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Holy Grail of Machetes DAH MKIII
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Nice catch, not very common.
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Leatherique is said to be the top leather preservative for classic cars. Might be just the thing for that scabbard. Surprising it was dried and cracked that much; not the best tanning originally perhaps.
The extra weight at the tip of the blade makes these more effective, and the fact that the cutting edge is not curved at the tip prevents it "sliding past" what it strikes.
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That looks like a very useful piece of kit. Never seen one either.
Great find.
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Would some people describe this style of machete as a "Panga"?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Flying10uk
Would some people describe this style of machete as a "Panga"?
I would say no. The Panga is an African machete that has a very heavy curved tip with a pronounced point on it. Not sure if the Germans introduced this style or simply copied it but there are claims the Panga is what a WWI colonial machete would be for Germany. They attempt to sell them as such on eBay anyway. I watch them but haven't seen one worth taking a chance on yet. The Germans did make them as their marks are on some of them.
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I know that some British servicemen used the term "Panga" in the Far East during WW2 but I am not sure if they used it when referring to a particular style of machete or just as an alternative word for machete.
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Panga in South Africa is just about any large blade [about forearm length, any shape] wielded in one hand for cutting bush, cane, undergrowth, branches in the way, etc.
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Probably patterned after the Philippine Golok Bangkung which the US Army would have had experience of.
Also resembles the Parang of Malaysia, Borneo etc.
Not unrealted to the billhook or "fascine knife" either. particularly the one with a reverse hook on the back of the blade whose designation I don't recall now.
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Suurpmil has it for me. We called our issue machettes, PARANGS, GOLLOCKS or PANGAS. They were all the same. Some had wood handle grips while others had a sort of compressed dark red fibre stuff. Quite useful bits of kit and the blokes used to keep them pretty sharp. So sharp that when opening a coconut, it spouted milk out and the next hack he took, his hand slid down the blade opening up his fingers. Good job for field dressings..........
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Brig. Fergusson, somewhere in The Wild Green Earth, records that his complaints about the poor quality steel of the dahs supplied by the Indian Army Ordnance Corps reached a high-level official.
"I explained how one bout of five minutes cutting serrated the edge like a saw. He was horrified, alright, but not for the reason we meant. "Do you mean to say you've been trying to cut trees with them?" he asked, scandalised.
"Well, what else is a dah for?"
"I'm not quite sure", he said, "but not that"
He was a perfect example of the type of officer I call 'pit ponies' who spend their lives in offices and blink when they get out in the open air."
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mk VII
He was a perfect example of the type of officer I call 'pit ponies'
I can imagine you trying to explain indirect fire with the GPMG to him then...
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Trying to explain indirect fire by map and compass, with elevation angles and wind thrown in for good measure to Armourers was an alien concept too! I never got the hang of it. But I used to not in agreement at the sustained fire crews when they tried to explain the intricacies to me on the firing line. They might just as well as been speaking swahili to me.....
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Chapter Six of David Gordon's "EQUIPMENT OF THE WWII TOMMY" covers just about every edged weapon and tool from the Smatchet to the Kukri to the gravity knife and everything in between.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
Peter Laidler
Suurpmil has it for me. We called our issue machettes, PARANGS, GOLLOCKS or PANGAS. They were all the same. Some had wood handle grips while others had a sort of compressed dark red fibre stuff. Quite useful bits of kit and the blokes used to keep them pretty sharp. So sharp that when opening a coconut, it spouted milk out and the next hack he took, his hand slid down the blade opening up his fingers. Good job for field dressings..........
Not a job for the inexperienced opening coconuts with a machete, the residents of those regions seem to do it unerringly, but I suspect quite a few kiddies lost their left thumbs in the learning process.
