Ray Mears Parang
- Thread starter sgteldridge
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Tomtom...I get a message saying I don't have permission to access the page in the link...any idea why? 
falcon said:Tomtom...I get a message saying I don't have permission to access the page in the link...any idea why?
So do I mate
Sorry guys that post links to a thread that was either deleted or moved a while back.being a moderator, tomtom can still see it and it appears when he does a search.
Matt
Matt
The Parang I have seen on most jungle shows of Ray's, is a common design from the Vietnam, Thailand, Burma region. It was likely bought in Thailand when Ray was on one of his many world journeys. It is not anything extra special, just an off the shelf sort of machete. I agree with his choice though, no much sense in spending a lot of money on a machete as long as it can be sharpened and will hold up to whacking the brush!
Another thing to consider, in many countries, particularly underdeveloped countries, it is common to have a local ask for a gift of some item of their choosing, such as a knife or another piece of attractive kit. It may be undesireable to carry an expensive knife ot machete into some parts, you may end up giving it away as a token of goodwill. Nothing wrong with goodwill, just what you can afford! Anyway I ramble on...
Another thing to consider, in many countries, particularly underdeveloped countries, it is common to have a local ask for a gift of some item of their choosing, such as a knife or another piece of attractive kit. It may be undesireable to carry an expensive knife ot machete into some parts, you may end up giving it away as a token of goodwill. Nothing wrong with goodwill, just what you can afford! Anyway I ramble on...
wizard beat me to it but he is indeed right, the parang in question is undoutbly a local product (IMO looking at the shape, probably the produce of an Iban blacksmith in Brunei).
its pretty pointless buying a western parang when you could get a tool far more suitable for the particular enviroment you are traveling to from the locals on arrival
its pretty pointless buying a western parang when you could get a tool far more suitable for the particular enviroment you are traveling to from the locals on arrival
Indeed in the Bushcraft series there a shot where one of the crew is carrying a bundle of shiny new machettes so presumably they were bought there. They look pretty cheap and bog standard. Like has already been said, I'm sure the locals know what is needed to chop the local materials!
The chances are high that the local ones are dirt cheap. I thought about taking a parang to china with me, but decided to check out the local stuff instead, and they use billhooks that you can get from a blacksmith or mass produced for about a quid each. Beats taking a parang through customs!
I have little experience of using parangs myself but I do know a guy whose used them a fair bit and would always source new ones from the area in which he was working. He said the last batch he used were made localy from old truck leaf springs ! They certainly looked as good as anything I've seen or handled.
I dont know what kind R.M. uses but Valiant CO. has some nice looking ones. IIRC Old Jimbo did several tests on his site.
Heres his site:
http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/index.html
And Valiant site:
http://www.valiantco.com/
I hope this helps you.
Heres his site:
http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/index.html
And Valiant site:
http://www.valiantco.com/
I hope this helps you.
i dont know who makes these knives but it is called a parang, there is write up on them in the SAS survival hand book by john wiseman, personally i like an axe but thats my opinion. for what its worth
dean
dean
