The Imacasa i rated as poor was from my results when putting a better than factory edge on them... they sharpen and take edges like cheap quality steel. I have an 18 and 12" Imacasa and when sharpening they act similar to a cheap machete that could be bought at Kmart. It's winter here and the last 2 or 3 weeks were single or -0 temps so there is no test cutting on weeds. I'm just going by what i experienced when trying to make them better. I have no brand loyalty and could care less who makes the blade. I do know Imacasa is the parent company of Condor and Condor is their premium line. Condor lists using 1075 steel and i doubt Imacasa uses the same.
I got my Condor Parang this week and here is my review of it....
Very nice leather sheath... same as the best leather sheaths that have an insert of leather between the 2 outer layers so that the blade can't cut through the stitching. The Barteaux+Sons(out of business since maybe 1970) are like this also. The sheath has 2 snaps on it and i'm not a fan of snaps but guess some things need them. It's easier to get the blade out than to get it back in because the nylon tabs that have the snaps get in the way putting the blade back in and if you put a razor edge on the blade you could be cutting the snap tabs off eventually. I paid 45.89 with free shipping on ebay and won't mention any sellers names since i'm not affiliated with any of them and some wanted 60$... you have to shop around. As for the Parang machete itself... looks to be quality construction and finish... nice smooth handle and rivets. The blade is about 1/4" thick... they say 6mm and 1/4 is about 6.35mm so i'll call it 1/4 and they do a "distall" taper so the blade edge is thinner than at the handle. This model is fairly thin width i guess because of the thickness and still feels like a heavy blade to swing arround. The handle widens very quick at the end to provide a widening grip to prevent slippage. The edge the Parang comes with is very good and most would leave it as it is but i will touch it up a little. It is sharp but i'm not sure if there is some clear laquer coating to keep the edge from rusting and if there is then that would keep the edge from feeling as sharp as it really is. My opinion of this Parang is.... Appearance quality and sheath quality A+, a little on the heavy side if you are going to swing for work... i would have gone with a slightly thinner blade thickness. This is my first Condor knife and judging by the finish and quality i felt safe in ordering 4 more Condor blades........ A Kukri, Thai Enep Machete(there is a shorter version), Cutlass Brush Machete, and Golok. I should have these by next weekend and will give my opinions. I don't claim to be an expert, but i have over 50 machetes now and have put a "better than factory edge" on almost every one, so i do have some experience in how the metal behaves during sharpening and as for usage... no i haven't taken each and every single machete out and chopped weeds with it for 12 hrs straight. A few dry swings and you can tell if it feels right and if you would want to actually use for a while. I still love the first long blade i bought in maybe 1990 which i have talked about earlier.... it's light, it's thin, it takes and keeps a heck of an edge, and is very easy to swing. I know some want to chop and a heavier blade works better, so this this is all personal preference and how it's going to be used. The Condor is 1075 steel... the Ontario is 1095, Cold Steel 1055, Marbles 1070.... it all depends on what you are using it for, As for an 18" machete you can get a Cold Steel for less than 20$, a Marbles for slightly over $20, an Ontario for about $30+ and a Condor for (with sheath) $60,,, the less than Condor are with out sheath but for 8.50 you could get a great CS sheath on ebay. If you have money to burn check out Miller Brothers Blades on you Tube but you're looking at 1000+ price tag and seems to me 5/16 thick would be hard to swing for any length of time. One responder mentioned Tops and when i see "tops" i think of old baseball cards but there is a line of higher end machetes if you want to spend over 100$. Esee is another close to 100$ model. It all depends on what you want to spend or if you want to cut or chop.
Marbles and Imacasa may be both made in El Salvador but a side by side visual and grinding will easily tell you these aren't the same quality... the Marbles look better and grind better for giving an edge.... maybe the same company but i can find no web search to verify that, but owning various models of both i will say the Marbles is definitely better than Imacasa in finish and metal used. This is all just my unknowing opinion and i welcome any discussion. THANKS to anyone who posts an opinion!
