Parang (knife)

The parang is a single-edged, convex-bladed chopping knife used across the Malay Archipelago by Austronesian peoples, similar in role to a machete but with a heavier blade and a forward weight bias suited to the region's dense vegetation. Traditionally a jungle tool for clearing brush and making housing, furniture and tools, the parang has also served as a weapon, notably in the hands of North Borneo guerrillas resisting Japanese occupation during the Second World War.