Condor machetes: Pics and Impressions

Yeah--it's not SUPPOSED to chop! It's designed for densely packed green, lush vegetation. If you need to clear a path through a field of waist-tall grass or wipe out a brier patch it's the best thing EVER.

The reason it's so light is so you can generate enough tip speed to cut lightweight target before inertia has the chance to be overcome--essentially you cut stuff before it has the chance to move out of the way. It'll bounce off of anything thicker than 1" but that's ok--it was designed for other things.

On a more martial note, the Bush Cutlass handles like a modern fencing saber. I did saber for 5 years, and going through the positions felt natural. With a piece like this it's the first time that sport fencing has been, shall we say...martially practicable? :D:thumbup: Seriously, while it bounces off of saplings and whatnot, this thing would at least notch bone, and more than likely take an arm clean off. Careful out there!

Glad you picked one up, J! I love mine and carry it often.
 
Condor Kumunga...
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In hand...
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Bush Cutlass with the paint removed...
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I'm dragging this old post back up again, because I just got my Condor stuff in from Machete Specialist.

I ordered the Condor Kukri and Parang, and they had a special deal going on where they threw in a free 18" Imacasa Tres Canales machete along with it if you spent more than $45.
So, I got 3 nice tools for the very reasonable sum of $55 plus shipping.

I opened the boxes as soon as they arrived, and my initial impressions are that these things are really nice for the money spent!
Of course the Imacasa needs to have an edge put on it, but it's a really nice machete.
The Condor Kukri and Parang are incredibly sharp, right out of the box. And the finish is really nice, and the handles are very nice wood. I needed to sandpaper the handle finish a little bit to smooth off some tool marks where they carved them, but not much. A little sanding and a little steel wool work and some oil on the handles, and they looked really good.
The Kukri has already drawn blood! I swear I only got close to the tip of that thing with my finger, and I had a shallow surgical scalpel-like cut on it that bled alot. This is a 13" chopper that is sharp enough to perform delicate medical surgery with! I can't believe how razor sharp this thing comes from the factory.
It feels pretty light in the hand, and it can really get some speed going quickly with a wrist-flick. I think I'm gonna like this alot.

The Parang is really a piece of artwork in appearance. The handle was carved a bit more perfectly than the Kukri was, and the sweeping lines of that Parang blade are something to behold. This is a serious chopper. It's thick at the spine, and definitely has some forward weight to the feel. It is also sharp as a razor with a convex grind to a scalpel-sharp edge. It has some heft, and it won't quite get moving as quickly as the Kukri, but once it's in motion, it has some momentum behind it. Still quite a manageable length, and it doesn't feel too long, or unwieldy. It's a nice size, and I feel that it will chop harder than the Kukri, but isn't as quick in the hand.

I'm looking forward to putting these things to use at the earliest possible opportunity.
My first impressions are that it was like getting a "steal" to get these 3 nice tools for the price I paid, and they seem all out of proportion to their prices, as far as I can see.
I have paid $20 for a crappy hardware store machete in the past. For not much more, these things are made really nicely, sharpened well, look exotic and cool, and provide a nice chance to use some classic designs at a very reasonable cost.

Real happy so far.
 
Condor is good stuff! I'm glad they're finally getting a bit more recognition these days. When I first joined the boards it seemed like Joezilla and I were the only ones who even knew they existed! :p:thumbup:
 
I've got 2 Condor Bushlores, 1 Golok and a Hudson Bay knife on the way!
I'm thinking of slightly flattening the handle sides on the Golok.
Does anybody here know of the brass fasteners are solid pins or regular brass rivets?
If they are just pins then it shouldn't be a problem but if they are rivets then i will likely have to install new ones.
 
I'm liking my new 14" so far, got it some pants and sharpened it up :thumbup:


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Makes a good "trio" alternative to the hatchet.

The edges do need tuning though. I know chopping isn't the main job of a machete, but I and some other folks took my 18" el salvador with stock edge to some 2x4s, and this is the result:

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Cuts from refined and polished big blade:

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Cuts from the stock Condor:

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I'm looking forward to trying out both my 14" and 18" El Salvador's with tuned edges.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Condor is good stuff! I'm glad they're finally getting a bit more recognition these days. When I first joined the boards it seemed like Joezilla and I were the only ones who even knew they existed! :p:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Well, it was the threads like this one which led me to the purchase.
I spent alot of time reading about the best values in these types of tools, and the Condors always seemed to get the nod for that.
And now I see why.

And all for the price of a basic average belt knife.

I have found myself using my crappy machete for a few years now, to cut down brush and even small trees around my yard, instead of using my saws or axe. I have proven to myself that a machete is a very useful device.
A 3" thick maple tree or limb is short work for it.

I have alot of clearing to do coming up this spring, and I was sick and tired of my crappy machete with its plastic handle always coming apart and needing more duct tape around it and all that jazz. It just wasn't worth re-handling that crappy blade with a good handle, even though it seemed to be able to cut down the trees I wanted to cut down with it.
I wanted some better cutting tools.

I have always been interested in getting a kukri-like object, and this one seemed like the right choice. And I like it.
I thought about the Golok, but it is 14" and the Kukri was 13", and I felt they were too close in function, so I got the longer Parang for the heavier cutting.
And the "free" 18" Imacasa is the perfect thing to fill in the gap. The Imacasa for general machete work on grass and brush, the Kukri for heavier chopping with a closer reach and a bit more control in tight, and the Parang for the heaviest stuff.
The 3 items made a nice all around package for my uses.

I'm real happy, and I want to thank the Bladeforums members who posted threads and comments about this stuff, so that I could learn about what to buy at a great price.
Thanks!

PS - I'm getting "Condor Fever" now, and I think I might be getting some more of their stuff real soon.
The Condors are so nice for so little money, that it makes me want to buy more of them.
 
HikingMano said:
I'm liking my new 14" so far, got it some pants and sharpened it up :thumbup:


9eb48655.jpg


3712b93a.jpg


Makes a good "trio" alternative to the hatchet.

The edges do need tuning though. I know chopping isn't the main job of a machete, but I and some other folks took my 18" el salvador with stock edge to some 2x4s, and this is the result:

6850819a.jpg


Cuts from refined and polished big blade:

18231c0d.jpg


Cuts from the stock Condor:

2d2780de.jpg


I'm looking forward to trying out both my 14" and 18" El Salvador's with tuned edges.
Click to expand...


I love that sheath combo with the knife on it.
Really looks good!
 
Thanks. I have to give Kiah credit for that (sheathmaker). I had ordered both the machete and Vic paring knife sheaths, and he came up with the great idea of piggybacking them. So I said "sure", and got another Vic paring knife (and sheath, later) for kitchen duty only.
 
Yeah, I got this one from GoingGear back in July. Haven't done much with it yet, but I'm liking the size :thumbup:
 
Kumunga is great. Especially for the price.
Everyday I'm thinking excuse to get another large blade... :)
 
Looks like the Condor line is getting some exposure around these parts. I too recently was looking for a machete and the Condor El Salvador caught my eye, along with the stand-by Tramontina. SMKW didnt have any Trams in stock so I chose to go with the Condor, and I'm glad I did. Havent had a chance to use it, but the quality looks excellent and for under 30bucks delivered I thought it would be worth a shot at one.

Mine has the poly handle not wood-
Just curious, Does anyone know if these are full tang?
Its pretty obvious with the wood handles ones, but what about the poly handled model?
 
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