First knife, Camillus 8" fixed or Condor Bushlore/mini bushlore

A

aguerra

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Sep 20, 2013
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Hello everyone, I am in the market for my first fixed blade knife for bushcraft and general camping and backpacking activities. I am just looking for something fairly inexpensive but will do me well. Which do you think would be a better buy? And if you have any other recommendations of knives under $30 that's great, thank you!
 
Condor makes good stuff. Sometimes the fit and finish can be a little off but for the price I can live with it. The Rodan is a nice fullsize blade for ~$25. The only other knife I can think of under $30 I would recommend is the Cold Steel Bushman or Bowie Bushman. The Cold Steel GI Tanto is well reviewed also but I have no personal experience with it.

I also highly recommend Mora knives. They are awesome for most utility tasks you need a knife for and the scandi grind is superb for making shavings to get the fire going.
 
Thanks for the help but I think those might be a little too big for me. I'm not looking for a very large knife, just a small blade I can do light batoning, feathering sticks, and other backpacking tasks. Another one that called my attention was the Cold Steel Finn Bear, looks like a nice little knife.

Edit- just saw the Finn Bear is not full tang, which is something I'm looking for.
 
aguerra said:
Thanks for the help but I think those might be a little too big for me. I'm not looking for a very large knife, just a small blade I can do light batoning, feathering sticks, and other backpacking tasks. Another one that called my attention was the Cold Steel Finn Bear, looks like a nice little knife.

Edit- just saw the Finn Bear is not full tang, which is something I'm looking for.
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The Bushlore, Rodan, or Bushcraft Basic 4-5 would be your best bet. I have a mini Bushlore, I like it best. The Bushcraft Basic would be my next choice with a shape like a leuku, and the Rodan would be last. However, the Rodan would be the best for batoning as it is pretty darn thick.

I second the Mora, I love the Bushcraft models, but they are not full tang.

I wouldn't go with Camillus at all.
 
The regular Condor bushlore is a pretty stout knife. I have one. It would take tremendous abuse like a Kabar BK-2. The question relative to you is it too big? The mini-bushlore might be the ticket. This is something that might just require you to buy both and return one perhaps??

The Condor Kephart is another very useful size and one that could be used for everything short of chopping.

Have you considered the Condor Hudson Bay? It is a bigger knife, but one that I can learn to use with some dexterity.
 
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Camillus has USA- made knives. I just acquired a Camillus Bushcraft knife. USA made, 1095 steel. Nice knife!
 
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