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myparang workshop setup

05/03/2014 admin Leave a comment

Myparang workshop setup

Finally after months of planning and searching for a suitable place, the myparang workshop is finally on its way and near completion. The hardest part was looking for a suitable spot to house the myparang workshop and this is one true case of what you can get when you are patient . We secured a shoplot nearby which is very accessible and central.

The previous owner was a Spa, but it did not get completed and we took whatever was left , over. There was lots to be done, lots of cleaning up since the previous owners left quite a mess. No to mention they left a pile of sand right in the front entrance. After clearing up the mess, the next thing to be done was painting the walls and floor as well as installing the electrical fittings. This shop lot had such a high ceiling, that we decided to have the lights about 8 feet above the lower floor instead of having it up where the ceiling was. By having it much lower, you save on lighting and it would be much easier to change a bulb should one go off. Below is a picture of how it looks after the paint job. I must say it looks much better after cleaning up and some bright colors. By coincidence, the colors we chose resembles the local power company colors and many people thought we were a branch office.

After the main lights and fan were installed we did a lighting check and it looks all good! It was bright as day when we tested the lights at night, no no matter what , our staff will have a bright and safe environment to work in .

After the electrical fittings, we re supposed to take delivery of the metalwork, but there was a slight delay and we received our tools first. Can’t complain much as it helped to receive them first so we could place them around the workshop to see which location suits best. After much moving around, we decided to place most on the power tools together on one table and leave one worktable clear for finishing purposes.

Finally after a few days of delay, we received our work tables and lockers. The work tables came without the table tops, which we will install ourselves using 1″ ply. The lockers are meant to keep tools and parts which are not needed immediately. You just can’t be too safe , sometimes small items tend to grow their own feet and “walk off” . By now we were having some delay already in the myparang workshop setup.

In the following days we also received our order of carton boxes for packaging the parangs. They consisted of two carton sizes, one inner carton and a bigger outer carton which can fit 20 inner cartons. This will be easier to send overseas to our international dealers. All the cartons were piled upstairs for storage. Finally we had all the tables fixed and positioned , plus had all the machines bolted on. We figured out it would be best to bolt all the machines in the myparang workshop so they cant be moved around , you know sometimes staff think they know better….. Plus bolted means they are more sturdy and will not topple or fall off. The main worktable looks pretty cluttered with the Bench Vise, Belt Sander and Drill Press , but there is enough space around each tool to work comfortable and safely . We left one table completely free for options later on. We might move some tools over, but that will come later. Even if we need to, we might add in another worktable.

Also at the far back, under the stairs is our Kydex workshop. That section is pretty much complete , with everything set up. Since then, we’ve already made a few sheaths in the new workshop and I must say it is much better working there as the space is bigger the the previous workshop. We also looooveeee the air compressor, it helps so much in getting the sheath inner clean from dust and whatnot

So thats it folks. The parang workshop is currently 90% complete and we’re already working on the parts for the parang. I have not taken any new photos since the ones above, but it has started to look much busier. Keeping a workshop clean and neat will be a daunting task, but it will be done. A messy and dirty workshop will invite accidents. Today we just added a vacuum cleaner or if you prefer the more technical name ” a dust collection system” and it’s going to help a lot keeping the place clean.

All right folks! That’s the myparang workshop setup so far, once we’re in operation, we’ll update on more exciting stuff!

All Articles, Random Articles, Types of parangs

Buy Malaysian Parang

15/01/2014 admin 17 Comments

Buy Malaysian parang.

Most local people in Malaysia will know roughly where to get parangs. At the moment, we do not have any dedicated knife or gun shops like those in western countries. Back when I used to follow my father overseas, I remember going into specialist shops selling knives, scissors and guns. It was like a candy store and I remember that I was particularly interested in a small gun capable of shooting small pallets. As you might have expected, my dad did not buy it for me for obvious reasons.

Buying parangs in Malaysia is not such a difficult task, especially if you are in the kampungs or villages. If you are right smack in the middle of big cities, then yes, you may have to go to Ace hardware or similar to look for parangs. Generally parangs can be found in sundry shops , hardware shops ( selling construction material ) as well as some specialty parang shops ( very seldom ) as the below pictures .

The following pictures shows some parang , knives and agricultural tools which I saw in some specialty shops . These shops are more or less near each other and you can’t find them elsewhere in Malaysia. I’ve never seen so many parangs in one place ever. They come in all shapes and sizes, from small game cleaning knives to meat cleavers to fancy swords. One thing to note is that they are all made in Malaysia.

The Royal Malaysian Customs requires a special permit to import knives which have a blade more than 6 inches and weapons like katanas , daggers ( including the keris ) , automatic knives, knuckle dusters are all illegal and are prohibited for import.

As you can see from the pictures above, the array and choice can be mind boggling. There are cheap ones as well as better made ones like those below , with the wooden sheaths and handles. The cheaper ones are usually used for rough work such as clearing brush and weeds, while the better parangs are kept for more specific task like slaughtering and game cleaning. In east Malaysia for example there are parang competitions where craftsmen will show off their beautifully carved parangs sheaths .I have yet to see them personally , but will do when I get wind of the next competition.

Keep your eyes open, as myparang.com will soon be producing their own range of parangs. Keep visiting this blog to find out where to buy Malaysian parang

All Articles, Types of parangs

Parang Panjang

15/12/2013 admin Leave a comment

Parang Panjang

Panjang basically means long, so a parang panjang means a long parang. This particular parang is a sample sent by one of my supplier from Sarawak. It is very well made. The parang panjang blade itself is not polished or shiny, but has a very sharp working edge. Long parangs are suitable for slashing weeds and cutting small limbs. They are not the best for chopping large pieces of wood, or for batoning as they are generally lighter in weight.

As you can see from the picture above, the parang panjang handle is very comfortable without any lumps , angular or rough spots. The bolster also has a simple weaving using mono filament line , which matches the bands on the sheath. The sheath and handle is sanded smooth and finished with some layers of lacquer. Currently this parang sits in my office, but I intend to give it a good workout soon. The first thing i would do it to roughen up the handle a bit, as i don’t like using shinny handles which become slippery once my hands perspire.

Here is a picture of the parang panjang spine, and as you can see, the blade tapers , form about 4mm near the handle to about 2 mm at the tip. This makes the parang amazingly light to hold and quick, but while it is light, it’s chopping power comes from it’s length.

This parang is quite a long piece at 2 feet or about 60 cm. You can’t really hang it from your waist like a conventional parang as if you kneel, the bottom of the parang will hit the ground. So to carry this parang panjang you will need to carry it horizontally, like this post I made previously – http://www.myparang.com/how-to-carry-a-long-parang/

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Some typical tools you find in a home

29/11/2013 admin Leave a comment

Recently I had the opportunity to go back to my in laws house in a village in Melaka, and as in every village house, there are edged tools which are used everyday. Below are some typical tools you find in a home.

The above picture shows a well used golok. Goloks and parang have a common use in Malaysian households , especially in rural areas. They are used for cutting weed, trimming trees and plants and also for peeling coconut. Most of the time, people do these simple tasks themselves as they have the skill and time, compared to city folks who may not have a single tree in their compound or apartment. City folks find it easier to go to the market or mall to get what they need, so peeling their own coconuts ( for santan – a main ingredient in Asian cooking ) is often out of the question. Just by looking at the worn out edge on the parang above, you can imagine the amount of work it has gone through.

The picture above shows another golok alongside the first golok, and you can see that both are pretty worn out. The Goloks have probably been used for 10 years or more. The golok you see with the taped up handle is slightly different from the first one as this golok has a metal handle . The handle is actually the same material used for making the blade, but is flattened and curled into a round handle. It is sort of a full tang knife , where the tang is actually the handle itself. You can see some closer pictures of the handle below. Some electrical tape has been wrapped around it so it is more comfortable to hold.

As you can see, beauty is irrelevant here, but function is. it doesn’t matter if your parang is all shiny and new, it can be black , worn out and rusty, but serves it’s purpose well.

A parang isn’t very useful if it is blunt, hence the worn out sharpening stone as well. Note how rough the stone is . For general hard work, a fine mirror edge is seldom needed. What is needed is a sharp working edge and sharpening can’t take 1 hour. You need have a sharp parang in 5 minutes and get along with your task at hand.

I wont be surprised if some Malaysians have not seen the tool above. It looks like a sharpened spade mounted on a length of wood . The wood is then buried in the ground so the “spade” protrudes out about 2-3 feet above the ground. It looks like someone buried a spear halfway. This tool is used to peel coconuts, and it requires skill. Not every house has this, and it is more for those who peel coconuts often or in large quantities. If you are not familiar with this, you could injure yourself badly if you slip or fall on it. Perhaps I could do a video one day to show how it is used. I remember seeing one in my grand mother’s house when I was much younger, but it has disappeared many years ago, probably stolen by scrap metal thieves.

When not in use, the sharp edge is protected by placing a can or a coconut ( or both ) on top of it.

All Articles, Parang History, Types of parangs

Ray Mears Parang

15/10/2013 admin 2 Comments

Ray Mears Parang

So we’ve read and heard so much of the Ray Mears parang , which is actually a parang he used in one of his shows . A clear picture of ” The Ray Mears Parang ” in Mr Mears hand is in the video grab below. Actualy, Mr Mears did not create any parang or sells any parang with his name on it. So why did the name ” the Ray Mears Parang ” come about? When Mr Mears was making the episode in Borneo, he , as expected of anyone who knows what he is doing, would choose the tools of the local people. Say, if you go to the South America, you would use a machete , if you were to go to Nepal, you would use a Khukri , if you came to Malaysia, you would use a Parang. It is as simple as that.

So how did the name “Ray Mears Parang ” came about? Sometimes we see things we don’t know what they are, or what it is called and we give it a name which is easy to connect and understand. Say maybe some people have no idea what a Khukri is, but when you mention – the knife the Gurkhas use , then Aha! It means something now.

Besides that, some people also also have generic names for certain items , like in Malaysia, Milo is the common name for chocolate drinks. Any chocolate drink will be called Milo. Just like baby diapers, it’s called Pampers, which is actually a brand. Some people call all big knives and choppers a Machete. This is actually wrong as a Bolo , enep , khukri or parang is not a machete by far. I hope you get what I mean.

Anyway, back to the Ray Mears Parang, well, if that is what some people like to call it, then so be it. For those who prefer to use the correct terminology, the Ray Mears parang is actually a Duku Chandong . Duku actually means parang in the Iban language, so it basically means Chandong parang. There is no specific shape for the Duku Chandong, as it is a very common knife in Borneo ( also known as Sabah and Sarawak ) , but there are a few distinct points as I will try and explain.

One is the blade angle. As you can see , the Duku Chandong has an up swept blade. If you are holding the handle of the parang horizontally, you will see that the tip of the parang points upwards. Again in some duku chandongs, the sweep may vary . Some have a slight and unnoticeable sweep, while for some, it is more prominent.

Another distinct difference with other parangs is that the Duku Chandong has a sheep’s foot blade tip. It is not pointed as some other traditional parangs and goloks, but has a very strong and robust sheep’s foot. The tip needs to be strong and hardy as it is used quite often to split and flatten bamboo, for prying and digging into wood ( looking for nibong grubs ) .

As you can see from the photos below, all these parangs are variations of the duku chandong or also known as the Ray Mears Parang. Enjoy they photos and we’re glad that you now know the actual name of the Ray Mears Parang. Actually, because of Mr Mears, the Duku Chandong now has gotten worldwide recognition . The blade shape now gets copied by many big knife manufacturers like Condor , and even the local parang sellers have hopped on the bandwagon , using the “ray mears” parang name as a leverage to market their parangs. Whatever it is called, or made, a duku chandong will always be a duku chandong!