Condor Woodlaw- handle mods

[AlexD]

I have a Condor Bushlore and enjoyed doing some finishing work on it- I sanded, oiled, and waxed the scales and sharpened the blade with various grits of sandpaper followed by a good stropping till it was razor sharp. I found it very satisfying and like the knife a lot. It is a real user.

I've been eyeing the Condor Woodlaw since it came out. Nice simple design that reminded me of a Skookum Bush Tool (drool) which I can't afford. So I pulled the trigger last week and finally ordered it. When it came yesterday the grind was not bad except for one flat spot on the belly. The micarta handle provided good traction but was too "blocky" feeling for my personal taste. Just the excuse I needed to head to the garage and break out my dremel with a sanding bit. I have absolutely no knife making training, fancy tools, or skills but love to tinker with all my gear to make it fit me.

I knew I wanted a small guard in the front, so I added that. Then I hit the rear of the tang and contoured that as well. Made a big difference, really feels great now. I may also add a groove for my thumb to the front of the scales later on.

I spent about an hour on the blade starting with 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper and worked my way down to 1000 grit, then a stropping with black and white compounds. Shaves hair and makes great feather sticks.

I really can't believe how great a knife this is for less than $50 including shipping! It is easy to carry at only 5.5 ounces and comes with a terrific sheath. The blade shape is very useful, and being fairly soft steel as well as a scandi, a breeze to sharpen.

Thanks for looking. Here are some after pics. I forgot to take a before shot. image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg

[Paul Foreman]

well done ...

[FortyTwoBlades]

Great work!

[bushwolf]

Nice mods, it looks much more comfortable now.

[Lamewolf]

Looks much more impressive now - now I gotta get me one !

[AZExplorer]

Very nice it looks great. It makes me want to buy one now.

[AlexD]

Follow up to my original post...

I've been using my Woodlaw exclusively since I got it and posted the mods.

I'm very happy with the whole package- the overall size, blade length/shape, weight, ergonomics and the sheath. I forget that I'm wearing it quite often, but feel that it offers a lot of performance for it's size & weight. I've battoned smaller pieces of wood into kindling and made fire sticks on more than a dozen occasions, as well as used it for EDC tasks like opening packages and food prep. Cutting up fresh pineapples was a fun test, and it worked surprisingly well.

I couldn't leave well enough alone though and ended up shaping the front of the scales for a more comfortable thumb rest (big improvement) as well as contouring the back of the scales (very comfortable but in hindsight I wouldn't remove quite as much material next time, I feels a bit thin). This of course will vary person to person.

Pics are the original factory knife for comparison, and then my final modded version.

Thanks for looking.

Alex
image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg

[darkwolf777]

Wow. Nice job, now I want one. Before vs after.... I'd buy your version fast, way, way better than factory spec.

[Lamewolf]

I have a Condor Bushlore and enjoyed doing some finishing work on it- I sanded, oiled, and waxed the scales and sharpened the blade with various grits of sandpaper followed by a good stropping till it was razor sharp. I found it very satisfying and like the knife a lot. It is a real user.

I've been eyeing the Condor Woodlaw since it came out. Nice simple design that reminded me of a Skookum Bush Tool (drool) which I can't afford. So I pulled the trigger last week and finally ordered it. When it came yesterday the grind was not bad except for one flat spot on the belly. The micarta handle provided good traction but was too "blocky" feeling for my personal taste. Just the excuse I needed to head to the garage and break out my dremel with a sanding bit. I have absolutely no knife making training, fancy tools, or skills but love to tinker with all my gear to make it fit me.

I knew I wanted a small guard in the front, so I added that. Then I hit the rear of the tang and contoured that as well. Made a big difference, really feels great now. I may also add a groove for my thumb to the front of the scales later on.

I spent about an hour on the blade starting with 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper and worked my way down to 1000 grit, then a stropping with black and white compounds. Shaves hair and makes great feather sticks.

I really can't believe how great a knife this is for less than $50 including shipping! It is easy to carry at only 5.5 ounces and comes with a terrific sheath. The blade shape is very useful, and being fairly soft steel as well as a scandi, a breeze to sharpen.

Thanks for looking. Here are some after pics. I forgot to take a before shot. image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg

OK, I went ahead and order one and will be doing some similar mods and its all your fault ! THANKS !

[treebreeze]

That's a good lookin knife!