Condor Knife & Tool owners: Give an honest opinion

**BePrepared** · 08-02-2012, 09:34 AM

well that settles that. I'll be picking one of those up this evening.

Thanks for your thoughts sir.

**FortyTwoBlades** · 08-02-2012, 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by TLA

So far I have owned 3 knives from Condor. I used to have 2 of the blue handled mountain man knives in stainless. I got them on a closeout sale for around $15.00 a piece. I was disappointed when I got them because the edge did not go all the way back to the handle which I consider a waste of useable steel. They had some of the dullest edges I have ever seen on a factory knife. Yes I do know how to sharpen knives and I have bought knives cheaper in price that came with really sharp edges. The sheaths looked really great, however on one of them you could barely get it to snap shut let alone stay that way. My other Condor knife which was my 1st was the bushcraft basic knife. It came with a really nice tight fitting sheath that was well made. I really liked the way it felt in the hand. It came with a descent working edge. So the 1st time I used it was when I was fishing and got a little bored. I used to whittle with for a while. I then let it drop from my hand without throwing it hard into the ground in which it stuck. To my surprise when I pulled it from the ground the very tip of the knife was slightly bent. The knife didnï¿½t even maintain the edge that good with light use and on top of that the coating was starting to flake off. I took it home and stripped off the coating in about 10 minutes with sandpaper attachment on my dremel. I took the knife to Northern Knives and they fixed the tip for me. Since then I have sold all 3 knives for a loss. So that is now 2 strikes for Condor for me. I am now just trying to decide if I want to give them a 3rd and final chance because I do like some of their designs. Usually I never give a knife company more than one chance if I get a bad product right from the start but Iï¿½m trying to be nicer these days.

Tony

Just curious...did you even once try contacting the company? They have excellent customer service.

The blue-handled ones were pretty old production, for any reference. I have a very hard time believing that you bent the tip on a Bushcraft Basic just by dropping it on the ground...They may have a higher incidence of QC slips than other companies, but not THAT bad. I don't think I could bend the point on a Basic by dropping it even if it was annealed steel. The knife design is fairly robust and it features a convex saber grind so there's tons of supporting steel there.

Originally Posted by Monofletch

How about the Rodan? They say it's the poor man's BK2. Is that correct?

I wouldn't say that's an good comparison. Similar profile, but the the Rodan (which is my most-used woods knife!) is a full flat grind with a thin convex edge and is a TON lighter. Still bombproof, but not nearly so overbuilt as the BK-2.

**FortyTwoBlades** · 08-02-2012, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by BePrepared

Stainless machete... not sure how i feel about that. Do you have any carbon machetes to compare it to? what are your thoughts on it?

Condor's 420HC is great stuff. Back when I discovered the brand in 2005 they ONLY had stainless, which I was leery of, but the designs and overall quality looked so good I just had to try 'em regardless. I'm glad the matter was forced, because I find that their stainless holds an edge about as well as their 1075 and it holds up well under very hard use.

**wyattearp91** · 08-02-2012, 09:54 AM

I currently only have a golok machete, but I absolutely love the thing. quality is damn good and it's a pleasure to use. I will no doubt be getting more blades from them.

The only gripe I have with them is the GB looking axes that they produce. But hey, who can afford a GB REALLY?!

**woody d** · 08-02-2012, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by FortyTwoBlades

I find that their stainless holds an edge about as well as their 1075 and it holds up well under very hard use.

and the edge touches up very easily...it requires very little work to keep it as sharp as the day it arrived

**FortyTwoBlades** · 08-02-2012, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by wyattearp91

I currently only have a golok machete, but I absolutely love the thing. quality is damn good and it's a pleasure to use. I will no doubt be getting more blades from them.

The only gripe I have with them is the GB looking axes that they produce. But hey, who can afford a GB REALLY?!

The patterns are standard Nordic/Scandinavian style axe types, so GB doesn't exactly have exclusivity over those designs. Just sayin'.

**TLA** · 08-02-2012, 11:37 AM

Well the very tip of the knife was damaged and was slightly bent. Maybe it hit a small rock when it stuck in the ground. I know what I saw when I pulled it from the ground. I think I purchased that bushcraft knife maybe 2 or 3 years ago. I just know that I was not pleased with any of the 3 knives I have had from them so far. I did not contact their customer service and I know I should have. I guess I just expext a lot from any knife I buy. I do not regret selling them because at least I got $25.00 back. However I might give them one more chance and see what happens.

**BePrepared** · 08-02-2012, 11:40 AM

i can't say how the small knives perform, but i have dropped my boomslang on concrete accidentally while moving a bunch of camping gear from my truck to the house. It landed tip down and took a nice little chunk out of the concrete. Looking at the tip, you couldn't even see any sign of the hit

YMMV

**FortyTwoBlades** · 08-02-2012, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by TLA

Well the very tip of the knife was damaged and was slightly bent. Maybe it hit a small rock when it stuck in the ground. I know what I saw when I pulled it from the ground. I think I purchased that bushcraft knife maybe 2 or 3 years ago. I just know that I was not pleased with any of the 3 knives I have had from them so far. I did not contact their customer service and I know I should have. I guess I just expext a lot from any knife I buy. I do not regret selling them because at least I got $25.00 back. However I might give them one more chance and see what happens.

If you ever do give 'em another chance just get in touch with the company if anything goes wrong. Their QC and overall quality has steadily climbed as time has gone on, and even if you're still not impressed they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

From their website:

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED if for any reason you are not 100% happy with the performance of any of these products, simply return with postage paid to Condor® Tool & Knife, with dated proof of purchase for a full refund.

**TLA** · 08-02-2012, 12:31 PM

I think I might end up purchasing the Kephart next and seeing how I like it.

**FortyTwoBlades** · 08-02-2012, 12:39 PM

It's absolutely fantastic. I was only able to get one in and it sold almost immediately, but I enjoyed what little I saw of it. Nice thin blade with a well-executed full flat grind.

**TheGame** · 08-02-2012, 01:18 PM

Condors stainless is fantastic. It's been one of my most used blades in the past year. Here is an old pic of my Condor Bolo in stainless. It held an edge great, and I have used many machetes from Condor, as well as a custom from Koyote.

**wyattearp91** · 08-05-2012, 01:33 PM

Originally Posted by FortyTwoBlades

The patterns are standard Nordic/Scandinavian style axe types, so GB doesn't exactly have exclusivity over those designs. Just sayin'.

I see I see, thanks for the info! I really have only been into collecting/restoring American patterns but have been looking into a gb hatchet or small forest axe. I will now be looking at condors!

On another note, I'm just about ready to order a Hudson bay knife, anyone own both the 'classic' hammer finish as well as the powder coat? Differences? I've heard the hammer finish has a slight 'catch' feeling when slicing.

**Voodoosix** · 08-05-2012, 01:53 PM

i only have their Village Parang- while i didnt find the sheath or F&F on the handle to be "great", i have to say im not disappointed for $40. i wouldnt be afraid to buy something else from them.

**cziv** · 08-05-2012, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by Monofletch

How about the Rodan? They say it's the poor man's BK2. Is that correct?

I like & respect 42 Blades, and he knows I respect his advice & opinions, but I the Rodan is the biggest POS I own (fixed blade). Uneven amts. of steel on either side causing puddled look.

It has some weird kind of phony looking, dull Scandi grind. It wouldn't sharpen with anything short of a power tool or a hand file. It came coated in some kind of laquer or something to further queer the blade.

I cried (not really - whined to myself

) over spending $29 on the piece of junk. It sits in the corner - in shame - in the office waiting for the day I totally destroy it by prying concrete or trying to throw and stick it into a brick wall.

YMMV!

**FortyTwoBlades** · 08-05-2012, 02:00 PM

I've not heard of folks having any problems with the Classic Finish other than just not caring for it. Personally I wish they'd just but a flat dark finish on it like on the new Kephart, but it's nice either way.

**wyattearp91** · 08-05-2012, 03:52 PM

Yeah I kinda like the 'heritage' look of the classic finish. The hudson bays used to come with a finish identical to the kepharts did they not?

With regard to the rodan and knives alike, I personally wouldn't buy anything that wasn't more raw and rugged like the bushcraft line, HB knife, pack golok etc etc