This isn't a thorough review of all facets of the two knives. These are just my subjective impressions and opinions. Like a lot of collectors and users, I have more knives than I really need. For me, knives are as much a hobby as they are utilitarian tools. I am not a brand loyalist and I like them all-- Becnhmade, Spyderco, Tops, Helle. If it cuts and doesn't fall apart, I like it. When I am camping or hiking/exploring, I usually carry a small Estwing hatchet, a neck knife like the ESSE Izula , and a mid sized blade. For woodworking I prefer a scandi or flat grind. I like the way you can control the cuts. I still have yet to come across a knife that cuts and slices wood as well as my Mora's. But even though I rarely, if ever, use a knife to baton wood, I usually prefer a blade with a bit more heft when employed for general camp or woods duty. I like the Mora's for precision carving.
When the Bushcrafter came out, I was intrigued. I own a small collection of Benchmades and the quality is top notch. I finally decided to spend the money early this year and in February, purchased the knife after listening to the reviews and handling the knife many times in the shops. The feel in hand is excellent and it just feels very balanced and substantial. It is a hefty knife with a solid feel. In the spring, I really had a good chance to make use of the blade. I spent a couple weeks on a backpacking trip in Montana/Glacier. I also put it through it's paces throughout the summer. The more I used the knife the more I kind of got the impression that it wasn't the best choice for me as a dedicated 'bushcraft' blade. There are a lot of good things to say about the knife. It will get the job done, it's built like a tank, and it holds an edge like nobody's business. If I had to take one mid-sized knife from my collection with me in a true life or death survival situation, this would probably be it. It is rock solid and dependable and seems pretty indestructible. But I found it sitting at home as the summer progressed. It will cut and slice adequately, but not as efficiently as I prefer. As I used the blade, I found that the handle scales started creating pretty rough hot spots when used for an extended period. The profile is very aggressive, especially in the rear notch. What felt like heaven in the shop started to wear on me as time went on. The Rat 5 is much more comfortable in hand and cuts and slices wood much better IMO.After further review, I just don't think the Benchmade makes the optimal woods blade. But that's just my two cents. I think the Bushcrafter falls more into the Survival or Heavy Duty utility category.
After picking up the Condor Bushlore a month ago, I was pretty blown away. For me, in the woods, it outperforms the Benchmade in all but one category---edge retention. It lacks the polish of the Bushcrafter but makes up for it in pure utilitarian function. It is a Mora on steroids and slices and dices wood almost as effortlessly. Although I am keeping the Bushcracfter in my collection and it will be in the bugout bag as a survival blade, if I had tried the Bushlore prior to the Benhcmade, I would would not have purchased the latter. If i would use one word to describe the Benchmade as a general woodsman knife it would be 'Overbuilt'. Survival blade? Yes. Woods knife? There are better choices. IMO, of course. Someone else may have the opposite impression.
The Bushlore has a slightly larger handle and a slightly smaller blade.
It also has more of a spearpoint profile and more belly. The tip is excellent for drilling into wood. The Benchmade takes much more effort to drill out a pilot hole or divot.
The Benchmade has a thicker spine that tapers less aggressively to the tip. This is either a pro or con depending what you plan on doing with the knife. If you are doing heavy duty stabbing duties, the Benchmade will obviously hold up a lot better. But I have had no issues drilling or light stabbing when working with wood using the Condor. At first I was a bit worried that the tip might roll or break when gouging or stabbing into wood, but it has held up fine.
The Benchmade has a high saber grind and the Condor has a scandi which I think is actually more like a very subtle convex grind.
As far as handle and ergonomics, this is a very subjective area as it's not one size fits all. Depending on your preferences and hand size, your conclusions will vary. But I found that for me, I prefer the feel of the handle profile on the condor. It is less thick and the grip has a profile which conforms to my hand in a firm but subtle manner, even after hard use. The Benchmade starts out feeling fine, but after extended use, hot spots and cramping ensues, especially under aggressive carving. The wood on the Condor also feels more pleasing in the hand than the G10 handles on the Benchmade. The Condor was much easier to use when performing fine detailed work and tasks, just due to the more neutral handle feel. The Benchmade handles and heft makes it feel like a brute that you have to push around and for me, the handles get in thew way rather than assist when it comes to detailed work and finesse. The Benchmade is a knife that lends itself to more brute force types of tasks.
The handles are a lot wider on the Benchmade. For me, this also created lateral hot spots during extended use whereas the Condor produces none. The handles on the Condor have a more rounded feel in general where the edges of the scales meet the hands. After extended use, the edges of the scales on the Benchmade become more noticeable and seem to press into my hands rather than conform to them in a natural way. Again, this is just my impression and not everyone has the same hands. I just found that the scales on the Benchmade created too many pressure points over time and under heavy use. In short, they put a hurting on my hands, especially at the butt where the groove in the handle tapers downward.
The one area in which I can say the Benchmade just totally fails is in regards to the sheath. When you consider the cost of the Knife, you would think they would provide a functional sheath of high quality. The Condor cost me a mere $35 on Amazon and came with a sheath that would probably run you twice the cost of the knife if purchased from a custom leather shop. It is solid and of very high quality in both feel and appearance. The Benchmade started to go sour on me quickly. The leather strips easily and warps and frays and leaves pieces all over the place. The knife starts moving around and cutting into the stitching. It also is not the most secure sheath I have used. The knife easily backs out of the plastic insert even with the buckle locked into place. Whoever designed this sheath needs to find a new job. Sorry to be so blunt but Benchmade can do much better than this. These are not $20 made in China Trinkets. This is a $180 knife. They dropped the ball in this area.
When the Bushcrafter came out, I was intrigued. I own a small collection of Benchmades and the quality is top notch. I finally decided to spend the money early this year and in February, purchased the knife after listening to the reviews and handling the knife many times in the shops. The feel in hand is excellent and it just feels very balanced and substantial. It is a hefty knife with a solid feel. In the spring, I really had a good chance to make use of the blade. I spent a couple weeks on a backpacking trip in Montana/Glacier. I also put it through it's paces throughout the summer. The more I used the knife the more I kind of got the impression that it wasn't the best choice for me as a dedicated 'bushcraft' blade. There are a lot of good things to say about the knife. It will get the job done, it's built like a tank, and it holds an edge like nobody's business. If I had to take one mid-sized knife from my collection with me in a true life or death survival situation, this would probably be it. It is rock solid and dependable and seems pretty indestructible. But I found it sitting at home as the summer progressed. It will cut and slice adequately, but not as efficiently as I prefer. As I used the blade, I found that the handle scales started creating pretty rough hot spots when used for an extended period. The profile is very aggressive, especially in the rear notch. What felt like heaven in the shop started to wear on me as time went on. The Rat 5 is much more comfortable in hand and cuts and slices wood much better IMO.After further review, I just don't think the Benchmade makes the optimal woods blade. But that's just my two cents. I think the Bushcrafter falls more into the Survival or Heavy Duty utility category.
After picking up the Condor Bushlore a month ago, I was pretty blown away. For me, in the woods, it outperforms the Benchmade in all but one category---edge retention. It lacks the polish of the Bushcrafter but makes up for it in pure utilitarian function. It is a Mora on steroids and slices and dices wood almost as effortlessly. Although I am keeping the Bushcracfter in my collection and it will be in the bugout bag as a survival blade, if I had tried the Bushlore prior to the Benhcmade, I would would not have purchased the latter. If i would use one word to describe the Benchmade as a general woodsman knife it would be 'Overbuilt'. Survival blade? Yes. Woods knife? There are better choices. IMO, of course. Someone else may have the opposite impression.
The Bushlore has a slightly larger handle and a slightly smaller blade.
It also has more of a spearpoint profile and more belly. The tip is excellent for drilling into wood. The Benchmade takes much more effort to drill out a pilot hole or divot.
The Benchmade has a thicker spine that tapers less aggressively to the tip. This is either a pro or con depending what you plan on doing with the knife. If you are doing heavy duty stabbing duties, the Benchmade will obviously hold up a lot better. But I have had no issues drilling or light stabbing when working with wood using the Condor. At first I was a bit worried that the tip might roll or break when gouging or stabbing into wood, but it has held up fine.
The Benchmade has a high saber grind and the Condor has a scandi which I think is actually more like a very subtle convex grind.
As far as handle and ergonomics, this is a very subjective area as it's not one size fits all. Depending on your preferences and hand size, your conclusions will vary. But I found that for me, I prefer the feel of the handle profile on the condor. It is less thick and the grip has a profile which conforms to my hand in a firm but subtle manner, even after hard use. The Benchmade starts out feeling fine, but after extended use, hot spots and cramping ensues, especially under aggressive carving. The wood on the Condor also feels more pleasing in the hand than the G10 handles on the Benchmade. The Condor was much easier to use when performing fine detailed work and tasks, just due to the more neutral handle feel. The Benchmade handles and heft makes it feel like a brute that you have to push around and for me, the handles get in thew way rather than assist when it comes to detailed work and finesse. The Benchmade is a knife that lends itself to more brute force types of tasks.
The handles are a lot wider on the Benchmade. For me, this also created lateral hot spots during extended use whereas the Condor produces none. The handles on the Condor have a more rounded feel in general where the edges of the scales meet the hands. After extended use, the edges of the scales on the Benchmade become more noticeable and seem to press into my hands rather than conform to them in a natural way. Again, this is just my impression and not everyone has the same hands. I just found that the scales on the Benchmade created too many pressure points over time and under heavy use. In short, they put a hurting on my hands, especially at the butt where the groove in the handle tapers downward.
The one area in which I can say the Benchmade just totally fails is in regards to the sheath. When you consider the cost of the Knife, you would think they would provide a functional sheath of high quality. The Condor cost me a mere $35 on Amazon and came with a sheath that would probably run you twice the cost of the knife if purchased from a custom leather shop. It is solid and of very high quality in both feel and appearance. The Benchmade started to go sour on me quickly. The leather strips easily and warps and frays and leaves pieces all over the place. The knife starts moving around and cutting into the stitching. It also is not the most secure sheath I have used. The knife easily backs out of the plastic insert even with the buckle locked into place. Whoever designed this sheath needs to find a new job. Sorry to be so blunt but Benchmade can do much better than this. These are not $20 made in China Trinkets. This is a $180 knife. They dropped the ball in this area.
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