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I kinda like fingerprint marks on my blades. That way I can forensically prove they're mine :p

Sidenote: y'all are gonna make me get a TFW blade if you keep posting these lovely pieces. This thread should be labelled "NSFW," or, "Not Safe for Wallet"
 
Dang, glad you clarified that one, that would have drove me crazy for weeks.

Good idea on the fingerprints, never considered that aspect.

One thing that drives me banana's (actually lots of things) but one is folks touching my computer screen, pointing stuff out.
I think they do it now since they know it drives me banana's.
 
Bawanna said:
Don't look chintzy one bit to me. Love that Golok. Wipe the finger prints off that other one will ya. Might rust in that spot.

I'm sure you did already but thought I'd mention it.
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Thanks for the advice but in this case those are mineral oil fingerprints. I had just oiled the handles on both blades.

The golok appears hand forged, no idea of the steel but it sharpened to a razors edge. I trimmed my navel orange tree and it went through 1" branches like nothing. I also chopped though some old 2x2 boards without any dents or edge degradation.

UPDATE

I did some searching and the golok appears to be fairly modern. The handle carvings match up perfectly with other goloks made by Valiant Company. That makes me happy as they have a good reputation and are fairly expensive (a lot more than I paid for this one).
 
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My crystal ball sees something from TFW will enter my collection sometime in the future. Picking one would be the most difficult task.
 
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now that I can see the pics, I LIKE! The Golok is my fav of those 2 but the khuk certainly isn't a tourist piece either. Lovely additions to your collection DB.
I like the handle on the Golok. Extremely traditional and something about the shape just says it would fit the hand well in my opinion.
 
Dirtbiker said:
Thanks for the advice but in this case those are mineral oil fingerprints. I had just oiled the handles on both blades.

The golok appears hand forged, no idea of the steel but it sharpened to a razors edge. I trimmed my navel orange tree and it went through 1" branches like nothing. I also chopped though some old 2x2 boards without any dents or edge degradation.

UPDATE

I did some searching and the golok appears to be fairly modern. The handle carvings match up perfectly with other goloks made by Valiant Company. That makes me happy as they have a good reputation and are fairly expensive (a lot more than I paid for this one).
Click to expand...

Weren't really advice, that would make folks think I was smart or something. Mineral oil is good. I'm a mineral oil guy too.
 
Shavru said:
now that I can see the pics, I LIKE! The Golok is my fav of those 2 but the khuk certainly isn't a tourist piece either. Lovely additions to your collection DB.
I like the handle on the Golok. Extremely traditional and something about the shape just says it would fit the hand well in my opinion.
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I am impressed how well the handle fits my hand. It surprised me as I guessed the carving would have bothered me but you don't notice it at all.
 
I like me some mineral oil too.

Bawanna, bout the screen poking, that bothers the heck outta me too, but sometimes I do it by accident to other people. I accidentally poked my brother's screen once, only to realize it was a touch screen and that I had clicked something...oops!

Also dirtbiker, I really dig that Golok! Modern or antique it looks awesome, and if it cuts stuff too, well I don't know what more you can ask from a knife!
 
moving back to weird, i have a friend with thai roots who i mentioned my mak to. seems he has a few from tools to weapon ones, sez he'll find a cheap pole arm one for me next time he visits the family home there, sez they are fairly common in antique stores, they are a khmer weapon.

anyhoo, he mentioned he has a thai tool/weapon still being made & used there that he used to clear some jungle from his house back there that he was willing to part with. should have it next week. comes from the thai area where they make all the swords, aranyik or there abouts. more info when it arrives. more a machete type than a heavy chopper.

aranyik-whotsit.jpg


aranyik-whotsit.jpg
 
That's cool and different. Almost looks like epai "Ironwood" on the handle.

Be great for brush clearing or crowd control.
 
kronckew said:
moving back to weird, i have a friend with thai roots who i mentioned my mak to. seems he has a few from tools to weapon ones, sez he'll find a cheap pole arm one for me next time he visits the family home there, sez they are fairly common in antique stores, they are a khmer weapon.

anyhoo, he mentioned he has a thai tool/weapon still being made & used there that he used to clear some jungle from his house back there that he was willing to part with. should have it next week. comes from the thai area where they make all the swords, aranyik or there abouts. more info when it arrives. more a machete type than a heavy chopper.

aranyik-whotsit.jpg


View attachment 629786
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Reminds me a bit of the Filipino Panabas (specifically the TFW one), but with a much longer handle, and a somewhat different blade shape.
 
hi scara, bawanna - yes, it is very panabas-like, one reason i wanted it. a lot cheaper than TFW's too ;) i know this one has had a good workout & is still solid, so it should be good for quite a few more heads, er melons.

it's haft is made of red padauk wood, whatever that is...

my friend says that the original mak i posted was likely hafted in a SEA form of 'male bamboo' rather than rattan or a lesser bamboo, it's a species of bamboo rather than a gender, it was specified by the brits for their lance hafts and is a traditional material for spears, swords grips, maks, and even bows and arrows. it has much thicker walls to the culms (the hollow sections) and the hollow centre diameter is much smaller. makes it a lot stronger but still a bit flexible, bit less so than rattan tho. the root section where the blade is, is solid rather than ahollowed like the culms (stems). rattan is more of a vine and is not hollow.

edited: found this info on padauk wood:

This attractive wood has high strength properties, durability and outstanding stability and is deal for high-class joinery, furniture and cabinetmaking. Also for fancy turnery and carvings, tool and knife handles, spirit levels, paddles and oars, and agricultural implements. It has a high resistance to abrasion and makes and excellent heavy-duty flooring timber, also suitable for floors where under-floor heating has been installed because of dimensional stability. Selected logs are sliced to form very attractive decorative veneers. Renowned as a dye wood.

General Description:

The heartwood is a vivid blood red, toning down to dark purple-brown with red streaks upon exposure. The grain is straight to interlocked with a moderately coarse texture. Weight varies from 640-800 kg/m3 (40-50 lb/ft3), average 720 kg/m3 (45 lb/ft3); specific gravity .72.

Mechanical Properties:

The timber has excellent strength properties especially in bending and crushing strengths, with medium resistance to shock loads and stiffness.
 
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I have some padauk. It's pretty, varies a lot from piece to piece. Not super easy to work with but not horrible either.

Seems like the dust like so many others kind of mess's with your body, a dust mask is in order.
 
history bites me.

sudan, 1898; lt. winston churchill leading a squad of bengal lancers in the battle of omdurman with his broom handle mauser to hand, attacked by sword & spear wielding islamic terrorists known as the mahdists. the badly outnumbered british form for battle. will their new maxim's prevail or will they be over-run by the huge horde of sharp pointies and hacked to pieces?

'the regiment wil fix bayonets - FIX BAYONETS volley by ranks, first rank, FIRE!

the kaskara sword favoured by the sudanese on the day: should be with me soon. no dimensions/weight till then.
kaskara%2001.jpg


the blade is double edged, has a maker's mark stamped into the fuller, and inscribed european blade motif decorations both sides over most of the blade.
european 'crusader' blades were favoured, so much so that even after the supply dried up they made their own, complete with 'christian' symbols - good marketing. anyhow it makes kaskara very hard to date.

p.s. - the sudanese lost.

brits:
47 dead
382 wounded

Sudanese:
12,000 killed
13,000 wounded
5,000 captured

winnie survived.
 
Lost? That sounds like a massacre to me. Custers Last Stand on the other side of the big water.

Another cool find. You are the wizard at finding cool old stuff.
 
i've read somewhere that the mahdists never got closer than about 200 yards, except for the glorious charges of the brit cavalry that actually accomplished nothing but getting a few of them wounded. the mahdists did have a few guns, so the brits did get a few casualties. yes, it was a tad one sided.
 
kronckew said:
moving back to weird, i have a friend with thai roots who i mentioned my mak to. seems he has a few from tools to weapon ones, sez he'll find a cheap pole arm one for me next time he visits the family home there, sez they are fairly common in antique stores, they are a khmer weapon.

anyhoo, he mentioned he has a thai tool/weapon still being made & used there that he used to clear some jungle from his house back there that he was willing to part with. should have it next week. comes from the thai area where they make all the swords, aranyik or there abouts. more info when it arrives. more a machete type than a heavy chopper.

aranyik-whotsit.jpg


View attachment 629786
Click to expand...

That looks similar to the "Garu Dhaw" on the Special Runs page at the HI website, but with a longer handle. Am I correct in thinking it would be like their version of a brush axe?
 
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