Condor Tool & Knife Engineer Bolo | Heavy Duty Machete with Walnut Handle | High Carbon Steel Machete Knife with a Handcrafted Welted Leather Sheath | 15in Blade | 40.3oz (5mm Thick)

I've been searching for years to replace an old USAF folding survival machete that I had when I backpacked as a kid. I wanted a heavy duty machete that could split firewood, clear medium to large branches on my property and basically replace a large camp hatchet or small camp axe.This thing really filled the bill. It cleanly slices through inch thick limbs and its thickness and grind profile makes it ideal for splitting wood. It is nearly a quarter of an inch thick and has a good bit of weight. It has a convex grind not unlike a hatchet or an axe which allows it to split and chop very effectively. The edge seems very durable. I chopped through a few 3 and 4 inch thick downed oak limbs that were dry and tough. No observable impact to the edge. The weight made the chopping easy without requiring a lot of effort. Handle and blade geometry made for good control.You won't be clearing a mile long path through the jungle with this baby unless you have arms like Arnold due to its weight but as a go to camp tool or something to keep in the trunk I don't think you'll find anything better.Quality was very good. As noted the handle is pretty smooth and requires a good grip. Adding a couple of strips of grip tape or roughening up the handle should fix that. Sheath is decent quality with no apparent manufacturing issues. The machete came fairly sharp, certainly adequate for the job. If you must insist on it being shaving sharp, a couple of licks with a steel or will take care of it without destroying the edge geometry.This isn't the machete you are looking for if you want to cut your way through vines or grasses. Between the edge grind and the weight it would be difficult for most folks to get the blade speed high enough for those tasks.This fulfills the mission I wanted it for. YMMV.

The Condor Engineer's Bolo machete I received was very well made with quality materials. The steel is well tempered, the blade was somewhat sharp when I received it and the handle and sheath are very well finished. I spent an hour sharpening the blade using my diamond hones and Japanese water stones. It is now razor sharp even though the blade stock is quite thick at 5mm and the convex edge is more difficult to sharpen than a saber grind. This machete is heavy in comparison to most other manufacturer's brush tools. It excels at chopping hardwood and the belly of the blade and the handle angle enhance the slicing effect of the strike. Superimpose a Khukri design over the Engineer's pattern and you will see that there are similar aspects to their geometry. If I allow the weight of the blade to work for me, this machete really cuts deep. The Engineer's bolo will now replace my Camp axe when I'm hiking in the woods; it's lighter and more versatile. The blade contour seems to be less likely to wedge in the logs I'm splitting for firewood than regular saber-grind machetes and the blade retains its sharpness for a long time.

I just used this for a week clearing brush and small trees in Hawaii and it did a great job. The blade is incredibly sturdy and is weighted well forward so that it chops easily through inch thick limbs. The handle is comfortable although I was wearing gloves so I can't say whether it would blister unprotected hands. The finish is gorgeous, it looks like a movie prop even after chopping through the jungle. It went through three days of heavy use before I felt like it needed sharpening, and there's enough metal there you could sharpen it for a lifetime without wearing it down. The sheath is sturdy, functional, and looks great, although the snaps started rusting and needed oil.Something to think about though is that this is a rather heavy machete. This makes it incredibly effective at chopping fairly large tree limbs but for light brush work it can wear you down as the day progresses.Overall, this is a beautiful machete and a highly effective tool.

I'm very pleased with the overall build quality of the engineer bolo by condor, the finish on the spine of the blade, the hardness of the steel, the beautiful hard wood handle, and especially the leather sheath. The thing that took the fithf star out of this review was the grind quality on the blade. Out of the box, not going to lie it was very dull, and the angle of the edge of the blade was very blunt. I am going to reprofIle the cutting edge myself. that being said the quality of the 1075 carbon steel the blade is made from along with all the other things done so very well on this machete make it well worth the money. Guess the person who did the final grind on mine was new, or having a bad day or something along those lines

I purchased this to clear brush as the smaller, lighter machete I have wasn't 'cutting the mustard', which is what I need to clear on a regular basis.This machete is on the heavier side, so you need some strength to use it. That being said, it works amazingly well on the 6' mustard plants I need to keep clear, and on larger stuff like branches.Workmanship is excellent, and even though I have had it for a short time I can tell it will be durable.It needed a good sharpening when I got it, but I'm a bit of a stickler about keeping my knives sharp. After its first use it held an edge quite well, in fact much better compared to my other machetes.I highly recommend this product!

WOW, Super heavy duty, full tang and overall well made machete. The leather sheath is worth half the cost of this Bolo Machete. You could build a log cabin with this thing providing you had plenty of time. It is not for the weak armed, it will tire you out with extended use. Check the weight before you make your decision it is very heavy. Mine came very sharp. Mine also has what appears to be solid walnut scales that are finely fit but a little slick, I used hockey tape to get a good grip and paracord through the lanyard hole as a secondary. You could hang this thing on the wall as a conversation piece it commands that much attention.