- Joined
- Sep 9, 2005
- Messages
- 4,363
Back from the Blade Show with my treasures, I decided to try out the new Condor golok. It came with a beautifully polished but dull convex edge. After a little touch up on my belt sander, it took a shaving sharp edge.
I also picked up a 4.5" blade bushcraft knife, which unlike the golok, came with a leather sheath. More on the knife in a later review. The Condor golok is larger and heavier than my Bark River. It has a 14.75" long blade with a distal taper that goes from 1/4" thick at the handle to 1/8" at the front curved grind. It weighs 22 oz and measures 20.75 inches in overall length. Steel is 1075.
As I do every year, I chopped some sweet gum "weeds" from around one of my water oaks.
The curved blade easily makes salad out of the limber growth and cuts through the woody parts with equal ease.
It chopped through this dead oak limb in four chops.
And it was a beast on the chopping block, chopping through this thick Red Bay in only 13 chops.
The golok swings well with a blade heavy feel that just powers through brush and limbs. Balance point is 3" in front of the wooden handle. The round ball end of the handle is great for getting some action on the blade and keeping the knife under control. I really like this chopper. I just need to find a sheath for it.
Something about the golok's shape just seems to work well for me and the "sweet spot" is big, making this knife easy to master. As much as I have liked Condor's machetes, I think I like the golok even better.
I also picked up a 4.5" blade bushcraft knife, which unlike the golok, came with a leather sheath. More on the knife in a later review. The Condor golok is larger and heavier than my Bark River. It has a 14.75" long blade with a distal taper that goes from 1/4" thick at the handle to 1/8" at the front curved grind. It weighs 22 oz and measures 20.75 inches in overall length. Steel is 1075.
As I do every year, I chopped some sweet gum "weeds" from around one of my water oaks.
The curved blade easily makes salad out of the limber growth and cuts through the woody parts with equal ease.
It chopped through this dead oak limb in four chops.
And it was a beast on the chopping block, chopping through this thick Red Bay in only 13 chops.
The golok swings well with a blade heavy feel that just powers through brush and limbs. Balance point is 3" in front of the wooden handle. The round ball end of the handle is great for getting some action on the blade and keeping the knife under control. I really like this chopper. I just need to find a sheath for it.
Something about the golok's shape just seems to work well for me and the "sweet spot" is big, making this knife easy to master. As much as I have liked Condor's machetes, I think I like the golok even better.
