Condor tactana
Feb 14, 2015 6:29:17 GMT
Post by justin520 on Feb 14, 2015 6:29:17 GMT
Disclaimer:
I am in no way affiliated with condor tool and knife company, they ain't payin' me, givin' me no free stuff, they never even bought me a beer. As a matter of fact condor didn't even profit here because I bought this off ebay! XD
Historical overview:
This is a modern interpretation of a sword design from feudal Japan, the kodachi, and in my opinion in the truest sense of the term. It is a two handed short sword, light and capable in both open fields and cqb. Now of course in this modern interpretations there are obvious deviations from traditional construction, but this is for practicality sake.
Specs:
Condor got some of these wrong!
(Provided by Knife center)
Blade Material: 1075 High Carbon Steel
Blade Finish: Black Textured Powder Coating
Handle: Micarta
Sheath: Handcrafted Welted Leather
Blade Length: 20-7/8"
Overall Length: 30-3/4"
Thickness: 5.0 mm
Weight: 2.95 lbs.
Made in El Salvador
Additional Specs:
P.O.B: 2 inches from guard
Geometry: Hira zukuri with secondary bevel
Has bohi
Initial impressions:
It feels a bit heavier than my main ko katana but surprisingly lighter in the hand if you take my meaning. Now I was under the impression this would handle like a wet crowbar because other online reviewers said it's heavy, but it's not, it's light enough to fence with. The 2.95 lbs weight in the specs must be shipping weight because out of the sheath this weighs 2.6 lbs. This only a touch lighter than my sinosword ko kat (pictured above), and the handling is just as good. Joe Flowers did good with his design.
Blade:
It's a hira zukuri blade sporting a secondary bevel and bohi. At it's widest point just before the habaki the blade is about 1 & 1/4" wide with the fumbari bringing it to a 3/4" width at the tip. The thickness coming in at 1/8" it overall seems smaller than most of my swords. At it's roughly 20 inch length this a hallway zombie slayer designed to clear the area before setting up camp. Also did I mention this has a habaki! The really awesome thing about that is the habaki is not cast but welded together thus assuring a more perfect fit to each individual blade. The 1075 also has a notable spring to it. The bohi don't perfectly match on both sides but overall it's quite the excellent beater.
Tsuba (guard):
I think some of the weight is really coming from this, it's just a solid steel powder coated disc with two drill bit sized holes in it. It's not bad, but I'm not writing Momma to tell her about it.
Tsuka (handle):
At first I thought just by looking that this micarta would be slick and slippy when swinging fro prolonged periods, boy was I wrong! It grips like a dream without feeling aggressive or having any hot spots. It's secured by three brass rivets and one tube rivet as a lanyard hole. This is a true full tang construction (probably another source of the slightly heavy weight for its size) which I believe will be rather durable. At 9 & 1/2" It can be wielded by one or two hands (a feature that works quite well).
Saya (sheath):
I wanted to love this thing, I really did, but I can't. So here's the deal, if a knife sheath were constructed exactly the same as this I'd love it, but as a sword sheath I feel it's unsafe and unworthy. It is all leather, has a leather disc as a kurikata, and a paracord sageo. If you like it keep it, but I'm putting this in kydex A.S.A.P.
Handling and test cutting:
Ohh man does this baby handle with speed! As I'm sure you can tell, if you follow my reviews, I favor the low point of balance. This is what this sword has and works perfectly! Cutting, feinting, parrying, and various other actions can be accomplished with speed. This reflected in the speed of the cuts a could make during my testing. Unfortunately I had no meat slabs to cut with this sword but I was able to cut some dowels and newspaper rolls with ease. I figured I'd start with hard targets because hey, it's a condor! I was right, this could hack, or should I say slice, it. Delivering clean cut after clean cut. Still though I had to try something soft so I went to bottles, I thought the 2nd bevel might bat them but I was proven wrong. I do want to say though that while this slices hard targets it is NOT a bushcraft sword, it's purpose built as a weapon.
Pros:
Handles like a sword designed for sword play
Cuts both hard and soft targets
Good springy heat treat
Good steel
Corrosion resistant coat
Habaki
Very very low pricepoint
Cons:
Uneven bohi
Leather sheath
Conslusion:
The way she handles, the way she cuts, the high quality materials, and the low price all scream "Buy Me!", and I must agree. Even if you do gotta throw another $80 on top to get it kydexed at it's initial $130 pricepoint you still come in way under other production swords of comparable quality. Get it, get it, get it! Encourage condor to make and update these, because they just rule so much. I'm scoring it a 9 out of 10 for the leather sheath, and just to reiterate, BUY IT!
I am in no way affiliated with condor tool and knife company, they ain't payin' me, givin' me no free stuff, they never even bought me a beer. As a matter of fact condor didn't even profit here because I bought this off ebay! XD
Historical overview:
This is a modern interpretation of a sword design from feudal Japan, the kodachi, and in my opinion in the truest sense of the term. It is a two handed short sword, light and capable in both open fields and cqb. Now of course in this modern interpretations there are obvious deviations from traditional construction, but this is for practicality sake.
Specs:
(Provided by Knife center)
Blade Material: 1075 High Carbon Steel
Blade Finish: Black Textured Powder Coating
Handle: Micarta
Sheath: Handcrafted Welted Leather
Blade Length: 20-7/8"
Overall Length: 30-3/4"
Thickness: 5.0 mm
Weight: 2.95 lbs.
Made in El Salvador
Additional Specs:
P.O.B: 2 inches from guard
Geometry: Hira zukuri with secondary bevel
Has bohi
Initial impressions:
It feels a bit heavier than my main ko katana but surprisingly lighter in the hand if you take my meaning. Now I was under the impression this would handle like a wet crowbar because other online reviewers said it's heavy, but it's not, it's light enough to fence with. The 2.95 lbs weight in the specs must be shipping weight because out of the sheath this weighs 2.6 lbs. This only a touch lighter than my sinosword ko kat (pictured above), and the handling is just as good. Joe Flowers did good with his design.
Blade:
It's a hira zukuri blade sporting a secondary bevel and bohi. At it's widest point just before the habaki the blade is about 1 & 1/4" wide with the fumbari bringing it to a 3/4" width at the tip. The thickness coming in at 1/8" it overall seems smaller than most of my swords. At it's roughly 20 inch length this a hallway zombie slayer designed to clear the area before setting up camp. Also did I mention this has a habaki! The really awesome thing about that is the habaki is not cast but welded together thus assuring a more perfect fit to each individual blade. The 1075 also has a notable spring to it. The bohi don't perfectly match on both sides but overall it's quite the excellent beater.
Tsuba (guard):
I think some of the weight is really coming from this, it's just a solid steel powder coated disc with two drill bit sized holes in it. It's not bad, but I'm not writing Momma to tell her about it.
Tsuka (handle):
At first I thought just by looking that this micarta would be slick and slippy when swinging fro prolonged periods, boy was I wrong! It grips like a dream without feeling aggressive or having any hot spots. It's secured by three brass rivets and one tube rivet as a lanyard hole. This is a true full tang construction (probably another source of the slightly heavy weight for its size) which I believe will be rather durable. At 9 & 1/2" It can be wielded by one or two hands (a feature that works quite well).
Saya (sheath):
I wanted to love this thing, I really did, but I can't. So here's the deal, if a knife sheath were constructed exactly the same as this I'd love it, but as a sword sheath I feel it's unsafe and unworthy. It is all leather, has a leather disc as a kurikata, and a paracord sageo. If you like it keep it, but I'm putting this in kydex A.S.A.P.
Handling and test cutting:
Ohh man does this baby handle with speed! As I'm sure you can tell, if you follow my reviews, I favor the low point of balance. This is what this sword has and works perfectly! Cutting, feinting, parrying, and various other actions can be accomplished with speed. This reflected in the speed of the cuts a could make during my testing. Unfortunately I had no meat slabs to cut with this sword but I was able to cut some dowels and newspaper rolls with ease. I figured I'd start with hard targets because hey, it's a condor! I was right, this could hack, or should I say slice, it. Delivering clean cut after clean cut. Still though I had to try something soft so I went to bottles, I thought the 2nd bevel might bat them but I was proven wrong. I do want to say though that while this slices hard targets it is NOT a bushcraft sword, it's purpose built as a weapon.
Pros:
Handles like a sword designed for sword play
Cuts both hard and soft targets
Good springy heat treat
Good steel
Corrosion resistant coat
Habaki
Very very low pricepoint
Leather sheath
Conslusion:
The way she handles, the way she cuts, the high quality materials, and the low price all scream "Buy Me!", and I must agree. Even if you do gotta throw another $80 on top to get it kydexed at it's initial $130 pricepoint you still come in way under other production swords of comparable quality. Get it, get it, get it! Encourage condor to make and update these, because they just rule so much. I'm scoring it a 9 out of 10 for the leather sheath, and just to reiterate, BUY IT!