Village parang/ sharpening issues

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Bloodydishtowel

Joined
May 7, 2013
Messages
163
I have a new Condor village parang and I went to test it with the factory edge today and it just plain sucked. I was going to try sharpening it and my BK2 at the same time by trying the sandpaper/mousepaper method and after starting on some 220 on my BK2, I've managed to dull it. I'm seriously frustrated and can't seem to sharpen it and I don't want to even try with my parang and screw it up somehow (likely.) Any tips/help would be appreciated
 
just tried twice more to sharpen the BK2, idk what I'm doing wrong (keeping the angle consistent maybe it's the grit of sandpaper?) and it won't even cut paper, just tear it
 
Try a finer grit. If something is reasonably sharp to start I would think 220 a bit too corse.
 
You aren't apexing, you probably aren't holding the angle you think you are and you need practice (and a sharpie).

Now's the time to head to the hardware store and grab a cheap SIC stone, pick a way to lubricate it (I chose water) and get to work focusing on the angle and working towards creating a burr on both sides of the edge. Don't worry about precise angle control, get the edge apexed first. Then move to the sandpaper, then to the strop and finally to your camera to show us your edge.

Alternately you can buy a work sharp, paper wheels a belt grinder or go wicked edge/edge pro.

For the parang I recommend a bastard file followed by a fine single cut file and if you use sandpaper I personally like staying at or under 320 grit, it's a machete not a nice steel pocket knife, vegetation likes a good toothy edge.

I suppose you could send them out to be sharpened also, I'm sure there are guys here who will recommend Richard J.
 
Bloodydishtowel said:
I have a new Condor village parang and I went to test it with the factory edge today and it just plain sucked. I was going to try sharpening it and my BK2 at the same time by trying the sandpaper/mousepaper method and after starting on some 220 on my BK2, I've managed to dull it. I'm seriously frustrated and can't seem to sharpen it and I don't want to even try with my parang and screw it up somehow (likely.) Any tips/help would be appreciated
Click to expand...

I got mine from Baronyx and had them put an edge on it. It is plenty sharp for a machete.

I am not an expert sharpener by any means, but for larger edges like machetes I prefer a mechanized system. A cheapo $30 belt sander from Harbor Freight and a few belts of various grits works for me.

Also, I can't see trying to keep a razor sharp edge on a user machete. I don't think you want to go too low on the angle lest you start rolling and chipping the edge. If you are only planning to hang it on the wall and cut paper maybe, but using it outside hacking vegetation will probably damage a really sharp edge.
 
Check out the many youtube videos on sharpening. There are tons of good videos out there, if free hand is not for you then think about getting one of the guided sharpening systems.
 
yeah I don't think free hand is for me, I was getting very frustrated, I'm currently looking at the work sharp and will have that by the end of the month, the problem with the parang is I'm mainly using it for dry woods and camping so what angle should the grind be? It's convexed already
 
bloodydishtowel. if you want some help sharpening your parang, send me an email with your number and i'll give you a call and help you out.
 
wow that's nice of you, I'm getting a sharpmaker soon but until then a simple question answered would be fine, I think it came with an edge (wasn't super sharp) but maybe that was just a complimentary grind, anyways... I have a lansky puck, will that work for now? just to give it a machete like edge? if so what angle should I go at? I find I'm not bad with the puck, it's just when the stone or sandpaper is flat and I maneuver the knife that I seem to stray from a set angle...
 
When moving big blades over a stationary grinding surface it pays to break the edge up into overlapping sections, otherwise it is extremely challenging to maintain a consistent angle.

I have a number of Imacasa (Condor) machetes in 1075 carbon steel, they take and hold a finer edge than you might think. Personally for dead wood, some or most of it possibly hardwood, I'd shoot for about 35 degrees inclusive, and the finest polish you can rapidly create and maintain. It makes a big difference when chopping compared to a toothy edge, esp with hardwoods.

The puck will do a pretty good job, then for a finish I like to just smear some polishing compound on paper and wrap that around a benchstone or piece of hardwood for a strop. You can also get a serviceable edge with the puck and some compound by using the puck for repair and rubbing the compound on a tree branch with smooth bark to use as a strop. Have to keep in mind that you're working with a larger stretch of steel - your puck will load up if you don't frequently dunk it in water as you work to clear the removed bits of metal from sharpening (or use some oil on it-gets messy with a puck but works well). Likewise the compound will load up fast and need to be reapplied often or it'll stop working well after only a handful of passes.

HH
 
Don't worry about messing up a sharpening job, you can typically fix them easily once you get more experienced.
 
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