Condor Bushlore 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

TL;DR Condor's quality control has improved, the knife came ready out of box and, and is a great all around blade for the common man who's watching their pack weight in the deep woods while hunting but need a dependable blade that can both prepare game and split wood if needed.Long part: I don't need to go too into detail about this knife, but I will say that Condor has really improved the quality of products they put out. For a while Condor was known amongst us almost as a project company, you'd by a solidly built tool but need to sharpen (sometimes even grind) it yourself really. My Kephart has been a constant companion (along with my old butcher knife and my Mora Classic) for many years now, but out of box I needed to do some sanding to make the Kephart's tip symmetrical and heavily sharpen it. Great steel and was a great little blade after some work. Mora's are almost always perfect out of box.I stayed far away from the old Bushlore, but the newer design as others have said the is not only better but in my opinion should be an industry standard for blades at this price point. Mine came with almost perfect symmetrical geometry (the cutting grind was perfect, the tip grind was a hair higher on one side but the tip is perfectly straight), was effortlessly able to take hair off my arm, and a perfect 90 degree spine for a ferro rod OR shaving bark. Keep it up Condor.As far as the design, the philosophy of use behind this knife is for Bushcraft and camp tasks, though would be perfectly functional for hunting (which I plan on doing a lot). Blades of this size should be complemented with an axe or hatchet if possible, but if needed this blade can baton wood (split wood by hammering it with a piece of wood). I love my Mora and my rummage sale picked butcher knife, but when hunting in the backcountry you want to keep your pack weight under 30 (or 25) lbs, your rifle or bow included. With a partial tang blade like a Mora or a thin blade like my butcher knife, you'll want to bring an axe or saw as well for processing wood. For small game and carving a Mora is perfection, but for deer or emergency fire making I want a more durable and slightly larger blade. Which is why I think the slightly higher price you pay for the Bushlore is just as an exceptional value as a Mora is.If you don't do a lot of backcountry hunting/bushcraft, a Mora will serve you well, especially for you Ultra-Light people. The Mora Bushcraft Black is also great but more expensive than the Condor Bushlore. If you're hunting close to your vehicle or base camp, you could bring an even larger hunting knife like a Buck or a KaBar plus an axe and dedicated skinning or carving knife because weight isn't as much of a concern. The Bushlore is an all around tool for the common man and one that fits the bill for one watching their pack weight deep in the woods but needs a durable blade for both large game and bushcraft, one I will pass on to my children most likely.I've done a bit of testing in the week I've had it, feathering wood, batoning wood (a test, not a practice), and cutting food. So far it functions just as well as my Mora and will be able to withstand abuse in the field if needed.10/10, couldn't be made better for its intended use without increasing the price. Will be coming with me from now on.

You simply can't beat this knife for the money. An excellent bushcraft knife even at a much higher price point. Anyone who knows about bushcraft knives knows about Condors Bushlore. Why pay 2-3 times as much for another knife that won't do anymore than this knife? Go out and Google this knife and you will find nothing but positive reviews from various sites that review these types of knives.The blade is plenty thick with a nice sized wood handle that offers plenty of grip. Made of tough steel that will take a beating and comes with a top notch leather sheath that (as others have pointed out) alone is worth the price of the knife. The sheath is a friction style sheath that holds the knife very securely. In fact, I questioned whether or not my knife would fit in the sheath when I first got it (I thought at first they had sent me the wrong sheath). But it indeed fits, and fits securely. I actually had to use a fair bit of force to get the knife into the sheath the first time and get it stretched enough. But the sheath fits the knife like shrink wrap. Not sure about their earlier sheaths, but I got a new (2014) model. The sheaths are made from a thick very nice quality leather that has a substantial welt. Overall, the combo is the best deal out there.Condor has also apparently changed their logo (on sheaths at least) because mine came with a new logo embossed on the sheath (see my photo uploaded to this ad). The new logo is a shield shape outline with the bust of a condor in the center. It is definitely not the same logo that is on my other sheaths (or what is pictured on other customer uploaded photos).Overall you simply can't beat this deal in overall quality, fit and finish versus price.

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.