condor tool and knife

My bushlore had been a legit workhorse. The steel is great, holding an edge well, and super easy to sharpen in the field. I'm giving them my seal of approval, for what its worth.
 
I am kind of put out with this company. I have both the Speed Bowie and the Combat Axe. I can not sharpen either of them with my bastard mill file. I can sharpen my Ontario and Marble's machetes no problem. I also purchased two Fiskars axes and used the mill file to make them both shaving sharp. But I can't do anything to the two Condors. I don't know why. I should probably try to sharpen them again. Everything else is great quality though, including the sheaths.
 
Squashfan said:
I am kind of put out with this company. I have both the Speed Bowie and the Combat Axe. I can not sharpen either of them with my bastard mill file. I can sharpen my Ontario and Marble's machetes no problem. I also purchased two Fiskars axes and used the mill file to make them both shaving sharp. But I can't do anything to the two Condors. I don't know why. I should probably try to sharpen them again. Everything else is great quality though, including the sheaths.
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Hey friend. I too use a file on my condors from time to time. What I've learned is that you do better with convexing the edge on a pretty acute angle, and then using the file. I can literally shave with mine, and its very easy to sharpen.
 
22-rimfire said:
Not going to buy another one unless I handle it in a store. But there are other Condors (mostly choppers) that I have my eye on. I like Condor products.
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For what it's worth I hand-inspect every one of the ones I get in for additional QC before it goes up on the site. Let me know the next time a Condor catches your eye if you have any concerns about getting a good one. [/shamelessselfpromotion] :p

chuckinohio said:
The more that I see pictures of them, the more convinced I become, that I need a Boomslang.

The Rodan will take a bucket full of abuse equivalent to a knife costing 4X as much.
The Bushlore, fuhgeddaboudit, . I liked it so much for the money that I went back and got a Mini just to keep it company.

They aren't a gimmick or el cheapo tin can stuff, they are seriously tough for seriously low bucks.
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I freaking love my Rodan. It's my go-to hard use knife. You're not kidding about their price vs. performance. They make the yankee thrift in me jump for joy. :D The Boomslang is similarly a heck of a knife for the money.

Street Samurai1978 said:
I've got the golok, pack golok, and parang. They are all great blades, though the edges could use the slightest thinning. The parang is pretty heavy, and putting in work with that will exhaust you in the short term, and put you in some damn fine shape in the long run....or kill your joints. Great for thicker bush and going to town on trees. The pack golok is particularly nice, able to put in the work of it's big brother, though with less reach, obviously. The village parang might be on my list soon.
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With the parang the trick is to let the weight accelerate it for you rather than trying to "push" it to the target. You may find that a more extended stroke of the arm will give you the best results. :) I agree that some models occasionally need a bit of thinning but that's most typical on their thicker models. They went through a period some time back where some of their models were coming thick in the grind and edge but that's been nicely corrected at this point.

Squashfan said:
I am kind of put out with this company. I have both the Speed Bowie and the Combat Axe. I can not sharpen either of them with my bastard mill file. I can sharpen my Ontario and Marble's machetes no problem. I also purchased two Fiskars axes and used the mill file to make them both shaving sharp. But I can't do anything to the two Condors. I don't know why. I should probably try to sharpen them again. Everything else is great quality though, including the sheaths.
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You may find that your file is glancing off the edge rather than biting because it's unable to find purchase on the polish of the edge. Most machetes and axes are fairly coarsely finished at the edge and a file is able to easily bite. Abrasives tend to fare better on finely finished surfaces.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I freaking love my Rodan. It's my go-to hard use knife. You're not kidding about their price vs. performance. They make the yankee thrift in me jump for joy. :D The Boomslang is similarly a heck of a knife for the money.
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You aint just blowing smoke my friend, the Rodan is arguably the best value in a decent sized hard use knife currently on the market.
For 25 bones you can beat that thing like a rented stepkid, and barely even faze it.
 
I have a Hudson Bay and a Golok. Neither are pretty, but both are punishment-absorbing, hard use tools.
 
Squashfan said:
Ah-ha! That might explain it. Though if the polish is gone wouldn't it sharpen like normal?
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Right. Roughen the surface finish of the bevel and your file should have an easier time finding initial purchase. Once it actually starts cutting the steel it'll become easy work but you have to start it off.

chuckinohio said:
You aint just blowing smoke my friend, the Rodan is arguably the best value in a decent sized hard use knife currently on the market.
For 25 bones you can beat that thing like a rented stepkid, and barely even faze it.
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Tell me about it! I love that ugly li'l knife. :D
 
Condor is an AWESOME knife maker. High value for the money. You may or may not have to sharpen them up, but that is a good thing to know how to do anyways. I love my condors, i have 5 so far. I see more in my future.
 
Squashfan said:
I am kind of put out with this company. I have both the Speed Bowie and the Combat Axe. I can not sharpen either of them with my bastard mill file. I can sharpen my Ontario and Marble's machetes no problem. I also purchased two Fiskars axes and used the mill file to make them both shaving sharp. But I can't do anything to the two Condors. I don't know why. I should probably try to sharpen them again. Everything else is great quality though, including the sheaths.
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I would suggest that you use one of the DMT or similar diamond "files" in coarse. In the field, I use one a lot and it is quite easy to touch up an edge. I sharpen axes and lawn mower blades with my coarse grit one and works fine.

Prior to this, I was a terrible machete sharpener and was always amazed how some of my co-workers could use a bastard file on a machete and get a good edge. In hindsight, I was probably just a little too picky about "edges". Machetes are meant to be used and often used hard.
 
22-rimfire said:
I would suggest that you use one of the DMT or similar diamond "files" in coarse. In the field, I use one a lot and it is quite easy to touch up an edge. I sharpen axes and lawn mower blades with my coarse grit one and works fine.

Prior to this, I was a terrible machete sharpener and was always amazed how some of my co-workers could use a bastard file on a machete and get a good edge. In hindsight, I was probably just a little too picky about "edges". Machetes are meant to be used and often used hard.
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I consider a good machete edge to be paper-slicing sharp. It should be able to do so cleanly. With practice you can easily produce such an edge using a smooth cut file, but it takes experience. I always get a little upset when people (not you--I mean in general) say "a rough edge is all you need on a machete" because it's a subjective term that inadvertently reinforces one of the biggest reasons people have a negative experience with a machete (besides not having one of good base quality.) Most people simply aren't keeping them sharp enough to experience the potential performance of the blade. Dull edges require more force to cut effectively which reduces efficiency. It's not hard to keep a machete very very sharp using only a file, but to the inexperienced it sounds like you barely have to sharpen up the stock courtesy grind and get choppin'. You'll be disappointed if you do that! The initial work on the edge should be done with care to unlock the potential of the blade and then subsequent sharpenings are very easily done as needed. A paper-slicing edge is coarse/rough compared to the dry-shaving edges that many keep on their knives, but it's still quite sharp. [/rant] :p
 
I own a bushcraft 5" and a Hudson bay and they make a great combo. The hudson is a great chopper and can take a beating and the 5" blade on the bushcraft is perfect for everything from food prep to batoning to making fuzz sticks, and it throws a good spark too. For their price(and maybe even a bit more) they are really worth it. I plan to pick up several more in the near future.
 
If a machete or chopping blade is not kept sharp, it dramatically increases the amount of work it takes to use it effectively. In addition, one could argue that a dull machete is an unsafe machete as I have found that you make most of your mistakes with a dull or poor edge versus a good "paper cutting" edge. Having the blade skip off a limb, tree, or whatever is a recipe for getting cut. One should avoid this as much as possible, but I think it probably happens to most of us who do much wacking with a machete.

A paper cutting edge is the one I seek on machetes, but that does not mean you have to use an ultra fine grit file or stone to achieve it.

I like my Condor Hudson Bay also.
 
22-rimfire said:
If a machete or chopping blade is not kept sharp, it dramatically increases the amount of work it takes to use it effectively. In addition, one could argue that a dull machete is an unsafe machete as I have found that you make most of your mistakes with a dull or poor edge versus a good "paper cutting" edge. Having the blade skip off a limb, tree, or whatever is a recipe for getting cut. One should avoid this as much as possible, but I think it probably happens to most of us who do much wacking with a machete.

A paper cutting edge is the one I seek on machetes, but that does not mean you have to use an ultra fine grit file or stone to achieve it.

I like my Condor Hudson Bay also.
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Also edges on quality machetes may be brought down to around 30 degrees included angle without problems, and this not only increases general cutting performance but also greatly reduces the likelihood of glancing blows. :):thumbup:

Can't wait for next year's line. :D
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I consider a good machete edge to be paper-slicing sharp. It should be able to do so cleanly. With practice you can easily produce such an edge using a smooth cut file, but it takes experience. I always get a little upset when people (not you--I mean in general) say "a rough edge is all you need on a machete" because it's a subjective term that inadvertently reinforces one of the biggest reasons people have a negative experience with a machete (besides not having one of good base quality.) Most people simply aren't keeping them sharp enough to experience the potential performance of the blade. Dull edges require more force to cut effectively which reduces efficiency. It's not hard to keep a machete very very sharp using only a file, but to the inexperienced it sounds like you barely have to sharpen up the stock courtesy grind and get choppin'. You'll be disappointed if you do that! The initial work on the edge should be done with care to unlock the potential of the blade and then subsequent sharpenings are very easily done as needed. A paper-slicing edge is coarse/rough compared to the dry-shaving edges that many keep on their knives, but it's still quite sharp. [/rant] :p
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I agree. Any instrument that has a sharp edge, would benefit from having it as sharp as possible. The sharper it is, the less energy is required, which means less chance for an accident from struggling with it. Cuts also heal faster & cleaner from a sharp blade.
 
TwinStick said:
I agree. Any instrument that has a sharp edge, would benefit from having it as sharp as possible. The sharper it is, the less energy is required, which means less chance for an accident from struggling with it. Cuts also heal faster & cleaner from a sharp blade.
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I keep my Bush Knife shaving sharp and I cut my finger with it at one point years ago and it was so clean that it healed without a scar--but you can still see where it happened because my fingerprints are out of alignment. At a distance it looks like a super faint scar until you look at it really closely. :D The same thing can be said about scythes as can be said of machetes. Most people that don't appreciate 'em haven't been keeping them sharp enough. :p
 
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TwinStick said:
Condor is an AWESOME knife maker. High value for the money. You may or may not have to sharpen them up, but that is a good thing to know how to do anyways. I love my condors, i have 5 so far. I see more in my future.
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Hmmmm, reading this thread has given me the itch for another Condor.
 
LOL I have the itch 24/7. The only thing that keeps me from just buying ALL OF THEM is that I get to handle them every day doing orders. :p

belerefon26--that's one heck of a handle on that Coats! Not sure if you ment to post it in this thread or not, but thanks for sharing regardless. :)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
.... It's not hard to keep a machete very very sharp using only a file, but to the inexperienced it sounds like you barely have to sharpen up the stock courtesy grind and get choppin'. You'll be disappointed if you do that! The initial work on the edge should be done with care to unlock the potential of the blade and then subsequent sharpenings are very easily done as needed. A paper-slicing edge is coarse/rough compared to the dry-shaving edges that many keep on their knives, but it's still quite sharp. [/rant] :p
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yes. most if not all of my machetes came new with a very perfunctory factory bevel that did not even meet at the apex. so they had something like a millimeter (wild guess, havent measured it) of completely rough metal where the edge should be. so they were not even as sharp as a butter knife lol. im no sharpening wizard so it takes a while to file down the edges so both sides meet in the middle. it can take between an hour and several hours but when its done the machete can be re-sharpened with as little as 5-6 passes with a file or one of those 'canoe' stones. with practice this will leave an edge on your machete that will frighten most 'normal' people lol.
 
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