My Parang machete company experience

[MikeLA]

Has anyone got experience of this parang

Which is best the 10 or 12 inch blade and why?

https://www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk...nt-traditional-tool-from-malaysia-20601-p.asp

 

[C_Claycomb]

https://www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk...nt-traditional-tool-from-malaysia-23458-p.asp
For the 12" model, OP link is for 10" only.

Sorry, not used either. I have played with a Ben Orford Parang which has a 10" blade as well as a few 8" and 10" bladed US style camp knives. My own parang has an 18" blade and is in a whole other league; much less portable, much less controllable for detail work, but generates far more power on the swing for cutting saplings. The difference between the 8" and 10" camp knives was fairly marked with that extra couple of inches giving a lot more chopping power.

A while ago I watched this rather good review of various parangs, might have some useful views that will help your decision:

I reckon that the choice comes down to whether you plan to be carrying/packing the blade most of the time, or whether you will be actually using it for longer periods, compared to how much it is carted around.

 

[snappingturtle]

Not used that one, but perang style blades are my own choice for a lot of the wooding I do, and as Claycomb states short would be more portable and with less over hanging weight better at edge control closer to the handle, a tad longer and the comprising go's the other way I also like the edge close to the handle to be fine so it works like a knife and steeping towards the middle acting like and axe, with a distal taper to the tip if it has a point and I like the blade to have a good width to it so I can hold it at the mid section and make use of just the tip area.

 

[sunndog]

For actual trekking in the jungle the smaller one would be fine. If you want to hang out in the woods building shelters and cutting loads of firewood then go for the bigger

 

[Broch]

I'm afraid my own experience is different to Sunndog's so you're going to get conflicting advice here - which just goes to show that, in the end, you have to analyse your own needs and make a decision.

IMHO a parang isn't really the right tool for the jungle. In any environment where I have had to 'hack' my way through undergrowth (in the tropics and more mundane areas) I prefer a longer blade (so more machete style). There's no point cutting undergrowth to thigh height and having to push through the cut stems; you need to cut it lower (that's my preference anyway - others may disagree). Neither 10" or 12" would satisfy me in those conditions. In a UK wood camp environment I assume you will be using it as a big knife - splitting wood, taking the bulk off spoons, maybe even chopping heads off game etc. - either would do (although in the UK I use an axe). Strangely I like the idea of a parang (so much so that one of my current projects is such a blade) but can't help thinking that in our environment it's a solution looking for an application

 

[Rickyd]

I have all three, if I was to choose one it would be the normal 12”

 

[woodstock]

I personally us a martindale gollok very useful bit of kit for around the camp or hacking your way through dense undergrowth.

 

[MikeLA]

Selling my martindale to try something new hence this post for a little extra advice. Don’t like too many knives now so to buy one I get rid of one.

 

[C_Claycomb]

If I was looking for a tool for use in the UK, I would go with the 12" model. In this country I do not see much opportunity to trek with such a blade, so the added weight and length won't be much impediment. I have found ample opportunity to use my 18" parang for clearing saplings, brambles and limbing felled trees. In those jobs, the extra length of the 12" will be an advantage over the 10".

If I was looking for a blade that I could take on trips overseas, I am not so sure. I might still go for the 12" since it could do double duty. I missed the length a little when using a friend's 10" Ben Orford. Mind you, it is what he carries for his time in the jungle and he makes it work there very well.

For scale, there are some good pictures showing how a 10" carries in the following thread:
https://hillpeoplegear.com/Forum/forumid/23/threadid/18513/scope/posts

 

[woodstock]

Selling my martindale to try something new hence this post for a little extra advice. Don’t like too many knives now so to buy one I get rid of one.

I would be interested in the gollok

 

[MikeLA]

Not sure when selling or the price as yet it’s a martindale jungle knife sold by SASS of Lancaster, I never used. The one with the bulbous head same length as the gollock

 

[C_Claycomb]

Ah, that is the one I have. No longer available anywhere. Was pretty expensive in the UK since (when I got mine at any rate) Martindale would not sell it in the UK. I had to get mine from the US, think SASS re-imported it, maybe £45...(might have been more, it was quite a while ago). From my experience it is superior to the Golok in terms of grip and cutting ability. I still prefer something with more drop to the handle and harder steel, though.

 

[MikeLA]

Just want to try something a little more traditional and the my parang seems the one

 

[snappingturtle]

Just want to try something a little more traditional and the my parang seems the one

I think your like it I have used a fair few tools over the years, a parang and knighton billy are favourite's of mine.

 

[palace]

Has anyone got experience of this parang

Which is best the 10 or 12 inch blade and why?

https://www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk...nt-traditional-tool-from-malaysia-20601-p.asp

A few years ago I bought a stick tang parang blade marked BIDOR from Ahmad Nadir at Outdoor Dynamics now I belive myparang. see also sepuh-crafts these are apparently identical to this one and the Ray Mears I put on a bought wooden handle/grip which broke. I contacted Stewart J Light (Stew of this forum) who welded on metal to make a full tang ( without affecting the blade temper) still holds an edge 4 years later; unfortunately all my photos went when "photo-bucket" went rogue I found pictures Stew took http://www.stewartjlight-knives.com/2013/06/a-jungle-parang-now-full-tang.html total price less than half - third of the current asking price..

(search also parang Malaysia on the internet)