Blacksmith uses lorry iron bearings to make meat cleavers

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Md Nor selling cleavers of various sizes and shapes at his stall. — Bernama photos

KUALA KRAI: Meet blacksmith Md Nor Mat Said. He is the undisputed ‘Knifeman of Kuala Krai’.

The 62-year-old has been given the moniker by satisfied customers as he has the cutting edge when it comes to making ‘tough-as-nails’ meat cleavers and choppers.

He uses iron bearings taken from lorries to manufacture an assortment of meat cleavers, choppers and even machetes.

Md Nor, who has been in the business for over 20 years, selects used-iron to make his cleavers and choppers effective.

He sources the iron bearings from the axle and engine of lorries taken off the roads, and from several vehicle workshops around here.

“The various sizes and shapes of the meat cleavers and choppers are made accordingly, for use in slaughtering animals such as buffaloes, cows and goats,” he told Bernama here in a recent interview.

Popularly known as ‘Pak Teh Tukang Golok’, Md Nor said each cleaver/chopper was designed to serve a certain function such as slaughtering, skinning and cutting meat.

In a village community still practising ‘gotong-royong’, one needed to have a sharp chopper, especially for slicing and cutting meat for feasts, he noted.

For the hilt and sheath, Md Nor uses selected wood and carved local motifs. Normally, it is ‘machang’ tree wood, ‘kedondong’ and ‘medang’ wood for the purpose because the wood is light and durable.

The knives are also known as decorative daggers because of the carved unique designs on the hilt and sheath, and are priced at between RM150 and RM450 a piece.

In addition, Md Nor also makes other weapons according to consumer demand such as swords, daggers, spears and ‘lawi ayam ‘ made from saw blades and steel plates.

“Starting from the metal forging process, designing and carving on the casing, all are done manually,” he said.

He markets his products within Kuala Krai town, as well as takes orders from customers. — Bernama