Ka-Bar 5603 KA bar, Johnson Adventure Knife, Parangatang

I have a lot of knives from different makers. I use my big chopper knives in Tennessee for camping, clearing heavy brush/trails, yard work, survival techniques (thankfully only practice), setting up deer blinds, etc... In the category of chopper &/or BIG knives i own and have extensively used in all the above mentioned applications: cold steel khukri (the cheap one), kabar khukri, kabar cutlass, bark river golok, and now this parangatang. I have omitted some other knives ppl consider "big/chopper" knives (i.e. esee 6, becker bk2, etc...) because they are not in the same class/category of use as what i have listed. My long time favorite was the Kabar khukri, it was relatively cheap, easy to get scary sharp in the field, tough as nails, and an effective design. It blew the kabar cutlass and cold steel khukri out of the water in every way u could imagine. The parangatang and the BR golok are my newest two. the bark river was just soo expensive, im affraid to use it as heavily as i use my kabars. However, the bark river is a semi - custom knife and in a different ballpark in terms of quality. But this parangatang is close behind the bark river's quality, just with cheaper components. The parangatang has not usurped the kabar khukri as my favorite all around chopper... yet. Probably because i havent used it as much. Parangatang Is probably better for all around use than the khukri, but the khukri is hands down a better chopper of thick/big wood. the parangatang is no slouch at chopping thick wood/trees, but thats not QUITE the purpose it was made for. My review of the product i received... The sheath is functional, but honestly its poop. It holds the knife, and retains it well enough when snapped. Obviously a kydex or other sheath that cant hold onto water would be prefered for this knife, with multiple attachment points for different uses. But, u get what u pay for, and the quality of the blade itself is what you are paying for, not the sheath. The blade comes pretty dang sharp from the factory, for this size of a knife. Ive never been let down by any of KABAR's steels ive used. Ive used it chopping branches, small trees, weeds, bushes, and used it to baton some oak logs recently. It was still sharp after all that, obviously not shaving sharp anymore, but all it took was a few minutes on a strop, and its back to near shaving sharp. I AM IMPRESSED. My kabar khukri wouldve needed a stone touch up after all that. The parangatang has a "better" or harder steel (1095 cro-van i think) than the khukri (1080 i think). Which would explain the edge retention. Honestly, i would put the parangatang's edge retention on par with the bark river golok (A2 steel, i checked), granted the geometry is different b/t those 2 blades. The blades finnish is very good and hasn't worn at all yet, even after the batoning. The lines of the blade seemed like someone payed attention to what they were doing when making this knife... Everything is straight and equal. Great quality blade overall, really no complaints. The handle would be my only complaint/dislike with the blade itself. It is a full tang blade, and It is shaped like (what ive heard) a traditional parang's handle is. It is fine and it offers great use-ability in different grips positions, such as gripped up close to the edge for more fine work, or gripped more towards the bottom for more chopping power. The material is some kind of "studded" polymer, that's hard to touch, not soft or grippy. I almost always wear gloves when using these knives, so i cannot give an educated comment on sweaty hands and retention of the blade, but it's my opinion that it maybe tough to get a good grip on with wet hands. I prefer the grip material and grip shape of the kabar khukri and cutlass to the parangatang. However, that is just my personal preference, and your mileage may differ when it comes to the grip. If i had to do it over again, even with the poop sheath and my dislike of the handle, i would buy this again. This is still a very very very good Big all-around knife/small heavy duty machete for under 100$. If you are looking for something to mainly chop wood, or heavier things, go the kabar khukri route. The khukri really is better than most hatchets ive used for chopping wood, and much lighter. Im sure they pop up for under 50$ here or there from time to time, and that is a steal! I would like to try the zombie swabbie for my next chopper, it seems like it has a mixture of blade design from the parangatang and the khukri.

Very nice piece of steel. I have become a huge fan of the 1095 CV steel that Kabar uses in this and some of their other blades. It's strong, takes a beating but is easy to sharpen and can take a razor edge. This parang/machete is 3/16" thick and has a 13" cutting edge on a 14 1/8" overall length blade. The blade ranges from about 1.5" to about 2" from cutting edge to spine, which seems a little on the small side but decreases overall weight and increases handling. The handle is not my favorite, but is very textured for good grip and includes a palm swell. It is the same scales used in the KaBar ZK series, so if you want black or zombie green those handles can be found. The overall shape of the handle was hard to get used to. But the large finger notch and smooth choil of the blade allow for several different grips on the machete depending the chore - chopping, slicing, etc. It has it's positives, but honestly I'd like it better if the grip were like the KaBar Becker knives (but that could be just me). Sheath is pretty mediocre but does it's job.

Very Good heavy Machete. Does fairly well (good enough) with grass and brush and really well with delimbing and splitting. So, I will say it is a versatile tool. Came out of the box with a great sharp edge that is easy to maintain. I like it as an add on to my regular camping knife. Sheath could be better but, it is commensurate with the discount price I paid. I would definitely not hesitate to buy again.

bought a few yrs ago on amazon it's a great knife for a great price This thing is a long laser blade it is so incredibly shape from the factory you'll wonder why not all knife companies make their knives this sharp when they come 2U but there is a few things you may want to know the sheath leaves alot 2 be desired & the handle shape isn't 4 every1 the handle is also plastic like and rather smooth and slippery if you want to use this knife outdoors I suggest either wrapping the handle in some hockey stick tape or if your good at customizing knives maybe making a better shaped better gripping handle that's more comfortable... although the handle design kindda sucks the shape and sharpness of the blade can mostly make up for the handle issues it really is a great knife! watch zombiegoboom on youtube if you want to see this monster in action!

First use I cut my thumb on the sharp corner near the handle. Other than that, pretty good for whacking away at the invasive bamboo, courtesy of my neighbor.

The tool itself is well made but the description said it was molle compatible but it isn't. 2nd item in 2 weeks I've bought from Amazon that didn't match description. Currently debating whether to send it back or not. I bought this specifically to strap to my pack because I don't like it banging on my leg when I walk. Very disappointed.

It's one hard core survival knife, I must say, I believe it might b nice to take a file to th back of th point end, and gently work th square back head to a long pointy tip, but this might nullify th KABAR lifetime warranty so I won't suggest such, but leave that decision to owners of this magnificent KABAR product. All handle scales of th Johnson series and ZK series r interchangeable allowing for a full camo spectrum possible, contact KABAR for price of extras.

I'd call it a large knife rather than a machete due to the thickness, and boy does it chop better than any other large knife I've ever used. This includes: Rtak2, BK9, Kukris, larger ontario SP line and even the tops steel eagle 111A. This thing is a monster

Solid sharp good