping resistance while also maximising edge retention.
This makes this grind well suited for all day working choppers that will be used sensibly as well as blades that will see a lot of slicing and general cutting work.
These are by no means fragile knives though, we still have thick spines for strength and heft and use our differentially hardened triple normalised spring steel for toughness so they can absolutely be relied on when used with respect. In fact a good reason to choose this grind is if you have to chop a lot of hardwood. The leaner geometry wedges less and bites significantly more deeply with less shock to the rest of the blade. Conversely if chopping into thick sections of very soft, gummy wood you may find that the blade binds up a bit more due to wedging less.
These knives are covered for life for any damage to the primary and secondary grind while slicing, chopping wood of all sizes or fresh bone smaller than an inch. It's also covered for batoning using another piece of wood as the mallet. While comparatively limiting this is still a broader range of use than is covered by some nepalese houses and should have you sorted for pretty much all outdoors work aside from prying and digging. While these knives most probably can handle prying, digging and a bit of abuse if in a survival situation they're just not built to the level that we can cover them in those situations.
If you're looking for a high performance tool to get the job done as well as possible or out of sheer respect for fine craftmanship, this is the option for you. If you're looking to cut a bicycle in half maybe try one of our other grinds.
Unfortunately with the materials and processes available to our blacksmiths there are some things we can't cover.
Our handles are all made of non stabilised organic materials like wood and horn and can swell with moisture or even crack with extreme changes of humidity. Furthermore our blades themselves are made of high carbon, non stainless steel and we offer no warranty from rust or corrosion. If our blades are cleaned after use and lightly oiled semi regularly a gorgeous patina will form and the blade's durability will not be hampered.
Our warranties also do not cover any thing that occurs at the very apex of the edge. Loss of sharpness due to abrasion while cutting or due to deformation from impacts against metal is not covered, only the larger scale deformation or cracking of the secondary grind and upwards.
In the case that you've reground one of our blades or sharpened it drastically enough as to void the original geometry, we reserve the right to reject your warranty claim. However, please send it through anyway as we understand that regrinds are often necessary after years of hard work and repeated sharpenings. We would hate to punish you for looking to extend the use of your knife and should be able come to some form of resolution if the work does not compromise the original integrity of the blade.
Any custom knife we make is also covered under warranty, usually as dictated by the grind profile of the blade. However in cases where the profile of the blade or details render it more likely to break (extremely thin points, holes in the blade, stress raisers and sharp corners) then we will communicate with the customer beforehand and come to an agreement regarding the warranty level.
Likewise with any Factory Seconds we sell through instagram or facebook, the damage or imperfections the blade has will be taken into account when designating it a level of warranty. Any Factory seconds being sold online will have the warranty level (if any) included with the other information.
Currently the only place our knives are sold is through this website and can only cover knives that have been sold through here. If somebody is buying and then reselling our blades in the local market then warranty issues will have to be taken up with them unless they've previously come to an agreement with us. We have to be so hard on this point because of how common counterfeits are in nepal and the surrounding landscape. The only stock we can trust is our own and we can't cover visually similar knives from elsewhere.
Our final grind type is our Performance Grind.
These knives are where our skills in design, metallurgy and blacksmithing all combine to do what all knives should do. Cut things up as best as they can.
These are thinner in both the primary and secondary grind are optimised to minimise cutting and chopping resistance while also maximising edge retention.
This makes this grind well suited for all day working choppers that will be used sensibly as well as blades that will see a lot of slicing and general cutting work.
These are by no means fragile knives though, we still have thick spines for strength and heft and use our differentially hardened triple normalised spring steel for toughness so they can absolutely be relied on when used with respect. In fact a good reason to choose this grind is if you have to chop a lot of hardwood. The leaner geometry wedges less and bites significantly more deeply with less shock to the rest of the blade. Conversely if chopping into thick sections of very soft, gummy wood you may find that the blade binds up a bit more due to wedging less.
These knives are covered for life for any damage to the primary and secondary grind while slicing, chopping wood of all sizes or fresh bone smaller than an inch. It's also covered for batoning using another piece of wood as the mallet. While comparatively limiting this is still a broader range of use than is covered by some nepalese houses and should have you sorted for pretty much all outdoors work aside from prying and digging. While these knives most probably can handle prying, digging and a bit of abuse if in a survival situation they're just not built to the level that we can cover them in those situations.
If you're looking for a high performance tool to get the job done as well as possible or out of sheer respect for fine craftmanship, this is the option for you. If you're looking to cut a bicycle in half maybe try one of our other grinds.
Unfortunately with the materials and processes available to our blacksmiths there are some things we can't cover. Our handles are all made of non stabilised organic materials like wood and horn and can swell with moisture or even crack with extreme changes of humidity. Furthermore our blades themselves are made of high carbon, non stainless steel and we offer no warranty from rust or corrosion. If our blades are cleaned after use and lightly oiled semi regularly a gorgeous patina will form and the blade's durability will not be hampered.
Our warranties also do not cover any thing that occurs at the very apex of the edge. Loss of sharpness due to abrasion while cutting or due to deformation from impacts against metal is not covered, only the larger scale deformation or cracking of the secondary grind and upwards. In the case that you've reground one of our blades or sharpened it drastically enough as to void the original geometry, we reserve the right to reject your warranty claim. However, please send it through anyway as we understand that regrinds are often necessary after years of hard work and repeated sharpenings. We would hate to punish you for looking to extend the use of your knife and should be able come to some form of compromise if the work does not compromise the original integrity of the blade.
Any custom knife we make is also covered under warranty, usually as dictated by the grind profile of the blade. However in cases where the profile of the blade or details render it more likely to break (extremely thin points, holes in the blade, stress raisers and sharp corners) then we will communicate with the customer beforehand and come to an agreement regarding the warranty level.
Likewise with any Factory Seconds we sell through instagram or facebook, the damage or imperfections the blade has will be taken into account when designating it a level of warranty. Any Factory seconds being sold online will have the warranty level (if any) included with the other information.
Currently the only place our knives are sold is through this website and can only cover knives that have been sold through here. If somebody is buying and then reselling our blades in the local market then warranty issues will have to be taken up with them unless they've previously come to an agreement with us. We have to be so hard on this point because of how common counterfeits are in nepal and the surrounding landscape. The only stock we can trust is our own and we can't cover visually similar knives from elsewhere.
Hopefully you now have an idea of the degree to which we stand by our products and in turn an idea of how our blades will stand by you when you need them.