A Kephart and me.....

Ethan Becker

Ethan Becker

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A Kephart and me.....

This is going to be a short version of the intro piece to come....

When I came ito possession of the Colclesser made Kephart I was absolutely ecstatic for a host of reasons...

As a decades long fan of the dean of outdoor writers, to hold this iconic blade was an incredible thing...To realise how incredibly useful it was knocked me sideways.... I felt I was, in some way communing with Kephart.....Then it became mine.......It was a bit freaky in some ways but, in a very good way.

I obtained the blade from the esteemed Mark Zalesky of Knife Magazine and he sealed the deal by letting me cut something with it..... I was sold... And I have been learning from it ever since. I say frequently that every blade and every handle have something to teach you.... mind you that frequently the lesson is to sit it back down on the table and walk away from it...Some blades make your eyes slam open and go wow and some are really revelatory...This is such a blade.....

The tallish and fairly thin handles orient the blade beautifully, the blade is the right length, it is slicey but, sturdy enough to be robust..... I really must be used to be appreciated

By the way I managed to make contact with Libby Kephart Hargrave before we got the project started.... She was more than good with it.... She is responsible for the latest iteration of the classic Camping and Woodcraft by her ancestor and it is available through www.smokiesinformation.org .... a Great new bio, decent size.... get one it is still the best


I think Ka-Bar has done a verry nice job of it.....

1095CroVan, full height ground, stone washed, clean with nice walnut scales.....lovely work all around....

It is really interesting to have a blade that is just about 100 years old reach down through the decades to give such interesting lectures.....

By the way.... PLEASE, do not inundate the Factory with when and where questions.... They are gonna make plenty and when they release there will be no wait..... The lovely ladies who answer the phone are worked to a frazzle as it is and know absolutely no more than I do and I have given you all I know... It is gonna happen when it happens....I hope it is soon enough for Christmas as it would solve a lot of shopping for me but, I am working on backups and I DO NOT KNOW anything other than SOON....

All my best...

Ethan
 
Awesome Ethan, really looking forward to one of these. The wife and I are going to go camping at the end of the month, weather permitting, for a few days, then off to the cabin for a few more. Would have loved to have had this for that journey.

By the way, is the production model going to be an 1/8"?
 
Oh cool!

That knife form/pattern/shape as can be seen is often repeated over the years it appears and also even still variations on it are still done.

1095 CroVan is a great "Field Steel" that is tough and durable enough and can be resharpened with ease when its needed, it would be a great steel for this knife.
 
Thanks for the post Ethan ... I can only imagine the stories in that knife you held ... no way your heart and mind couldn't think of the things it's seen.

And thanks for offering this to us it's a no brainer buy IMHO.
 
So VERY excited to see this happening!!!! This is one of those historical pieces that took its time but found the right guy to own it. Many collectors would have put this knife under glass or in a safe. Mark and Ethan took it to shows and let folks experience the utter joy of holding such a rare knife. Then to make it even better Ethan and KaBar are going to put the design in thousands of hands and collections!!! Such a fun time in the Knife world right now :)

PS Ethan shoot that email we talked about at Blade West when you can ;)
 
Add me to the list of those highly anticipating this release. I read Our Southern Highlanders long before I started having more interest in fixed blade knives and before ever knowing about Camping and Woodcraft. OSH was a fascinating read and became even more so after connecting it to C&W and the Kephart knife design. The period and place aspects explored by Kephart in OSH adds more meaning and perspective to C&W, at least for me.
 
Bill Siegle said:
So VERY excited to see this happening!!!! This is one of those historical pieces that took its time but found the right guy to own it. Many collectors would have put this knife under glass or in a safe. Mark and Ethan took it to shows and let folks experience the utter joy of holding such a rare knife. Then to make it even better Ethan and KaBar are going to put the design in thousands of hands and collections!!! Such a fun time in the Knife world right now :)

PS Ethan shoot that email we talked about at Blade West when you can ;)
Click to expand...
Very well said Mr Siegle:thumbsup:
 
I will be putting this in the intro piece to come but, Our Southern Highlanders is about the area I have lived in for almost twenty years....that book helped me to appreciate my new home and the people in it..... I can see the ridge the “Bear Hunt” took place on from the Beckerhead Camp and it caused me to spend enough time with Camping and Woodcraft to really appreciate how incredible a book it really is....

Bill it will be on the way in five.....
 
Nothing like a new blade on the horizon to get this sub pumping.

So thrilled to see this. I wanted to head up to Blade West but could not get away from everything I have going on. Perhaps I'll make the next one.

Still, this is going to be a special knife. I am very much looking forward to it.
 
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