Polycarbonate Parang Sheath

C_Claycomb

C_Claycomb

Joined
Dec 11, 2000
Messages
1,082
Finished this to house a Condor Eco Parang for an upcoming trip to Brunei (little sultanate on the island of Borneo) where I will be doing three or four days of jungle hammock camping with a friend who lives and guides out there.
Having used a Penan parang and made my own copy along with wooden sheath, I like the dangle carry and inverted draw. I could have done something in Kydex, but I had 3mm and 2mm clear polycarbonate leftover from another project, and nothing better to do with it...

. by Last Scratch, on Flickr

Non-slip cord attachment, and provision for a webbing dangler loop.
. by Last Scratch, on Flickr

Drain features. I do think this thing might be a rust trap, but I don't have time to do much about it before I go, so will just see how it works. Kydex can be bad for rust too if it is close to the blade.
. by Last Scratch, on Flickr

Retention is provided by having heat distorted one side of the sheath, down near the tip. Polycarbonate is not nice to heat form. It needs to get quite hot to start moving, then very quickly gets really soft, and then it bubbles!
. by Last Scratch, on Flickr
Not elegant, but it seems to work since the blade won't shake out of the sheath, but can be withdrawn smoothly if I hold the the sheath with my spare hand.

Cord carries below pack belt (HPG Recon, for ref.)

IMG_1356 by Last Scratch, on Flickr

IMG_1360 by Last Scratch, on Flickr

Something different, at any rate.

Thanks for looking in.
Chris
 
Nice job! I would put another set of holes on the other side of the top of the scabbard, and run the para cord thru them too, so the parang carried more vertical and less likely to catch on vines or vegetation. I would also flip the scabbard over so when you draw the parang, the sharp edge is down and away from your body. Spent some time in Brunei at the British Army Jungle Warfare School, and definitely an interesting place. John
 
As an after thought, when I was there it was incredibly humid. A mere walk of a few kilometers and our uniforms looked like we had been in a river. Be careful as that wide waist belt for you pack looks like an invitation to get a bad heat rash around your waist. John
 
I expect that by the time I walk that far I will indeed have been in a river, probably more than one. The chap I am going with has been using Kifaru and Hill People Gear packs into the jungle for some years, and that is what that belt comes from, so I will just have to see how it goes. I will keep an eye out for belt induced problems though. Thanks for the warning.
 
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