____ Current with Aranyik

NS3 and NS1 Custom

2012-05-10T00:23:00.000-07:00

Happy to have finished off my backlog of custom NS models. Here is a great choice a customer made, and NS3-round custom for green coconuts, and an NS1-round for mature coconuts. You can see that the NS1-round is made for two handed swinging, take out the oldest biggest coconut in one hit.

Banana Knives

2012-05-08T19:38:00.001-07:00

Banana Knives are very useful, the basic design of a Banana Knife is having a blade thinner than 1/16". If you can't afford a banana knife, than the best knife you can find to cut bananas off the rack will be about 1/16". However the curved tip is specific to banana knife, as it allows you not to puncture or scar other bananas while removing from the bunch. 5" and 6" models are perfectly suited for the tight clumping bunches on Apple Banana Trees and other mini-bananas, and the larger 8" and 10" models are good for Williams Bananas or other long elongated varieties including dwarf bananas. These utility sickles are not just useful for bananas though, the smaller ones help to get into tight spaces in your herbal garden, and the larger ones can be used to cut ginger stalks, Ti leaves, and other tropical soft vegetation.

Battle of the Big Knives

2012-05-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

So who has the biggest.... Knife in the world?

I think this sets the record. I hope showing this will encourage the Aranyik Blacksmiths to build a bigger and better one than the Chinese.

Customer Submitted Images of Aranyik K0 Paracord Wrap

2012-05-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

Here is another example of a paracord wrap. I always wrap my machetes beause it is more comfortable. As you can see below the customer stated from the front and then worked backwards into a lanyard.

Sneak Peak of Aranyik 2012 Inventory

2012-05-01T18:57:00.000-07:00

The webpage will be getting some sort of facelift, but in the meantime here is a few pages I developed so far for distributors:

Wooden Sheath Specifications

2012-04-29T01:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures that will help you make your own wooden sheaths for e-neps if your interested:

30" Aranyik Heavy Custom Pra

2012-04-28T01:56:00.003-07:00

Specifically designed for one man's battle against Buffalo Grass.

Specifications on Blade - 3/16" Thick Distal Taper with reinforced 1/8" Tip.

New Custom Pieces- Working with Udom Chai - อูดมชัย

2012-04-22T22:08:00.000-07:00

Been busy lately working on custom pieces... I think most people are interesting in my custom work on Udom Chai's Stainless Steel 5160 Open Handled Designs. Here is two I've been working on recently, an NS1-round, and an NS3-round. Wait time is generally 3 weeks, so make sure to contact me in advance.

2012-03-24T23:52:00.001-07:00

Aranyik - อรัญญิก - Nep Number Two

After Extensive Testing...

Test Model Spine compared to the standard size Mor and a New Retail Model.
Here is the checkout link for the Aranyik #2

The Number Two E-nep does not have a visible Distal Taper. It is quite simply 1/8" of 5160 Spring Steel, that has undergone Traditional Thai Tempering

The Handle's are not as strong as the blade itself. The handle should be wrapped for heavy duty use such as Amateurs Throwing.

The Rat Tang with Pommel-Nut is a good option, but for farm work traditional scales on full tang is more durable and easier to replace.

The blade I tested is on the top. A few minutes on a coarse stone will help polish dings left by the Sea Cargo Company.

If you hit the tip of the E-nep with a Rock: It Will Chip! A really sharp tip has 4 facets, a strong one has 5. Resharpen to 5.

One Pretty Mor Knife on top, in the middle you have the tested model #2, and at bottom a Retail #2 - $42 on Amazon.com

Aranyik Machete Collection - Your Jungle Apocalypse? No Problems Bra

2012-03-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

All of the below Aranyik Machetes, Sickles, Pra, E-nep, E-toh, were 'claimed' in the past few days. I will be on Kaua'i visiting the farmers who helped build my company. I would like to get their take on which particular models work the best, and why. I'll introduce you to the items in this pic:

From Left to Right

The first one is a full tang 3/16" Uniform Thick 'Perfect Thai Coconut Machete' made from 5160 Spring Steel with rigid tempering and blade line tempering. Primary Grind uniform 1" above edge is flat.. 4.5/5 for being ready to go. All I did was throw a little paracord on the handle. No sharpening or polishing done.
Second you have Heaviest E-toh Aranyik has ever carried. The Nickel Steel Round (NS1-r). Guaranteed crack any age coconut in 1 hit and then some. 5/5 stars, however a lot of work it requires to carve out your masterpiece from the raw and rough virgin forged Stainless 5160 steel. A few days at the stones, a handle, and a little red paracord butt. There is no grind, the steel was cleaned by iron brushes to remove excess charcoal from tempering, and then a barely noticeable convex edge was formed roughly on stones. This is typical of Udom Chai's original designs released in 2007.
An FC Banana Machete, some people describe these as 'Pangas,' well these are from Thailand. Perhaps they are a Panga inspiration, but I will not use the name for respect to the true Panga Blacksmiths. 4/5 Stars, handy, but not the '1' machete I would choose for the jungle. They are great for clearing brush, but the thin primary grind produces a thinner sharper edge that won't hold up as well for batoning firewood. A great advantage for soft jungle like bamboo, banana trees, ginger, etc., but for hardwood I'll need something a bit heavier. The handle was modified with wild harvested Strawberry Guava 'invasive species'. I drilled a hole in the handle and wrapped paracord over the whole handle. Definitely a nice long handle for martial arts and double handed jungle clearing, but a bit bulky. Not making in my daypack, but I'll keep it at the farm.
Narong Quality, I really respect Narong for the clean designs and rigid tempering done on the blades. Basically just a clean 3/16" Uniform thickness 'Dao.' Added a bit of Strawberry Guava and 1/8" Leather Bolo Cord. 5/5 Stars on overall usefulness. Compact but Heavy duty, Great for Baton, Coconuts, Hardwood, Lateral and Longitudinal Cuts.
Aranyik Ulu Knife, Basically the 1 Knife you should always have on you. Very light, but 1/8" of 5160 Spring Steel is heavy duty enough for almost anything. Great for carving wood, can open a coconut, can dig in the dirt, and can even baton firewood. $20 on Amazon! I just drilled a hole in the back, and wrapped with paracord.
A small Aranyik Sickle. I have yet to release these for mainland use. They are the basic size of any storebought sickle, however this is one piece of tempered 5160 Steel that is reinforced at the hilt. Standard Galvanized in 1/16" - 1/8" loses critical strength after applying tension laterally to the hilt. This Aranyik sickle never fails under extreme bends over time. That is where the "spring" in the spring steel comes in Handy. Great for fruit picking, light clearing work, light weeding in the garden. I just threw on a chair leg I found in the trash. I guess it could use a wrap in the future. 5/5 stars for purpose, however 3/5 stars on carrying into the Jungle. Leave this one at the garden or farm where it belongs.
T1 'Unbreakable' Sickle. This is a serious undergrowth clearer. Clear Jungle Growth from the root up with pull action on the hook. Standard Sustainable Red Gum Yuka wood pole with paracord wrap. I've always been a fan of the 007 and other Jamesy models, but I guess I will have to give this one a review soon.
NS-3 Sickle and Machete had a baby. Udom Chai has never followed the norm, I have yet to experience these long term, but a friend says the hook works great for clearing metal sheeting from out of a stream. So that sounds handy. You got a 'mouth' for catching brush, but not a hook so you can still chop like a machete. However the inward curve does limit the size of tree to 12" diameter or so. No rating on this yet, but Udom Chai never lets me down.
A genuine Aranyik #2. 3.5/5 stars as is from the blacksmith, however with a little care this is definitely a 5/5 star knife. Full Tang Handles with Wooden Scales are just not 'Unbreakable' without a little care. See my earlier review of the Aranyik #2 modifications. The Knife is a great thrower, looks hella cool, and has an uncanny ability to cut through Bamboo in 1 clean hit, or split soft woods evenly every time. (Think Sugar Cane Splitting)

Best for Last, is the Udom Chai #1 Nep. I just added a piece of Red Gum Yuka for a base hilt. Features with an Aranyik wooden sheath for #2's. Very lightweight tool with a very large edge.

Nothing less than 1/8" Thick

Aranyik Ulu Knife (Orchard/Breadfruit Knife)

Genuine Aranyik Vs. Udom Chai Aranyik

T1 Vs a standard sized Aranyik Sickle

NS-Sickle Handle Mod - Working with Open Handled Aranyik Designs

2012-03-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

Almost 85% of what Aranyik sells is 'open-handled'. Although you can use an 'open handled' design without adding a handle, you should add a handle. There is no science or skill behind adding a handle. All it takes is a little time, and well maybe a little skill. First step is to find the perfect piece of hardwood. I like to use the part where branches meet the main trunk. As you can see in this pic it creates a great natural 'clog' at the back for anti-slippage. You can go full 'gun-handle', or staggered inset or off-set. Off-set handles are my favorite for martial arts practice.

The branch is naturally tapered, however it will save a lot of time if your branch is already tapered to the size of the open handle. If not, you can go bigger, but you will need to sand down. The strongest set is a handle which slides half-way in easily, and needs to be hammered in the other half. A good fit is 100% inside, but in this design the handle is tapered and shut, so it is much more difficult to go all the way. 75% is an adequate fit. Sand down the front and taper it to fit. Afterwards I like to drill a hole in the back for wrapping. In this example I use red paracord because it is bright, and second because it is easy to finish off by burning.

Tie a knot at one end but leave excess paracord to tension your wrap. This produces a really tight wrap. In the example below you can see me using the extra length to tension the wrap. This will also be the piece you can tie off the end with.

Tie off the end and burn it. Finished! A unique handle. If you want to replace the handle later just drill into it, and then pry it out. These heavily tapered handles can be quite difficult to remove later.

Where is Knifetests.Com, Where is Noss, What's the Story?

2012-03-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

Having looked around for information on why knifetests.com disappeared, both on their video site and forum site yields no results. A couple threads on advertiser supported forums are locked down, the mods don't really feel comfortable about discussing another forum site.

In any case I contacted a few locals to the boards there to ask if they heard anything, and they have not either. Seeing as their no real information out there I am going to throw out a few options, because this is my blog, and nobody can moderate my ideas! Also I actually felt that Knifetests was a good place to find information without all the advertsier/supporter hype. Their was no paid supporters, no subscriptions, so I really felt that the site was truly 3rd party and unbias. So here are the top 10 Reasons Knifetests.com and the Youtube channel of the owner Noss have disappeared.

1. Class Action Lawsuit by Big Knife Companies who felt Slandered
2. Class Action Lawsuit by Big Knife Companies who felt libelled against.
3. Class Action Lawsuit by Big Knife Companies who stipulated somewhere in their fine print you can't do what Noss did.
4. Big Knife Companies paid Noss to Take it down.
5. Another forum bought out Noss because of potential competition.
6. Noss was hacked (this one has actually been circulating already) Definitely a high possibility on the PHP forum, but not very likely on Youtube. This is why I pushed this to #6.
7. Noss ran out of money. ( o.k. but Youtube is free! )
8. Noss is sick and never found a worthy successor to take over the site.
9. Noss decided all the information on the site was worthless and a waste of time. So he just deleted it.
10. and the 10th reason or least likely reason Noss took down his Youtube channel, website, and forum is:.............. He wants his account back at all the endorsed forum sites he was banned from. Quite a few, but I won't get involved with sides.

Well there it is, as you can see my best guess is a Class Action Lawsuit. Nobody wants to see their knives look bad. It is the main reason I don't do comparison reviews. I just review what I sell, and how it does. However for potential Nossers, who support the idea of finding knives' breaking points, just keep non-commercial, keep it on youtube. Opening up a forum was a clear signal that at some point Noss could profit off libel, which in turn makes the situation possibly libelous.

Please take this disclaimer again: I don't know anything, these are all guesses off the top of my head.

R.I.P. Knifetests.com.

E-Nep Size 2 Handle Mod

2012-03-02T01:02:00.000-08:00

During routine product testing a Size 2 E-nep failed to be destroyed, however repeatedetly hammering the back of one with a rock into a tree did 'something' to the handle. The handle wasn't broke, however it felt like it was not the original piece. I think what had happened was the part of the epoxy bond cracked at a point where the cured wood wanted to bow naturally. So when the epoxy cracked I felt sort of a looseness one the front tip of one of the wooden scales. I have had many orders to our soldiers overseas, so I wanted to put out this DIY handle fix that permanently cures the 'hammering handle' failure. While the e-nep is fully functional as a tang 1 piece blade, it is much more comfortable with a handle.

So here is the steps involved:

1. Loosen the Handle Scales. I did so by hammering the back of one into a tree. Now use a thin utility knife, preferably one that is extremely thin and flexible (See the Aranyik 2011 Box Cutter) and attempt to razor the scale off the tang. After this begin to crack evenly the scale at different spots using a flathead screwdriver or the sort. THIS IS A LONG PROCESS. Even mine that had loosened still took a good 2 hours to remove.

2. If you were able to do this without breaking the Yuka wood scales congrats. If not, you will have to go to a different DIY for a full handle fix. This website is invaluable for knifemaking tutorials, and they sell supplies for about 50% less than other online retailers: http://www.northcoastknives.com/northcoast_knives_tutorials_hints_tips15.htm . I also ordered my supplies for this DIY from this site. Which included red liner, 3/16" nickel pins, 3/16" brass tube.

3. Next Step is to clean the handle scales. I also hand-sanded mine for a better fit. The original fit was far from perfect. But for farmers just trimming up their trees, the fit was adequate. I did this by just eyeballing the scales against the tang, and the hand sanding down areas.

4. Next I used Devcon 2 Ton Epoxy to glue the handle scales to the liner.

5. Now I cut the excess liner off the scales. and redrilled with a 3/16" bit the excess epoxy which entered the pin holes.

6. I touched up the tang handle with a mill file, and now checked the fit of the new scales.

7. Now I hand sanded the liner for the perfect fit, which is really easy to sand. I roughed up all of the liner as well to help the epoxy set.

8. Now I checked the fit with all the pins in. Trust me you will want to do this now instead of when the handle is setting with epoxy.

9. Finally I put epoxy on both the handle scales and the tang, dipped the pins and tube in epoxy and attached the scales to the tang.

10. Now for the most non-traditional step of them all. This is the true modification. I wrapped the entire handle with paracord, very tight. The excess epoxy which came out of the handle coated the underside of the paracord.

11. Now I also set with a couple of vices laying around the handle to cure overnight. Let me tell you this handle is solid now! I also skipped a lot of steps that 'pretty' knifemakers would do. If you read the steps above, that is exactly and only everything I did. I am very happy with the results. I will follow up with future testing on this model. I still believe the blade will outlive this handle, but now the handle is catching up in terms of durability.

What is an Aranyik Latin Machete?

2012-02-23T23:44:00.000-08:00

So why does Aranyik call their long 22-32" sword-like machetes "Latin Machetes." Mainly because this is Portugese influence carried over to Thailand. The combination of having both a weapon of war that is functional as a trailblazing tool, was a necessity to Portugese travelers, as well as Spanish conquistadors in Latin America. Portugese carried the most Latin influence to Thailand through their trading posts and influential persons in Thai history. Such notable persons such as Phalkon Constatine, who helped advise Portugese traders and the Thai King to forge trading relationships. Although the Latin Machete does carried some characteristics of the larger Thai sword, the Dharb, the blade/edge profile is completely different, as the swords feature a full flat blade profile (not grinded, shaped by hand-forging) and also feature a distal taper. The Latin Machetes are just 1/8" of 5160 spring steel that has not undergone traditional steel softening, thus producing a cleaner look, and a cleaner fit and finish on the handle. Personally I prefer the rugged pock marks of 'Black Steel' which Condor has cleverly 'designed' onto their blades.. ( I just don't get it, why not just make the real thing? This is like the layered damascus treatment done the other steels produced by Solingen ) Well not to get off subject, just saying these Latin Machetes have neither the real characteristics of "Black Steel" or artificial pock marks that are so characteristic of Aranyik Black steel.

Aranyik E-nep Size 2 Review

2012-02-20T20:58:00.000-08:00

E-neps always surprise me with their uncanny ability outperform larger heavier styles. This is in regards to swinging with one hand. However all Aranyik Full-Tang designs are famous for handle imperfections. Of course the NS-Enep design outperforms the classic Aranyik Full Tang Enep when we are talking about all-around durability. However the balance of the 5160 Spring Steel E-nep still throws quite well. Even novices quickly learn how to throw Genuine Aranyik E-neps. Often I see that Thai people take off the wood scales and add a little bit of grip tape on the full tang.

Well I tried my best to destroy a Genuine Aranyik E-nep in the bush today. I found two worthy opponents of any blade: Strawberry Guava and White Eucalyptus, and another hardwood that was unlike anything I have ever seen. The size 7 Enep couldn't even get a bite on the mystery hardwood. T1 + J1 were getting no penetration either, most likely because of their long 12" blades. Finally I pulled out a measly 16 oz. Aranyik Size 2, and voila, I got bite. Also mind you, this is just one straight out the box. No sharpening was done, and as pictured here was after I just cut and delimbed a whole Strawberry Guava tree. Here it is chopping into this unknown species of hardwood. Although I wasn't able to destroy it, I was able to do some serious damage to the handle with some rocks I used to hammer the point into a tree. Also the throwing might have loosened them as well. I have seen several write-ups on fixing the handle of full tangs, I may have to just take on a project like that. The blade on this knife will outlive the handles guaranteed. In the meantime this E-nep Size 2 (K2) is still alive after a full day of serious abuse.

T1 Unbreakable Machete from Aranyik Hawaii

2012-02-19T00:51:00.000-08:00

Looking nice against the classics (Gold Color Open Handle)

What is variable width in a machete, and should I be scared?

2012-02-19T00:04:00.000-08:00

N5, N4, PM2, T1, J1, Narong, N1-sq, PM1, BAC

The largest 5160 Spring Steel Enep from Aranyik Hawaii

2012-02-18T21:48:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is too heavy for most people, most of the inward curve is removed, and the belly to weight ratio is reduced heavily.

Aranyik HH Model E-neps

2012-02-17T22:45:00.000-08:00

Ugly, Crude, Dependable.

Hneps - Roey - K2.1 as featured in Tactical Knives 2012, K7, K3,K2,K1,K0,K-1 Genuine Aranyik

But the future is coming.

NS-Enep Open Handle Technology.

Fixes:

1) no handle
2) more rigid steel
3) limited distal taper
4) full convex grind by hand and stone
5) unique Trademark 'Udom Chai'
6) lighter
7) more balanced

Please see this video for a quick demonstration of an NS-enep 'straight out the box'

Jamesy "YET TO BE BROKEN" J1 Unbreakable Machete

NS-Enep with 2oz. Cork-job on the Handle

NS-Enep tip AFTER being hammered into a Coarse sharpening stone. (looks cleaner)

Aranyik E-nep Size 3 featured in new ABC series "The River"

2012-02-09T00:03:00.000-08:00

The New ABC series "The River" was/is being filmed in Hawaii. As such when the props team decided they needed a rugged traditional ethnic like knife, you know who they came to! Aranyik. I wasn't told much, but basically I know that their will be some non-haole (not whiteman) peoples in the movie. These will be the ones sporting Aranyik E-nep Size 3's as well as some size 2's in wooden sheaths. You may also see leather shoulder knife belts from Aranyik. Well enough about that, I don't get to watching T.V. much, but I am putting out all the effort to document Aranyik's use in film. By effort, I mean asking you, my customers, to WIN yourselves FREE Aranyik E-nep Size 3's.

All you have to do to win your Aranyik E-nep Size 3 (including free shipping within the US) is send me one of these things:

1. screenshots, pictures or 2. Time in + episode date

I will limit this to the first 5 to contact.

Good luck!

Missing the J1? Flood Recovery is still going on.. in the Meantime

2012-02-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

Recently I've got a lot of good feedback on the J1 unbreakables. Perhaps it was the $28.50 price tag on Amazon. But seriously, if you are looking for a good chopper from Aranyik, their are plenty of options. Perhaps the $28.50 price was so low because they scored low compared against similar models?

Here is the J1 compared against the "Big Ass Chopper"

Here is the Aranyik E-Nep size 0 compared to a K-1, and a NS E-nep

Coconut Milk Press

2012-01-26T12:23:00.000-08:00

Coconut Milk Press for Manual Hand Cranking is now available for special order.

Because they are machined per order, I can only offer these with delivery times of 3-6 months.

100% Stainless Steel, Frame, Parts, and Coconut Milk Sieve, as well as Handle. (As Pictured on the right of this picture:

Please contact me for pricing and details.

New Limited Edition Open Handed Nickel Steel Aranyik E-Nep

2012-01-26T02:52:00.000-08:00

Yes that is quite a description, but it contains all the best features of a good Aranyik knife in my opion.

First, All the best knives from Aranyik are limited edition, this is all because the older smiths produce the best work, but also can't put in the long hours as the younger guys. In my head I think that they could possibly raise prices, and then afford apprentices, but this is a little forward thinking for a village that gets wiped out by floods every year.

Second, the E-nep is open handled, this design existed way before CS bushman had a dingy open handled Medium High Carbon Spring design. In face Aranyik open handled designs don't have an estimated date of production outside of Thailand. But Aranyik was brought Laos-Chinese cooperation about 400 years ago for arms production.

Thirdly, is the Nickel Steel, to explain this is difficult. Most people come to my company and ask for on machete to every job. That is really not a good question for a guy who has seen and handled over 200 different designs from Aranyik. For a quick comparison I will put below, but you should really just try out both steels to find out which one fits you best.

Nickel Steel = stainless & 5160 mix, somewhat brittle, a stone sharpened profile, less corrosive, and much heavier than Black Steel, wrapped around an anvil and joined so that the handle has less leeway ( no hints on fitting handles )

vs.

Black Steel = your best 5160 spring steel, wrapped around an anvil to create an open handle that is folded but has some leeway ( easy handle fit )

Aranyik E-Nep, basically it is the only true E-nep out there, anybody who has felt a kukri/khukuri and an e-nep will tell you how different they are from each other. Please look closely at the fake E-neps being produced now by companies like Condor. I have no beefs with them taking on the E-nep description word, but in no ways are those large overbearing beasts anything like a Thai E-nep. It is comparable to getting a Thai dish with no chilies!

Thanks for reading, and check out the pics below of the new best Aranyik Open Handled E-nep

Model #NS1-enep

How do you operate a Thai coconut shredding machine?

2011-09-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

So you ready to move on to the professional side of shredding coconut. You realize you want the finest shreds possible, possibly you are also interested in a manual or electric press for the coconut milk?

Well then, before we get ahead of ourselves. Watch this new video about shredding coconut with a motorized shredding machine.

In this film, I try to explain the fine points of what I know about shredding on these machines. I will summarize them here, and you can see on the film later.

1. It is important that coconuts are split 50/50 for working on the machine. Any less, and you will only be able to get 1 hand on the shell. You really do want two hands on the coconut at all times. Otherwise, like in the video, you will see that the coconut comes out of your hand and usually flies away.

2. Turning and working the lip of the coconut is the best way to prevent grabbing. "Grabbing" as demonstrated in the video, is when the coconut gets stuck on the machine head and then spins with the head. This is very loud and annoying. If this happens just turn off the machine. Do not attempt to grab the coconut while spinning.

New Coconut Shredding Machine Model

2011-08-18T00:40:00.000-07:00

New & Improved Model, quieter operation, and plugs into ANY 110-115v outlet. ( Any Home Outlet in America will do ).

**** Motor is a Universal motor for 110/115/220/230v & 50 or 60hz operation. However wiring inside must be changed. Runs on America's power grid now.

Easy Switch on Frame, and fully grounded 14 gauge wiring. 1 Year limited warranty on Motor from Dayton.

Sold as is, as pictured. When I finish another one, I will change the pictures to show the next one.

$350. Can be shipped UN-assembled