Condor Hudson Bay knife part two, picture heavy

upnorth

upnorth

Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Messages
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I gave it a pretty darn good sharpening last night. It's not totally to were I want it and it will get one more final session. When I took it out today it was raggedy assed slicing paper, so it's close. I found some old dried out Maple logs and started battoning. It went through them easily, including the odd stop and extra whacking to get through multiple knots. When home I held the knife under a lamp and looked for edge damage. Basicly there wasn't any other than a couple of minor rough scratchy spots, no obvious rolling, chips missing etc. I ran my finger nail along the edge and felt a scruffy spot at mid blade probably were it plowed through the knots. And another mild rough patch close to the grip were I was using the blade on a fire steel. The blade didn't come out unscathed but the damage was quite minimal with the majority of the knife still being quite sharp. The handle\grip is still rock solid and was not loosened by the battoning. This knife seems to be a tough little bugger and I'm liking it more and more with use.
:thumbup:
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Condor knows how to make a tough bastard of a knife! I beat up my Rodan all the time and all it takes me is a quick swipe with a fine DMT Diafold to get it back to dry shaving.
 
I've been in love with the brand since I came across them about 5 years ago. They're not always perfect out of the box but they're just a joy to use and cost so little (with a good warranty to boot) that you're never afraid to just beat the everliving snot out of them. :D
 
Great pics!!! What kinda wood were you splitting? Looks like pine, but some of the pics have me guessing a hardwood - maybe Ash? Seems a bit knotty for Ash, but the grain looks right.

As to the knife - WOW! what a 'smacker'. I like something that's made tough for tough tasks and that Big Fella looks up to the task. It looks like Condor's got it figured out - and on the "cheap" (as in LOW Price!).
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I've been in love with the brand since I came across them about 5 years ago. They're not always perfect out of the box but they're just a joy to use and cost so little (with a good warranty to boot) that you're never afraid to just beat the everliving snot out of them. :D
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Kind of what I like about some Cold Steel blades also, and what some people don't understand. Well made and inexpensive allows me to man handle knives and get a kick out of them. Sure the high end stuff does the same, but I don't have to pay...what ? $160.00 bucks up here for an ESEE 6. If I drop the Hudson Bay over the side of a canoe it hurts considerably less than losing the 6. Good bang for the buck with the Condors that I have so far. And if they were crap, I wouldn't keep buying them. B.T.W., I still want ESEE though.
:D
:thumbup:
 
fmajor007 said:
Great pics!!! What kinda wood were you splitting? Looks like pine, but some of the pics have me guessing a hardwood - maybe Ash? Seems a bit knotty for Ash, but the grain looks right.

As to the knife - WOW! what a 'smacker'. I like something that's made tough for tough tasks and that Big Fella looks up to the task. It looks like Condor's got it figured out - and on the "cheap" (as in LOW Price!).
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I'm no wood guru buddy, even with some of my fancy books that I got for xmas. :D My best guess is Manitoba Maple because the area was surrounded with them. No garantee though. Yes I was putting my toe in the Condor water slowly because I wasn't sure if they were junk or not. But I'm perfectly happy with the machete and knife that I've bought from them. I consider them to be a high value for what is paid. The thing about Canada is that historicly we have almost ALWAYS paid more for knives than in the U.S. A small pop., huge land mass, transportation costs, taxes, whatever. Your 60 buck knife was usually 80-90 here. It is only lately with dollar parity and the hurting U.S. economy that our knife prices have come down similar to U.S. prices. But it's still not always the same. If I can find a good, tough knife at a decent price for here, I jump on it. Actually I have heard the Hudson Bay going many times in the U.S. for around 30 bucks. I paid 55 here and still consider that a low priced knife...because it is.
:D
 
That looks like a candidate for perfect survival knife.I really dig the size and shape of it!:thumbup:
 
GRIM 62 said:
That looks like a candidate for perfect survival knife.I really dig the size and shape of it!:thumbup:
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I've never held a blade like this before. It reminds me a little of a cleaver for some reason, and it's fun to handle.
 
upnorth said:
I've never held a blade like this before. It reminds me a little of a cleaver for some reason, and it's fun to handle.
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That's the broad blade doing that. It concentrates mass behind the cutting edge which increases the cutting efficiency of the knife by reducing the distance that material must be displaced by the blade. I'm a fan of broad blades for this reason.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
That's the broad blade doing that. It concentrates mass behind the cutting edge which increases the cutting efficiency of the knife by reducing the distance that material must be displaced by the blade. I'm a fan of broad blades for this reason.
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Another benefit of wide-bladed knives is if you need to cross-cut with the knife, that greater width gets you a good ways deeper into whatever you're cutting through (i'm also a big fan of wide blades - within reason though!).
 
Great review & pics,thanks!
I definately need/want one now.
I like the hammered finish too.
And it looks like you got it sharp enough to get the job done!
 
Looks good. I only have one Condor blade, the nessmuk pattern, but these pics have me thinking about a second!
 
redhat6161 said:
After ordering this back on 1/13 I just got a message from KC that mine is on it's way to me. Can't wait!
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Youch! That's quite the wait! :eek: It'll be worth it though. The Hudson Bay is one sweet knife.
 
Nice pics & review ! I have the Nessie & large Bushcrafter & both are nice, I also have the Parang & Golok machetes & love'em ! I got my brother the Hudson Bay for Christmas (thanks FortytwoBlades) & he Loves it ! I'm ready for another Condor myself (I'll be contacting you soon FortyTwo Blades) ! Don't let the price of these knives fool you...they are good knives with nice leather sheaths & awsome customer service !
 
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