Condor Golok Machete

M

Moses2792796

Joined
Jun 30, 2012
Messages
186
I've had one of these for a while now and I cannot for the life of me figure out why they are so popular. I really wanted to like this tool and I can certainly appreciate that it is well made and very tough but the design just doesn't seem to be effective at anything...let me explain.

At first I thought the 1/4" stock would be useful, extra weight for chopping and splitting etc. But I have found the the fact that it is only ground quite close to the edge means that the edge of so thick it is impossible to get sharp enough to be a good chopper or for slicing smaller vegetation. Not only that it is so heavy that it is completely impractical to carry or use one for any significant length of time. Even after spending a fair amount of time trying to remove some of the steel to thin out the edge I am still left with a tool that is too thick to be used like a normal machete, doesn't chop anywhere near as well as a good axe of similar weight, and is too damn heavy to swing comfortably or carry anywhere. Unless someone can help me understand what these are supposed to be used for I think I will be selling mine ASAP.
 
I can't talk about the full size, but I got my mom the Pack Golok when she was looking for a machete and that thing is a beast. I've cut down trees with it on occasion. I find the grip a little fat but it chops very well.
 
Yes I've heard good things about the Pack Golok, and looking at it I don't think I would have the same problems as I do with the Golok Machete. It is a shorter, thinner blade and the grind appears to go a bit higher, so not only would it not have the excessive weight of the full size it should also have better slicing ability. The full size Golok just seems cumbersome and impractical to me.
 
I like my Condor Golok; I in fact own two. I use it pretty much exclusively for chopping trees/branches and occasional softer vegetation. It is hard to get the swing velocity as high as with a standard machete.

I picked up the Condor Pack Golok a year ago when the came out. I actually am more likely to carry it out in the woods than the standard Golok. I do feel the handle is a tad too big around for me. Probably will thin it down a bit when I work up the nerve.
 
I guess what I was wondering is, does anyone find that this extra thick blade has any real advantages over a more standard machete? So far I can't discover any and the weight just makes it almost useless for me.
 
If the blade on the standard Condor Golok was the same thickness as a typical machete, it would be flimsy. The thickness is necessary for the design in my opinion. I find the Golok much more comfortable to use than a standard machete. If is it "useless" to you, toss it in the garage and forget about it.
 
I've had mine for about a year and found it works quite well for me. Obviously being a thicker blade it is made more for thicker vines, delimbing, bushes and not lighter stuff that you would use a 1/16" machete on. It chops well, the handle is comfortable and even after an hour and half of continuous use I personally didn't find it excessively tiring or heavy.
 
22-rimfire said:
If the blade on the standard Condor Golok was the same thickness as a typical machete, it would be flimsy. The thickness is necessary for the design in my opinion. I find the Golok much more comfortable to use than a standard machete. If is it "useless" to you, toss it in the garage and forget about it.
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I think they could easily make it typical machete thickness so long as it was still distal tapered. Start it off 5/32" at the base instead of 1/4" and give it a nice strong taper.

michaelm466 said:
I've had mine for about a year and found it works quite well for me. Obviously being a thicker blade it is made more for thicker vines, delimbing, bushes and not lighter stuff that you would use a 1/16" machete on. It chops well, the handle is comfortable and even after an hour and half of continuous use I personally didn't find it excessively tiring or heavy.
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For light targets use the upward sweep of the blade at the very tip. The edge presentation relative to the target lets it cut decently enough. :)

The factory grind on the Golok is a little odd in that it maintains uniform bevel width along its length rather than equal edge angle so it's very obtuse at the base of the blade. The best way to thin that puppy out is with a lot of grinding on a belt sander but you can file it down if you don't have access to a sander.
 
My Golok after I sharpened it a bit works wonders for chopping. It didn't actually need sharpened right away, but I nicked the edge on some concrete, so I had to sharpen it anyway.
 
So far, I very rarely use mine. The thing people forget about thin machetes is that they are usually very wide as well, which does in fact translate to blade strength which makes for a light and clean slicing blade. I found that my golok bounced off targets rather than digging in like I would expect of a machete. You're honestly better off with a Tramontina or Imacasa, or Condor's upgraded variants. That 1/4 width is really inferior in terms of weight and cutting ability.
 
RemyKaze said:
So far, I very rarely use mine. The thing people forget about thin machetes is that they are usually very wide as well, which does in fact translate to blade strength which makes for a light and clean slicing blade. I found that my golok bounced off targets rather than digging in like I would expect of a machete. You're honestly better off with a Tramontina or Imacasa, or Condor's upgraded variants. That 1/4 width is really inferior in terms of weight and cutting ability.
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I do definitely prefer "purebred" machetes for the majority of situations. However, I'd note that if someone intends to use the Golok not just as a chopper but also for camp tasks and the like it takes on more utility. Also, more recent runs have had much more significant distal taper to them than the older models did so they're actually pretty good and thin at the flare of the tip. :)
 
I love mine, it doesn't kill foliage like my Tramontinas do, but it makes short work out of wood, and limbs. This thing chops all out of proportion to it's size IMO. With that being said I don't feel like mine is the best jack of all trades, machete, but is plenty sharp after being taken to my Worksharp sharpener, with the guard removed.
 
Moses2792796 said:
Yes I've heard good things about the Pack Golok, and looking at it I don't think I would have the same problems as I do with the Golok Machete. It is a shorter, thinner blade and the grind appears to go a bit higher, so not only would it not have the excessive weight of the full size
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Uhh, not to be the bearer of bad news, but the pack golok is heavier than the regular one.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I think they could easily make it typical machete thickness so long as it was still distal tapered. Start it off 5/32" at the base instead of 1/4" and give it a nice strong taper.



For light targets use the upward sweep of the blade at the very tip. The edge presentation relative to the target lets it cut decently enough. :)

The factory grind on the Golok is a little odd in that it maintains uniform bevel width along its length rather than equal edge angle so it's very obtuse at the base of the blade. The best way to thin that puppy out is with a lot of grinding on a belt sander but you can file it down if you don't have access to a sander.
Click to expand...

Mine must be a later production as it has a great distal taper. The "tinggggg" sound it makes when I flick it is beautiful. Definitely a great chopper and I've used mine for vines and vegetation as well. I'm a landscaper and use a machete often but for grasses I obviously don't use my golok foremost. Mine is 4 years old and has seen alot of use, still going strong and the edge is now more refined as well, although as a chopper I didn't find the strong convex edge out of place anyway
 
PackLeader1990x said:
Mine must be a later production as it has a great distal taper. The "tinggggg" sound it makes when I flick it is beautiful. Definitely a great chopper and I've used mine for vines and vegetation as well. I'm a landscaper and use a machete often but for grasses I obviously don't use my golok foremost. Mine is 4 years old and has seen alot of use, still going strong and the edge is now more refined as well, although as a chopper I didn't find the strong convex edge out of place anyway
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Welcome to the forum! Unfortunately, you've both misinterpreted my post and revived a 5-year-old thread. My point was not that the Golok as it was produced in 2013 was not tapered (it was, though less so than it is now) but rather that if it was made in normal machete thickness range (rather than "chopping knife" range) that it would still do well, particularly if it was distal tapered. Lo and behold, they came out with the Eco-Survival Golok a couple of years ago.
 
Bigfatts said:
I can't talk about the full size, but I got my mom the Pack Golok when she was looking for a machete and that thing is a beast. I've cut down trees with it on occasion. I find the grip a little fat but it chops very well.
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The Pack Golok is my dominant chopper and yes, I think the handle is a little fat. I have two regular Goloks. At first I thought it was the perfect answer to my machete needs which is why I bought a second one. But it really doesn't do a great job chopping limbs or bendable vegetation like briars. It is too light for heavy chopping. I went with a 14" Condor Puerto Rican and have really like using it. The current version is the 16" Swamp Master which I own too. I keep it in a different vehicle all the time. The Swamp Master is not a flexible vegetation cutter for any period of time. You want something less rigid for that like the 18" El Salvador which I also love (especially with the wood handle). If I only had one machete, it would be the 18" El Salvador latin machete with the wood handle. It does a pretty fine job limbing also.

Just noticed this is a 5 year old thread. Welcome to the forum Packleader. It is almost always the new guys who bring up old threads.
 
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This thread was pretty fresh when I bought my Golok in 2013, although I do not remember it. I found my Golok heavy and unwieldy at first, with a handle that was uncomfortably thick. Once I learned to use it, it became a brush-clearing monster, especially on medium-sized limbs up to maybe an inch in diameter. It chops pretty well - I used it to take down a 5-inch Chinese elm - but it really excels at de-limbing, slashing cleanly through branches that would stop a lighter blade.
 
Moses2792796 said:
I've had one of these for a while now and I cannot for the life of me figure out why they are so popular. I really wanted to like this tool and I can certainly appreciate that it is well made and very tough but the design just doesn't seem to be effective at anything...let me explain.

At first I thought the 1/4" stock would be useful, extra weight for chopping and splitting etc. But I have found the the fact that it is only ground quite close to the edge means that the edge of so thick it is impossible to get sharp enough to be a good chopper or for slicing smaller vegetation. Not only that it is so heavy that it is completely impractical to carry or use one for any significant length of time. Even after spending a fair amount of time trying to remove some of the steel to thin out the edge I am still left with a tool that is too thick to be used like a normal machete, doesn't chop anywhere near as well as a good axe of similar weight, and is too damn heavy to swing comfortably or carry anywhere. Unless someone can help me understand what these are supposed to be used for I think I will be selling mine ASAP.
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I've got mine hanging on the wall right next to my Condor Parang Machete. They look good there.

I'm no machete specialist (I'll defer to FortyTwoBlades on that) but these things are heavy and do have rather thick handles. They'll definitely give you a good work out. However, they are nicely made and if you find the right use for them, and how to use them properly, they'll get the job done, for sure.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Welcome to the forum! Unfortunately, you've both misinterpreted my post and revived a 5-year-old thread. My point was not that the Golok as it was produced in 2013 was not tapered (it was, though less so than it is now) but rather that if it was made in normal machete thickness range (rather than "chopping knife" range) that it would still do well, particularly if it was distal tapered. Lo and behold, they came out with the Eco-Survival Golok a couple of years ago.
Click to expand...
Lol thanks bro & yes the eco golok does seem to be a more refined version :)
 
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