Leather sheaths for Condor Machetes: seperate or together

cuphead said:
I say offer both options. That way everyone is happy :)

and I agree with m48shooter, My dad gave me a tramontina he got from when he was in his 20s, it came with a beautiful leather sheath, but the bottom half was ripped off (wear n tear). I ended up chucking it and just kept the machete. The tramontina sees little to no work, because I hate carrying things in my hands when I'm hiking, to me it seems one would be more prone to injuries or risk losing it, so instead, it stays in my yard shed, but I have nothing to use it on... so.. yea...
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Yep, both. I will tell you that I think that a lot of guys won't blink about the extra money for the package though.. If you look back through the machete threads, a lot of people don't want to buy a $6 Tram because of the lack of quality sheath options...
 
Here is why you include the sheath - its sets the machete apart from the crowd. That is a good thing. Second, a $30-40 machete isn't the kind of thing that people turn away from. Its not the kind of thing that somebody says - no I just can't afford that. It is the kind of thing that somebody, even an uninformed one will think 'should I get the $10, $20 or $40 machete....hmmm I bet that $40 machete is better." Third, he'll get the machete note the quality of the sheath and re-affirm it was a great deal. Especially when he compares it to his buddy's crappy nylon ontario sheath. He will then think, hmm, those condor's are pretty good. I bet one of them condor knives are better then one of them spec ops ones too. I'll try that, cause they come with good sheaths.

Fourth - a good sheath makes a good knife. A knife or machete without a sheath is the kind of thing that you don't use. When you don't use it you eventually form a low opinion of it. If it comes with a great sheath, then they will use it and they will get to love. Go back to point 3.

Include the sheath.
 
As a lefty, I'm unable to use the sheaths that comes with most knives. I usually end up discarding the sheath, and then make my own. If the sheath isn't ambidextrous, I'd be paying $30-40 for a $20 machete. About 10% of us will have this problem. Make the sheath an option if possible.
 
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I just bought one, and the fact that it came with a nice sheath made the difference, despite the higher price. I agree that the sheath adds to the appearent quality of the product.
 
Yep. Mine gets used a lot more than the sheath-less one I have. good sheaths are important for any machete to be used more than a short walk from their storage area
 
I agree with Scott Free, if the sheath is worth as much as the blade and the blade can't be purchased separately, at least make it ambidexterous or have an option for those of us in our right mind.
 
Keep the sheath with it. People who buy Condor tend to be gunning for a high-end machete, and the increase in price isn't much, even if it's a high percentage of said price. $40 is chump change for a machete that nice--if it was a big fixed blade by a major knife company it would be $100+ ;)

Oh, and the sheaths themselves are a selling point themselves. People are always really impressed with them when I show them to people. :thumbup:
 
Magnussen said:
as much as $30-$40?...... most of us spend more than that on coffee in a week! I will never understand the hesitation in spending money on the most used (possibly the most crucial) tool in your kit. Sorry if I'm ranting....
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I agree with Rick's sentiment, but-

reality time. I've run into this with my gear- people who appreciate the sheath will....appreciate the sheath. But outside of places like this, that's actually pretty rare. Every time we go to the Reno show we have dozens of people talk about the absolute crap sheath they got with this or that knife and then their jaws drop when we quote a CHEAP price of $35 to $50 for a basic double seamed, hand stitched, waterformed leather sheath. Even on a $500 knife.

At the same time, a machete without a sheath is pretty damned dumb unless it's strictly a garden shed tool.

Maybe you can rename them and have "different models" for the ones with a sheath. put different wood scales on or something to differentiate. I dunno.
 
koyote said:
Maybe you can rename them and have "different models" for the ones with a sheath. put different wood scales on or something to differentiate. I dunno.
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That is a pretty good idea- offer a "basic" and "premium" package. :thumbup:

My chief concern about "optional" sheaths is that, in the case of the corner hardware store, they never seem to carry them even if they are available from the machete manufacturer.
 
I finally was able to handle one of their machetes after hearing about them on this forum. The store had something like a longish knife and a very long machete. I was impressed with the quality. The blade appeared to have a convex edge, very polished, very sharp. It had a nice ring when you thumped it with your ffinger. The handle had a nice blue rubbery grip to it. The sheath seemed a little on the cheap side but not bad. It needs a sheath to protect everything around it from the edge. Not all people can make one. Better send them with the sheath. It will be required, but would not want to pay any more money for a machete. I wasn't sure about the hole in the end of the blade. To hang on a nail I suppose. Can't remember if it had a thong hole.
 
Offer the option, I would rather make my own sheath than to have to pay extra for a cheaply made one.
 
rayban said:
Offer the option, I would rather make my own sheath than to have to pay extra for a cheaply made one.
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Cheaply made? Have you seen the sheaths for these things? :confused:

Really good quality thick leather with a swiveling belt loop and secure snaps depending on the design. Real top-notch stuff, especially for a machete. I've seen plenty of $100+ dollar knives that didn't have sheaths with leather as good as the stuff on the Condors. :eek: ;)
 
With the sheaths IMHO. I am frequently turned of by a fixed blade offered for sale with no sheath.
I know that it is easy to send them out to have one make special for them,(but) I prefer to buy complete, when I get a knife/machete or anything for that matter. YMMV
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Cheaply made? Have you seen the sheaths for these things? :confused:

Really good quality thick leather with a swiveling belt loop and secure snaps depending on the design. Real top-notch stuff, especially for a machete. I've seen plenty of $100+ dollar knives that didn't have sheaths with leather as good as the stuff on the Condors. :eek: ;)
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I suppose after seeing all the great sheaths on this forum, they pale in comparison. I retract that statement if I can on cheaply made. The blade seemed so sharp that I would like to have a better sheath. I'm sure it would last just fine. I would not want the blade in a canvas or nylon sheath. It is more than adequate. I have only seen one. Regards
 
Loosearrow said:
I suppose after seeing all the great sheaths on this forum, they pale in comparison. I retract that statement if I can on cheaply made. The blade seemed so sharp that I would like to have a better sheath. I'm sure it would last just fine. I would not want the blade in a canvas or nylon sheath. It is more than adequate. I have only seen one. Regards
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That may be a reference to my post too....I didn't mean to knock a good quality product, it's just that I've never seen a machete come in a sheath that was of good quality. Chalk one up to my ignorance.:eek:
 
I've had a couple machetes "come with" very, very good sheaths. In both cases, the sheaths were actually hand made by locals in southern Mexico, and not factory production sheaths.

I'm actively waiting right now as I currently have 2 fairly crappy 'chetes and would like a couple. As it happens, though, one of the ones I need IS a garden shed stored machete and the sheath isn't as important. :D
 
I like the idea of having a good sheath with the Machete, so I say Keep the sheath.

Have you talked to the dealers about this? Betting they could give you some good insight into what the general public wants.

Heber
 
Lack of sheath is a big negative towards some high end knives to me, and I feel the same about lower end knives w/o sheaths as well.
 
Needs a sheath for crying out loud.

lefties are perverts anyway, who cares about them? ;)
 
wildmanh said:
Have you talked to the dealers about this? Betting they could give you some good insight into what the general public wants.
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I'm one, and the public has been consistently impressed by the sheaths. When it comes to their performance, customers often have to take our word for it. The quality of the sheaths, however, tend to reflect the overall quality of the tool, and are a big selling point.
 
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