See the new Condor?

Nice review. I think it's pretty dumb to dismiss this thing as just a novelty piece. I think the handle is a little hokey (if they'd have gone with a simple textured D handle I'd be happier) but this design has been tried and tested for hundreds of years before we had internet to complain about it on... it wouldn't have stood that test of time had it not been an effective tool. Combined with Condor's great 1075 steel and convex grind I'm sure it's capable. Draggat, "cutlass" is such a loose term it's kinda useless to generalize about it.
 
Nice review. I think it's pretty dumb to dismiss this thing as just a novelty piece. I think the handle is a little hokey (if they'd have gone with a simple textured D handle I'd be happier) but this design has been tried and tested for hundreds of years before we had internet to complain about it on... it wouldn't have stood that test of time had it not been an effective tool. Combined with Condor's great 1075 steel and convex grind I'm sure it's capable. Draggat, "cutlass" is such a loose term it's kinda useless to generalize about it.

Yeah, you're right, I shouldn't just dismiss it. I've never held that particular sword, but it does look very cheap to me. Maybe it is a good grass cutter, but personally, I probably would use a weed eater! My dad has an old cutlass that looks very similar although the handle is made out of wood and brass. I can't really imagine doing much yard work with it!
 
Nice review. I think it's pretty dumb to dismiss this thing as just a novelty piece. I think the handle is a little hokey (if they'd have gone with a simple textured D handle I'd be happier) but this design has been tried and tested for hundreds of years before we had internet to complain about it on... it wouldn't have stood that test of time had it not been an effective tool. Combined with Condor's great 1075 steel and convex grind I'm sure it's capable. Draggat, "cutlass" is such a loose term it's kinda useless to generalize about it.

The reason why they used the handle they did was that the plastics mold for it was discovered gathering dust in a back room at Imacasa. No one seems to know what it was originally intended for, which is odd given how expensive those things are! I would have preferred something less textured and if given a choice I would have gone with something like the hilt of a French "briquet" saber. Nice and simple, yet historical and effective. See example below:

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Yeah, you're right, I shouldn't just dismiss it. I've never held that particular sword, but it does look very cheap to me. Maybe it is a good grass cutter, but personally, I probably would use a weed eater! My dad has an old cutlass that looks very similar although the handle is made out of wood and brass. I can't really imagine doing much yard work with it!

You'd carry your weed eater out into the woods? Oh well--different strokes for different folks. :confused:
 
You'd carry your weed eater out into the woods? Oh well--different strokes for different folks. :confused:[/QUOTE said:
Where I live is an entirely different take on things!! You all live in comparative wilderness, so forgive me! Where I live, most things are very well defined. There is no rural living, so I apologize for my ignorance. No one here would ever use a sword to cut grass!!! I'd probably be arrested!!! I live in Hollywood, where all of the supposedly 'famous' people live, although I haven't met any yet!! Yes, I'm a city slicker, but when I was younger, did a lot of wilderness survival training... Trying to get back to my roots, not to mention that I never lost my love of blades!
 
The reason why they used the handle they did was that the plastics mold for it was discovered gathering dust in a back room at Imacasa. No one seems to know what it was originally intended for, which is odd given how expensive those things are!

It was first designed for a tourist piece that they had made for trade to other countries. The blade that came with it was straighter and had some gold embellishments on it. I'm going to see if they can play with the mold to use a non-guarded version, because I think the handle may be to small for some people as well.
 
Ah--that makes sense then! :D

Too bad Condor doesn't have the kind of money to throw at plastics molds like Cold Steel does. I could see a couple of different saber patterns, each with their own distinct uses.

1) A French briquet as mentioned previously, with a broader, thicker blade for general tasks.

47as.jpg


2) Keeping the original hilt style, a piece with the blade of a Turkish kilij, with a sharpened top edge. The extreme angle of the last third of the blade aligns the edge with the natural arc of the swing, creating a tremendous shearing or scything cut. This would be great for clearing even larger swaths of grasses, or for small saplings.

ph-0.jpg
 
FortyTwoBlades, many thanks for the excellent review and gorgeous pictures. I've been impressed with Condor for a while now, and they did not disappoint.

I have their Golok and Barong, both of which were surprising. I'm looking forward to getting a couple more of their designs. Next will be the Parang, and possibly one of their stainless steel machetes.
 
I live in Hollywood, where all of the supposedly 'famous' people live, although I haven't met any yet!!

I live in Hollywood, too, and yes, I've met famous people, but I'm in the industry so no surprise there.

And are you new to California? Lots of people think that California is nothing more than the coast between San Diego and Los Angeles. You're not far from a lot of wilderness around here. There's the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains, the high and low deserts, Big Bear, Idyllwild, etc. Go a little further north and there's Yosemite and the whole Sierra-Nevadas. And all kinds of places you can go hiking and camping up the coast. There's lots more wilderness than city in California, that's for sure.
 
FortyTwoBlades, many thanks for the excellent review and gorgeous pictures. I've been impressed with Condor for a while now, and they did not disappoint.

I have their Golok and Barong, both of which were surprising. I'm looking forward to getting a couple more of their designs. Next will be the Parang, and possibly one of their stainless steel machetes.

The stainless models are excellent, and are the only stainless machetes I trust. :thumbup:

Used the Bush Cutlass at work today to cut long sheets of paper, letter opener style. Worked great! Now those of you who work in an office setting have an excuse for needing one! :D :D :D

I love my job. :p
 
I like the looks of it, but I wouldn't use it. I don't doubt its abilities one bit, but I would want to take that with me. I may still get one just so I have it in case I do decide to use it. After all, the Zombies are coming :eek: :D
 
FortyTwoBlades, many thanks for the excellent review and gorgeous pictures. I've been impressed with Condor for a while now, and they did not disappoint.

I have their Golok and Barong, both of which were surprising. I'm looking forward to getting a couple more of their designs. Next will be the Parang, and possibly one of their stainless steel machetes.
I love the Golok and have been playing with a parang for a week now - it's sweet!
not as fast in the hand as the golok, but the thickness & edge geometry along with that extra 3" of blade makes all the difference in the world for trimming brush!
 
Has anyone ever laid into a tree with it? Most time your end up breaking your sword on tree but machetes do not break usually.
 
Has anyone ever laid into a tree with it? Most time your end up breaking your sword on tree but machetes do not break usually.

The blade is too light for anything more than 1" thick--it's designed for taking densely-packed green foliage and vegetable matter (which it excels at) but will bounce off of the thick stuff. I'd like to see another version of it with a heavier blade, for variety. Maybe with a Turkish kilij-styled blade. :cool:

As is, it's THE BEST companion to have with you when blackberry picking. :D:thumbup:
 
Just some info...

That particular handle style has been popular with the Germans for a long time. As an example, here's a German Lionhead Officers sword from WW1:

DSCN0564.jpg


The Nazis were also big fans. If you simply google German Lionhead Sword, you will see many examples.

Here's one you can buy freshly made for the German military:

http://www.wkc-solingen.de/newshop/lowenkopfsabel.html

Rob
 
Hah--I was wondering if it was a direct copy of a particular model. I knew that general design scheme was popular with the Germans and British, but hadn't been able to track down one that had the exact same hilt configuration. Thanks for that!

On a related note, someone could have fun painting the hilt on one of the Bush Cutlasses--there are some pretty decent gold-tinged paints out there these days.
 
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