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Pros: Weight, Handle Material, Overall Quality, Blade Material, Sheath/Scabbard, Materials, Finish
Cons: Sheath/Scabbard, Blade Sharpness
VERY Condor....ish
I waited a LONG time for these to finally get to the shipping stage, wanted one from the first moment I saw it. I bought this knife with Bushcraft in mind....if that helps understand the mindset of this review. The knife is not typical Cold Steel high speed low drag type gear, these are very handmade...warts and all.... they have a great " not mass produced " feel to them and as a whole, remind me of something i would expect to get from Condor. Which IMHO, is not a bad thing. The handle is a touch thick, it could benefit from some sandpaper to round off the squareish handle and make the whole thing fit the end user a little better. The blade comes sharp, but Condor sharp, not Cold Steel sharp.... it has a working edge one would expect from a knife this size for woods work, but not a Youtube phonebook paper Pushcut review level of sharpness..... IMHO, exactly where it needs to be to be useful and yet keep the edge as strong as possible to help prevent damage. My handle scales did not have issues ( other than being a bit ....large for my already large hands ) but again, i think that would be easily fixed with some sandpaper mindlessly fiddling till it felt right in the evenings.... they stayed tight and well attached thru the initial test abuse. It is probably worth mentioning due to my rush to receive the item, i ordered direct from CS on this one, so, disclaimer.... The Steel is typical mid grade high carbon, comes packed in grease to prevent rust, I suggest you take that as a sign and keep it well oiled. It has mass and shape enough to chop and baton well, pointy tip enough to be able to " small knife " well.... the knife honestly is a beast, imho about as good a 1 knife bushcraft option as i have seen in a long while... The sheath is.... VERY Condorish as well.... good thick leather, GOOD leather, not that press and glue stuff... mine came a little tight at the mouth, but a few minutes with some baseball glove oil and a wooden dowel had it able to accept the knife as it should and retain it well enough that i do not worry about loosing it... my only complaint on the sheath is the buckles are IMHO turned the wrong way for ME ....but are sewed on so i can not flip them. In all, if you have ever owned a Condor ANYTHING, you know what you are getting....is it a finished product?... not REALLY... but that's a bonus imho so you can shape that handle to fit YOUR hand .... not mine... At the going price point, being inline with some of Condor's offerings in this same size that require the exact same .... finishing touches .... i think it is exactly what it should be.... and nothing else. all just IMHO... and I don't mind spending an hour on a new blade to make it mine....exactly the way I want it for MY use.... so, just understand its not perfect, which is why IMHO its perfect....
