Purchased through Amazon for $30.35 (USD) with free shipping. 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 lately, 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 grind is somewhat uneven in thickness as can be seen by reflecting light off the surface. I doubt that one could measure more than a few ten thousandths of an inch with a caliper and I can't feel the difference, only see it. So if your looking for manufacturing perfection, spend more. Thus far, it hasn't made an iota of difference in sharpness, durability or function.
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 wont fall out on its own, the Bushlores 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. Thats no real feat nowadays since Ive 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 much more and it did. After cutting some saddle leather for a new sheath (I broke down and made a Nordic style) 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, Ive got to say that Im very pleased with this knife. Its a solid tool and Id be comfortable with it anywhere. While this knife is a straightforward affair without any fancy embellishments, Id gladly take it over some other knives that Ive owned and used that cost four and five times as much.
As far as the company is concerned, there is information elsewhere on the net, such as the company web site, 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 Condors 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 its useful but overused), such as fit and finish of the scales. More impressive to me though, they changed both the grind angle of the blade as well as its type and thickness, in response to customer input. Just a final note, this company is not going to stay in the bush-leagues, if youll 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.
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 wont fall out on its own, the Bushlores 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. Thats no real feat nowadays since Ive 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 much more and it did. After cutting some saddle leather for a new sheath (I broke down and made a Nordic style) 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, Ive got to say that Im very pleased with this knife. Its a solid tool and Id be comfortable with it anywhere. While this knife is a straightforward affair without any fancy embellishments, Id gladly take it over some other knives that Ive owned and used that cost four and five times as much.
As far as the company is concerned, there is information elsewhere on the net, such as the company web site, 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 Condors 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 its useful but overused), such as fit and finish of the scales. More impressive to me though, they changed both the grind angle of the blade as well as its type and thickness, in response to customer input. Just a final note, this company is not going to stay in the bush-leagues, if youll 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.
