"Weapons" in vehicles

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Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

Wow ... there is a lot a poeple that get worked up about this stuff. I'd only bring the machete in if it has any sort of emotional attachment to it (eg: it was a friends etc...). However, make sure you import it properly. If left in the car, customs may simply confiscate it and destroy it .... Failing that, if any of the deck hands or warfies find it .... they may "souvenir" it

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Emotional attachment! [bigsmile] Heh it's a bloody "gardening tool".

The parang, a full sized sledgehammer, the shovel and other pegs and anchors and camping equipment all went into our household "unaccompanied" personal effects - shipped over in a 20' container. Already landed, cleared customs etc. On the paperwork I declared the parang and my son's fencing foil as "weapons" just in case. (Didn't want to face a stroppy officer accusing me of not declaring even tho one is a gardening implement and the other sporting equipment). A customs letter arrived while the goods were in the ship still saying clearance was pre-approved. So easy. (Ie the goods/weapons hadn't even been sighted before approved even tho "weapons" declared)

interesting debate here. Far more intense that I expected.

Seriously - I was just seeking comment around whether the nanny state had gone completely mental in the 20yrs I have been away. You know - maybe because things like screwdrivers or hammers being used in road rage situations the powers that be may have declared anything that even looks sharp (let alone a machete/parang) is prohibited in a vehicle.

Seems that's not the case. Sure a cop on a bad day might be difficult to deal with if he folded down my rear seat-back and saw a hatchet, bowsaw, shovel and parang strapped down and nestled amongst first aid kit, trauma packs, tow straps, shackles, toolbox, foldup stools and date roll in a sealed bag.

But could happen 20yrs ago too. Such is life.

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I found this description of a padang, [...]
This tool has a hand forged blade and a finely carved wooden sheath. The handle is a carved head of Arjuna a Hindu prince from Indonesian mythology.

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My parang is nothing so fancy. It's a bit of old leaf spring cut and hammered into a longish blade with a plastic handle glued onto one end. [smilebigeye]

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Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I found this description of a padang, [...]

Although the Padang Sabit was made as an agricultural tool it serves as an effective weapon

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(BTW a Padang Sabit isn't a parang. Padang is a city/place. The item is a Sabit.
"Padang sabit" likens to "Melbourne tram")

This is likely a better reference source for what a parang is:
Parang (knife) - Wikipedia

(And again mine is nowhere as stylised or ornate or decorative as the "souvenir" type pictured in the article.)

[QUOTE=tact;2656179]My parang is nothing so fancy. It's a bit of old leaf spring cut and hammered into a longish blade with a plastic handle glued onto one end. [smilebigeye][/QUOTE

In PNG they were just called a bush knife. Everyone carried one.
Not to be confused with a sarif which is a bit of curved hoop iron about 3 ft long and sharpened for a foot at one end. Used for grass cutting as no one used a lawn mower.

Keith

[QUOTE=123rover50;2656237]

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Originally Posted by tact

In PNG they were just called a bush knife. Everyone carried one.
Not to be confused with [...]
Keith

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exactly what a parang is. The Malay name for a bush/brush knife. In pacific islands like Vanuatu nearly everyone carries them everywhere too (outside of larger towns).

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

Husqvarna, actually. And the County does not leak oil into the accommodation! The chainsaw does if I am unwise enough to carry it there. Usually travels in half a chemical drum in the back of the 2a.

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Just to reinforce the absurdity of this thread, not you JDNSW,
The chainsaw is a perfectly reasonable tool, until you go to the movies with it ticking over wearing a hockey mask [emoji13] [emoji14]

I don't think chainsaws are mentioned in the knife laws.😉