Identification Help Needed

[Robert]

Hello DAHenkel, And thank you very much for all of the information on this parang and for the link to all of the great pictures. I am still a little confused on the proper name for this though, would it be "parang Pattani" or "parang jenguk" or does it really make a difference which one to call it? Another question would be if you would be comfortable with dating this piece? As it arrived today I have posted a few poor pictures taken inside of it after a light cleaning. I have not etched the blade as it still retains a lot of the original forge black finish from when it was made and I do not want to remove it. The blade shows very nice lamination that unfortunately does not show very well in the photos. The hilt is of what looks to be Kamagong wood and does have an age crack but none the less is very striking. This is a very heavy made piece and would produce horrendous injury to anyone unfortunate enough to be struck by it cleaving through bone and tissue with little effort. I do apologies for the poor picture quality.

Regards,
Robert

[Robert]

A couple of photos that show the steel collar between the blade and wood better.

Regards,
Robert

[kai]

Hello Robert,

Thanks for the pics - certainly much better than those from the seller!

As it arrived today I have posted a few poor pictures taken inside of it after a light cleaning. I have not etched the blade as it still retains a lot of the original forge black finish from when it was made and I do not want to remove it. The blade shows very nice lamination that unfortunately does not show very well in the photos.

From the pics, I don't see clear signs for original forging scale - looks more like stabilised rust to me...

Maybe Dave could confirm wether examples with forging scale are known - I've always seen these neatly finished and would be surprised to hear of any traditional affectation appreciating any coarse (non-)finish.

Best wishes,
Kai

[Robert]

Hello Kai, Not forging scale, but a finish that is achieved by dipping the steel into oil and heating it to produce a smooth dark protective coating. The metal has a very smooth finish to it with no forge scale. The pictures do not show the color very well, it is a very deep blueish black. I only cleaned the surface rust off of the metal and there are still quite a few small spots of hard rust in small patches.

Regards,
Robert

[Robert]

From DAHenkel earlier post on the old forum:

I've also noted that I have not encountered antique pieces that have been kept sharp. This is not to say that they could not be sharpened but I rather doubt they were. The only sharp parang of this type I know of is a newly made one owned by Nik Rashidi. It is in form simmilar to the second parang shown (7th photo from the top). Rashidi is particularly fond of this parang and uses it especially for "belah kayu" that is, the process of roughing out wood billets for hilts and sheaths and also for butchering carcasses during Hari Raya Korban (muharram).

On this example the blade is sharp. Thought it is not so sharp that you could use it to shave it does still have a very definite edge. The strange thing is that starting from the blades tip the sharp edge only extends two thirds of the way back on the curve. Measuring back from the tip along the edge the sharpened area is only 5-1/2 inches in length. Not much of a cutting edge, about what you might expect to find on an average sized modern hatchet. Just for later reference, this piece weighs in at one pound twelve ounces and is eighteen inches in length measured in a straight line from the tip of the blade to the tip of the hilt.

Regards,
Robert

[Robert]

At nearly six hundred views there seems to be some definite interest in this piece. What is a problem for me is the fact that I cannot find much information on it on the web or in the few books that I possess. If anyone can point me in the right direction or has any information at all that hasn't already been posted please feel free to reply. A few of the main things that I would like to know about this item are an approximation of its age, whether or not the blade should be etched and exactly who used them. My thanks to everyone for their interest in this most interesting piece.

Regards,
Robert

[Timo Nieminen]

How well does it cut branches/weeds/stuff?

[Robert]

I didn't want to try it out on anything that might do damage to the cracked wooden hilt but, it cut through a 1 inch tree branch with absolutely no effort.

Robert