also, the reaso why the parang isn´t sharpened in the first 10cm of the blade is that you can hold it on the balance point without cutting your hand to do precision work. The weight of it is your friend if you let it do the work for you. The whipping hand does it. A parang between 450g and 650 g is still two times lighter than a good axe.
you hold the parang too tight while choping, this is why the curve doesn´t work correctly for you. Try to hold it with your thumb, forefinger and middle finger only and close your fist on striking moment, you will be surprised. it is a whipping motion that works best with this type.
The correct parang is the best all around wilderness tool a woodsman can use in the United States IMO. Nothing will perform better as a 1 tool option for wilderness use across the board in the United States. You can add a small neck knife like an Izula II to the parang sheath or even a SAK Trekker with a 4in. sawblade and cutting blade, gut blade and awl to the parang sheath and you can do anything under the sun on a month or shorter trip to the wilderness. I can't speak for jungle use except for bamboo. It performs 2nd to none on live or dead bamboo and I've built dozens and dozens of primitive shelters for myself personally out of every size bamboo available. The technique you have to use with a parang is critical and once you have it down and can do it with no thought it becomes effortless and deadly to wood of all types. Great video my friend.
hold the knobby bit at the back of the handle between your thumb and middle finger, and use it in sort of a whipping motion, and it should fly through small branches and twigs
Like the bolo, the parang comes in different form, shape and size; it depend on what your need is. The one that you have (is a bit dull), is for heavy duty work; mostly chopping. If you are a bolo user, using a parang would required a bit of adjustment because of the angle of the blade relative to the handle, in this case almost the opposite. I have use a bolo and find it uncomfortable, but then I have been using a parang all my life and find it a bit hard to adjust. Good video by the way
At 3:00 you seem to be trying to cut that thin branch at a 90 degree angle. That is the wrong way to do it, whether you're using a parang, a Latin machete or any other long blade. 45 degree angle, minimum, works better for cutting thin branches and vines, etc. I've had a Malaysian parang with a 10 inch blade for just a couple of months now and find that it works as well for most things as my 14 inch Latin machete. Technique is key. Junglecrafty, colhane and joe flowers as well as ray mears, chris caine and ben orford have videos on youtube demonstrating the correct way to use blades like these.
But if that part was sharpened you could do some fine carving by gripping the actual handle instead of a flat piece of steel and it would be considerably more comfortable. I really don't understand the concept of "choking up" and "finger choils" when it comes to guardless blades. It would make sense if the need to choke up would come from needing the tip of the blade to be closer to the hand, but all I've ever heard is that it comes from the need of the very base of the edge to be next to the hand...so why not sharpen all the way to the handle and use the handle? Or even just make the handle cover that area as well. It's really not comfortable to carve while holding a flat bar if you're doing anything more than sharpen 2 tent stakes and it will give you blisters eventually. Not to mention it would be even more uncomfortable in cold weather.
It's about the balance point. Putting your hand closer to the balance point, of the machete, gives you more accuracy when doing some carvings or more detailed chopping. Obviously only important for large blades that are heavy. Yes, you could extend the handle for more comfort. But that doesn't work with a rat tail tang handle like traditional parangs have... Marius
you are right my friend it is about the balance point. Especially for heavier blades, it enables you to let the blade do the work with you craft needed only to control where the cut is going. Of course it is heavier to carry, but with a proper sheath, not too bad.
It is said, that Bear Grylls can fix a plane with what is available in the forest. In the same breath, it is also said, Ray Mears can fashion a whole plane, including the little bottles of whiskey and headphones from a single tree.
Say Heah, Very good deduction, your absolutely right. I have on Parang, it's more like what you like. Mine is made by Ka-Bar Johnson Adventure Parang a tang which I teamed up with my Potbelly a perfect match. Each complement eachother and I use it alot as my Summer Long Knife to cut a new path through the brambles.
I own a 10" and a 12" duku from Myparang. While I believe both are shorter than the one in this video, none of them have anywhere near as curved of a blade - in fact they are not really curved at all but rather straight and between the blade and handle very closely resemble the shape of the handle of a medium size nordic wood-axe, which is a time-tested design for chopping (slashing not as much) ...
Sorry to see that you are not comfortable with the Parang..as an Iban in Sarawak this parang are the most important tool to use daily for survival...easy and practically easy to use..
That's like for chopping targets lying down. I'm not even sure if it can go through coconut husk easy. Although maranao tribe have something like that called ''badi''
We Iban have variance sizes of DuKu(Parang)..depand on the end users..we have small and easy yo cary like the want used by Ray Mears..as for the one that is shown here is for heavy job..
Im from Brunei in Borneo. You are using it wrong, the parang is our go to tool from gardening, clearing forest, camping, slaughtering animals to preparing meat. You need to learn how to use it from the people who know how to use the parang to its full potential.
+georg cantor Well, it's a good chopper for sure. But for me personally the blade is a bit to much bend. I prefer the Bolo stile which is not to much bend and the blade is relatively straight. It's bend between handle and blade. And I would clearly prefer a flat grind not a scandi which many kukris have... Marius
I totally agree with you. A parang is no big deal. It's curve in relation to its handle is totally inefficient.If you want a similar but more efficient cutting tool and weapon you can try the dah or dao of north east India.
Hello Marius, I have an Condor Parang and also the Condor Golok. They have a Powerfull Impact. But as a Machete Both are to heavy. The only close-to-real-Machete-Work i have to do here is fighting Blackberry. With its length, the Parang works good, but the Golok ist to short and heavy. I like them Both to process Wood, but its Playing around. My standart Tramontina does a way better Job for all Uses up to chopping 1" Branches. They are Great to have in the Trunk, but the Range of uses is to small to carry them around. They are just not the Multitool a Machete should be. I think they are more a good Alternative for a small Axe or big Hatchet. LG BB
It all depends on where you live. In the Southeastern United States where I live the Duku chandong style parang shape with a full tang is the superior tool. You add a Mora Bushcraft and SAK that has the 4 inch saw in a piggyback pouch and its unstoppable. IMO.
Parangs and edged weapons sold on the inter net tend to be shaped like a particular part of a man for sales appeal. The Philippinos just want a blade to cut well. The designs reflect the 2 points of view.
I grew up in the mountains and my grand father showed me to go around the forest and even after growing up and living in the city i often go to places where i can test out my survival skill set, i always bring two blades with me and that is my two inch bolo and a billhook. i used a parang before and i didn't like it
I have never seen a billhook 3 feet long . My billhook is 14 inches overall - purchased in India 1971 and used in Vietnam and Laos . Maybe the best jungle or mountain tool and I still have it . Best wishes -Lefty
there are good blacksmiths in Mindoro Philippines that will forge you your ideal blade, most of them are Mangyan or native tribes which charge cheap for their blades, there are also in Puerto galera and most tourist will choose to have their own custom forged bolos. i also asked them to make me a 3 feet long sword for only 25 dollars.
Sometimes I love folks who do not speak expert English. They get the point across with no bullshit. Thanks MSL! I totally understand your view!
shanes channel agreed the contents are important
also, the reaso why the parang isn´t sharpened in the first 10cm of the blade is that you can hold it on the balance point without cutting your hand to do precision work. The weight of it is your friend if you let it do the work for you. The whipping hand does it. A parang between 450g and 650 g is still two times lighter than a good axe.
you hold the parang too tight while choping, this is why the curve doesn´t work correctly for you. Try to hold it with your thumb, forefinger and middle finger only and close your fist on striking moment, you will be surprised. it is a whipping motion that works best with this type.
The correct parang is the best all around wilderness tool a woodsman can use in the United States IMO. Nothing will perform better as a 1 tool option for wilderness use across the board in the United States. You can add a small neck knife like an Izula II to the parang sheath or even a SAK Trekker with a 4in. sawblade and cutting blade, gut blade and awl to the parang sheath and you can do anything under the sun on a month or shorter trip to the wilderness. I can't speak for jungle use except for bamboo. It performs 2nd to none on live or dead bamboo and I've built dozens and dozens of primitive shelters for myself personally out of every size bamboo available. The technique you have to use with a parang is critical and once you have it down and can do it with no thought it becomes effortless and deadly to wood of all types. Great video my friend.
hold the knobby bit at the back of the handle between your thumb and middle finger, and use it in sort of a whipping motion, and it should fly through small branches and twigs
Like the bolo, the parang comes in different form, shape and size; it depend on what your need is. The one that you have (is a bit dull), is for heavy duty work; mostly chopping. If you are a bolo user, using a parang would required a bit of adjustment because of the angle of the blade relative to the handle, in this case almost the opposite.
I have use a bolo and find it uncomfortable, but then I have been using a parang all my life and find it a bit hard to adjust.
Good video by the way
At 3:00 you seem to be trying to cut that thin branch at a 90 degree angle. That is the wrong way to do it, whether you're using a parang, a Latin machete or any other long blade. 45 degree angle, minimum, works better for cutting thin branches and vines, etc. I've had a Malaysian parang with a 10 inch blade for just a couple of months now and find that it works as well for most things as my 14 inch Latin machete. Technique is key.
Junglecrafty, colhane and joe flowers as well as ray mears, chris caine and ben orford have videos on youtube demonstrating the correct way to use blades like these.
I knew I would find a channel like this! Yeahoy !
But if that part was sharpened you could do some fine carving by gripping the actual handle instead of a flat piece of steel and it would be considerably more comfortable. I really don't understand the concept of "choking up" and "finger choils" when it comes to guardless blades. It would make sense if the need to choke up would come from needing the tip of the blade to be closer to the hand, but all I've ever heard is that it comes from the need of the very base of the edge to be next to the hand...so why not sharpen all the way to the handle and use the handle? Or even just make the handle cover that area as well. It's really not comfortable to carve while holding a flat bar if you're doing anything more than sharpen 2 tent stakes and it will give you blisters eventually. Not to mention it would be even more uncomfortable in cold weather.
It's about the balance point. Putting your hand closer to the balance point, of the machete, gives you more accuracy when doing some carvings or more detailed chopping.
Obviously only important for large blades that are heavy.
Yes, you could extend the handle for more comfort.
But that doesn't work with a rat tail tang handle like traditional parangs have...
Marius
you are right my friend it is about the balance point. Especially for heavier blades, it enables you to let the blade do the work with you craft needed only to control where the cut is going. Of course it is heavier to carry, but with a proper sheath, not too bad.
It is said, that Bear Grylls can fix a plane with what is available in the forest. In the same breath, it is also said, Ray Mears can fashion a whole plane, including the little bottles of whiskey and headphones from a single tree.
but i heard that you can make a parang using only wood and chop a plane in half using that. is it true?
Who in the F says all that?
???
The bear grylls one has misundersood the concept of what a duku parang is if you ask me.
Say Heah, Very good deduction, your absolutely right. I have on Parang, it's more like what you like. Mine is made by Ka-Bar Johnson Adventure Parang a tang which I teamed up with my Potbelly a perfect match. Each complement eachother and I use it alot as my Summer Long Knife to cut a new path through the brambles.
The best parang is the one that suits yourself, not what marketing any company does.
Ich hätte gern eine authentische Parang wie die von Ray mears.. kannst du sowas evtl besorgen?
I own a 10" and a 12" duku from Myparang. While I believe both are shorter than the one in this video, none of them have anywhere near as curved of a blade - in fact they are not really curved at all but rather straight and between the blade and handle very closely resemble the shape of the handle of a medium size nordic wood-axe, which is a time-tested design for chopping (slashing not as much) ...
Sorry to see that you are not comfortable with the Parang..as an Iban in Sarawak this parang are the most important tool to use daily for survival...easy and practically easy to use..
That's because he doesn't know how to actually use the Duku Chandong. The Duku Chandong is one of the best parang I have used. Love it.
That's like for chopping targets lying down. I'm not even sure if it can go through coconut husk easy. Although maranao tribe have something like that called ''badi''
We Iban have variance sizes of DuKu(Parang)..depand on the end users..we have small and easy yo cary like the want used by Ray Mears..as for the one that is shown here is for heavy job..
Im from Brunei in Borneo. You are using it wrong, the parang is our go to tool from gardening, clearing forest, camping, slaughtering animals to preparing meat.
You need to learn how to use it from the people who know how to use the parang to its full potential.
Nice video
please tell me the dimensions of your machete
What are your thoughts about the kukri (It's a knife used by the Gurkhas in Nepal)?
+georg cantor
Well, it's a good chopper for sure.
But for me personally the blade is a bit to much bend. I prefer the Bolo stile which is not to much bend and the blade is relatively straight. It's bend between handle and blade.
And I would clearly prefer a flat grind not a scandi which many kukris have...
Marius
I totally agree with you. A parang is no big deal. It's curve in relation to its handle is totally inefficient.If you want a similar but more efficient cutting tool and weapon you can try the dah or dao of north east India.
im watching this stoned
close your eyes and you'll see cool stuff
Hope your still stoned buddy. Fuck I am...
i have a modified golok and some western khukri's i like.
Baust du noch macheten? Könntest du mir eine Ray Mears Parang besorgen oder bauen? Bitte um Antwort wäre Hammer!
+Fjellstorm Bushcraft
Ich mache derzeit keine macheten aus Zeitmangel.
Gruß Marius
Long intro but I love it... :D
The intro turned me off too .
Hello Marius,
I have an Condor Parang and also the Condor Golok. They have a Powerfull Impact. But as a Machete Both are to heavy. The only close-to-real-Machete-Work i have to do here is fighting Blackberry. With its length, the Parang works good, but the Golok ist to short and heavy. I like them Both to process Wood, but its Playing around. My standart Tramontina does a way better Job for all Uses up to chopping 1" Branches. They are Great to have in the Trunk, but the Range of uses is to small to carry them around. They are just not the Multitool a Machete should be.
I think they are more a good Alternative for a small Axe or big Hatchet.
LG BB
It all depends on where you live. In the Southeastern United States where I live the Duku chandong style parang shape with a full tang is the superior tool. You add a Mora Bushcraft and SAK that has the 4 inch saw in a piggyback pouch and its unstoppable. IMO.
Parangs and edged weapons sold on the inter net tend to be shaped like a particular part of a man for sales appeal.
The Philippinos just want a blade to cut well.
The designs reflect the 2 points of view.
I grew up in the mountains and my grand father showed me to go around the forest and even after growing up and living in the city i often go to places where i can test out my survival skill set, i always bring two blades with me and that is my two inch bolo and a billhook. i used a parang before and i didn't like it
+aldrin cydriex luna
Yeah, I am also not a big fan of parangs.
Two inch bolo? that's a bit short?!
it's only for cutting and sorry about that it's 28 inches (2 feet) but my billhook on the other hand is 3 feet long with the handle
I have never seen a billhook 3 feet long . My billhook is 14 inches overall - purchased in India 1971 and used in Vietnam and Laos . Maybe the best jungle or mountain tool and I still have it . Best wishes -Lefty
there are good blacksmiths in Mindoro Philippines that will forge you your ideal blade, most of them are Mangyan or native tribes which charge cheap for their blades, there are also in Puerto galera and most tourist will choose to have their own custom forged bolos. i also asked them to make me a 3 feet long sword for only 25 dollars.
tou need to better your tecnique with the parang.
good video :)
sorry ..parang is good.but you don't know to use it. in my country sarawak.almost use parang.
You mean - always use a parang? 😉
better sharpen that parang chief
Wufh! :-)
Bear Grylls Parang are not accurate to come close to Iban Parng aka Duku Chandong..the curve of the blade is not practical to use for the chopping...
Hey dude, you not actualy using it in the correct way. That duku chandong is made by Dayak of borneo.
The real name is parang Duku Chandong. Don't simply use another name and confuse viewers. The video content is good though.