Dedicated chopper knife for $100 or less... Sugestions?

LOL, I do not think that is a good idea, Believe me it better for this world that there is only one of me, that is another reason I did not have any kids. I will not unleash on this world any of my seed. I shudder to think of the possibilities:eek::D

Bryan
 
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PayetteRucker said:
Dear Santa, please send Mr. Breedan a new superpowered belt sander and a viking-sized forge hammer for Christmas....
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'Ol Saint Nick better have one, very large sack to put that forge in!!!! Not to mention the reindeer better be kickin' the steriod's to carry it 'round the world!!!
 
Oh, reindeer have been dragging viking-sized kit around the world for at least a thousand years, it's what they do best-they're quite amazing creatures.
 
Santa has that dust that shrinks things for transport and then makes them big after delivery. His twisted sense of humor explains Oprahs weight gain/loss over the years....

The waiting is the hardest part..... I have some nice dry wood waiting to baton. Then make a pile of curlies just for grins.

Bill
 
hi, Mr. Breeden. Just sent an email, your knives look absolutely top notch! I would love to have one of your knives as my first custom!
 
PayetteRucker said:
can someone tell me the difference between the Speed Bowie and the Boomslang, and why they cost so much in comparison to the other Condor HC blades?
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Preacher Man said:
The Speed Bowie has a 10" blade and the Polypropylene handle is slightly angled in relation to the blade a la Machax (but with a less pronounced angle). The Boomslang has a 11" blade and has a more traditional style micarta handle. As for the price, the Boomslang has micarta handles and that ups the price. The Speed Bowie is not that much out of range of the price of their other comparable size knifes (about $20 more expensive). Keep in mind that the Speed Bowie is wider than the the Hudson Bay or the Kamunga, and with more steel comes more cost. I guess that is why the price is comparable with the Thai Enep Knife. Of course, there is also marketing involved and the issue of price and demand, but I don't know anything about that side of the equation.
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PayetteRucker said:
Thanks, they are both great looking blades but they seem to be a bit more green for what you get, from usual Condor that is. Their 1075 is good but not as good as some of the other industry bigblades with nicer steels.
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Only just noticed this--that's what happens when you forget about a thread I guess!

I believe the reason why the Speed Bowie is a little more expensive than their usual poly-handled stuff is because it's presently the only knife/machete in their line using that new molded handle and they have to factor in the cost of the new plastics mold. I know there will be one or two new models next year that will use it, though.

The Boomslang is more expensive because of the micarta. Not only is the raw material more costly, but it also burns out belts faster than wood and there's more dust mitigation to contend with, so production is more expensive.

I've personally found their 1075 to be virtually indistinguishable from 1095, and a lot of folks are willing to shell out big bucks for that. I'm personally a huge fan of the steel, and appreciate its impact resistance and decent edge retention while remaining super easy to touch up. A couple of quick licks from a fine DMT Diafold and my Condors are usually back to shaving sharp. :)
 
Nope not Santa lol.

Zulu got your message and replied.

Hej, Martin, I sent you a visiter message with the video I made. so check that out. I think it went through.

42 blades, how can you forget to check this thread ... it keeps comming back lol lol.

Bryan
 
That makes a whole lot of sense, 42. I appreciate it. I might wait a wee bit before picking up a speed bowie. I love Condor's 1075 for beating on, but there are other commercial blades out there in that price range with steel that holds a better edge. Just not prepared to drop 70 bones on one of those guys yet.

as far as neighbors thinking I'm a nutcase, I can guarantee it. I live in a MAJOR yuppie neighborhood in an upscale apartment complex. My porch is my workshop and I'm constantly beating on stuff, stripping finishes, grinding blade profiles, drying out tarps, you name it. My roomate is a very cleanly eastern orthodox fellow that was quite shocked at the large blade collection. I had to let him get to chopping before he understood why I had so many machetes...
 
PayetteRucker said:
That makes a whole lot of sense, 42. I appreciate it. I might wait a wee bit before picking up a speed bowie. I love Condor's 1075 for beating on, but there are other commercial blades out there in that price range with steel that holds a better edge. Just not prepared to drop 70 bones on one of those guys yet.

as far as neighbors thinking I'm a nutcase, I can guarantee it. I live in a MAJOR yuppie neighborhood in an upscale apartment complex. My porch is my workshop and I'm constantly beating on stuff, stripping finishes, grinding blade profiles, drying out tarps, you name it. My roomate is a very cleanly eastern orthodox fellow that was quite shocked at the large blade collection. I had to let him get to chopping before he understood why I had so many machetes...
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LOL...I can just picture your "gypsy" porch right now with tarps strewn about for drying and you in the center carving on a piece of wood with one of the several knives you have laying around you. Must be quite a sight for the yups. :D
 
oh ya, the late project was a GI Tanto-spent about 4 hours grinding it all down with a file the other night after 4 or 5 rounds of paint stripper...
 
Well, my beautiful and graceful wife gave me my Christmas gift today. My dad came to visit and we were cutting some trees in the yard. I mentioned that this was the perfect time to test the Lord Greystoke and do a comparison with other choppers. At first she said, "wait till Christmas", but latter she surprised me giving me the Greystoke early. Have I mentioned I love my wife? :D

I put the saw aside and did everything else with choppers. Since I suspected the Lord Greystoke will be an exceptional chopper I decided to compare it with my big guns, so to speak. We compared Breeden's Lord Greystoke with:

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Condor's Golok Machete,

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and Himalayan Imports' Foxy Folly.

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By the way, that's my dad holding the knives. This is me with the Lord Greystoke.

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And my youngest son wanted to watch.

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Since this was the Greytoke's first real use and the other knifes have seen quite some use already, I decided to make it a fair fight and re-profiled and sharpen the Golok and Foxy Folly using Work Sharp's Knife and Tool Sharpener. I used 80 grit to re-profile and 220 and 6000 grit to sharpen and polish the edge. By the end both the Golok and the Foxy Folly had a hair-shaving convexed edge.
 
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Here are the three knives side by side.

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I decided to start with a simple shopping test. I chopped through a 1.5" thick branch with each knife. The Foxy Folly went first and it took three swings to chop through the branch.

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Next went the Golok. It only took two swings to chop through the branch.

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Last, but not least, came the Lord Greystoke. It almost went through the branch on the first swing, but not quite. I felt almost no resistance on the second swing.

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With that done We did a chop off. We positioned a 2.75" banch to compare performance of ten (10) chops of each knife side by side.

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