condor hivernant

T

thepatriotsoutherner

Joined
Feb 26, 2013
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109
hey guys my condor hivernant came in today so im going to do some kind of mini review for u guys because i never found one and if some one elese ever wants one.
any way back to the knife its 420 hc staneless steel. (i prefer carbon steel but its still nice) the blade lenght is 4 1/2 and the over all length is 8 1/2. when i first held the knife the first thing i thought was dang its light and it is very light. second the sheath is amazing for the price i payed for the knife ($34) its very think leather with the condor logo stanmped on the front and a big thik belt loop that should fit any belt. when i pulled out the knife it felt good in my hands but not ergonomic but i wasnt expecting that since it a wooden handle being held in with 4 brass pins but dont get me wrong it feels good in the hand.it also has a nice lanyard hole at the bottom. despite what i have heard about condors usually being pretty dull out of the box mine was pretty sharp i could cut paper like butter, wasnt shaving sharp but i few on the sharpining stone and it now a light saber. it makes feather sticks very well and will make a great carver and all around great camp/bushcraft knife.

the only con i have about the knife is the weight i would have liked it to be a little heftyer and second is not so much of a con as somthing im pointing out is that the knife is great but u know theres afew minor machine marks on the handle and blade no biggy somthing you would expect with a $30 knife.

all in all i like the knife and would recomend it ill try to post some pics this week.
 
up date ummmmmmmm i dont know how i feel about this knife i tried to strike a fire steel with the back of the knife........ no sparks.....the back of the knife actually chiped. i fixed the chips looks like they were never there but left a line of fire steel black on the blade looks like a pencil mark but i can get it off. i still like the knife but im begging to dout it. o ya anyone have any ideas on how to get that streak of fire steel off
 
I was actually looking at this one which is somewhere between an up-swept skinner and a Nessmuk blade. I think she'd do well for kitchen chores.

condor_hivernant_knife.jpg


[youtube]u8tBFB8FHeo[/youtube]

Anyone else have any experience with this one?
 
It's a very nice piece of work. Usually comes a little thick in the edge, but that's easily fixed. :)
 
Wow, thats the first blade I've heard of from Condor that isn't 1075 carbon. Stainless doesn't generally work very great for throwing sparks compared to carbon but my condor hudson bay and bushcraft 5" throw sparks pretty well but not as good as my blades made of 01. That knife does look like it is designed more for kitchen chores and maybe skinning if the edge was sharp enough, I don't see it as a bushcrafting knife but thats just me
 
I bought one because I liked the pattern, the versatile size and I know Condor delivers good basic quality. It's a very nice little knife. The shape is rather uncommon today (alas...) and is a decent Nessmuk rendering, in my opinion. Not expensive, but be prepared to do some finishing. My blade needed reprofiling and I can say the 420 HC was quite hard to get right (consequently, it should also hold correctly its edge). It's also supposed to be a kind of stainless and I must say it resisted well so far to seaside humidity and sweaty hands. It's comparatively heavy (the Condor Kephart is lighter and nimbler) but you can trust it to do occasionally some prying, battoning, opening cans or splitting wood, things you wouldn't do with a finer slicer...The handle was "crude" and needed sanding and oiling but is some basically good quality exotic wood reliably fastened with brass pins. It's a strong little "do it all" camp knife but it misses probably its true goal by being too "strong". Such a little knife will be mainly used as a cutter, spreader, slicer, peeler, skinner, whittler, not so much to split wood : the 3,5 mm blade is overkill. More : what's the use of a full tang 4 mm build when the blade tapers already down to 3 mm less than an inch from the handle (and 2 mm at the tip) ? The balance is off and the over-heavy handle is not a benefit. My two pence is the basics (materials, shape, assembly) are actually good but the concept should really be refined to obtain greater usefulness.
 
The wood Condor uses for their handles is sustainably harvested walnut from both Brazilian and American sources, as I understand it. :)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
It's a very nice piece of work. Usually comes a little thick in the edge, but that's easily fixed. :)
Click to expand...

Hah! I was hoping you'd chime in!


herisson said:
I bought one because I liked the pattern, the versatile size and I know Condor delivers good basic quality. It's a very nice little knife. The shape is rather uncommon today (alas...) and is a decent Nessmuk rendering, in my opinion. Not expensive, but be prepared to do some finishing. My blade needed reprofiling and I can say the 420 HC was quite hard to get right (consequently, it should also hold correctly its edge). It's also supposed to be a kind of stainless and I must say it resisted well so far to seaside humidity and sweaty hands. It's comparatively heavy (the Condor Kephart is lighter and nimbler) but you can trust it to do occasionally some prying, battoning, opening cans or splitting wood, things you wouldn't do with a finer slicer...The handle was "crude" and needed sanding and oiling but is some basically good quality exotic wood reliably fastened with brass pins. It's a strong little "do it all" camp knife but it misses probably its true goal by being too "strong". Such a little knife will be mainly used as a cutter, spreader, slicer, peeler, skinner, whittler, not so much to split wood : the 3,5 mm blade is overkill. More : what's the use of a full tang 4 mm build when the blade tapers already down to 3 mm less than an inch from the handle (and 2 mm at the tip) ? The balance is off and the over-heavy handle is not a benefit. My two pence is the basics (materials, shape, assembly) are actually good but the concept should really be refined to obtain greater usefulness.
Click to expand...

:thumbup: :)

I have no problems "refining" the design on a lazy afternoon armed with caffeine and determination.
 
Looking at the picture above, I see the ergonomics of the handle are much better now (also, it looks like walnut. Mine is too red to be walnut. The only one I got which probably has a walnut handle is a Bushcraft Basic). Talking of concept : give that blade 1" more (maybe a little less). This will stretch the lines a bit and you'll get a nice spear point, still with the Nessmuk hump. More versatile and still a good butcher/skinner, no ? I'd buy rightaway (given the handle is the same as above...).
 
The reddish wood may be the Brazilian variety. I've been told that walnut is the only wood that Condor uses for handles, but there are the two nationalities for sourcing. I'd be very surprised if the same species of walnut was grown in both locations.
 
It's only a matter of aesthetics there, I happen to prefer the northern (brown) colour. The quality is fine : the scales can be filed, sanded and worked every way you like, the grain of the wood is very dense and the result is worth the work. The steel is OK just the same : I just gave the knife some more passes on the finest stone because it was a bit lazy at cutting paper. To control the result, I felt like giving it the "arm shaving test". Well, it shaved of a lump of hair before I even noticed... That's hair popping sharp, isn't it ? Next time I go to the woods, I'll take this little fella with me. With his thick and robust leather sheath, he's an easy guy to stuff in the belt, in a pocket or in the pack. We'll see how that razor edge stands up to the usual use and abuse.
 
I think you'll be quite pleased with it. I own a number of Condors that were made back before they even had 1075 in their product line and the 420HC holds up very well under hard use. :)
 
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