MYParang 8" Duku Candong Machete Review 

I love your products and have bought multiple MY parang and also your diamond sharpening system. It's just a little out of character that everything you sell is completely top notch quality except for the sheath which rattles a lot and isn't secure at all. I'm sure that this is an area which can be improved on: one of your Malaysian competitors actually sells with Kydex sheaths. I know that historically it's difficult to utilize kydex for forged blades which are all slightly different in width/height/thickness meaning you have to do a custom sheath for each knife and also modify for recurve angles which is too time consuming. But that's only if you're using the traditional method of pressing the kydex onto each knife. They did the sheath by using a mass-produced boxy shape which is slightly bigger than the knife blade. Rattling and lack of secure fit is avoided because they made the kydex clip to the metal bolster (which is standard dimensions) rather than the knife (which isn't standard dimensions) -- this clipping portion is also intentionally longer than most knife sheaths to ensure fit. Love your product and still buying more -- trying to collect one of every shape!

@@daletan6177 yes, we have kydex sheaths in the pipeline as an accessory. looking to roll them out by year end.

@@NadirOutdoorDynamics Can't wait - just take my money!

@@NadirOutdoorDynamics I've just realized that if I carry the parang the traditional way (horizontally using paracord as a belt loop which I attach to the molle) it's actually much more comfortable, and also feels very secure. If I carry it blade up, the knocking vanishes as well so I don't have to worry that the knife might cut the sheath eventually. The traditional way is so much better than the Western vertical carry system. Guess I need to buy another My Parang now -- already have two Chandongs and one Golok. Trying to decide between the Rintis, Perak or Bentong. If you have any recommendations, let me know!

Thanks for sharing! To be fair, the MyParang models have better fit and finish and QC than the typical Bidor models. Have not tried the chicken biscuits. As far as I know, they are neither made of chicken or made for chicken to eat.

I think a parang is a great all-round survival knife for most environments, even outside the tropical climates.

Yes you can but it is advisable to carry some form of smaller blade with a thinner blade stock whether it is a fixed blade or folder. See this video here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dDmLkhmDPgI.html

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for your comment. We can agree to disagree on the proportion of the unsharpened "ricasso". I've handled many Malaysian traditional duku candungs and the unsharpened length is not that long. Might make sense for longer parang for better control and weight distribution when choking up, but not for the 8" blade IMO. The sheath - well the brand owner has spoken about this and acknowledged the design issues due to production limitations and has/ is exploring kydex options. Have a great day!

​@@urbanknifeguy Well - maybe I was a bit snarky there, so apologies - and sure it varies we can agree on that some don’t even have much of one, especially on western adapted designs (but not exclusively) when it comes to chandung style parangs. Usually though that means the curve of the belly goes almost all the way to the handle, making it actually accessible for use. I was referring to this type and brand and the implications of the “cutaway”. I own a number of indonesian and malaysian parangs including a 8,10 and 12 heavy version of this one. A reduction in the unsharpened area of this one still means there are grips you can’t do which would impact each of them slightly differently in terms of balance. I find I frequently use all of it on both the 8 and 10, the 12 I use more for just dedicated heavy work so I don’t have occasion. The 10 has the best overall weight distribution to my liking, but the 8 is what I often bring for lighter hiking purposes. I don’t think that the “cutaway” area behind the curve would necessarily be particular useful if sharpened it’s not the bit you chop with, it won’t be very accessible for food prep, and it has a drop which means any whittling type task would require you to hold it at an angle even when doing just a one or two finger choke. A drop angle close to the handle just seems to have limited practical use, compared to what you lose by sharpening it. WHat’s more they’re all front heavy, girthy blades as you said, so if you want to have more control of that when doing finer work, you really want the option of choking down further out so you can properly control the application of force and in some cases like a modified pull cut rest the handle against your lower arm in a way that yields proper support. So mileage may vary for different uses and users, but personally I don’t see the advantage of pushing this parang in the direction of say a Kukri or Bowie or even just a different blade design from the same brand - many of which DO have more sharpened blade available, inherent to those designs and traditional applications. The 8 as I understand it was always a bit experimental for Myparang (although you can of course find a great variety of shorter parangs around locally), so there is a chance it may fall a bit between on some design aspects, but I guess I’d sooner use another knife than sacrifice the advantages inherent to this overall design type, to compensate for that. You really will have very limited control of the heavy blade for finer carving or push cuts with that section of the blade. The most I’d most likely remove myself if I had to - would be 1-2 centimetres but even that might place my at increased risk of nicking myself when handling it in the ways I do. Somewhat depends on hand size I guess. We can only agree about the sheath, It’s pretty damn useless for anything but lying in a car or working in one spot where you put it down and retrieve it often. For that you don’t want a too-grippy sheath or it’s just gonna be a hassle every time you put down the knife. And even so it remains a hazard because there is no retention in the nylon strap that won’t stop the blade from sliding partly or wholly out out eventually. I never use the sheaths, I’ve made my own out of either wood or leather (The latter is fine here in the North but I sincerely doubt it would survive a single rainy season in Malaysia without a lot of maintenance).

👍 Very good review, it helped me in deciding which parang to purchase.