Review Condor Fidelis review

[EatingSarma]

Hey everyone, this is my first post and my first thread. I'm new here, so pardon me if I'm posting this on wrong place.

Friend of mine ( S Smiling ) originally wanted to post this thread instead of me, however I decided to bring out my A game English skills and try to write a decent review myself.

https://i.imgur.com/wbwI1Wj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/NXyKEvF.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/MZnfXjB.jpg

As you can see, the knife is bent, I removed paracord wrapping so it's more visible.
Other thing you can notice is a blister on my finger.

I'd rate this knife 1/5. I know this is a terrible rating but please hear me out.
Handle is way too small, and very uncomfortable, as you can see, it blistered my finger with longer use.
Edge retention is decent on fresh wood, but even one longer pass through cardboard will cause significant dulling.
And last, it bent on me very easily when I applied lateral pressure during making a notch on alive wood.
So, based on my experience I cannot reccomend this knife to anyone.

Other knives I own are Esee 3 and Warcraft Tanto from Cold Steel, and I am extremley satisfied with both. They perform as advertized, plus I know Esee has unrivaled warranty (which is one of the reasons I bought it).

I also welcome suggestions for new EDC fixed blade.

Thank you for reading, every feedback is appreciated

 

[Smiling]

I posted pics for you buddy, feel free to post reviews on other knives like I told you IRL, and welcome to the forum

 

[Ruukuu]

I bought (admittingly cheap) a higonokami recently. I could bend the blade using thumb and forefinger of both hands. Never been so surprised. I can only hope that knives that bend like this are rogues for one reason or another. Be a sad day if the companies knew of the problem but could not care about their customers.

 

[Ruukuu]

Oh yeh….until you decide on another knife....buy yourself a cheap Mora to be going on with.

Just an idea. They're not cool, but God they work

 

[EatingSarma]

Oh yeh….until you decide on another knife....buy yourself a cheap Mora to be going on with.

Just an idea. They're not cool, but God they work

I'll be going with this one until I get something smaller:

https://i.imgur.com/j6cxVvD.jpg

Looking at Izula or something of similar size.
I might go with Boker GoBag since Smiling and his GF put one through hell before it broke.
She was throwing it, she put her entire weight on it trying to pry a drawer open and then straighten it out, it only snapped when he battoned it in some deviation of a way to straighten it without a vice.

It sold me on that knife

 

[Smiling]

I

I'll be going with this one until I get something smaller:

https://i.imgur.com/j6cxVvD.jpg

Looking at Izula or something of similar size.
I might go with Boker GoBag since Smiling and his GF put one through hell before it broke.
She was throwing it, she put her entire weight on it trying to pry a drawer open and then straighten it out, it only snapped when he battoned it in some deviation of a way to straighten it without a vice.

It sold me on that knife

It's currently 35€ with shipping included so it's definitley not a bad deal.

 

[Ruukuu]

I'll be going with this one until I get something smaller:

https://i.imgur.com/j6cxVvD.jpg

Looking at Izula or something of similar size.
I might go with Boker GoBag since Smiling and his GF put one through hell before it broke.
She was throwing it, she put her entire weight on it trying to pry a drawer open and then straighten it out, it only snapped when he battoned it in some deviation of a way to straighten it without a vice.

It sold me on that knife

I've never owned or handled an Esee. But i get the feeling i may like them.

 

[EatingSarma]

I've never owned or handled an Esee. But i get the feeling i may like them.

Scales are perfectly flush with the tang, it's comfortable in the hand and has nice texture, grind is even and symmetrical. All details are just perfect.
I didn't get the chance to use it properly yet, I did EDC it tho. Good edge retention and it's a breeze to sharpen. Also, no hotspots during use and handle really "fits" the hand.
Only complaint was too tight sheath retention but I solved that with a file.

 

[OrangeBlueOrangeBlue]

It's a $20 neck knife with a spec'd HRC in the 50-55 range. I'm not sure that notching wood is within the intended use envelope. The low hardness (especially if that one is at the low end of the spec) would explain the lack of edge retention and the willingness to bend. For comparison, the Izula is spec'd at 57 HRC.

 

[Ruukuu]

I was thinking of the ESEE-3 Desert Tan if i can find the cash to treat myself. I really dont need it.....i just want it. I will look on youtube for a rwview maybe.

 

[Smiling]

It's a $20 neck knife with a spec'd HRC in the 50-55 range. I'm not sure that notching wood is within the intended use envelope. The low hardness (especially if that one is at the low end of the spec) would explain the lack of edge retention and the willingness to bend. For comparison, the Izula is spec'd at 57 HRC.

And less than 2mm thickness...

But still, no blade should bend under pressure of single hand.

Boker GoBag in D2 looks solid. It's proven to be toughher than that hahaha

 

[DangerZone98]

That bend from the second picture made me go “oh my Lord.”

Thanks for the review. ESEE and Cold Steel make good knives. If you want a tougher knife that seems to fit the same niche as this Condor, check out the Izula I/II.

 

[EatingSarma]

It's a $20 neck knife with a spec'd HRC in the 50-55 range. I'm not sure that notching wood is within the intended use envelope. The low hardness (especially if that one is at the low end of the spec) would explain the lack of edge retention and the willingness to bend. For comparison, the Izula is spec'd at 57 HRC.

Then it isn't really suitable for anything, and should cost $10 or even $5 instead.

 

[EatingSarma]

That bend from the second picture made me go “oh my Lord.”

Thanks for the review. ESEE and Cold Steel make good knives. If you want a tougher knife that seems to fit the same niche as this Condor, check out the Izula I/II.

I'll either go with Izula or maybe even Manly Patriot in D2. If not that then Boker GoBag.

Cold Steel Warcraft Tanto just rocks, I'm extremley satisfied with it and can really reccomend it to anyone looking for a good chopper.

Esee is also very good. I'm happy with these