Coincident with a new wave of demand for chopper knives, KA-BAR’s Parangatang is finding its way back into production after a brief hiatus. The design is the brainchild of Steve Johnson of Johnson Adventure Blades, who set out to make a sturdy, powerful, and balanced tool capable of a wide variety of cutting tasks.
This unusual blade may look like it comes from some far-flung corner of the world, and as the name implies it does draw on the Malaysian Parang knife. But Nebraska native Johnson’s primary inspiration for the design came from the hardworking farm tools of his youth, called corn knives. “They were the right tool for cutting down green cornstalks and weeds, and the front third of the blade spent a lot of time hitting the dirt,” Johnson explains. On the other hand, Johnson found these knives were less useful away from the farm and struggled with tougher jobs. “My goal with the Parangatang was to deliver a highly useful tool, but make it from the type of material that would chop hardwood just as well as the old corn knives cut soft corn stalks,” he says.
According to Johnson the secret to drawn-out cutting endurance is the return. This is the part of the cutting motion where the user brings the knife back towards himself to ready another swing. “If too much weight is forward, it makes a lot more work for the wrist, forearm, and shoulder,” Johnson points out. “A lot of chopping can wear a guy out in no time and if the return is laborious – that just makes life suck.”
Johnson worked with KA-BAR to make a knife designed for the long haul, balanced to remain ergonomic for drawn-out cutting projects. Although it has a durable 14-inch 1095 carbon steel blade, the 1.3 lb tool is meant to feel light and lively in hand.
> > Keep your folders awesome. Grab a Pack of 5 Microfiber Blade Sleeves for $8.99 < <
SHOT Show 2014 marked the debut of the Parangatang, although in recent months availability dried up. However, KA-BAR’s Joseph Bradley tells us the knife has not been discontinued. “Sometimes items go out of stock due to availability and this was something that impacted the Parangatang for a brief period.” New stock is showing up with dealers and Bradley says the Parangatang will likely remain in the KA-BAR catalog for the foreseeable future.
Knife featured in image: KA-BAR Parangatang
Hawk Knives delivered deeply sad news to the knife world yesterday: Grant Hawk, one of the most innovative, boundary-pushing knife makers of the 20th century, passed away earlier this...
Justin Lundquist is giving fans of the Feist something new to fiend for with the Feist Fixed Blade. These custom pieces present the well-known design in an entirely new...
Gareth and Jason Bull of South Africa’s Bull Knives had some exciting news to share this week: they are planning on releasing a production version of their Mini Xyro...
GiantMouse is breathing new life into an older fixed blade design with their latest limited release, available now. The GMF2-P-R sees designers Jesper Voxnaes and Jens Anso tweaking the...
It’s hard to believe, but we are moving away from SHOT Show quite quickly, and Blade Show, the big mid-year knife...
Another new name has signed up with Solingen Germany’s biggest knife outfit, Boker. Hungarian custom craftsman János Németh brings out his first production collaboration with the company in the...
When we checked in with James Brand earlier in April, they had just expanded their non-knife EDC collection with the Warrick. This week, they’re celebrating the summer and all...
©knifenews.com 2022
0 comments