Saturday, October 13, 2007

Valiant Large Survival Golok

After reading several online reviews (e.g., on http://www.oldjimbo.com) I got a Valiant Trading Co. Large Survival Golok earlier this week:



This golok is the closest thing I've held to a +10 vorpal sword.

Workmanship is very nice. It's nicely balanced and the buffalo horn handle is comfortable. The blade is ~15.5", hand forged, with a full convex grind and distal taper (thins towards the point). Weight is about 1.2 lbs. It came sharp enough to cut limply hanging newspaper. I almost sliced off my finger tip when wiping off the preservative oil it came in!

They're made in Java, then imported into Australia, then shipped to the US. I bought it from their US dealer, but just read on THR that he's closing up shop. Sad Cost was $89 after shipping.

I took it out back today and used it for pruning some arborvitae. It works really well on woody plants, much better than a machete. The blade cross section prevents it from getting stuck the way a machete can. The handle was comfortable in use. The edge stayed sharp and didn't show any damage even after using the golok in lieu of a hatchet to chop down a couple trunks. I can see this golok being very useful in the woods.

A view in its wood and horn sheath:




Handle and sheath closeup:




Chopping into a branch. You can see how deeply the golok bites:




My reward after a morning of yardwork:

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That thing is so beautiful I cried...

Ari Keliat said...

that golok is came from my country, Indonesia.....

Brandon said...

I think it's settled. I gotta have one of those.

Anonymous said...

I know personally the who make that golok. valian order golok from that man and sale outside Indonesia with valian brand