Khukri or Parang ?

pitdog

pitdog

Joined
Apr 13, 2007
Messages
12,294
Let's hear which you all would think the better survival tool, a Parang or Khukri and why ?

loftyparang.jpg

By pitdog2010 at 2011-05-08

specsampterms.jpg

By pitdog2010 at 2011-05-08

I'd personally choose the Parang !
 
It would depend on who made them, to me. If it was just the tool itself, I would probably go with a Khukuri, as it would likely be the better chopper of them. Shelter and fire would be on my top of things-to-do in any survival situation.
 
Like Thegame said it would depend on who made it, and what it's main purpose was. Also, where you will be using it. Up here, I'm surrounded by soft woods mainly. Pine, spruce, cedar, ext......

I personally would want the parang. I use a saw to cross cut the timber I need, and would use the parang to split. I like the reduced weight, and would find it more usefull..... I think. I'm in the middle of purchasing my first machete so I really don't know all that yet. Just basing that off how I backpack (light) and where I live.
 
I think weight is an issue also. The khukuri I own are all pretty heavy duty and excellent choppers on hard woods, but I do have two parangs which (one from Valiant, the other from Diving Sparrow) are also ¼” and 3/16”, respectively, and chop amazingly too. My Diving Sparrow version is much livelier in the hand and easier to use on green vines and lighter vegetation chopping.

I can get more precise cuts while chopping with parangs however with practiced techniques you could probably do the same with a khukuri.

Although both can get a very sharp edge, the khukuri would get the nod as more of a defensive tool with it's more pronounced tip.

Excluding the karda accessory knife, the parang is much easier to choke up on for close work, but both have a pretty wide blade that allows you to grasp the blade and use the tip for delicate work. It's hard to choke up on a khukuir with a pronounced cho, but as mentioned, I've just grasped the flat of the blade and used the tip...the balance is difficult usually due to the weight.

As to chopping, both have a similar sweet spot and if weight and blade thickness were identical, I don’t think you’d see much difference between the two. The saber grind of the khukuri is pretty stout and throws out pretty big chips of wood. Both my parangs are full flat/convex ground and chop extremely well.

Battoning is much easier with the parang, but that's mostly due to the overall design and cant of the blade...of course, it's really a moot point as both are very functional choppers.

Both seem to work well as a draw knife…pretty much a draw. For where I reside in the SE, my first choice would be the parang for spring and summer and the khukuri in the late fall and winter. It’s interesting to see a comparison of the two designs…

ROCK6
 
Last edited:
Recurves (Kukris) are more difficult to sharpen in the field; something to consider.
I just used the Gerber (Bear Gryills...yeah, I know) Parang yesterday clearing out underbrush and dead lower limbs from a Spruce that I have to take down in my front yard yesterday, and the thing kicked ass. For 30 bucks at Walmart,, I'm more than satisfied with the thing.
 
for quick heavy cutting my siegle kuk is truly amazing but it's heavy. i worked out with the lightweight ka-bar kuk about a month back & was impressed with the performance & price. in fact i've ordered 3 for friends. the ka-bar took down a bois d'arc [bodark tree 8 or 9 in. in 12 minutes. this is a very hard wood close to mesquite & live oak in toughness. no chipping or edge rolling thru an afternoon of hard usage. nothing beats the heavier siegle for outright chopping.--dennis
 
I did alot of delimbing with both yesterday and found myself going to the parang because of reach and weight. The khukri is hard to beat for pure chopping power but when your up a ladder and taking out limbs wrist thick I had better control and less fatigue with the parang. I used a saw to clean some of the cuts off (could have used it for most branches but some were out of my reach). I'll also note that with the khukri the balance brings the follow through more quickly and in some situations that can be dangerous, where the parangs follow through is not as noteable....I hope I explained that well enough.
 
I'd go with a parang, in general, but if the choice was literally between the two depicted I'd have to go with the kukri. The upward sweep of the parang, however is more useful for knife-like tasks which could prove useful for food prep etc.
 
Kukri, hands down.

What most people don't understand is that the Ka-Bar and Cold Steel kukri machetes do not represent kukris very well.

First of all, you have wide variations between kukri, you can get them from 12" (OAL) to 25"+. Spines from 1/4" to over 1/2". Another thing not realized is that a kukri with a 1/2" spine doesn't stay 1/2" down to the bevel and then go to a zero edge bevel, which is what is usually implied when the "sabre grind" is lamented. They begin a curved taper, almost like a hollow grind -- even models without pronounced fullers or Ang Khola (Back Hollow), have a curved taper to them. Then the bevel is a shallow convex to the edge. I go through all that to say that even though they make excellent choppers, when properly sharpened (i.e. actually sharp) they are a big, curved scalpel that can easily cut grassy vegetation with just a flick of the wrist or let the thing freely swing using it's own momentum and very little of your own muscle power.

Splitting: You can use pretty much any splitting technique that works with a hatchet. If you simply must baton, it's easy with the kukri. Your wrist adopts a more natural angle as you bet the hell out of the blade. I really see no disadvantage here.

Detail work: The very wide front end of the kukri makes it easy to hold onto. A complaint was lodged about this being problematical due to weight. I'd bet the person(s) trying to use it and thought it was too heavy were moving the blade. No, you hold the blade still in hand, between your feet, wedged in a log, etc, and move what you are working over it. That's if you want to discount the karda. But the Nepali are smart enough to include the karda and chakma in the sheaths of their heavier kukri intended for use in the field for a reason.

Sharpening in the field: not hard. Yopu have the chakma (sharpening steel), or you can use a ceramic rod to steel the edge. Usually this is all you'll need -- in the field. If you're worried about it, take a Diafold or other diamond hone, and you just follow the curvature of the convex bevel. If you're worried about the recurved portion, the chakma/ceramic rod works fine, and that portion of the blade isn't used much, so a major sharpening project isn't needed in most cases.
 
I'll take my M-43 Kukri Hnads down. Absolutely phenomenal chopper. However it also has the same variable edge as the Parang. Exceptionaly lively in the hand and this design Kukri does lend itself well to stabbing. The Kukri's design is extremely versatile working vey well not only as a chopper, but working equaly well as a drawknife etc.
 
Honestly there's so much variation in designs for both parangs and kukris that it's kind of hard to compare them definitively. It would really depend on the two specific examples being compared that would influence my decision most.
 
Some good points so far. A few people have mentioned it would depend on which brand etc, I'm thinking of it as if you had a high quality one of each, no Cold steel etc.

For the Parang lets say it would be one of Chris Caines:

parang.jpg

By pitdog2010 at 2011-05-08
 
pitdog said:
Some good points so far. A few people have mentioned it would depend on which brand etc, I'm thinking of it as if you had a high quality one of each, no Cold steel etc.

For the Parang lets say it would be one of Chris Caines:
Click to expand...

Still be a parang for me. Like this one from Rich Marchand. 1084 steel. 7/32" with a distal taper. Looks a lot more like a Golok to me but still would be about perfect in my mind. But I'm certainly not an expert. Photo blatantly stolen from his web site: l;)


post image wordpress
 
Cascade_mtn's said:
Still be a parang for me. Like this one from Rich Marchand. 1084 steel. 7/32" with a distal taper. Looks a lot more like a Golok to me but still would be about perfect in my mind. But I'm certainly not an expert. Photo blatantly stolen from his web site: l;)


post image wordpress
Click to expand...

Yeah tough to define the different blade types eh, looking at the description of the Parang I posted I'd say the version in your pic would find it hard to qualify as it doesn't look to have three sections of the blade for different uses. I'd say that is a Golok and an awesome one at that !!!
 
Here is another example of a Parang from Rick M that I like even better.


free image hosting

Again........for me the Parang is lighter, can be used as a big knife easier than a Kuhk, and is better all around for where I live and how I would use it.
 
Parang, all the way....but,without the traditional handle; with a modern handle for me.....something like this



yhst-29358752693524_2151_2664812.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top