Condor Tool & Knife Duku Heavy Duty Machete Knife - Hand Crafted Welted Leather Sheath - 1075 High Carbon Steel Tactical Machete with Walnut Handle - 4.5mm Thick - 16in Blade - 30.6oz

Maybe something by bark river or some other $300 + parang/machete is better but anything even close in price this thing crushes them. I know it's better than the following for sure: Aranyik extended latin, kershaw camp 18, cobra steel talon, kabar grass machete, schrade schbolo and the old hickory 14" butcher knife as these are the other blades in this category that I own. The duku has a better size to power ratio than these, and even the Aranyik and camp 18 don't hit that much harder despite their being longer and significantly heavier. The duku is also very agile in the hand, it's hard to describe but it just "feels" better, doesn't feel clumsy or awkward at all.I can only speak for mine but it's fit and finish were perfect, the grip scales fit perfect, even the little wire wrap is smooth, the patina is nice looking. And the edge, oh my the edge and blade geometry, perfectly ground convex bevel and edge that came sharper than any other blade, whether sword, knife, spear or tomahawk, that I've ever owned, it's the only blade I've ever cut myself on while doing the shaving hairs test( which of course it did). It's also got a distal taper of almost %50, from 4.5 mm to 2.5 mm at one inch from the tip, I can't even name another "machete" that has that feature ( expensive sword reproductions do), which would be my guess why it feels so lively in the hand. The duku also has very good edge retention and I use it a lot. It can easily shear through wrist thick frozen hardwood branches ( I live in northern WI.) and chops very well on bigger stuff. I've used to baton no problem and have split 4" logs like an axe with it.I'm no condor fan boy either, it's more of a love/hate relationship and this one I happen to love. But I can see a potential problem for some users, the grip is kind of big and is very round( like a squashed tear drop), I wear size L gloves and once I wrapped the grip in a layer of grip tape (a necessity in my opinion) it's right at my limit of comfortable use. Also the sheath, while a typical (excellent) condor leather sheath, it doesn't fit as well as my other condor sheaths (two large knives) and the parang will fall right out if turned upside down. I didn't take a star off for these as the grip doesn't bother me and as for the sheath it will be hard to tip this over just using it normally.I live way out in the wooded back country and use these big blades almost every day, whether for work or fun and if I had to pick just one to always use it would be this one, no contest.One last thing, the cutlery world needs to come up with a new name for this category of tools. These feel and perform more like swords than machetes and that's especially true of the big duku, I hate calling it a machete which is why I put the word in quotation marks when referring to the duku. "Brush swords" or something, anything but machete, which are thin and flexible and have a flat blade with only an edge bevel while these are as thick as swords, have the flex of a sword and have primary and secondary bevels. Oh well these are just my opinions.

Cheeky headline aside, this is a brilliant piece of kit. Solid and holds an edge exceptionally well. Heavy but easy to swing. Resilient and takes abuse. Beautiful to look at. Chops and chops and chops and just it giggles with delight.100% will be buying more Condor choppy chops base off of this one. It's pure love, in the shape of a machete.

This is one of the better pocket knives I've ever used. Fits really well and you don't notice it when in the pocket.

I loved my first one so much that I ordered another for my brother in law.These are a terrific tool in the NC mountains. They're more of a sword or knife than a machete, which is more of a thin, springey, thing. These work a lot better on the harder more bark covered plant life that we have. It is capable of chopping down smaller trees, but I wouldn't use this if I walked out of the house with that as my goal, an axe definitely excels in that territory. These things are a treat for limbing after downing a tree (~2" or smaller limbs preferably) or clearing a path through the woods. They resharpen easily and hold a good edge. A wrist loop is handy to have on any swinging device like this. One can easily be made with a loop of cord and a little spring loaded adjuster. The sheath works well enough, better than anything I could make. These are great blades.

Great knife this is what i was looking for.. Great chopper, not too long with a 1/4" spine. It's only 1-3/4" wide at its widest point that's why i give it a 4 star rating. I prefer a little more wide to give it more weight. Its total length is about 22 inches long. Its a little to thin for me but I like it overall. its perfect for my yard work clearing brush.

I was a bit hesitant to purchase this machete given some of the reviews that mentioned issues with the blade snapping on the first swing, but so far, I’m glad I decided to give it a chance. For the few bad reviews, I chalked it up to the probability that there will be some "duds" during the forging process. So far, day 1 usage, this machete has performed excellently. I've used it to chop down a few small trees, and the blade held up perfectly—no nicks, chips, or signs of wear. My photos show 2 of the 10 small trees I chopped down, effortlessly, and the pic of the blade is after use.It’s definitely one of the higher-priced options I found here, but you can tell the quality difference from other cheaper ones I've had in the past. I think it's definitely worth it, time will tell. Also, the leather sheath exceeded expectations for quality.

Compared to my 5 other machetes (Condor, OKC, Tops), this one's the best at clearing dangling vines from trees along the local mountain bike trails. Takes 3rd place at splitting logs (red oak, still wet, up to 12" diameter. Due to the handle shape this does NOT need a lanyard (all my others do), and blade does *not* rotate/twist during hard use. This is the only one I did absolutely no modifications to before using. it's wearable for a 6'2" guy. Would definitely buy again, will buy more as gifts for my outdoor brethren.

First use today. I cut my finger slightly when extracting blade embeded in 4" bamboo. So I suggest wearing protective gloves. Good sheath. Very sharp. Chops small trees and even bamboo amazingly well. Edge holds.I have tried a couple other machetes and a kukri for clearing paths in subtropical forest.This is the best so far.It is too heavy for just grass, but light enough to use for extended period. You can even assist with your second hand occasionally because the handle is roomy.