Condor Tool & Knife Tactical Machete with Micarta Handle

The media could not be loaded. I collect knifes and swords, right out of the box I got extremely excited about the feel of this machete. I had my last camping sword for 8 years before it finally broke. I haven’t even used this thing yet but I can tell you right now this is going to last me a good 20+ years as it is very high quality and thick! The weight is perfectly balanced, I am ridiculously excited to use it- which guys, I am very hard to please with material items. I don’t think most manufacturers and designers make products that are built to last. But this one most certainly is.The case we will have to see about as it goes through the test of time, I’m assuming at some point the machete will outlive it and I will need to replace with leather or something. Which is fine with me. It seems very sturdy and like it will last for at least 10 years. I am not sure what kind of plastic it is, it seems like it is not prone to cracking. It holds the machete well, ignore reviews saying it is flimsy. There is a bit more room towards the bottom of the sheath but I believe that is for draw purposes. It still holds it in place securely without rattling. I would be shocked if I encountered any issues with it in the first 5 years. I do not think it is overbuilt, I love how many modes of attachment there are. A true backwoods wilderness/ jungle piece of gear. Note that you may need to sharpen it up a bit, the edge looks great, just could be a hair sharper, but no problem for me.Only complaint I have is that there is a bit of “plastic dust” on the blade after drawing. It would be nice if there was some sort of other material in the sheath where the blade edge runs so that it’s not creating those little shavings. Not a fan of creating more micro plastic pollution, even in such a trace amount. But that will only really bother you if you over analyze everything as I do lol. Overall it’s a 5 star product. I couldn’t be more excited about it, again which is very rare for me to be so pleased with an item.

I've been taking down a lot of bay trees where I live, doing some fire clearance, needed to get a machete to clear some branches. Originally I bought the 18 inch Gerber gator while I happened to be in rei, made the mistake of not reading some reviews first, destroyed the blade in about a week with light-medium duty use, like many before me. Really surprised me because Gerber has always made great quality stuff. Went back to my dull flea market $5 machete and it held out better then the Gerber, but with it being so light and short, it had no power. Anywho, got my money back from rei and decided I wanted to invest in something...indestructible. I didn't want to have a machete for small branches, then have to switch to an axe or saw for slightly larger branches, I didn't want to carry a pile of tools around with me. I figured there had to be one decent tool out there that could be tough enough for everything I was doing. And this is definitely it.Out of the box it comes sharp and ready to go. This beast was cutting through everything I put in front of it with ease. I was concerned it might be too heavy but for me it's perfect, with great weight distribution. Used this for 3 hours my first go with it, no blisters, my arms were fine, blade was flawless. Next day another 12 hours or so, my arm was starting to get tired after awhile of one handed use but not horribly, blade is still razor sharp.Have always been careful with machetes but just holding this thing the first time gave me a strong desire to be intensely aware of my actions when using it. With some things you think, "hmm if I cut this way I might hit my leg and cut it, I guess I shouldn't do this..... ahh whatever it's not very likely." No. Not with this. If you have any kind of a decent brain in you head you should be getting alarm bells going off saying "hey stupid, if you cut like that and things go wrong YOU WON'T HAVE A LEG ANYMORE. Rethink your positioning."I feel with proper care I could pass this down to my children's children's children lol. If you have any doubt about it's power and abilities there's some video reviews on YouTube that made me feel better about buying it without getting to hold it in my hands first (the dilemma with Internet shopping...). I might add a short video of myself taking out the little 6 1/2 inch thick tree pictured below, if I do I'll come back and link it here. I tip my hat to Condor for making such a high quality product.Update 5/12/16Had an issue with my sheath, the buttons felt hard to close but thought I was just being a sissy, figured tighter is better then loose and they'd get better with time. Maybe I was wrong because the bottom one broke. I contacted Condor and they express mailed me a new sheath, and this one the buttons feel much better. And many hours of work later I'm still very satisfied with the machete.Update 1/2/2022Countless hours of use TOUGH use. Absolutely no regrets.Over the last 5+ years I've put this machete through the gamut and it came out the other side flawless. One of the best purchases I've ever made. Good to put oil on the blade after each use to avoid rust.

I own many blades for many purposes. Some I collect. Some I use. This machete got my attention right out of the box. It is an exceptional tool. The micarta handle is well made. It is not slick like some, but roughened up a bit to give a solid grip. The blade is very sharp. I cut my index finger just touching it, a good sign. Be careful with this beast, it can and will bite you. This tool is well crafted. It is made of 1075 high carbon English steel and will rust if not cared for properly. I clean after each use and apply a thin layer of Japanese Choji Oil before I place it in the sheath. I use this oil on all my high carbon steel blades. It seems to have an almost perfect flexibility in the blade. It will bend but not break or distort. Uncanny really.The sheath, like all of Condors sheaths are among the best quality in the industry. The sheath for this blade is no exception. It has two snaps to secure the blade. Just make sure to rotate the snaps out of the way when inserting the blade. Otherwise you may cut the snaps or yourself. This is no toy, but a serious working tool. It will also work well two handed, although I would see no purpose in that. The price is a bit high for a machete, but well worth the cost if you require the best.