Borneo Parang Passaround

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,815
1,511
Stourton,UK
Thanks to Ged I have another passaround. This time some native Borneo parangs. :D

There will be three or four in this passaround so bear that in mind as the postage to the next person will be £20 ish.

dscf3271.jpg


In order to take part in this passaround you agree to the following ground rules :

All participants must be 18 years old or above and have a minimum of 100 posts and a years membership of BCUK.

You agree to use these knives in a manner that is both safe to you and the people around you. You are solely responsible for your own safety, so like any other sharp tool assure yourself that it is in sound working condition before you use it.

This passaround is aimed at letting people gain a feel of how these knives perform, they can be used hard, but are NOT to be “destruction” tested. If you do use the knife hard, please ensure the edge leaves in as good a condition or better than it arrived.

Each person is responsible for the knife until it reaches the next person on the passaround list. It must be sent Special Delivery with proof of posting and a tracking number.

Each person gets the knife for a full week starting from the time they received it. If there is a problem please notify me soonest.
It would be very helpful for me if each person could just post in the relevant thread when they first receive the knife, and then again when they post it on (thanks).

Please remember this is a £175.00 knife. Please ensure it's cleaned after use and lightly oiled and again before passing it on.

I require a postal address and a phone number of participants.

For now, it will be for 10 participants. Depending on how it goes and level of interest, it may get extended.

Please add your interest in participating.

1. JonathanD
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,888
2,141
Mercia
1. JonathanD
2. British Red
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Might as well use these as a benchmark for testing the other two!

Thanks Ged & Jon
 

Stew

Bushcrafter through and through
Nov 29, 2003
6,611
1,407
Aylesbury
stewartjlight-knives.com
Hhm, four knives is a bit out of my posting budget, although as a suggestion it might be worth people looking at a courier service instead as it'll probably be cheaper.

Are these like the desgin we've been pm'ing about, Jonathan?
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,815
1,511
Stourton,UK
Hhm, four knives is a bit out of my posting budget, although as a suggestion it might be worth people looking at a courier service instead as it'll probably be cheaper.

Are these like the desgin we've been pm'ing about, Jonathan?

I will look into a courier service, or thin it down a bit.

Very similar to that design Stew.
 

sargey

Mod
Mod
Member of Bushcraft UK Academy
Sep 11, 2003
2,695
8
cheltenham, glos
split them up and post them. the cost for a couple of two kilo parcels is much less than one four kilo parcel.

cheers, and.
 

The Big Lebowski

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 11, 2010
2,320
6
Sunny Wales!
I'm tempted as i have just been watching a RM tutorial on Perangs and they look very handy tools...

I would only be interested in trying one though really! so, not much help.

Check out interparcel as i just did a rough 90cm x30 x30 4kg parcel and the cheapest was £4.99 (+VAT) only downside is it can be a PITA with couriers (in genereal) not turning up and mon/friday daytime collections only.

If its a courier you seek, check them out.

al.
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,815
1,511
Stourton,UK
Cheers guys.

Ged is sending me all four, so I'll probably stick to two or three on the passaround and send one back to Ged just in case the zombies come. And maybe split them so that those that only want to try the one, can. They are all pretty similar looking at the pics, so I'll check it out once they are here and take it from there
 

ged

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 16, 2009
4,995
29
In the woods if possible.
Ged is sending me all four...

They should be with you on Thursday. The cost using Royal Mail as a carrier was £11.99 with a £200 value. You need to sign for the parcel. It was awkward to wrap them. :confused:

They are all pretty similar looking at the pics, so I'll check it out once they are here and take it from there

There's a big difference in weight between the lightest one and the other three. The blades are all sharpened in a similar way. I have no complaints about the sharpening, although when (if:)) I get some time to spend on them I'll modify the edges somewhat. There are three very different blade geometries. Two are very similar (the heaviest and the next-to-lightest) as you can see in the photo. I've given them all some work to do

http://www.jubileegroup.co.uk/JOS/misc/dscf3275.jpg
http://www.jubileegroup.co.uk/JOS/misc/dscf3276.jpg

and they've been well up to anything I'd ever want to do with them. I haven't sharpened the edges at all since getting them. Feel free to sharpen them if you wish, there's plenty of meat on them.

One thing I want to mention now is the sheaths.

The sheaths are all made of wood, two sculpted halves glued together. The fit is a bit variable. The wood moves with changes in moisture content and this can cause the blades to stick sometimes. When I bought them from him, Woody warned me that the sheaths can split. This could be dangerous if for example you were to hold the sheath in a way that would allow the blade to reach your fingers if the sheath suddenly let go.

One of the sheaths is already showing signs of distress. As a temporary measure to prevent possible injury I wound galvanized wire around all the sheaths and wrapped duct tape around the ends. The duct tape wasn't sticking too well as it was minus five in the shed at the time but the tape shouldn't actually be essential. It isn't pretty but it will hold the sheaths together if the wood does let go unexpectedly.

Finally these are stick tang blades, they seem to be glued into the handle with epoxy and I don't think there is any pin to hold the blade into the handle should the epoxy let go. You have been warned.
 
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JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,815
1,511
Stourton,UK
Not yet. I'll give Tom a shout tomorrow and get a rough estimate. I know he's been really busy fulfilling orders for Christmas.
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,815
1,511
Stourton,UK
Well I got Geds package. Immediately I can say that every single one of these parangs is much more comfortable and weighted better than the Chris Caine I'm testing, which is amazing giving the difference in pricing and makers involved (large knife making company vs bloke in a hut on the edge of a jungle). Not had chance to test any of them yet but will do so in the next couple of days. They are all so similar though, that I will narrow the passaround down to two only.
 

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