How To Anyone ever heard of a Filipino "Barung" style chopper? W.I.P. Build!

Sean Mathew Alonzo

Sean Mathew Alonzo

Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Messages
49
Hey guys! I just signed on to the forum and I'd like to share a bit of what I'm obsessing about right now. I love making knives inspired by Filipino culture, and I'm excited to share this build with you all! I'll update this as quickly as humanly possible as I progress through this build. Stick around and lookin forward to what you guys have to say!

Anyone ever heard of a Filipino "Barung"? A quick google search and you'll either find a kind of formal clothing or this beast of a fat knife. Stick around and I'll show you how I make this Barung, hope you guys enjoy this W.I.P. as much as I do making it!Webp.net-resizeimage (1).jpg

1/4" JIS SUP9 Barstock. It's the 5160 available in our country!
BF post march 30 5.jpg

Friday grind day!
BF post march 30 2.jpg

that was about a 4-hour long spark shower and still, a long way to go!
BF post march 30 3.jpg

Me for scale! lol
BF post march 30 1.jpg
 
I think I've heard them called a barong, or is there a difference in a barung? I like parangs, but really like goloks the most so far, but the barong/borung has intrigued me, especially with the handle shape.

The design looks nice, but I'll be honest and say that the sheath design looks great. I feel like nice sheaths are too often forgotten in the complete package of some of the bigger blades, and especially machetes. Given, many machetes are cheap but a nice sheath should last through several machetes, assuming the machetes see heavy use (mine don't so I'm sure they'll last me a really long time).
 
I bet that's going to be awesome. I have a Street Barong from Jim Bensinger and the design is great...very versatile blade.

Look forward to seeing yours come together
 
bikerector said:
I think I've heard them called a barong, or is there a difference in a barung? I like parangs, but really like goloks the most so far, but the barong/borung has intrigued me, especially with the handle shape.

The design looks nice, but I'll be honest and say that the sheath design looks great. I feel like nice sheaths are too often forgotten in the complete package of some of the bigger blades, and especially machetes. Given, many machetes are cheap but a nice sheath should last through several machetes, assuming the machetes see heavy use (mine don't so I'm sure they'll last me a really long time).
Click to expand...

Hey Bikerector! That's a pretty good question. In the Philippines we have 20+ different dialects, some are as different as Spanish is to Thai! I guess that's what we get for being in the middle of historic shipping routes :)) the barong, barung, badung, and borung are all the same blade, just pronounced differently across dialects. I chose the "barung" spelling because it's the one we use in our knife collector/martial arts circles, and most of us predominantly speak Tagalog. We also say "barong" but if you search that you'll get results of our national formal attire lol.

Thanks for the kind words buddy! Most Barung sheaths are made of wood, wrapped in either rattan or woven cloth. The sheath I'm making is by no means "traditional" but then again, neither is using stabilized hardwoods and modern steels. Think of it as my cultural twist :))
 
rpn said:
I bet that's going to be awesome. I have a Street Barong from Jim Bensinger and the design is great...very versatile blade.

Look forward to seeing yours come together
Click to expand...
Thanks man! Jim Bensinger's barung design is pretty interesting, I've seen a similar profile done by the local smiths in Cebu. Very useful for processing pigs hahaha!
 
Thanks for sticking around guys! It's been a busy day, gotta clean up all that metal dust in the workspace tomorrow!

Started grinding with an angle grinder. Disks are much cheaper than belts in the Philippines!
bf post march 31 1.jpg

Cleaning up with a 60 grit belt.
bf post march 31 2.jpg

Post grind profile. It's clean :D
bf post march 31 3.jpg

Checking for straightness! just a little bit thick.
bf post march 31 7.jpg

Draw filing for the distal taper. I find it gives a much nicer feel when chopping.
bf post march 31 4.jpg

Closeup on the plunge line. A choil isn't really traditional, but alot of the feedback I've been reading simply loves this feature. Makes sharpening a breeze!
bf post march 31 5.jpg

Pic before final cleanup then heat treat, next to two of my "Pakal" bushcraft blades in the works!
bf post march 31 6.jpg
 
Looking good! Leaf profiles really do make for beautiful blades and this is no exception. It's nice to have some new life on the forum, so many just stick to IG and FB these days. I always appreciate when a maker isn't too caught up in doing things purely on a belt grinder, especially when it comes to draw filing and dialing in tapers. I used to get a bit stuck in feeling like if I couldn't do it at the grinder then I shouldn't do it until I can on the grinder, but I've come back to really appreciating using hand tools again, especially well made files.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing more of your work, those "Pakals" and guards are looking good too. Thanks for sharing, Sean! :)

~Paul
My Youtube Channel
... (Just some older videos of some knives I've made in the past)
 
coldsteelburns said:
Looking good! Leaf profiles really do make for beautiful blades and this is no exception. It's nice to have some new life on the forum, so many just stick to IG and FB these days. I always appreciate when a maker isn't too caught up in doing things purely on a belt grinder, especially when it comes to draw filing and dialing in tapers. I used to get a bit stuck in feeling like if I couldn't do it at the grinder then I shouldn't do it until I can on the grinder, but I've come back to really appreciating using hand tools again, especially well made files.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing more of your work, those "Pakals" and guards are looking good too. Thanks for sharing, Sean! :)

~Paul
My Youtube Channel
... (Just some older videos of some knives I've made in the past)
Click to expand...
Thank you for your kind words Paul! I didn't have a grinder till 3 years into knifemaking, and can really sympathize with those who don't have access to one. In the Philippines though, belts are really hard to come by! I do a bulk of my work on hand files and angle grinders, and then clean up with the belts. Thanks for checking out my work! I really appreciate reading stuff like this. Like most folks, I'm also on IG and FB and I'd love for you to come check out my work there! Till the next update on this thread!
 
Hey guys! It's been a while since I updated this, things at my end have been quite busy. Now I'm glad to show you progress on the stuff I've been working on so far.

Heat treating and tempering this large blade.
IMG_20190424_101623.jpg

Post tempering. That's 3 temper cycles at 230C at 2 hour soaks each cycle.
IMG_20190412_154212.jpg
 
I'm gonna be totally honest, I've got no clue how to finish this chopper. I started out with a design in mind, but now I'm not so sure. Let's see how it goes!

Cutting in that nice fit with this broach tool. Out of all tools I made in a rush, this was probably the one I use the most.
IMG_20190423_170702.jpg

Nice, snug fit.
IMG_20190423_170314.jpg

Starting that classic "Barung" style grip
IMG_20190423_175633.jpg

A shot for scaleIMG_0428.JPG

And another one on my workbench with one of my "Pakal" Utility knives.
IMG_0439.JPG.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top