some questions about a parang...

[forrestdweller]

i just treated myself to a little parang (which arrived today) from 'valiant knives'.

i hope that someone can answer me my(stupid) questions:
1.: the handle is made from buffalo horn. what's the best treatment to keep it in a good shape(under tropical conditions)?
2.: is there a trick to keep the blade from gettin' rusty(apart from oiling it; as i usually do'nt carry a drom of oil around...)- some sort of coating maybe?
3.: how do you keep a big blade sharp "in the field"? - i've seen people (and read about doing it this way)sharpening machetes with files, but that seems a bit brutal to me(+machetes are softer steel); and also pictures of people sharpening big blades on sandstone boulders, but there's no sandstone here either...

thanks!

 

[Bushwhacker]

Machetes/parangs don't need to be 'shaving hair' sharp, just needs an angle on the blade for hacking through stuff. My machete sheath has a pocket for holding a small triangular file.
Mind you, the front edge of the parang should stay sharp because you don't use that for chopping.
Better off to have a smaller knife for doing the 'sharp' stuff.

Don't know much about buffalo horn, but nothing goes wrong with them much when they're still attached to the buffalos head in all winds and weathers.

 

[stickbow]

Hi There
Buffalo horn is only compressed hair the same as our finger nails, I have lots of kukri's and most have horn handles and I use Johnsons baby oil on them. Give the handle several coats and it should soak in and protect the horn, when mine stop absorbing the oil I polish them up and never have a problem with them slipping or cracking and mine take a real hammering! Hope this helps.

 

[PeterHW]

Coating the blade in Vaseline/Petroleum Jelly works well in preventing rust and can assist in fire starting if need be....

The best stone I have found for field sharpening is a combination Japanese wet stone from Axminster Tools which I have sawn in half...or the wet stone made by Gransfors for their Axes which is also a combination stone....the latter has a great rubber box cover which helps the stone stay put when sharpening...

 

[sebgoh]

I carried a kukri for many years but now a parang. I have not done any type of treatment on the handle, just wipe them down with a damp cloth after use.