Condor Tool & Knife Outdoor Machete with Walnut Handle

First, let me state my history with machetes. I live in 9 acres of jungle in Hawaii. I own multiple different types, styles, and weights of machetes and have logged many hundreds of hours using them to perform duties like making trails, clearing brush, and removing trees. This machete is my favorite. It has enough heft and thickness to the blade to easily take down 4-5 inch hardwood limbs or trunks. Straight from the factory it was sharp enough to clear smaller problems like uluhe ferns. I have a great machete sharpener which restores this blade to kitchen-knife sharpness in three pulls. If you would miss your target and carelessly strike your shin or companion with this machete, somebody will be going to the emergency room for stitches. This is a serious machete for professionals. I have read some reviews that complained about the thickness or weight of this unit, and I think they don't appreciate the type of user this machete was made for. I waited several months to write this review to see how the steel holds up. There are no nicks or pitting on the blade edge from use or sharpening. If you are a serious connoisseur of a working blade, the quality and value of this cannot be beat. It has the versatility for larger brush and enough sharpness for the thinner problems, making it great for mixed uses. If you have no thick brush in your machete needs, or are not an experienced user, you might want to look for something with a thinner blade or less heft, but for me, its perfect. If you need a machete that has the blade edge for light work but also enough thickness and heft to do the job of a hatchet or small axe, and have the experience to use it safely, THIS is the machete for you. Update: I've had this machete for a few years now and the blade is still in awesome condition. It has a pit or two where I got careless and hit a rock or something but so far this tool has far exceeded my expectations. A few months ago my wife borrowed this machete and lost it and I was seriously bummed. I came here to order a replacement and they were out (they have since come back in stock). I felt almost like I had lost an old friend. A few weeks later I found it out in the yard in a stump. I could tell it had been in the weather but it cleaned right up.

I have purchased less expensive machetes but many are not heat treated or have lower grade steel. This has 1075 carbon steel. There are others that make 1085 and 1095 Steel but they cost even more. This is a well made one, and I consider this the bare minimum for a usable machete. I use my machetes to trim brush, saplings, and tall weeds. I also use it like an ax to chop off branches. We live on just under 8 acres so we have a lot of foliage, trees, etc. This design is based out of Malaysia where their brush is much thicker. The blade has three main segments: forend for skinning animals, the mid segment for chopping and the rear for carving. The grip is a hardwood with a flared out square bottom that tapers towards the top of the grip. Because of the balance, I hold this past the flared bottom for more control. This has a black coating which protects against blinding glare when working in the sun. The edge is exposed. Balance is excellent and I have great control. It is always best to swing in an arc or direction that moves away from the other hand, your face, and body. This is not designed for a novice, as it can likely and severely injure you. A bounce back or a chop that comes towards you can have deleterious and disastrous effects. For a machete, this is as heavy as they come. It is very durable with respect to the blade and edge. I have used it to chop and cut with ease. An unintentional glancing blow at a boulder, and it dented the edge, slightly. Lesser blades would have been rendered useless, broken, or badly bent. This has a leather sheath with two brass snaps. Because of the flared fore end, it would be difficult to make a design that would fit with just one snap. The sheath has a nice belt loop which swivels on a button. It is comfortable and keeps the machete out of the way when walking around the property. Because this has no sharp point, it is more of a chopper, slasher and cutter, as opposed to a stabbing type of blade. If you need to stab, then it is best to go with a baring, Bowie, Tanto or Latin style machete. Overall, I'm very pleased with the design. It's tough and it is a great chopper/hacker.

This full tang machete is a beast and well worth the price as long as you don't want a fast blade. On the blade: Blade thickness goes from .20 by handle, 017 midway down the 17 1/4" blade to .14 by tip. Told you it was a beast. My file skipped so it looks well hardens and will keep an edge. Came sharp with very fine grinding marks, much finer than I expected. Blade was easy to clean up, I used with 200 then 400 grit, could go finer but didn't need to. Should be easy to make to extremely sharp. Balance point is 4" above handle on the 17.25" blade so this isn't a fast machete but you wouldn't expect it due to the blade thickness. You could thin the blade to make it faster but then it wouldn't be a beast anymore. On the handle: As I said above, it's full tang through the handle. Nicely finished hard wood, used some shock sheen and conditioner but really didn't need to. 3 very smooth, good size and flush rivets attaches handle to blade, very study, no burrs. Large lanyard brass fitting. Handle diameter is small at the front, good fit with gloves otherwise you may want to wrap. This is why I gave it 4 stars for ergonomics. On the sheath: 2 sturdy size snaps on substantial leather straps. Looks like good quality leather, well stitched and riveted. Gave it a coating with Neats Foot oil, very little needed on outside, more obviously on inside. Overall this machete is rock solid, holds a sharp edge and cuts great. Just be prepared to get a work out.

This is my third Condor purchase, they are a little expensive for machetes, true, but they are half the price of Traditional Filipino Weapons. They are thick bladed, full tang, high carbon steel, well forged and well honed (at least all mine have been). I still sharpen mine regularly using ceramic rods, but anyone who buys an edged weapon and thinks they will never have to sharpen it, is fooling themselves. The black protective coating is very tough, though not infallible; I split an old, very hard 1" thick hardwood board down the center with my Golok, not realizing there was an old nail in the center, the machete had no problem cleaving the nail, there was no blade damage (though I did have to re-sharpen), but the black coating chipped a little on both sides where the two halves of the nail scraped by. I am thankful Condor uses a coating, since the blades are good quality, high-carbon steel, they can rust. On to my complaint, and it's not a minor one to some people: the finish of the handle was terrible in comparison to my other two. I realize that their knives are hand sanded on a sanding belt, and it appears the worker was new to sanding handles (just a theory); the handle was poorly chosen wood from a heavily knotted piece, the sanding was uneven at best, and the butt of the handle were burnt black where the sander hits the end-grain (a common problem with hardwood). The brass rivets also have some burrs due to the poor sanding. It's not a problem for me, I will hand sand it for a few hours until it's immaculate then refinish it; the knotty hardwood will look beautiful when I am finished. I will post some pics. This experience confirms what others have said about quality control, Condor needs more. By the way: I love the open-top sheath with this one, so much more that the traditional sheath with the Golok, but the lower snap strap is unnecessary, I keep it unsnapped and the strap turned 90 degrees behind the sheath, out of my way. I wore this thing about 10 hours on Saturday, working in the yard, very, very comfortable carry!

Much nicer than I was expecting. Fit and finish is surprisingly good, grinds were even, handle smooth with no gaps. The sheath is not a style I prefer but it was also a pleasant surprise, being nicely made of good material. This tool is bargain. It arrived dull but sharpened up quickly, taking a sharp smooth edge. I've long used machetes of various sizes, and even kukris, for trail maintenance and for dealing with rosebushes and tall weeds. Light tool are best for cutting small stuff, and heavy tools are best for cutting heavy stuff. Using the right tool for the job is always the best way to go. In my experience, the kukris are best for the heavier woody stuff, machetes are best for all-around use, and this parang is the best for light use - tall grasses, rose bushes, and thin woody things not much bigger than a quarter inch around. I found that it glided through the thin stuff and was less fatiguing than a similarly-sized machete, but I had to struggle with it to get through even fairly soft branches that were a half-inch thick or more. Happily, the edge did not deform or chip, and it remained sharp. The ergonomics and balance are spot-on.

This is a very effective machete. Not too heavy but it still packs a punch due to the heavy front end. The hardwood handle is much nicer than I ever imagined. I am a carpenter and wood worker and this is some species of walnut or pecan. These people obviously know their business. There is not even a hairline gap anywhere that wood, brass and steel join, and the whole grip is well finished and finely sanded. Thick brass rivets, brass lanyard hole and ,Full tang construction. Thick high carbon steel with an extremely sharp blade. It may look thin at the base...but you will have a hard time breaking..or even bending it. Last but not least, the black finish is not paint. It is either baked or annealed on to the sides of the blade, I don't know, but it is on to stay! That I can tell you. It may sound stupid, but the extremely well made leather sheath is worth the $50.00 by itself. I am buying another one for the second pack. If I left anything out please feel free to message me. I am putting this Parang to many tests.

I have had this sexy beast for 2 months now. It came semi-sharp, and dulled fairly quickly. I was able to get it sharp relatively quickly, but did not want to invest the time to put a proper convex angle on the cutting blade. So I took it to a local cutlery sharpener who also does hatches etc. I spent $15 and 30 min to get an excellent edge worthy of the Parang. Before I had it sharpened it cut anything small with ease. Now that it is properly sharpened, the entire forest has been reduced to butter when I unsheath this baby. This 17 1/2 is meant for the skilled and the brave. This knife is no joke and u must think before you swing, especially when inexperienced. You could take your foot off with this thing if not careful. The size is perfect for the harder to reach, for keeping a nice distance from sticker bushes and poison vines, and also great for generating more power for thicker bush. The sheath is made from thick black leather and is durable however the overall design allows the Parang to slide out 3" exposing about 1/2" of the tang at the beginning of the handle. It sounds dangerous but it's still safe, it's just something to keep in mind when unsheathing.

! C'mon, Condor! You guys make the best stuff at your price point, but that older parang was perfect. Please bring it back and I'll buy one tomorrow. This was a phenomenal blade. You'd never find anything of comparable quality and size for less than three times its cost. But you screwed it up. Now it's on a par with kershaw's 18" and that sort of blade. I gave it three stars because I have actually purchased two of these, and the new one is way thinner. The first one I got was a quarter inch wide all the way to the end. I was so impressed! It was the toughest working blade in my collection, including swords from Cheness and Cold steel, to name a few. In fact, I was so impressed that I gave it to my best friend who is a real aficionado and works in the woods. He was thrilled and I ordered a new one. When the new one came, I noted that it was lighter. When I unboxed it, it was obvious that the folks at Condor Had made a grevious error. The blade thickness in the handle was the same, but it immediately tapered to a thin profile. This knife is literally a third as thick as the old one, maybe less. The old one would have taken so much more lateral stress than I could muster, no problem. This one... Not so much. That being said, it's still a great knife. The thinner profile is better suited to slashing succulent plants but still tough enough to chop some on the heavier materials. If you bought one of these a year ago, don't expect the same on your second go-round.

Es ist ein wirkliches Schwergewicht und lässt sich daher auch nicht "leicht" führen, top verarbeitet, super schön anzusehen, guter Griff aber eben Topplastig und schwer zu handhaben ... nix für den Anfänger ... Maraming Salamat

This is a beautiful tool. feels good in the hand nice and hefty end weight. Sheath is beautiful well made with 3 swivle points 1 for the belt loop and the other 2 for buttons that hold the blade in place . also the sheath holds The blade very tightly and it will not be a quick draw so don't expect to be whipping it out . The Handel is beautiful wood. But the tang is not Smooth with the wood But is not really that bad if you don't have soft hands or hockey tape .. But it does feel like it wants to slide out of your hand when you swing the hockey tape would help with that issue giving yoI better grip. And the 3 pins that hold the wood to the tang stick out a little . again some sanding would remove this .. I am told that condor knifes are prone to rust so a bottle of glueing will solve that . highly suggest it . the blade withstands a good amount of force with still no dents . and was capeable of sliceing cardboard with little resistance but I did see att the end of the blade at the very tip there is a slight imperfection that I think is just a manufacturing defect but again like the Handel seems easy to remove and again . not really an issue . overall this seems like a great product and would highly recommend . the videos don't truly show what it is like to have one in your hands and yes it was worth it . good luck 👍

Excelente relación entre tamaño y peso

Also zuerstmal super das die leder scheide dabei war bei anderen shops kosted die nämlich extra. diese ist aus stabilenm Leder und schön verarbeited. zur Machete/Parang selbst: -sehr stabil verabeited richtig gutes metall die ein oder anderen lack flecken am (echt) Holzgriff aber die sind nach den ersten arbeits minuten verschwunden. -Äste von mehr als Daumen dicke sind mit einem Hieb ab, wunderbar! - Auch Bäume von schienbeindicke sind in ein paar geziehlten schlägen zerteilt und entlaubt -Problematisch ist allerdings das gewicht, zugegben ich bin kein kraftsportler aber auch kein schmalhanz und bin es nicht gewohn mit der machete zu arbeiten daher tut mir der arm nach einer knappen stunde schon weh und musste das stuzen einstellen. Fazit: Sehr gute Machete für grobe Arbeite (evtl sogar zum holz spalten geignet), aber wer nur ein paar Buchsstäucher beseitigen möchte sollte lieber eine kleinere machete zur hand haben weil einem diese sonst abfällt :D evtl wirds mit etwas training auch besser

This is the favourite of all my blades. It's weighted very nicely, and the quality is just amazing. It's a little tough to get it in and out of the sheath for a little while until the sheath softens up a bit, but very very minor, considering the price you'll pay for the machete and sheath (best price found was Amazon btw with free shipping) Even if you just buy this to hang in your closet waiting for the zombie apocalypse, you won't be able to stop looking at it and showing it to your friends. Very solid, strong, and comes hand sharpened perfectly for a machete. Handle feels amazing. Maybe a little paracord loop just in case, cuz she's a little heavy. Thanks,