Condor Knife & Tool owners: Give an honest opinion

Foilist said:
I have a golok, which is great around the yard for clearing brush or branches and even preparing fireplace kindling.

I also have a Hudson Bay, which did a great job as my campfire wood prep tool on a recent four day motorcycle camping trip. I used it pretty hard and it worked great. I think I prefer it to a hatchet for this sort of thing.
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H.B. as a hatchet option. I can see that, and it would likely be lighter also.....Interesting.
 
The Golok and Woodworker axe have been good quality.

I wish Condor had been around when I was a teenager. It would have saved me from buying alot of garbage before finding anyway good.
 
I've got a machete (small) and one of their "bushlore" knives. The machete has been good so far, but I don't care for the knife at all. Very cheaply made, thick bevels, and uneven primary grinds. The handle is blocky and not a lot of effort went into finishing it.

It wasn't very expensive, but I feel that I did not get my money's worth, YMMV. I'll stick with other brands.
 
theAntihero said:
I hope they fix the sheath, its pretty dissapointing to not even have the throat cut right, its not like they didnt know what the handle of the Warlock was like.

It could be the micarta weighs it down some but im not sure. It is tip heavy, just not as much as i think it should and it shows when chopping, it lacks(for lack of a better word) follow thru that my other choppers, including the Golok, have. Id be interested in hearing your conclusions when you get some in though.
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Yeah I think that's an odd oversight as well. Like I said I'm pretty sure that Joe caught that while he was in El Salvador on QC duty. The micarta handle is almost certainly what's doing it in terms of the lack of followthrough by the way you describe it, but I'll have to confirm it in person, as previously mentioned. I promise to keep everyone posted! :)

upnorth said:
I find Condor to be a step up from Cold Steel. Inexpensive working tools basicly, that can take some rough use. I have a Parang, Hudson Bay and Barong. The Parang is elegant and useful after thinning the cutting edge out a bit. The Hudson Bay is my favourite and the Barong is................ ? I think that it was supposed to be a martial arts machete or somesuch. I just thought that it looked cool. Pretty much all of my Condors came semi dull and the Hudson Bay was a bit rough with fit and finnish, the other two were pretty good. Pretty much all three needed their shoulders filed down, edges thinned out a bit. I just used an axe file on them. I recently took a Condor Barong and Cold Steel Magnum Kukri out for a chop off. Both sharpened by axe file. The C.S. with a thinner blade bit deeper, no surprise. The Barong was thick bladed and a better wood splitter, no surprise. The much thicker Barong also tended to glance off the wood now and then on a chop. The Condor sheaths leave the Cold Steel versons for dead. Condor sheaths are robust thick hide and really nice. The grip on the Barong was also much easier on my delicate little girly hands than the rock hard C.S. grip....I find Condor to be interesting because they are easily affordable, often come out with interesting new designs, and seem to be outdoor use oriented.
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It's also worth noting that the Cold Steel kukri machete has a more forward sweet spot and balance. Barongs are interesting in that they're a compromise between wood chopping and grasses/lush targets. The large sweet spot is pretty much in the middle of the blade, which means you lose some reach and power when chopping wood, but still can do a decent job of it. The acute tip gives reach with minimal shift in balance. The main mass of the blade being closer to the hand minimizes the rotational inertia and makes high tip velocity possible, which is the name of the game for taking out grasses and woody stemmed plants.

sodak said:
I've got a machete (small) and one of their "bushlore" knives. The machete has been good so far, but I don't care for the knife at all. Very cheaply made, thick bevels, and uneven primary grinds. The handle is blocky and not a lot of effort went into finishing it.

It wasn't very expensive, but I feel that I did not get my money's worth, YMMV. I'll stick with other brands.
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If you don't mind my asking, when did you get your Bushlore? It sounds nothing like the present production ones, but a lot like the initial couple of runs. I'd contact Condor about it. I guarantee you'll get a much better knife back.
 
upnorth said:
H.B. as a hatchet option. I can see that, and it would likely be lighter also.....Interesting.
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It was lighter, slimmer, and easier to pack. Also, it was more versatile since I could use it for other things like clearing away some saplings and such from my campsites. Plus, to be honest, I am not that great with a hatchet and I was able to split up a bunch of wood more safely and with less effort. After batonning some very knotty hardwood, the Hudson Bay still had a very keen edge.
 
I have a hudson bay knife I like.
But one thing is for sure you do pay what you get.
the steel chips easy but it's also easy to touch up
 
The Condor Rodan and the Condor Kumunga that I have compare very favorably with my knives from Becker, Ontario, and Cold Steel. Condor gives a lot of bang for the buck. I think their Hudson Bay model will be my next purchase.

BTW, don't hesitate to e-mail any questions you have about Condors, Moras, etc. to FortyTwoBlades. He recently helped me decide between a Condor Scout Hatchet and an Estwing Carpenters Hatchet. He also has reasonable prices and fast shipping. I am one of his very satisfied customers.
 
Thanks for the plug, dude! And yes--never hesitate to pester me with questions, not just about Condor or even items I carry. If you have a question and you think I can answer it, feel free to ask me!
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
If you don't mind my asking, when did you get your Bushlore? It sounds nothing like the present production ones, but a lot like the initial couple of runs. I'd contact Condor about it. I guarantee you'll get a much better knife back.
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I got it a year or so ago at Sportsman's Warehouse.
 
jbass said:
The Condor Rodan and the Condor Kumunga that I have compare very favorably with my knives from Becker, Ontario, and Cold Steel. Condor gives a lot of bang for the buck. I think their Hudson Bay model will be my next purchase.

BTW, don't hesitate to e-mail any questions you have about Condors, Moras, etc. to FortyTwoBlades. He recently helped me decide between a Condor Scout Hatchet and an Estwing Carpenters Hatchet. He also has reasonable prices and fast shipping. I am one of his very satisfied customers.
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I almost got the Kumunga but it was out of stock at my prefered vendor so I grabbed the Barong. Lord knows that I don't need it, but I'll likely end up with a kumunga next. Then there is the new 2012 stuff that is quite intriguing. :D
 
I ordered one a while ago, it came as dull as a butter knife. The sheath is nice, the quality decent. I would hesitate to purchase another one, because it took me a good long while to sharpen it up. The edge was about 0.5 mil thick. I understand this is rare, but it wasn't worth me sending it back to the factory to get it fixed. If I had a guarantee that the edge was actually decent, I would purchase it. If you purchase from a dealer off of BF you shouldn't have any problems. I bought mine on amazon, which was a mistake. The amazon ones apparently have a higher rate of "oopses" because they aren't inspected as closely as the guys on BF do.
 
I have 2 Bushlores and a Golok. The Bushlore is a great multipurpose knife for the woods. It takes a good edge and holds it pretty well. The Golok is a wood chopping machine. I have been very impressed with it. They are great tools at a very fair price.
 
I got my Boomslang today. I havent tested it out yet, but my first impressions were great! Micarta feels excellent and the fit is perfect, finish looks exactly like a Becker, edge is good right out of the box, and the leather sheath is surprisingly nice! This is A LOT of blade for 65 bucks!

The only bad thing about it is.... I already want another. :D
 
I have the Golok and it did a great job on Maple tree branches and assorted brush in my backyard. I think for the money you can't go wrong with this model.
 
I have the Kumunga, 13" Combat Machete (my night stand blade), and a couple of large Inca's. I've been remodeling a large stump in the back yard (lol, yard art) with the Inca and Combat Machete. Can't beat the price/performance ratio with Condor blades.
 
the Condor machete (18" stainless El Salvador) i own has been put thru the paces and it is a hard working blade that was well worth the money...scary sharp right outta the box. so, i ordered a woodworker axe from 42, and im yet to see it being on the road, but my stepdad who couldnt help from opening it when it showed up said it is a sweet little axe...and hes picky when it comes to tools. based on all this, i ordered a mini bushlore from 42 yesterday. imo, good stuff, especially for the money.
 
woody d said:
i ordered a mini bushlore from 42 yesterday.
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And it's on it's way to ya' now! :D:thumbup:

I excited for you to get your hands on that Woodworker. I'm more of a machete guy than an axe guy but I'm absolutely in love with the Woodworker Axe. I'll totally be getting one for myself eventually and throwing a 26" handle on it.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
And it's on it's way to ya' now! :D:thumbup:
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very cool bud, i appreciate the quick service you provide. looking forward to getting my hands on that little axe, honestly i bought it because of its shorter overall length so i dont really plan on switching handles. what i wanted was something small enough to throw in my pack when i decide to "disappear" for a couple days in the timber, but large enough to split a little firewood. im lucky enough to have picked up some excellent hunting land years back with 2 ponds on it and 5 acres of timber. it has became my home away from home when i become sick of the real world. LOL
 
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