Condor Tool & Knife, Rodan Camp Knife, 5-1/4in Blade, Polypropylene Handle with Sheath

First of all, this knife is a tank. I bought this in lieu of the great Becker BK2 due to the price difference, the good reviews, and the fact that it was a 3/16 thick full tang instead of the 1/4. Now you might ask me, why would you want a thinner blade? First of all, the weight difference. I have held both knives and I find this one to actually be realistically packable when it comes to trips and dinkin around. The BK2 is just too heavy for my taste, and I guarantee that the Rodan will put up with anything you could ever throw at the BK2, plus its about 1/3 the price so if you mess it up, who cares? Here's a quick pros and cons:Pros:+ 3/16 full tang+ Beefy but not overly large+ Comes with a thick leather sheath (worth the 27 dollars alone)+ Came shaving sharp+ High carbon Steel blade+ Price (don't mind actually using this thing, would be hesitant with BK2)+ good balance for chopping+ Batons like a beast+ Handle is indestructible+ Lifetime Warranty+ Great Lanyard Through holeCons:- A smidge bit cheaper steel than BK2- Handle gets slippery when wet and might be too wide for some (sand it down or mark it up for grip)- Cutting edge of the Blade doesn't extend completely to the top of the handle (finger guard) so not the best for carving, but if you have this and are using this thing for carving and not carrying a pocket knife or a smaller fixed blade, then get your head checked- Grind may not be as perfect as other much more expensive knives- Not made in the U.S. (not china either though, el salvador)- If you are reading this, you probably don't own oneIn conclusion, this is a killer knife for the price and I would put it easily in the BK2 range for performance and durability (if only slightly below it). And for $27 this knife is going to get a whole heck of a lot more use and beating compared to the Becker, which i would probably be more hesitant to use due to the price range (what can I say, I'm a poor college student... and just cheap in general). Pick up this Rodan and a mora classic and you got yourself a KILLER bushcraft/survival knife set for under $50. Throw in a coghlan folding saw for $9.99 and you're golden. If you didn't get the hint... buy the knife.

I was looking for a solid, rugged, hard use field/hiking/camping knife, so I did some research (as I frequently do) and that's how I discovered Condor. Very similar blade profile to the fan-boy favorite Becker BK2, very similar alloys (1095 with the Becker, 1075 with the Condor, slight edge to the Becker in laboratory tests I suppose (?) but in real world use no noticeable difference), AND the Condor is slightly thinner (3/16ths compared to 1/4) which to me is a huge plus as a too thick blade is nothing if not an inefficient slicing tool. Sure I can't swap out the handle slabs for some high dollar fancy wood. So? This is a using knife, not some display piece.And the kicker; the Condor is less than half the price of the Ka-Bar!SOLD.So far (after only about a week of HARD testing in the woods behind my place) I love this knife. Only two points I have had any issues with, one, I liked the stoutness of the blade as obviously it is within the intended use of this knife to baton and chop, yet at only 5¼" it is quite limited in the size of logs it can be used on. Of course it is short enough to be legally carried in Texas so it's also a plus. Two, when I use a knife my hand is all over the whole thing, blade included (except the edge, obviously), I frequently choke up on the blade for control and leverage in finer work. There is a natural finger 'groove' at the base of the blade, however the front of the handle its rather sharp and poke-y. I found it an annoying design flaw. However two or three minutes with a file and no more problem.All in all, an excellent knife at unbelievable price. I couldn't be happier with the purchase.UPDATE:Okay, after having done actual time with this knife I am changing my rating from five to three stars. Why? Because the knife spends all it's time in the box of blades that just don't get used. Don't get me wrong, build quality, materials, fit and finish are all good. Great even. But the design just doesn't work for me. And not just this knife, but the whole 5" long ¼" thick sharpened 'pry-bar' that everyone seems to think is the 'one knife to rule them all' survival knife par excellence concept just doesn't work for me. Too thick for detail carving, food prep or game processing, too short for chopping or batoning, and honestly, if you're buying a knife to use as a pry-bar, uhm, just buy a pry-bar, they are WAY cheaper. When I am camping or backpacking I have a small knife with me (usually a Mora), a small forest axe (Hults Bruks made Husqvarna) and a multi-tool (usually my Leatherman PST), so this knife would serve no role. It can't carve like the Mora, certainly can't process firewood like the axe, doesn't have near the functionality of the Leatherman. The claim that it can replace them all can only be made by someone who never actually spends any real time in the great outdoors using the items they pontificate about as though they were experts on the interwebs.Honestly, I think in ten to fifteen years folks will look back at these thick little "survival knives" the way we look at the 10" long, hollow-handled, saw-back, Rambo style "survival knives" of the '80s and '90s. They are gimmicky and don't really work well for anything, no matter how good the materials and craftsmanship are that go into them.I tried to jump on the bandwagon, I really did. But these knives just don't work for me.So I'm giving it three stars because it is a quality made item, just not really all that functional.

Out of the box, my first impression was of the sheathe, which is a thick, high-quality leather. It is much like a scandinavian fit and relies on friction from the handle to hold the knife in place rather than a retaining strap. It has a belt loop that will fit any size belt. It will take some use and maybe a couple aplications of saddle soap to get the leather supple enough for quick use, but I'd rather break in a thick sheath than tolerate a flimsy one. The knife's poly handle is thick and a little large, but that may not be a bad thing in terms of leverage during heavy use. Should one want to grind a couple of finger grooves for a more personal fit, ther eis plenty of room and I may just do that. The blade is thick! It's a balck epoxy coated high carbon steel and it will be very hard to damage this thick blade. It came from the box sharp, but not shaving sharp, understandable with such a beefy hunk of metal, but it literally only took 10 passes over my sharpening steel to get it there. The total length of the blade from the hilt is right at 5.5" and the actual cutting surface, measured on the curve is right at 5". This is important for those of us in Texas who can't legally carry a knife with a blade over 5.5". It is sturdy enough to puncture sheet metal, thick enough to be used for camp work and shaped just right for skinning. It is also very easy to get to a razor edge due to the high-carbon steel. If you keep it sharp and keep it oiled, this rather inexpensive knife will last you years. Totally reccommend!