CondorBushlore Knife - Bushcraft Knife - 1075 High Carbon Steel - Walnut Handle - Scandi Grind - Small Fixed Blade Knives - Hand Crafted Leather Sheath - 3mm Thick - 4.3in Blade - 6.1 oz

DISCLAIMER:This is my first Condor knife, and I am already in love with this company. The knife arrived in a simple, but attractive box along with full company contact information and complete mini-catalog.SHEATH: + * * * * *is made of veg-tanned 9oz leather (very heavy and incredibly durable, for those who don't know leather by oz weight), and is riveted top and bottom, and it bears the patented Condor 'condor' emblem printed into the leather. In between the rivets is wax-cord stitching to preserve the triple-thick leather edge. *Try to avoid getting the sheath too wet, as leather holds moisture deep and for a long time. If you do get the sheath wet, wipe clean and heat-dry, then cool to room temperature before returning the knife to its sheath. You'll read why below. **FIVE STARS**BLADE: + * * * *is a full-tang CARBON STEEL design with a factory edge razor out of the box, which holds up very well even under bush-whacking duress. Make sure you have gun-oil handy as carbon steel (unlike stainless) will rust easily if exposed to weather. Read note above regarding the care and upkeep of leather sheaths/holsters. My one negative remark here is that the blade has a deep imprint reading "Condor" on one facet, and "El Salvador" (their factory location) on the opposite facet. These deep letter prints are not a good idea on carbon steel (In my opinion) since they 'pocket' water and can easily rust if the water is not quickly removed and the blade oiled. THIS IS NOT A NOVICE or ENTRY-LEVEL KNIFE! Use it daily> be prepared to care for it daily. You cannot use it and then leave it for a week before upkeep-care. **FOUR STARS**HANDLE: + * * * *is what Condor calls 'hickory-type,' but it is made out of a hardwood similar to hickory, which comes from South America. Again, have your gun-oil handy. Out of the box, the handle was properly dried, but it took several applications of oil, drinking deeply before it finally darkened up to what I would call a 'healthier' patina. Don't get me wrong. Condor got this right. I would rather have the wood factory-dry than factory-oiled. I prefer to apply my own products than to have a company apply them for me. Just be aware that this is a step you will need to take quickly. You wouldn't want water to soak into the dry wood and create rusting issues with the rear of the tang. Would've preferred genuine hickory, so **FOUR STARS**APPLICATIONS: + * * * * *The day I took it out of the box, one of my boys shaved the hair off his arm. This is common. Any factory can deliver a sharp edge, right? Sure! But how about after I've already hacked through a bunch of maple boughs to hew arrows for my boy's homemade bow? ...That's what I thought. The second application came after I had to dispatch a deer caught in one of our barb-wire fences. Without graphic details, the knife performed with razor-edged precision and the exactness I would demand from a MUCH more expensive knife. I've hacked limbs, cut through plastic- thick and thin, field-dressed animals, butchered animals, and even hewed fresh bone! ...Then I finally sharpened the knife! **FIVE STARS**SHARPENING: + * * * *the Bushlore holds an exceptional edge, but once sharpening is necessary, I suggest an oil-stone, heavy on the oil. It took awhile to smooth away the horizontal factory grind-lines, (They seemed a little on the deep side, hence the four stars) but once I did, I was able to easily float the edge and smooth away the excess. It took very little dressing to have the knife sharper than it was out of the box. **FOUR STARS**OVERALL 22 of Nater's 25 stars = ExceptionalCONDOR INFORMATION:This company, which was founded in 1787 in Germany, was one of the preeminent cutlery manufacturers of that time, and helped Germany rise to fame as the finest blade-manufacturing country in the world. Their traditions and original designs, along with many new cutting-edge innovations, remain today, almost 230 years later. Now factory-based in El Salvador, they continue to turn out simplistic, unassuming quality of the highest order.IN CLOSING:Everyone who has read my reviews of (especially) HELLE KNIVES of Norway knows that I am very high on that company. No one makes a more beautiful knife in that price-range, in my opinion. I mention them now because I believe I have found a comparable match, but for a quarter the cost. For durability and field-usefulness, CONDOR soars above the rest. Since I do survival hikes every year, practicality and longevity are the highest considerations. This is a uniquely valuable knife to me. Having the knife now, I would gladly pay twice as much to repurchase if I lost it.*This is a hacking jungle-type knife: hence the name, Bushlore. Many of Condor's knives are of this design, and most of their products are designed with South-American usage in mind. However, the Bushlore's durability makes it a perfect fit for a more rugged, North-American 'survival' situation in which you might need to hack, chop, eviscerate, self-defend, wedge or spear. The Condor Bushlore knife will do it all, and then beg for more. Thank you, Condor, for making an exceptional tool. If this was a ten-star rating system, the CONDOR BUSHLORE would get ALL 10Thanks for reading. Let me know if this review was helpful to you.-NATER

Purchased through Amazon for $30.35 with free shipping. The Condor Bushlore knife is a rough copy of one that Ray Mears had custom made by a smith in Sweden. The pattern seems to be ubiquitous in ‘bush craft’ knives made by other companies. I purchased this knife to replace a Helle ‘Symphoni’ which was a pretty darn good woods knife, but just not thick enough for my taste. My wife had been eyeballing the Helle because of its curly birch handle anyway, so I saw my chance and she happily approved the purchase. The blade length is 4 5/16” with a thickness of 1/8”. It has a Rockwell Hardness of 56-58, a blasted satin finish and an overall length of 9 5/16”. One side of the blade is stamped “El Salvador” and the other with the company name. Both stampings are modest in size. The grind resembles the much vaunted ‘Scandi’ or Scandinavian type and runs about 3/8” wide. The grind goes nearly all the way from the tip to the handle where it leaves a ricasso of about 3/16”. It has a drop point profile that very nearly resembles a spear point so the point is at the center of the blade. The knife has a full tang, which is a must for me. The very dense and dark colored wood used for the scales is simply described as, “hardwood” in the catalogue. The scales are attached with two 3/16” brass pins and the handle has a brass lined lanyard hole 1/4” from the end.The sheath was a disappointment though, but not because of any defect. I was a little let down that there was absolutely no reason to make a new one, which I often do when I acquire a knife. The leather on the sheath is heavy and the welt is thick enough to more than accommodate the blade and protect the stitching, which is tight and runs between 4 and 5 stitches per inch. The coffee colored leather is riveted top and bottom with good quality, silver colored rivets, not the cheap ones with the hole in the back. The sheath is stamped with a Condor logo about the size of a thumbprint and holds the knife in a solid grip by friction. This last feature is important to me because I prefer not to have a retaining strap on what I call my “handy” knives. I like being able to simply reach for it and pull it out. For that reason I prefer to have a sheath that is form fitted, tight, and deep enough to hold at least the lower third of the handle, that ensures the knife won’t fall out on its own, the Bushlore’s sheath goes up the handle about half way.The Condor Bushlore knife is made of 1075 carbon steel, which seems to be a standard offering in the Condor line and came out of the box, literally, shaving sharp. That’s no real feat nowadays since I’ve seen $8.00 Pakistani “survival” knives do the same. This one though, unlike the Pakistani and Chinese offerings, held an edge. After carving out a spoon, a figure four trapping trigger, half a dozen fuzz sticks and batoning several pieces of 3” ash the edge was still sharp enough to do more. It only took a few strokes on an Arkansas fine stone to return it to shaving sharp. The edge, after examination with a 20X magnifying lens, appeared to take the use and abuse without bending, chipping, or cracking. All in all, I’ve got to say that I’m very pleased with this knife. It’s a solid tool and I’d be comfortable with it anywhere. While this knife is a straightforward affair without any fancy embellishments, I’d gladly take it, over some other knives that I’ve owned and used that cost four and five times as much.As far as the company is concerned, there are posts in forums elsewhere, describing its location, history &c. An item of great interest to me with any company I do business with is consumer relations and from my experience, CTK is very responsive. For example, I had a concern about their Claw Shovel that I purchased and was contacted within hours, via an email from Condor’s National Sales Manager, Richard Jones, who requested my shipping address so they could ship me a replacement.The improvements that Condor has made over the years to this specific knife are in direct response to concerns expressed by the “Bushcrafting community” ( boy I hate that word ‘community’ but it’s so useful), such as fit and finish of the scales. More impressive to me though, they changed both the grind of the blade and its thickness, in response to customer input. Just a final note, this company is not going to stay in the bush-leagues, if you’ll pardon the pun. I suspect that as word travels, they will gain a well-deserved reputation for quality products, then prices will go up with demand, just like a lot of other companies have done. I intend to keep them on my buy-from list and avoid the price hikes.

Great camping knife used and abused and it has continued to be a staple in my camping kit