- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
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- 9,786
Came back home last night to find two of John's knives in a box waiting to be opened. Sweet! Well, first I had to talk with the wife and eat some of the dinner left overs, all the while eying the sealed little postal box on the table. Finally after all pleasantry was over I managed to escape to have a look at John's work (I used a Breeden knife to open the Stomper package).
The two knives were a kephart (4.5" blade, 1/8" thick, 1095 with 4.5" black mircata handle) and a kit knife (2.5" blade, 3/32" thick, O1 with thin black mircata slabs). I understand that John does some great exotic woods, but I have always been personally drawn to his black mircata. Maybe it is like that earlier thread about how we get a little more tactical in the winter months. However, I think it has more to do with the clean lines of his knives and how the shape is accentuated by a simple black matte handle. In opening his knives, I wasn't disappointed with my choice.
This was the first time I've had the opportunity to handle some of John's knives. I have to say that the workmanship is superb. The kephart handle ergo's are particularly great. In looking at all those Stomper Kephart pictures posted here, I never really got an appreciation of just how much attention John plays to handle shape. From the pictures below, you can see the sculpting of the slabs. They aren't contoured, but they are nicely rounded without being overly thick. This knife just feels great in the hand! In fact, it is the kind of knife that you just want to hold onto just because it feels so good. This might be the only knife I have that would compare with my Jeff Diotte for handle comfort.
I'm a huge fan of slightly wider blades. My initial disappointed with my Mora #1 had little to do with the grinds or anything, just that the wideness of the blade was so small. The Stomper Kephart seems just about perfect. The tip is centered as per the Kephart design, nice and stout with even grinds. The blade was convexed, my first one of this type.
It came nice and sharp and readily push cut paper. Also shaved curls well, not as nice as a scandi and a little worse than my v-grinds. The latter can be just that I'm less familiar making wood curls with a convex, kept finding the knife slip because of the shape of the edge. Really I think it is because I'm muscle trained to hold the knife at about a 20o angle when making curls, so some learning is required.
Some shots of the Kit knife. It comes with a pocket sheath without a belt loop making it nice and flat. It also has a couple of holes for wearing it as a neck knife. The sheath is good looking with even stitching. There is a high likelyhood that I will get some kydex for these boys though, just so I can switch off to a slimer profile when I like.
The kit has a short, three-finger grip handle. Unusual in a knife this size is the wider blade, which as stated above is something I like. The handle has a little hump towards the tail end that nicely grabs your ring finger and the pinky rests comfortably behind the handle itself.
My one small disappointment with the kit knife is that the lanyard hole does not have a liner tube. Certainly this is something I can live with and it won't affect the performance. Just one of those tiny details I missed in the initial pictures. Unlike the Kephy, this one was an impulse buy on a finished blade, not a custom, so I have no complaints - just providing a constructive critique.
The kit seems lives up to its name perfectly. A great little stow away knife with ultra-thin profile. I have to admit that having used both skeletal and thin slabbed knives, I tend to gravitate towards something with thin slabs. I do appreciate the comfort of skeletal knives that are wrapped, but the thin slabbed knives just seem more robust in terms of ease of maintenance. Once you get a wrap full of slimy gunk you pretty much have to re-wrap it.
The kit knife does not disappoint. Some minimal kydex will make it a perfect addition to my PSK. Used with the supplied pocket sheath, it is a great little 'round the town knife.
The two knives were a kephart (4.5" blade, 1/8" thick, 1095 with 4.5" black mircata handle) and a kit knife (2.5" blade, 3/32" thick, O1 with thin black mircata slabs). I understand that John does some great exotic woods, but I have always been personally drawn to his black mircata. Maybe it is like that earlier thread about how we get a little more tactical in the winter months. However, I think it has more to do with the clean lines of his knives and how the shape is accentuated by a simple black matte handle. In opening his knives, I wasn't disappointed with my choice.
This was the first time I've had the opportunity to handle some of John's knives. I have to say that the workmanship is superb. The kephart handle ergo's are particularly great. In looking at all those Stomper Kephart pictures posted here, I never really got an appreciation of just how much attention John plays to handle shape. From the pictures below, you can see the sculpting of the slabs. They aren't contoured, but they are nicely rounded without being overly thick. This knife just feels great in the hand! In fact, it is the kind of knife that you just want to hold onto just because it feels so good. This might be the only knife I have that would compare with my Jeff Diotte for handle comfort.
I'm a huge fan of slightly wider blades. My initial disappointed with my Mora #1 had little to do with the grinds or anything, just that the wideness of the blade was so small. The Stomper Kephart seems just about perfect. The tip is centered as per the Kephart design, nice and stout with even grinds. The blade was convexed, my first one of this type.
It came nice and sharp and readily push cut paper. Also shaved curls well, not as nice as a scandi and a little worse than my v-grinds. The latter can be just that I'm less familiar making wood curls with a convex, kept finding the knife slip because of the shape of the edge. Really I think it is because I'm muscle trained to hold the knife at about a 20o angle when making curls, so some learning is required.
Some shots of the Kit knife. It comes with a pocket sheath without a belt loop making it nice and flat. It also has a couple of holes for wearing it as a neck knife. The sheath is good looking with even stitching. There is a high likelyhood that I will get some kydex for these boys though, just so I can switch off to a slimer profile when I like.
The kit has a short, three-finger grip handle. Unusual in a knife this size is the wider blade, which as stated above is something I like. The handle has a little hump towards the tail end that nicely grabs your ring finger and the pinky rests comfortably behind the handle itself.
My one small disappointment with the kit knife is that the lanyard hole does not have a liner tube. Certainly this is something I can live with and it won't affect the performance. Just one of those tiny details I missed in the initial pictures. Unlike the Kephy, this one was an impulse buy on a finished blade, not a custom, so I have no complaints - just providing a constructive critique.
The kit seems lives up to its name perfectly. A great little stow away knife with ultra-thin profile. I have to admit that having used both skeletal and thin slabbed knives, I tend to gravitate towards something with thin slabs. I do appreciate the comfort of skeletal knives that are wrapped, but the thin slabbed knives just seem more robust in terms of ease of maintenance. Once you get a wrap full of slimy gunk you pretty much have to re-wrap it.
The kit knife does not disappoint. Some minimal kydex will make it a perfect addition to my PSK. Used with the supplied pocket sheath, it is a great little 'round the town knife.
