Identification Help Needed

[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

[Robert]

Mods, Please close this thread as I am planning on putting this item up for sale. My thanks to everyone for their help on this.

Robert