What's the cheapest carbon steel full tang blade you can recommend?

For a few more $$ I would get the Ontario RD series. 1/4" thick full tang. I really like mine. I also have a Condor Rodan and BK2. The Condor Rodan is no joke. The Ranger beats them both.
 
With an inexpensive knife, it's not a question if it is perfect, but what faults you can correct or live with.
 
Aside from Condor for a 4.5-5" blade close to $50 check ontario RD/RBS 4 and afghan and the Becker BK16/17. Or a cold steel bushman or GI tanto for ~$25.
 
bdcochran said:
Condors are ok. Mine required some sharpening. About $30. Knives are just tools. The criteria were: 1. 1095 and 2. cheap. The answer then is the Condor. There are various models.

I will observe that many knives require sharpening right out of the box, except blades like the Mora. Then again, Mora doesn't use 1095.
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Unless it has changed Condor uses 1075 not 1095 also Mora uses a steel that is basically 1095 with a few more components added to it so many people call it 1095 because it is so close closer than 1075. Just wanted to clarify.
 
The Condor Hudson Bay knife is the most bang for your buck you can get. By far tougher than anything in it's price range or double it's price. Not the best cutting geometry, but it cuts fine, and chops well. You won't find anything better at the price it goes for.
 
Personally, I really like my Condor knives. I have Bushlore and Hudson Bay knives. Both are made with full tang, German 1075 high carbon steel blades (heat treated and annealed to about 56 - 58 Rockwell), have hardwood handle scales (similar to walnut), and come with very good quality durable & well made real leather sheaths.

What I personally find as a positive about Condor knives (some may find as a negative) is that the cost, compared to other brands, is kept within reach & reason and not wasted on over-rated fit & finish on the wood handle scales. Wood handle scales are well made, smooth, but fit is for general hand size/use. I like that because it gives me the control of customizing the shape it make it fit my hand.

It took me about 30-minutes to take a rotary tool with a deburring bit and shaped the hardwood handle scales on my Bushlore, sand it with fine sand paper, and rub in some Snow-Proof (leather boot conditioner with waxes and oils), warm it with a hair dryer to help it absorb in and bring out the wood grain, and it’s custom fitted to my hand – pricele$$ and customized.

For under $30, I get a fantastic knife made with great components, same warranty (limited lifetime warranty) as almost all other companies (except ESEE – the best warranty!), and it is 2 to 4 times or more less expensive than the other similar knives from other companies with similar products.

Hey … in the end, it’s your money and your choice, but for what you get, Condor Tool & Knife is very hard to beat. Blade grinds can be changed by you, handle scales can be shaped and customized by you (or changed out with a little simple tooling most of us can do), and you won’t kick yourself if you lose it or totally destroy it because you’re an idiot and misuse your tool.

Condor Tool & Knife’s history and roots are from Solingen, Germany (back to 1787 when Gerb Weyesberg Company was founded), made with state of the art German machinery, and many of the employees were trained in Solingen, Germany. The factory is in El Salvador (since 1964) because they can produce the same product for less money than others. They became Condor Tool & Knife in 2004 - same machinery, employees, and quality.

Personally, I’d rather buy U.S.A., but I’ll take a great product from El Salvador over China ANY day. Just my $0.02 worth.
 
Cold Steel Bushman will be about the best knife for the money that fits your needs. If you want something from Condor that would fit the bill, the Bushcraft Basic and Bushlore are both very reasonably priced for the knife, have very sharp blades, and are durable as heck. Look at the wood handled models for the best priced ones. None of the ones I mentioned will disappoint you.
 
lexif said:
I've only heard bad things about them so far.
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What have you heard that's bad? They are extremely durable, well built, convex edged, sharp as heck out of the box, come it every imaginable style, and are much cheaper than most any other knife for the money. The only brand that seems to be the same bang for the buck would be Mora.
 
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