Category Archives: Types of parangs

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Parang Panjang

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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.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAs 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.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAHere 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

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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.

well used parangThe 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.

IMG_2001The 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.

golok handlegolok handle 2As 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.

worn out sharpening stoneA 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.

coconut peeler malaysia 2I 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.

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

 

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Ray Mears Parang

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Ray Mears Parang

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? RayMearsparang 2When 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!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA parang knife chandong borneoOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Duku chandong

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My personal parang collection #6 – Kota Belud Parang

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Kota Belud Parang

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAHere are two parangs that I bough from Kota Belud, Sabah. Kota Belud is a township very famous for it’s Tamu or weekend market. Kota Belud also is well known for their Bajau or sea Gypsies. Traditionally they are very skillful parang and knife makers, and the kota belud parangs are well known throughout Malaysia as being great parangs .

As you can see form the above photo, the parang they make have a very distinct shape, with a sheep’s foot tip. They make various sizes and weights, from those suitable for general work around the house to more dedicated choppers ( for trees and bones )  . Material used is the good ol recycled leaf spring or also known as 5160 steel . OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnother signature mark is their carves sheaths, just like above . Some are simple , like the close up below, but some kota belud parangs have very intricate sheath carvings. There is also an annual Kota Belud parang competition, where you can see dazzling displays of very very well made kota belud parangs. Most of the parangs use exotic wood like Serian, Kemuning Hitam, Kayu Malam and others. The carvings on the sheath and finishing are top notch.

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The Below pictures shows the kota belud parangs without their sheath, as you can cee the one on the right  has much more weight to it and is suitable for chopping bones and trees. The one on the right is a much slimmer version with less weight and is suitable for clearing small shrubs. I have used both, but I prefer the smaller kota belud parang on my outdoor trips. It packs down much smaller and is lighter to carry around. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABesides the Chandong parang shape as the ones in this post, the other typical blade shapes in Kota Belud is the Barong . Unfortunately, I do not have any with me at the moment, and will look at getting some in the future.

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My personal parang collection # 5 – the Parang Panjai

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parang panjai or parang panjang The Parang Panjai or to some the parang Panjang.

This parang panjai was another sample given by my supplier, and before i ordered more, I tested this one out pretty extensively. Parang panjang basically means long parang, and this one is made of recycled leaf srpings.  I would have to say that it excels as a general all round tool, although it is on the long side.  I used it on quite a variety of trees, from bamboo, to grass to limbing branches and chopping small trees ,and it did all pretty well. Although the parang panjai is pretty long, it is not that heavy as the spine is pretty thin and the blade itself is narrow. But while it lacks in weight, it actually  a very good chopper as it gets it’s power from the length. Just how like a beliung works, where the long handle makes up for the small and light axe head .

parang panjai pinned handle Here from the photo above you can see the handle of the parang panjai . When I first saw the bolster, I cringed and informed my supplier, please do not send me any with a rubber hose bolster! Usually the bolster is made of rattan , copper or steel , but this maker decided to use rubber hose. His explanation was that the rubber hose  expands and contracts at the same rate as the wooden handle.

You can also see from the picture of the parang panjai above that I pinned the tang in using two brass pins. Pinning the tang is usually not needed, as the handle and tang is very much secure. Some of my customers insist on having the handle pinned, as they are worried that the parang blade might come out during use. If you use your parang regularly, you will notice when it starts to loosen, and you can remedy it before it becomes worse. In this instance, I pinned the tang just for the fun of it.

two piece parang sheath The picture above is of the Parang Panjai’s sheath. I like the simple dark colored rattan weave. It makes the sheath look elegant. The weaving also serves a purpose which is to keep the two piece sheath together. The sheath itself is made of a very lightweight piece of wood, I think perhaps from the Meranti tree.

testing the duku panjai Who can resist chopping  a log when it’s right in front of you!