Condor Tool & Knife Survival Machete with Walnut Handle

I bought this Condor after becoming frustrated trying to put a decent edge on a Gerber machete. My brush-cutting tasks are not really rigorous, but the Gerber seemed better-suited for use as a club, especially after my wife almost destroyed the edge on a bench grinder, then finished it off by trying to saw her way through a stone, ruining both the stone and the blade. I never managed to bend the blade, but I had heard of others doing so. It is probably not fair to compare this machete directly with the Gerber, but that is where my experience lies. In any event, the Condor trumps the Gerber in almost every respect. First off, it is beautifully crafted. The hardwood handle is perfectly matched to the tang. The wood seemed a bit dry in places, but a little beeswax I had handy gave it a semi-matte satin finish. The blade is sharp right out of the box. Some reviewers have described the Condor products as "kit knives" that needed a bit of work to get a sharp edge, but my example needed nothing. The blade is thick, about 6mm at the handle, tapering to 2-3mm near the point. There is no way you will bend this blade short of putting it in a hydraulic press. The grind is convex, not unlike an axe. I found it to make short work of branches up to about 5/8" in diameter, usually in a couple of swings if I placed the second one right. Some of the thicker brush would probably go easier with pruning shears, but the sheath makes the machete easier to carry than a pruner, leaving my hands free for other chores as I work. I didn't try too much chopping, but the heft and grind of the blade suggest it should perform in this regard. In contrast to the cordura sheath that comes with the Gerber, the Condor sheath is nicely made of thick, heavy leather. It holds the blade securely by friction. It has an oiled black finish, and has the Condor crest embossed on the front. The belt loop pivots on a stud, so that the sheath can swing out of the way if you sit down. If you look around, you can find the machete alone for about half the price of the machete and sheath together, but the sheath is a good value, and worth paying extra for. Of course, the thick blade means a heavy knife, which helps it do its work, but at the same time makes it pretty heavy to lug around. The handle shape does not help in this regard. It is thick and almost round in cross-section, rather than oval as many other machetes. The combined effect is that the Golok feels like quite a load in the hand. On balance, though, this is a very nice tool, capable of doing a lot of work while being very nice to look at and to handle. Update: After using the Golok for a year or so. I am giving it a fifth star. It is simply a fierce brush-clearing implement. I love this thing. Update 7/17: the Golok has proven to be a great chopper. I used it to take down a 4" Chinese elm, not the best tool for the job, but if it is what you have with you, it's good to know it can get it done. Not the best tool for grasses, either, a lighter Salvadoran machete or Tramontina will let you work longer without tiring, but the Golok will do the job. It really comes into its own on medium-sized brush, up to a couple of inches in diameter. I have tried a lot of other machetes since I bought the Golok, but this one gets the call for a pretty wide range of conditions.

I finally got a chance to use my new Golok. Great tool. Cuts small brush/limbs, weeds and vines. Bulbous handle makes you feel secure swinging this and for most use blade speed is your best friend. A major plus for this is the cost of the machete. You can find cheaper machetes out there, but this is thick enough to be a serious tool. The blade steel is of a quality that likewise is befitting a serious tool. As a user, you want a tool that is constructed of a hard enough material that it stays sharp, but tough enough to not break. A similar tradeoff on costs. Buy a quality tool, but not one that costs so much you won't use it. This Condor hits that sweet spot for me. (I give that advice especially for myself!) I love my quality Spyderco knives but often reach for a cheapie when I'm going to do "real" work. My first day's use included some sprout trimming. For that, I want to cut close to the ground. I'm not going to use my Cold Steel Gurkha Kukri with Kraton Handle that way for doing everyday chores! Yep, I hit the dirt, even some rocks. All in a day's work for this. Just like I'd use a hoe or shovel. I'll nick the blade. It sharpens easily enough. There is some concern for how narrow this blade is down near the handle. Condor has done a nice job of tapering the blade thickness. I measured the width of the blade, estimating the center of the sharpened bevel back to the spine. Nearest the handle my Golok is 1 inch wide and 0.24 inches thick. Out near the tip, I got 1.75 wide and 0.115 thick. My point was to try and figure the weight distribution by calculating the cross sectional area of the blade at a couple of points. (Near midpoint of blade, the figures are 1.38" by 0.165") Calculated cross sectional areas were, starting nearest handle were 0.23 in^2, 0.23 in^2 and 0.20 in^2. Again you face compromise. Heavier near the tip gives greater cutting power. But a thinner blade cuts more easily. What I found is the blade is actually heavier back near the handle, but not by much. The greater thickness helps avoid bending blade, of course. Oh, yes, I spray my Golok with WD 40 or whatever is handy. It'll get rusty soon enough, but it's still new, so I want to delay my neglect for until next time. I like this tool!

I've been swinging machetes for around 25 years now. I've been through various brands. Some of them I've given up on and others just didn't hold up through the years. This is by far the best I have ever owned. This machete arrived brand new and in retail packaging. It was boxed up and packaged very well. The machete was wrapped in plastic and not even inserted in the sheath. The sheath is separately wrapped in plastic and everything was inside the factory box. I've heard and read so many good things about Condor machetes. After deciding on this Golok for it's size and shape, I found that what everyone is saying is absolutely true. This will be the last machete I will be needing in this size. If I ever do get another machete it will be another Condor, and only because I might want one of their larger sizes. The machete is sharp right out of the box. It is a good size for throwing in a backpack or clearing limbs out of a trail. I have been using it a lot in both of those scenarios. The handle is still very firmly attached to the blade. No loose handle like you would find with cheaper machetes. The blade is thick and solid. You aren't going to shake the blade and make that metal warbling sound that you can with cheap machetes. I like the design of the handle. The curved design with the bigger and thicker end keeps the machete in place in my hand throughout use. It is very comfortable to hold and use throughout the day. My hand is not fatigued after an extended period of use. The leather sheath is the best I have ever seen. It is so well constructed. This is definitely worth every penny. I can't stand the cheap nylon sheath that you typically get with a machete. This leather sheath gets used a lot. It's either protecting the blade from cutting stuff in my backpack or allowing me to carry on my side. I don't put the sheath on my side if I'm going to be doing a lot of sitting, it does swivel and allow you to sit, but for me it is mostly when I'm going to be out in the woods. One day I left the machete in the floorboard of my car overnight and into the next day. We had a very cold night and a hot day. The temperature fluctuation caused moisture to build up on the metal and retain in the leather sheath. When I pulled the machete out it had a little bit of rust at the edge of the blade. A little sanding and the rust is gone. This was my fault. I'm not used to the leather and metal combination . I won't be leaving it in a place where the temperature will fluctuate rapidly. My car may have had a little moisture in the floorboard as well. I'm not an expert at sharpening things. This edge is one of the easiest edges to work with for me. I have a puck with some honing oil that I use on all yard equipment. I've been using the puck on this machete and can keep it very sharp. Like I said, I'm no expert and can still keep a good edge on it. If you are reading this without an edit then the machete is still working fine and everything is holding up well. If anything changes I will update this review. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Packaged well. No issues with sheath. 2 minor issues with the knife. 1) micro bevel 2) uneven scales. Sharp convex edge out of the box but it had a micro bevel on one side. I beat the snot out of some Siberian Elm both green and seasoned and I also used it to baton some Russian Olive well seasoned and Sycamore well seasoned also and it batons nicely. Overall did great, cleared roots but tip is a bit thin for comfort but no damage. Micro bevel almost self resolved but it will be easy to clear up with some sand paper and a mouse pad. The wood scales look beautiful and feel great and really take boiled linseed oil well making the grain look almost 3d. The scales are not even as in the left side is thicker than the right. The feel is still great but I can still see the difference. Cosmetic issue only it seems so far. I like the knife a lot. It has replaced my Ontario Kukri 6420 as my EDC (after work) paired with a Mora 611. Handles saplings and de-branching trees with ease. Thinner and heavier but near identical length to the Ontario Kukri if anyone cares. Had there been even scales and no micro bevel it would be an easy 5 stars. Not worth sending back as it will be a beater and sharpened multiple times a week. I was disappointed with the scales being uneven but again only cosmetic and an easy fix if something fails in the future so it will suffice. Great tool for the money and I would and will recommend it. Only photos I have in this device all have the Kukri in it also, sorry. The golok had only had its first oil treatment on the scales in these photos and they were taken after first use on elm.

UPDATE (OCT 2015): So I've been using this machete for over 3 years and I'm even more convinced now just how outstanding Condor's products are. I own a couple of Condor knives but this one I've owned the longest and put it through the most abuse. Everything from splitting bullets to killing Rattlesnakes to chopping down one-foot thick trees, just to see how the machete would perform. And yes, I know there are more effective tools out there to chop down a tree but I wanted a challenge. However it turned out to be not much of a challenge after all. Overall I used the machete at least once a week in the great Pacific Northwest wilderness for the past three years and I have never been let down by Condor's superior reliability and design of this machete. As far as the sheath goes, It's very nice with thick leather and a premium feel to it. And the part that attaches to the belt swivels freely from the rest of the sheath which is nice for when you're moving around with the machete on your side. But all it took to break it was forgetting a couple of times that it was on my side while getting in my car. At first the hinge got a bit loose until it finally broke off. I contacted Condor about this and without hesitation they simply sent me a brand new sheath to replace the one with the broken hinge. This is awesome customer service and a company that truly stands behind its products. My original 5 star review remains 5 stars. I highly recommend this to anybody looking for a robust and high quality machete for doing actual work with and not just to look nice. ORIGINAL REVIEW (AUG 2012): I bought this machete in the spring after the handle in my cold steel latin machete broke. The golok feels very good in my hand and the bulb on the handle is very functional and keeps the large knife from slipping from my grasp. The steel is very high quality and is very thick compared to the cold steel latin machete. It chops like a boss; the thickest log I chopped with it was an 11 inch pine and the blade was still able to shave the surface of my finger nail.... (stayed very sharp). Overall I put it through a lot of use and abuse and it is holding up. I take it with me on every mountain and hike and I got used to the weight of it. May I add that you do have to take care of the blade because it rusts if it gets wet. It happened to me after a trip to camp muir(10,200 ft.) at Mt. Rainier and the knife got soaked from me glissading down the snow field, a day after which the edge of the blade got a thin layer of rust. But it wasn't anything 5 minutes of polishing couldn't fix. Overall buy this machete if you want it. You will realize how much more you should have wanted it after you use it.

My Golok just arrived via UPS and all I can say is wow. I purchased a piece of property early this year that has very dense undergrowth consisting largely of briars and small saplings. I knew I was going to need a bush knife of some sort so I went the cheap route and picked up your basic $10 off the shelf machete from a local big box store. Big mistake. The thing was flimsy, dull and wouldn't cut wet paper. I couldn't even begin to beat my way through the underbrush. Being the person I am I started researching and ended up deciding on the Golok style bush knife. This style is highly regarded in the survivalist community for it's ruggedness and versatility. From clearing brush to chopping down small trees to batoning wood, this knife will handle all with ease. Once I started trying to decide on the actual knife to purchase the Condor really caught my attention. I'm a bit of a knife junkie anyway so seeing that this was carbon steel I immediately knew that this would be able to take and hold an edge. The hardwood handle looked to be top quality as did the leather sheath so the decision to purchase this was easy. The knife arrived from BUDK Catalog three business days after placing my order so no disappointments there. It was nicely packaged with the blade wrapped in parchment and the entire knife in a plastic bag. One thing I expected was for the blade to be liberally oiled being carbon steel but it wasn't. Considering the black finish on either side of the blade leaving only the edge and spine exposed I suppose it's not a big deal. Everything was clean and shiny so I won't fault them for that. The blade itself arrived honed to a razor edge. Being 1/4" thick at the handle you would expect this to be pretty heavy, and while it does have a heft to it does't feel cumbersome. The bulbous handle adds some counterweight to the blade and overall it's pretty well balanced with the point of balance being 2 3/4" from the end of the handle. Not bad for a 14 1/4" blade, which is what mine measured. Since these are made by hand expect some variance in blade length. My initial impression is that they put just as much quality and attention to detail in the sheath as they did the knife. It's made using leather that's slightly over 1/8"thick and riveted in the corners. The belt loop pivots and the rivet is covered internally to prevent it from scratching the blade. Typically I'm a "buy it once" kind of guy and and will gladly pay a little more for quality. My first impression of this knife is that this will be with me for years to come and maybe even end up in the hands of a grandchild one day. The proof is in the pudding though so I still need to take out and abuse it. I'll add to my review once I've had that chance.

This is a nice versatile camp/utility blade. The blade as others have described is 11 inches long with an overall length of 17 inches. It feels good in your hand and has a nice heft to it which becomes useful when chopping some medium sized branches. I got this as a Christmas gift in 2016 and decided to chop some branches that were too close to the house. The branches were about 4 inches round but this blade brought them down in no time. It took about 12 good swings cutting the branch in a V pattern before the branch came down on its own weight. I cut the branch into some manageable pieces and then proceeded to baton the thickest log with the blade. The blade ripped the little log quickly and efficiently. The thickest part on the spine of the blade closest to the tang is about 1/4 inch tapering off to about an 1/8 inch toward the tip of the blade. I thought this blade would work great at a camp ground or out on a trail. The blade comes with a leather sheath with a belt loop riveted on as well as two snaps to keep the blade secure. As I was using it, I only kept the snap closest to the tang closed and left the middle snap loose for quicker access. I wish it came with a leather wrist loop since it does have a hole on the butt of the tang for a loop. Overall I am very happy with this gift, its a great blade with good sharp edge out of the box. I can't wait to use it on the camp ground, hope this review helps you in your decision. Thanks!

This is my first Condor, but I have been a fan of Schrade for years. The pictures don't do this knife credit. The finish is raw and hammered, and is absolutely beautiful! For the price, I was not expecting the fit and finish I got. The handle is well crafted and comfortable, and the steel starts at about 5mm of thickness at the tang, and tapers to he tip. You can tell it was hand ground, and remember that this is more of a hacking blade; don't expect to shave with it out of the box. I hate when people give knives bad ratings because they are not ground to the user's arbitrary standards right out of the box. There are a lot of different opinions on blade grinds, so if you're an edge snob, get used to the fact that you're never going to be happy that ALL knife manufacturers meet your expectations. Not every edge needs to be "shaving sharp". (Although I did shave a spot on my leg with this guy!) This edge is completely serviceable from the box, and I do not intend to sharpen it any further. It's a flat grind, no idea on the angle. All I know is that it is sturdy, comfortable and sharp. There's going to be variation, deal with it. Have no fear buying this knife. It's good quality, the price is right, and its looks are a definite plus. Before I forget, the sheath (I never put too much stock or judgement on sheaths) was amazing. Intelligently designed, beautiful, thick leather, and put together well! Order away!