Parang and Parang XL.

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

leealanr

Full Member
Apr 17, 2006
140
6
66
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Sitting in the desert in Jordan, I have read all the way through this thread with pleasure!

Ged, as an outsider to this group buy, I have to say that you have shown an excellent amount of energy and good organisation throughout and if you show this in your everyday business, I am sure you are very successful and deservedly so!

Feel quite jealous that for the next couple of years at least, I have no use for such a tool, but I am sure many on here would understand when I say I need (read want) one!

But that will have to wait.

Many thanks, and Dougsters leather work is excellent.

Regards.

Alan L.
 

Ph34r

Settler
Feb 2, 2010
642
1
34
Oxfordshire, England
I quite liked the style of the sheath but not really the material - although I shouldn't really be using a leather sheath (the whole water storage thing) for this type of blade.
 

ged

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 16, 2009
4,976
13
In the woods if possible.
I quite liked the style of the sheath but not really the material - although I shouldn't really be using a leather sheath ...

Sheath materials are very much a mater of personal taste unless there are serious climatic considerations. Jonathan might not want to use leather in a rain forest for any great length of time because so many things like to eat it, but for carrying these blades around -- you shouldn't really store any blade in its sheath -- then leather is perfectly OK, and more readily available than woven man-made fibres in some parts. I like man-made materials and I like leather too, I don't much care which it is for most things but for larger tools I tend to prefer man made over leather. I think it's just what I've become accustomed to.

Curiously, stainless steels rely on oxidation of the steel for their rust-resisting properties. When there's enough chromium in the alloy it will react with oxygen to form a very thin, continuous and hard oxide layer on the surface of the steel. This layer self-heals in free air (20% oxygen) if damaged. That's what we call a stainless steel. Unfortunately if oxygen in sufficient concentration is excluded from the surface (for example exhaust gas may have very little oxygen; and simply placing something in contact with the steel may have a similar effect) and if there is moisture and especially if chemicals like acids or chlorine are present (e.g. bleach or common salt, even in fairly weak solutions) then corrosion can set in surprisingly quickly. Some stainless steels are more resistant to this 'crevice' or 'poultice' corrosion than others. Some, like 304 (or 18/8 or whatever else they call it, the stuff they make a lot of table cutlery with) are rather prone to pitting in these circumstances. A thin layer of oil or grease on the steel will prevent most water-borne chemicals from reaching the surface but will still allow oxygen to migrate through it to heal any scratches in the oxide layer.

I find that the larger the tool the more intensively and less frequently I tend to use it. So things like machetes might be used all day long for a few days and then stored in the workshop for weeks or sometimes months. If I'm concerned about corrosion on the tools then before I put them away I wash and dry them, spray them with 3-in-1 or WD40 and wrap them in an old cloth. Then I either hang them up like a saw or lie them wrapped in the cloth on a shelf, on top of the sheath if they have one. Before I started to do this I had one or two stainless blades which suffered from spots of corrosion because they were stored in the sheath, even when it was a man-made one. It's best if the storage area is dry of course.

Don't use the same sharpening tools on stainless and non-stainless blades. Many small particles of non-stainless material will be embedded in the stainless and can become the starting points for corrosion.
 

Alfredo

Settler
Oct 25, 2009
624
2
ITALY (ALPS)
Hi all,
if you whish for a leather sheath but afraid about using leather on wet environment, you may easily solve it adopting the old Randall Knives method for their scuba knives: leather's hot waxing.
It's simple and work really well. After the treatment leather move to be like kydex, and it's completely waterproof (also in sea water).
Here you have a small tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBnhWeJbBiI
Hope this help, Alfredo
 

JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,809
1,479
Stourton,UK
Ged, got back this evening to find mine had been sitting here for a few days. Thankyou for that, they are spot on and perfect for my needs. I might mod the guard slightly so I can choke up with my index finger, but from first impressions it seems that Alfredo has designed the perfect parang for me. Something I've been looking for for ages, it will definitely be coming to Venezuela with me. Very light and maneuverable, so that's great as I have to carry enough kit like snake hooks and tongs on my belt. The sheath is good enough for me as is. Both mine were shaving sharp, but I've reprofiled the edge very slightly with a Gransfors axe puck, which will be coming with me on my trip. Excellent bit of kit, and a big thanks to Ged for making this happen.

Now I need to practice somewhere before I get into the jungle
 

Dougster

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 13, 2005
5,254
238
The banks of the Deveron.
I really like the sheath and won'r be changing mine, but if anyone wants the same sort of thing in leather drop me a pm and I'll try to sort it out, but I am off on my summer hols for two weeks on Sunday.

I do like this parang, I have used it to great effect in the garden and I will get it to the woods soon. I meant to take it out this week but this decorating took far far longer than I thought it would.
 
5

5.10leader

Guest
I second that Doug, I also really like the sheath. The whole design is excellent; congratulations to Alfredo.
 

Pepperana

Full Member
Dec 3, 2009
355
0
Netherlands
Good to hear you guys like it.
Arrgg my parang hasn't arrived jet after 1,5 week. Waiting is always a pain for me :) .
 
Last edited:

ged

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jul 16, 2009
4,976
13
In the woods if possible.
Good to hear you guys like it.
Arrgg my parang hasn't arrived jet after 1,5 week. Waiting is always a pain for me :) .

Very sorry to hear that you're still waiting, I'm a little surprised that it hasn't arrived after ten days but there were two weekends in those ten days so perhaps we really ought to think of it as six days. Please let me know if it hasn't arrived by the end of the week. If it still hasn't arrived I will ask at the Post Office here about making a claim for its loss.
 

Pepperana

Full Member
Dec 3, 2009
355
0
Netherlands
Copy Ged.
I also expect it end of the week. So i will let you know!

Does someone has some action pics? Really nice to see it doing its job.
 

Pepperana

Full Member
Dec 3, 2009
355
0
Netherlands

Claudiasboris

Life Member
Feb 8, 2009
525
0
Sheffield
Once again, a big thanks to Ged for organising this GB and putting up with us being difficult!

I haven't had much of a play with my parangs but they are beautiful. I've added a D-guard to the baby (!) parang and sliced some salad, which she did very, very well - much better than the kitchen cutlery (maybe I should sharpen them...).

So what's next Ged?

Claudiasboris
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE