O'Katz Parang Lading Sabit WIP

[philllll]

Mohd, the final product looks amazing! Good job on the design and congrats on the sweet knife.

 

[mohd]

.. the final product looks amazing! Good job on the design ..

Thanks for the nice words Phil
The basic design is already there in the usage, I just interpreted it into my own version according to my preferences and experiences in actual field works!
Then fellow knife collectors gave suggestions and ideas to further enhance it.
And O'Katz translated it using his technical know how, experiences, time, thinking, emotion and energy into a project that finally came out with an actual piece of PLS!
Let me phrase down in my own words what O'Katz always says to me about his knife making hobby.

.. It's not only about the knife you build, it's also about who you build it for ..

Back to the progress of the PLS, the second batch of pictures shows the fixing of the Serian wood as a handle to the PLS.

The Serian wood scales were already fixed to the full tang with all the pins and the lanyard tube.

It was roughly shaped using hand grinder.

Then wood file was used to smoothen it.

After that it was handrubbed with sandpapers, buffed and finally O'Katz applied some beeswax to it.
And here is the achieved result from various angles of view.

CMIIAW but IMVHO Serian wood do has pattern quite similar to Koa and Curly Maple.
Will continue in the next posting

mohd

 

[naturalist]

The scales turned out very nice.... Beautiful
Congrats Pak. Just imagine the sheath ��

 

[Ziad]

Amazing job !

 

[mohd]

.. The scales turned out very nice ..

.. Amazing job ! ..

Thanks Anton and Ziad for for your nice words on O'Katz's work.
And thanks to all of you who are following this thread

.. Just imagine the sheath ..

O'Katz doesn't make sheath, Anton.
Most probably I'll get a traditional sheath maker who would come out with a Serian wood sheath to match with it's handle.

I'm very happy with the come out of this PLS project.
For me this is a successful project that close the year of 2013.
Anyhow the PLS now is still with O'Katz in Teluk Intan which is about 180 km north of Kuala Lumpur.
Maybe I'll leisurely drive there some times next week, have a friendly talk and shared some joking with O'Katz, collect the PLS etc and back to Kuala Lumpur on the same day, insyaAllah

Here is a couple of pictures of the PLS shot by O'Katz himself.

Anyhow O'Katz only took the shot on the right side view of the blade which has a bevel.

I guess the left side view of the blade looks rather boring.
That's where I thought of having an excerpt from Rumi's poem "Love Comes With A Knife" engraved on it.

"Love comes with a knife, not some shy question, and not with fears for its reputation!" ~ Rumi

mohd

 

[JayGoliath]

What a sexy blade. :thumbup:

Lads..keep your hands off Pak Mohd. When the sabit flies there's no way to escape!

 

[catros]

more then 25 mnt stunned reading your post.. pak mohd
and learn many think from it..

thanks a lot

 

[cicak_cobing]

it turns out lovely, Pak Mohd..
it's good to see some old (and at times unpopular) parang style being revived again..
and also a great addition to your parang collection!

 

[Joezilla]

Very cool. I'll add more to this thread later, but Nadir is a great guy. I have several of the South American versions of the same blade for the same type of work.

 

[mohd]

.. and learn many think from it ..

Thanks Aki
Actually my explanation in the making of the PLS especially in the HT phase is just some superficial info.
I purposely didn't go into detail because as a collector and not a maker means I don't really know much about it.
Even I'd edited some phrases and sentences here and there to correct the info after I verified them again with O'Katz.

.. it's good to see some old (and at times unpopular) parang style being revived again ..

Thanks Zach
As we already agreed before Zach; Pisau, Golok and Parang are Southeast Asian cultural heritages!
Those edge tools are already existed even long before the western people came to our region.
And IMVHO it's good to share them with others as a manifestation of our gratitude to our ancestors who founded them.
Those Pisau, Golok and Parang might be created crudely at the earlier days but in the long span of time they'd evolved into more better and practical shapes.
IMVHO the currently existing design and shape are already proven as truly beneficial and functional in usage in our Southeast Asian environment.
And the humble PLS is one of those many edged tools heritages from our ancestors that are still in the usage especially in the rural area of Southeast Asia until now.

The following pictures shows a beautiful Malay girl used a long PLS to cut and clear grasses and shrubs in the compound area of her house.

.. Nadir is a great guy. I have several of the South American versions of the same blade for the same type of work ..

Hi Joe, thanks for your reply and for following this thread
Nadir of Outdoor Dynamic is a great friend and he has a good collections of Pisau, Golok and Parang with him!
Regarding the South American versions, most probably those are from the family of Machete.
IMVHO Pisau, Golok and Parang are of different family by themselves.
Pisau, Golok and Parang might be originated from or influenced by Indian or Chinese cultures but I doubt that it got anything to do with Machete.
In fact the word Machete itself is not derived from any languages belong to any South American natives such as Inca or Aztec or Indian but it's from a Spanish language.

.. The machete (/məˈʃɛti/; Spanish pronunciation: [maˈtʃete]) is a large cleaver-like knife. The blade is typically 32.5 to 45 centimetres (12.8 to 17.7 in) long and usually under 3 millimetres (0.12 in) thick. In the Spanish language the word is a diminutive form of the word macho, which means male or strong and was used to refer to sledgehammers.[1] In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet,[2] though it is less commonly known. In the English-speaking Caribbean such as Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, Grenada and in Trinidad and Tobago, the term "cutlass" is used for these agricultural tools ..

I tend to say that Machete is only founded after Columbus era, I might be wrong though!
So IMVHO it's just improper to say something like a Golok Machete or a Parang Machete because the fact is that a Golok and a Parang is of different family while a Machete is of a totally different family of edged tools.
It's just like how improper it is to call a Large Southwest Bowie Knife as a Bowie Machete or a Bowie Golok or a Bowie Parang

.. And I found out that in Indonesia there's such a knife which is called as Bendo Arit.

Anyhow PLS is not a Bendo Arit.
And both are having two different shapes of blade design.
PLS looks more like a version of Parang Lading while Bendo Arit looks more like a Bendo ..

Bendo Arit is belived to be a hybrid of a short (i.e. ~ 17" OAL) and wide (i.e. ~ 2 1/2 - 4" width) Golok Bendo blade and an Arit (i.e. sickle) tip originated from Jawa, Indonesia.
PLS is believed to be a hybrid of a Parang Lading blade and a Sabit (i.e. sickle) tip.
And Parang Lading has either a short (~ 17" OAL) or a medium (~ 25" OAL) or a long (i.e. ~30" OAL) sizes and narrower (i.e. ~ 1 1/2 - 2" width) blades originated from somewhere Sumatra, Indonesia.
That's the reason why we classified the PLS and the Bendo Arit under two different categories.

Here are another two pictures of Bendo Arit.

And here are two pictures of medium size length PLS (i.e. ~ 25" OAL).

'Ain't PLS looks different from Bendo Arit!
Just my 2 cents opinion, kindly CMIIAW!

BTW, insyaAllah I'll go and collect my short O'Katz Handmade PLS (i.e. ~ 18" OAL) this week .. not very sure which day to go yet!
Once collected I hope I could come out with some good pictures of my PLS to be shown in here

mohd

 

[Currahee]

This has been one of the most interesting threads I have had the pleasure to follow on this or any other knife forum. From a cultural and historical perspective it has enlightened me. And, from the perspective of a knife enthusiast it has given me a greater appreciation for the cutler's artistic talent and skill. In short, it has been a joy to read. Thank you, Pak Mohd, for allowing me to take this vicarious journey with you. I will look forward to more pictures of this beautiful knife!

Cheers and blessings of good fortune to you, my friend!

Currahee

 

[Moll]

attempting to locate Mr O'Katz if this is your sight please email me back, I'm interested in your cleavers, axe's so on... thanks Gene

 

[ScottRoush]

Great thread! The tropical bush knives and machetes have such wonderful lines.

I love the picture of the girl mowing her grass with one. I will never forget the time I saw a guy in Liberia, Costa Rica on his hands and knees doing practically golf course level mowing of his front yard with a machete.

 

[mohd]

.. Once collected I hope I could come out with some good pictures of my PLS to be shown in here ..

.. I will look forward to more pictures of this beautiful knife! ..

Lots of thanks for the nice words Currahee!
The knife is already with me now!
Hope I could spend some time this week to photograph it and i/A I'll post the pictures in here!
Me not so good dealing with the little box called as a camera

attempting to locate Mr O'Katz if this is your sight please email me back, I'm interested in your cleavers, axe's so on... thanks Gene

Lots of thanks for your interest on O'Katz works Gene!
I'll talk to O'Katz i/A and I'll let you know how to contact him then when he said okay about it.
The last time I went to his place it seemed he had some backlog though!

.. I love the picture of the girl mowing her grass with one. I will never forget the time I saw a guy in Liberia, Costa Rica on his hands and knees doing practically golf course level mowing of his front yard with a machete ..

Lots of thanks Scott!
It's a surprise to get your visit in here and it's an honor to get your reply in this my little thread
And your story reminds me about my own experiences in cutting acres of grasses and bushes in the coconut plantation fields when I was young (i.e. sometimes in 1970s).
Nowadays they prefer grass cutting machine which could performs in a more efficient manner compared to parang when dealing with grasses and bushes in a large area of oil palm plantation fields.
And they also spray weed killer to clear the land from grasses and bushes.
So the function of Golok and Parang nowadays is just for a small scale type of field works only .. sort of clearing front yard and back yard or cutting and chopping small trees!

mohd

 

[ScottRoush]

well I love the inspiration this genre of knives/machetes bring to modern bladesmithing. I have my own very large golok/sugar cane type blade in the works right now with forged socket handle (not sure if that style is found in an actual context?). Just trying to figure out a handle wrap that is beautiful, traditional, and bombproof. I'd also like your opinion on scabbard styles for these things. I love Tai Goo's take on that....

 

[David Stifle]

I enjoyed your journey, and the final product looks great. I have recently started trying my hand at making S.E. Asian type short swords, and they are a lot of fun (not to mention effective as can be).

 

[Salem Straub]

I really like south Asian bolos, parangs, etc. a lot for style. THanks for this very cool thread! Wicked looking knife in the end.
Say, what's the handle material here?

 

[shockjockey24]

if it's like the other parangs from outdoor dynamics, probably injection molded hard plastic. Very solid and usable, but plastic no less

 

[JayGoliath]

if it's like the other parangs from outdoor dynamics, probably injection molded hard plastic. Very solid and usable, but plastic no less

Yes it is.