Condor Bushlore review ......... With Chris Wilkes .....2017

Here is my overall take on one of our favorite knives , the Condor Bushlore. If you watched my other videos you know I have some history with this knife...namely, i bought one off eBay that looked like it was cracked....I tried to break it....I contacted Condor....they sent me a brand new knife! My buddy Chris Wilkes and I sat down to talk about the Bushlore and we must have been at it an hour before we ran out of tape......here is the edited version.

[@ChrisWilkesSurvival]

Nicely edited. Good times. In the right hands that knife can Bushcraft a mean spatula.

[@Bushradical]

LOL, bushcraft spatula! I think I could make 3-4 videos out of that hour of footage. This the most "on topic" video I could edit out of it right now.

[@mfavia620]

That was an awesome discussion with 2 very knowledgeable woodsmen and knife enthusiasts. No sugar coating,just told it like it is. I own this knife in micarta and just absolutely dig it. And like Chris said and I agree, I'd pick up The bushlore first before my other more expensive knives. Thanks to both of you for the chit chat. ATB Mike

[@Bushradical]

Thanks Mike.

[@EssentialMountainHomesteading]

Nice work guys, I love the back ground music

[@Bushradical]

Thanks.

[@redoak3809]

I picked up (2) Bushlores with green Micarta handles for $30 each and I am very pleased with them and their sheaths. The only thing that would make it better would be if the sheath was a dangler. I had been looking for one with a wooden handle but couldn't pass these up at that price.

[@JimBairdAdventurer]

Nice to see you two hanging out in Alaska. I like sheaths where I can pull the knife in and out with one hand, no domes.

[@Bushradical]

It was a load of fun you should have been there J. We did an overnight float you would have enjoyed and then we fished for pike, drank beer, and told stories. It was pretty awesome. Congrats on the wedding , your wife looks like a super nice chick. Hows Ted Been?

[@JimBairdAdventurer]

Bushradical ya, she's the best. We did an 8 day 100mile backpacking trek together in the Rockies in the summer. And did a NWT canoe trip with him too. He's doing well. Sounds like you guys had a blast up there! I bet it was awesome.

[@chewher4171]

This review was chill and very real with us. I can't argue with that and you find yourself asking if you have the money to drop on the blade after the vid. Dang man. I need a higher paying job.

[@Bushradical]

Hey CH. I think the wooden handled version can be had on eBay most anytime for $40. Its a good solid knife for the money.

[@brianspencer4220]

Very good ; lots of straight talk. Thanks Brian 77

[@Bushradical]

Thanks Brian!

[@DanoLXF]

You do the best reviews Dave.

[@Bushradical]

Thanks Dano!

[@fishing4truth91]

Very professional intro to your video. I recently bought a Bushlore and love it. My only suggestion/comment is that it would be nice if Condor added a ferro-rod loop to the side of the sheath.

[@Bushradical]

That would be a nice touch

[@JMAAD]

love my bushlore and all of my condor knives.

[@Bushradical]

Me too so far. Im not a collector, but I foo love what condor does, putting out good knives for a reasonable price....Im a fan. There are a couple I bought and then sold because I didn't like the design, but thats just personal.

[@comeandtakeit_bushcraft5705]

This is how i feel about my condor swamp romper. Sheath is great. And knife is even better.

[@Bushradical]

I like that profile. Cool knife

[@BAAMRanch]

Love that knife! Simple but great

[@Bushradical]

Yeah its a real keeper.

[@backwoods_barbarian4134]

I've seen a lot of review on this knife but this might be my favorite. There's something to be said about a couple of friends hanging out and chewin the fat about something they're both interested in. I personally don't need to see people baton with a knife for the thousandth time, I'm much more interested in hearing about how it feels and performs. Great video, keep it up and I hope you guys are doin well.

[@Bushradical]

Thanks JB! I had a great time with Chris filming it too.

[@cillaloves2fish688]

Wow! Dunno how I missed this one... Cool to hear ur knife chat! Wish we cudda heard the rest of it! I use my Mora most of the time, works good for me!!

[@Bushradical]

Oh my goodness....we talked for like an hour . I had to sort through a ton of junk editing that video...LOL. Chris and I got off on so many rabbit trails!

[@cillaloves2fish688]

Bushradical I wudda loved to sit there n listen to u guys!!

[@rottdogg8926]

Coating on that knife looks similar to me to Parkerized coating originally used on firearms, specifically U.S. military. Finish looks just like the finish on my 35 year old Ruger P85.

[@jeffsmith6441]

I've had my Bushlore about 2 days and so far I love it!!

[@Bushradical]

Awesome JS! I was stoked you commented on my other bush lore video...knowing I had a review I was editing. Awesome knife, glad you like it.

[@jeffsmith6441]

Bushradical I also want to tell you I was really pulling for you and your wife to win Alone! I hated seeing you two go but I know it had to be tough to see her in that condition.

[@Bushradical]

She was in great spirits but feeling very rough. They would have pulled her out the very next day......we found out later. She had just lost too much weight . So 49 days was all we could do. Thanks for rooting for us!

[@fyrebugg9354]

I just received my bushlore. Im impressed, fit and finish are great. Did some chopping on some dried super hard oak no edge damage. After chopping i used it to make a fire fairly quickly and could still cut paper so im satisfied. Plus after ten minutes i had it so sharp the hair on my arm RAN away, didnt even have to touch my arm with the edge lol

[@Bushradical]

LOL, love it! I think its close to perfect for a low cost high quality knife.

[@fyrebugg9354]

Bushradical I agree. It just feels good in your hand and you cant put a price on that. Thanks for the reply and I hope you and your loved ones have a Merry Christmas and a safe New Year!

[@MonkeyMikeOutdoors]

My first bushlore was a blank and I put babinga wood scales on it.

[@pacificbushcraftandfirecra6358]

Great review because I would much rather hear of the usability aspects of the knife than a bunch of boring technical data that I really don't care about...This seems sooo familiar...like we were just talking about it...Hmmmm..lol

[@Bushradical]

Yeah its pretty much the same thing. Chris and I shot over an hour on this subject.....and we rabbit trailed so much it took forever to edit it down

[@73FORGE]

Triumph Screen Printing hey you can't go wrong with a condor for that price! You only have 6 knives?? Brandon let's get dave a 7th knife, lol👍🏼

[@pacificbushcraftandfirecra6358]

See...I told ya Dave...He wants to hook you up! Let me formally introduce you guys...Dave (Bushradical)... This is Steve...Bushcrafter 1973...shake hands you guys!!!

[@Bushradical]

Hey Steve.

[@73FORGE]

Bushradical hey there Dave!

[@LarsRibe]

You guys make a great team like that.

[@Bushradical]

Thanks Lars. Chris is a super cool guy and a load of fun to hang out with, and he knows way more about knives than I do.

[@bushcraftbaxter]

If I Didn't know already, I'd think you 2 were brothers! 😆 Also, That's a good looking knife! I have yet to find my favorite, personal survival knife.

[@Bushradical]

Never have thought of that but i guess you're right.

[@EdgewoodOutdoors]

Nice review, I'm on the lookout for a good starter knife, this one might be it...

[@Bushradical]

Hey EO. This is a great knife. The steel is pretty soft , which is good and bad. It doesn't hold an edge a real long time but its easy to put an edge on. It feels great, its cheap, ....its probably my favorite knife to be honest.

[@EdgewoodOutdoors]

Thanks for the extra detail... just ordered it! Can't wait to try it out. Just found your wife's channel as well, and subscribed. You guys are awesome :)

[@Bushradical]

Thanks EO. I'm sure you will love that knife. Its just about perfect...IMO.

[@Airik1111bibles]

The Bushlore is better with the Micarta scales its a bit thicker, also with a nice scandivex it keeps an edge longer. Unfortunately it doesn't bite as good but it carves excellent with a convex grind. I think the Final Frontier is also a better handle but the blade shape is a bit weird....still awesome knives for the money. Ya got me considering buying one of their blanks😉

[@Bushradical]

I don't know the final frontier??? I'l go look that one up. Thanks for the info.

[@batmanacw]

I would take that Bushlore to the belt grinder and turn that steep Scandi into a thin convex that reaches half way up the blade. The edge will be stronger but the lack of a hard top line along the bevel will mean much less cutting forces. It will carve better and hold an edge better too.

[@Bushradical]

I have another one I might mod. Thanks for the comment.

[@Airik1111bibles]

batmanacw Yes very true, my Bushlore was way to soft and always needing some kind of work....BUT 1075 is excellent for good solid convex grinds. I notice that Condor does that with some of their knives like the Crotalus which is a beast of a knife.....the Moonstalker and shiner are also good convex grinds.

[@13bravoredleg18]

I scored one for 30 bucks! Good beater knife!

[@Bushradical]

awesome

[@backwoods_barbarian4134]

Oh it's worth mentioning that some of condors new knives are being released in 1095.

[@Bushradical]

I heard that...Do you know which ones?

[@thirdlantern]

The Huron, for sure: www.condortk.com/productos-detalle.php?producto=66&cat=61

[@backwoods_barbarian4134]

www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_store.html?Condor+Tool+&brand=33&min_price=0&max_price=500&country=&design=&steel=1095&c=&locktype=&style=&min_blade=0&max_blade=50 This shows 4 of them but I feel like I remember hearing that there are more on the w

[@gunnerhusnian4375]

this was a great video! I could listen to you two talk knives all day long. Here is a random question for ya, are you planning on going to blade show 2018?

[@Bushradical]

Ive never been to one before. Where are they held.

[@gunnerhusnian4375]

They are held in Atlanta.

[@garygraham4571]

Hi i have the 1097 hc bushlore

[@kevintulak9987]

I have really large hands and have a hard time finding a knife that fits comfortably. It looks like it is a good fit for your hand do you think it would be as good a fit in a bigger hand than yours? On another note the missus must not be around for you to be able to get away for a week and not get the cabin finished. Are you going to put out some videos on your week in the bush. I am in b.c. and we haven't been able to get to the bush because of all the fires so I am currently living vicariously through others. Thanks for sharing.

[@Bushradical]

Thanks for the comment Kevin. Chris and I shot this video in the spring right before Brooke and the kids got up to AK ( they flew, I drove). I haven't released this vid until now because the show hadn't even started when we filmed this. OH, Chris has a lot of our trip on his channel Chris Wilkes Survival, check it out.

[@Bushradical]

As for the size of the knife, Im 6'2" and weigh 235 and my hands are pretty big ...that said The handle is NOT too small for my hand and If my hand were larger I think the grip would be a little tighter to the contour of the handle but would still be "right". Its a great size. I bet you would dig it, its quite popular with a lot of folks so I think its "right in the pocket" of what a knife should be.

[@kevintulak9987]

Thanks I have a hard time finding a good fit, I am 6'7 and I find small handles on knives leads to a bit of dropsy problems, especially if you are using it in a slimy type of situation. I have been looking for a good fit for a while so I think I will be checking these guys out. Thanks for the info.

[@aksalaman4689]

Where's the vids of your camping trip? Hope you post them soon.

[@Bushradical]

They're on Chris's channel...Chris Wilkes Survival.

[@PeterNordBushcraft]

I just bought one off of Amazon for $ 54 with tax. I will review mine as well once I have had it for awhile.

[@Bushradical]

hey Peter, let me know what you think of it!

[@spider5001]

Great review 🙂 if you want almost the same knife in better materials look to the LT Wright Genesis. You will have to pay though lol I just got one in A2 and it almost seems to sharpen itself on wood😂 I haven't even had to strop it yet. My favorite knife though is one my uncle made me out of a pry bar.

[@Bushradical]

Right on. Ill check out the LT Wright stuff. I really don't know the fine points of the knife world, so thanks for the recommendation.

[@Bushradical]

Hey Spider, I just sent LT wright a message asking for info on that knife...we'll see what they come back with. I asked them to compare it to a Condor Bushlore if they knew of that model and see what their thoughts are.

[@spider5001]

Bushradical awesome 👍🏻 I've heard of them sending knives to people who have KZbin channels to demo. Hopefully you will be able to handle one for a bit before making a decision to buy.😀

[@Bushradical]

Thanks Spider, But I doubt they will want to send me a knife. This is a small channel and Im not a knife expert. I do hope they get back to me with some info, and their thoughts on an A/B comparison with a Condor knife. Ive heard of LT wright before but thats about all I know ,is the name. Lets keep in touch and see what they're reply is..

[@spider5001]

Bushradical don't sell yourself short. You built a cabin on Vancouver Island lol. You are more of an expert than most. I think experience and use of a knife counts way more than knowing specs and different steel types. LT Wright is a small shop that make excellent knives to be used and abused. They are very good people also. You could call and probably talk to LT himself. They will want one of their knives on your belt. I wouldn't be surprised if they let you design a model and put it into production.

[@KillingerUSA]

What a playground your living in!!

[@Bushradical]

Thanks K.

[@estima8tor1]

Been using the bushlore for about 18 months now. I love everything about knife except the 1075 steel. It's much too soft for a small Scandi ground belt knife period. Condor should to stick to making machetes if they insist on using 1075 steel on almost everything the make. It's great for larger blades not an ideal steel for small blades. That's my opinion after over 1.5 years of field use with the bushlore.

[@Bushradical]

Thanks for the comment.

[@sebkent6691]

"The proof is in the pudding...." Dude I love your content but that phrase twists my guts. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating" Thats the correct phrase. However content wise thats really all I've ever faulted you on these last 5 years. Keep up the good work and please please please leave puddings out of it

[@gregbarry5875]

So.....you don't know the blade length.....you don't know the blade thickness....you don't know the handle material and you don't know the blade coating....Thanks for all the info.

[@SH-ug6xr]

Not paint - patina

[@jamesaritchie1]

Oh come on, that's a truly silly comment about the scales. Any outdoorsmen should know walnut when he sees it, and all Condor knves with wood scales are made of walnut. I have no idea why they just say "hardwood". Maybe walnut isn't as valuable in El Salvador as it is here, but if you do just two minutes research you can learn the scales are always made of walnut. And do you ever sharpen that knife? The bevel on a Scandi grind should never have a spec of rust or stain on it, and won't, if you keep it sharp. It can't have rust or stain on the bevel if sharpened a soften as it should be because the entire bevel gets sharpened. I have a Bushlore, and it is a very good knife, but nothing can make 1075 steel as good as 1095 CV steel. Despite how many jump on every new steel that comes along, 1095 CV is the best high carbon blade steel ever made, and if you can get it, then getting 1075 uis dropping down at least three notches. As for the Scandi grind on this knife, no woodsman ever want a belt knife to have a razor bevel. That's KZbin silliness, and it means you don't know what "sharp" means. The angle of the bevel does NOT determine sharpness, it simply determines whether that blade will do something like shave hair, which is not an indication of sharpness, but simply an indication of how much metal is behind the edge. Sharpness is about edge condition, not about bevel angle. An edge sharpened at twenty degrees per side is just as sharp as one with a ten degree per side bevel, and will do all real world cutting just as well. Unless you actually want to shave with a knife, then you don't need a ten degree bevel. What you need is a bevel that will do real world cutting, and that will last as long as possible. Woodsmen have always sharpened a belt knife at twenty-five degrees per side. Such an angle still does all real world cutting, including skinning, just fine, but holds its edge from three to five times as long, depending on the steel and the knife. All woodsmen from George Washington to Daniel Boone to Hugh Glass, to Horace Kephart to you name him carried a pocketknife with more than one blade. All woodsmen still do. The favorites for more than a hundred years now have been the Stockman with three blades and the Trapper with two. These pocketknives do all the real work, and are sharpened at fifteen degrees per side. 1095 has been the steel of choice for as long as it's been around, which is a long, long, long time. 1095 CV, or "Cro-Van", as Ka-Bar calls it, is simply as good as it gets in the high carbon range. It's better than O1 or O2 for blades, and far superior to 1075. 1075 is an extremely tough steel, and the best low cost steel for machetes, which is how it came to be use don Condor knives. If tempered correctly, it doesn't roll, it chips, and can chip easily if sharpened at too steep an angle. KZbin has convinced many that the harder steel is, the better, but that's a myth. High HRC always comes at a price, which is more chipping, and high abrasion resistance, which is the main reason an edge lasts a long time, means the knife will be far harder to sharpen. For a wilderness knife, these are not good traits. Before KZbin, an HRC of 55 was considered just about perfect for a wilderness knife, and many still prefer it with any steel you may need to sharpen in a survival situation. But one reason 1095 CV is considered the best blade steel for an outdoor knife is because it can have an HRC of 58-59 and still remain easy to sharpen. Thin edges do cut very well, but so do think edges, if kept sharp. Either way, if you have to actually sharpen a knife very often, you aren't stropping it when you should be. Even 1975 steel will hold an edge a long, long, long time, if it has a sensible bevel angle, and if you strop it after each use. I suspect Mora made thin edges so popular, but for the most part, a thin edge is a silly choice for an outdoor knife, regardless of steel type. It isn't a thin edge you need, it's a thin blade, and if you don't do stupid things with a knife, such as batoning, then a thin blade will last a lifetime. And most of it is perception, anyway. Few even know how to sharpen a knife unless it has a very thin blade, or a very steep angle. Ka-Bar uses a twenty degree per side bevel angle, but I've never heard anyone complain about Ka-Bar sharpness. Anything below a fifteen degree angle is just not smart for anything other than a specialty knife. The rule, outside of KZbin silliness, is fifteen degrees per side for pocketknives, seventeen degrees per side for knives, twenty degrees for all around knives, and twenty-five degrees for outdoor belt knives. Any task below what a fifteen degree per side bevel can do should be done with a knife designed fror that task, be it a scalpel, a razor, or an actual woodcarving knife. If your knife doesn't cut extremely well, don't blame the bevel angle, the blade is too thick, or th edge isn't nearly as well sharpened as you think.

[@Bushradical]

Holy Cow that was a lot to read! What was the point you wanted to make?

[@saginawdan]

@@Bushradical Damn, I'll never be able to look at my knife edges in the same way again...wtf?

[@clippertalk]

I noticed you deleted my comment from a few days ago. "Did Chris convince you to quit the video early too?" You guys can't go on TV and then post video on YT and not expect a "little" ribbing. Please tell me you didn't delete it... I'll have to unsub if you're going to censor a little joke like that.

[@Bushradical]

If you need to un-sub, go ahead and do that. If you want to talk to Chris Yourself go over to "his" youtube channeling do that, and if you want to jack him up and rib him about tapping out, then go ahead and do that too. But he's a good friend of mine and there is always more to a story than people on the outside know and his tapping out wasn't portrayed as well as it could have been and there is a LOT of context that you don't know about. I did delete your comment because you took the opportunity , not to comment on the video but to jack up my friend on my channel.

[@saginawdan]

@@Bushradical Well said Dave.