Anyone heard of or got an idea of Condor Knives?

They were really known for working knives, mostly machetes. Their smaller bushcrafty knives like the Bushlore and Terrasaur are well-regarded in the $50-60 range.
 
bikerector said:
Back to condor quick, I think besides the knife, they offer one of the nicest stock sheaths available. I usually go other routes when knife shopping, but their leather sheaths are probably the best I've seen that wasn't custom. Once you factor that into the price, I think it still puts them at a great value.
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I agree on the leather sheaths and they add good value to their knives and especially their machetes. See how many good $20 sheaths are made for a machete? Mostly None. I figure the sheath adds at least $25 to the value of their machete products.

Some custom makers don't offer a sheath with their knives. That is a killer on my buying one. A good example are the Fiddleback Forge knives.... but now they offer sheaths and for me that brings them back into stronger consideration.

The one thing I wish Condor would do is post the hardness targets for their products.
 
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Ha! Came here to tag in FortyTwoBlades FortyTwoBlades and I see 4 people beat me to it!

That said, I'll still plug him and say if you want to buy a Condor buy it from him. They enforce an MAP policy, so you won't find it any cheaper, and he offers finishing options that I've never seen from literally any other dealer as well as tremendous knowledge and customer service.
 
In my experience years of buying Imacasa in El Salvador .they make excellent knives /tools especially for the price .imo condor cleverly discovered them and simply puts their name on their product with a huge mark up . Just my two cents
 
I suspect Condor products are definitely intended for Western countries versus the "third world" countries. To say they "just put their name on Imacasa products" is a stretch as the products are better finished and I don't believe you get leather sheaths with standard Imacasa machetes. Imacasa owns Condor. I am definitely interested in handling some of their new products for 2020. Yeah, I'll pay for the name.....
 
22-rimfire said:
Condor is owned by the German Company Imacasa. Imacasa primarily made machetes in South America. Condor was their venture into a wider knife market based in El Salvador.
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Not the case. Imacasa (an acronym for IMplementos Agricolas CentroAmericos SA de CV, which is their full company name) was founded when the German company Gebr. Weyersberg sold off their Central American manufacturing holdings, and the employees of the factory purchased it, forming Imacasa. So they are not a German company. Imacasa is Condor's parent company, and Condor's products are made in the Imacasa factory, just aimed at North American and European markets (primarily) as a premium product line compared to their base line of industrial-grade agricultural tools.

22-rimfire said:
Condor machetes are a bit more upscale that the standard Imacasa line which are still made and sold. Condor really struggled when they first started and their fortunes changed completely when Joe Flowers came on board to design outdoors oriented blades. I give him tremendous credit for their success. You will see Joe at big knife shows where Condor has a booth. They have other knife designers now.
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Also not really the case. When Condor launched it was under the guidance of Arlan D. Lothe, who helped them put together the original product lineup, which was mostly revamped versions of existing machetes they produced, but done with the high quality leather sheaths they're now known for, and in a black DLC-ish coating in 420HC stainless with blue polypropylene or rubber handles, with only a few models having walnut handles at that point in time. They were initially not very well known, until both Joe Flowers and I stumbled upon them at around the same time and convinced others to pick them up and give them a go. At the time they are still around $60 machetes, and while the edges were much nicer than found on typical machetes of the time, they weren't what I consider fully finished (they were polished, but sort of over-buffed to the point of not truly being sharp sharp.) Thanks to his advocacy for the company they ended up picking him up as a designer and consultant. It wasn't until they started trying to venture into knives, of Joe's design, that they started running into issues with QC as they started trying to tackle multiple new (for them) methods at once. Making contoured wooden knife handles to a standard that Americans considered acceptable was a challenge, as was doing primary grinds. It took them a while to find their footing, but they eventually did. But prior to trying to enter the knife market (they only had machetes and axes and a few misc. gizmos prior to that) was their initial stumbling block.

22-rimfire said:
They are a good company. Pricing was very affordable and then they moved to MAP pricing. Not sure if that was a good thing or not. But most of the knife companies seem to use the MAP approach. Prior to MAP pricing I often just bought one of their blades just to mess with and try out. MAP changed that to where I mostly only buy something I am a little more certain I will like. They have moved to using 1095 in the last year or so but still use their core 1075 steel. Their stainless was 420HC.

Folders are new offerings by Condor.
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I think the move to MAP was a sound choice, but not the point they set it at. They set MAP to only 15% off MSRP, which I think is far too small an allowable discount for them to maintain their once-strong brand positioning. 25-30% off would have made much more sense. When they made that move and it forced me to raise my pricing on their products I started providing my value-added Special Grade servicing for free on all Condor products (up to that point it was an upcharge service) to help improve the value preposition somewhat, but I'm one of the only places out there offering that kind of work.

Honestly not a lot of models this year that I'm interested in, but it's nice seeing them be a little more reserved than they were last year. They went full-Cold Steel last year. :p
 
22-rimfire said:
I agree on the leather sheaths and they add good value to their knives and especially their machetes. See how many good $20 sheaths are made for a machete? Mostly None. I figure the sheath adds at least $25 to the value of their machete products.

Some custom makers don't offer a sheath with their knives. That is a killer on my buying one. A good example are the Fiddleback Forge knives.... but now they offer sheaths and for me that brings them back into stronger consideration.

The one thing I wish Condor would do is post the hardness targets for their products.
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Just a quick side note and my very biased opinion, but everyone should at least handle a Fiddleback. I've got two hand spun by Andy, and they are the best feeling knives in my collection. Masterful work by a really good dude.

But Condors do cost less:) I like mine a lot.
 
I second the positive posts here. The blades are good and come as sharp as anything I've ever gotten. They're still a great value and you couldn't ask for better sheaths. The stuff they build is meant to be used and it shows.
 
There are a lot of interesting knives in that video. How many are interesting enough for me to buy will really depend on their price. I have a few Condor knives, and several machetes, mostly bought when they were a lot cheaper. I would have a few more if not for MAP pricing.

The scalloped micarta on the Bowie sure looks a lot like Anza’s “random” pattern handles. I don’t know which is the chicken and which is the egg, but I saw it on Anza first. It was a lot of the reason I snatched up this 2BU. The $38 price also contributed.
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I have a condor bushore (micarta). Really like it. Great sheath too. As a consequence I also picked up a kepart but didn't care for it. Also picked up the terrasaur but didn't like that either. The finish vs price etc just pushed me back to mora. I like the look of some of the new stuff they have for 2020 but my last experience was not great, so I may wait for the 2nd handle market (here on BF) to maybe pick one up from.

Won't sell my bushlore though :)
 
Condor keeps creeping up in price, but so does everything.
They make good stuff, and they still offer decent value (in the 1075 steel range anyway). They make really nice axes I think, though they need some work done on the edges (same with their knives). The sheaths are top notch, on all products.
 
I heard they have really good machetes.

People on here say they have great knives so I believe them.
 
joe90 said:
.... Won't sell my bushlore though :)
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The Bushlore model is just about my favorite of their knives. The original Bushlore had thick bar steel and it was not great. The second and current version is very functional.

FortyTwoBlades said:
Not the case. Imacasa (an acronym for IMplementos Agricolas CentroAmericos SA de CV, which is their full company name) was founded when the German company Gebr. Weyersberg sold off their Central American manufacturing holdings, and the employees of the factory purchased it, forming Imacasa. <snip>

Also not really the case. When Condor launched it was under the guidance of Arlan D. Lothe, who helped them put together the original product lineup, which was mostly revamped versions of existing machetes they produced, but done with the high quality leather sheaths they're now known for, and in a black DLC-ish coating in 420HC stainless with blue polypropylene or rubber handles, with only a few models having walnut handles at that point in time. They were initially not very well known, until both Joe Flowers and I stumbled upon them at around the same time and convinced others to pick them up and give them a go. At the time they are still around $60 machetes, and while the edges were much nicer than found on typical machetes of the time, they weren't what I consider fully finished (they were polished, but sort of over-buffed to the point of not truly being sharp sharp.) Thanks to his advocacy for the company they ended up picking him up as a designer and consultant. It wasn't until they started trying to venture into knives, of Joe's design, that they started running into issues with QC as they started trying to tackle multiple new (for them) methods at once. Making contoured wooden knife handles to a standard that Americans considered acceptable was a challenge, as was doing primary grinds. It took them a while to find their footing, but they eventually did. But prior to trying to enter the knife market (they only had machetes and axes and a few misc. gizmos prior to that) was their initial stumbling block.
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I was exposed to Condor very early on at the Blade Show and pretty much their line up were some knives (mostly with blue plastic handles) and machetes. I thought the knives ugly and dime-storeish. The interesting stuff really started happening after Joe Flowers was brought in. I have no reference point as to when your interest started.

I have always been pretty satisfied with the Condor machetes I have purchased. I am selective. The regular Golok was the first and quite a few others followed. This was mostly before the MAP pricing was established. I agree with you on the % on MAP, but that is strictly my opinion as I have no sound reference point other than the pricing decreased the number of their products I purchased significantly.

I knew that it started with a German company, but after that I really didn't know if they were involved. So, thanks for the info on the genesis of Imacasa.

Is Arlan Lothe their representative who resides in FL? I see this same man every year at the Blade Show.
 
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Steely_Gunz said:
Just a quick side note and my very biased opinion, but everyone should at least handle a Fiddleback. I've got two hand spun by Andy, and they are the best feeling knives in my collection. Masterful work by a really good dude.

But Condors do cost less:) I like mine a lot.
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Andy is a good guy and I see him every year at the Blade Show. I have handled many of their knives and like them. I just never bought any. I have come very close to buying at Blade a few times. I won't buy a fixed blade without a sheath. They offer sheaths now with their knives.

I have been carrying the Condor Compact Kephart model as an edc now and like it a lot. I haven't formed a strong opinion on edge holding on their 1095, but it is easy enough to touch up. I like the Moonshiner quite a bit and wish I have more practical opportunities to use it. It gets fondled a lot as it sits on my printer on my desk.

The discontinued Kumunga is one I like for a short machete fixed-blade cross. I don't care much for the black coating.
 
22-rimfire said:
Is Arlan Lothe their representative who resides in FL? I see this same man every year at the Blade Show.
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Arlan passed away some years ago. The fellow in Florida is Richard Jones, their national sales manager.
 
This is all good to hear. I have a collection on knives like all here but I'm afraid to absolutely destroy them. I think in a balls to the wall rough time none of mine will survive. I think I'll get one of these because they're durable. I don't even think my reeves pacific is durable. Sure am afraid of breaking my entire collection as I don't think any are designed to be used roughly.
 
CVamberbonehead said:
Condor keeps creeping up in price, but so does everything.
They make good stuff, and they still offer decent value (in the 1075 steel range anyway). They make really nice axes I think, though they need some work done on the edges (same with their knives). The sheaths are top notch, on all products.
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I got a Condor Bushlore before the prices went up couple years back, though it's not best in F&F but it does have great value. The sheath is well made but I need to soften mine with Obenauf's and stretch it out a bit for my Bushlore to fit in.
 
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