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- Mar 19, 2007
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- 7,440
Full Tang Kephart:
Steel: A2
Rockwell Hardness: 58 Rc
Handle Material: Black Paper Micarta
Overall Length: 8.805
Blade Length from tip to Ricosso: 4.097 Inches.
Handle Length from butt to Ricosso: 4.728
Ricosso Length: 0.186
Steel Width at Spine of Ricosso: 0.144
Steel Width at blade in front of Ricosso: 0.124
Blade Height at Ricossa: 0.988
Handle Height at Butt: 1.044
Handle Height at Center Pin: 1.005
Handle Height at Front Pin: 0.901
Handle Height at Finger Guard 1.227
Handle Size at Butt: 0.834
Handle Size at Center Pin: 0.786
Handle Size at Front Pin:0.684
Fit and Finish:
I originally ordered this knife in 2009 and have been using it steadily for the last 3 years. It has been sharpened, polished, cleaned up, oiled, and sheathed so many times it isn't funny. Now that I have a few years under my belt, and learning a lot about knives from this forum and a little from a few others, I am now in a better place to give perspective on this knife. When I recieved the knife from bark river - the plunge lines were uniform and the grind was nicely done. However, the finish grit was rough and even after three years of use and polishing - I can still see a few grind lines in the blade. I have owned SEVERAL Bark River knives since then - and I must say that all my BRKT's recieved in 2009 and 2010 were this way. Great knives - but the grinds were not as good as they could be. Often, they came a little rough in the grind and the fit and finish were not perfect. These were always nit pics to be sure - but let me give you some examples:
BRKT scales are C&C'd, assembled, and then cleaned up. If you look at the finger guard on this knife you can see it does not match the tang underneath - the maker did not take the time to clean this up.
Also - there are few errors in the grind that I have fixed over time. The blade should be flat to the plunge line.
As you can see here - a few more seconds on the grinder would have made this knife perfect. Nit picks to be sure - but I have to put them in a review.
(With this said - I have owned many BRKT's in the last few years - and about a year ago - Jackie from BRKT mentioned they were going through some policy changes at BRKT and that they were altering the final finish of their knives - all knives that come in for a Spa treatment are put through this new process. I recently sent in a BRKT Gunny to have the thumb ramp taken off - it came back with a grind that I would call perfect. The finish was taken to a fine grit and was almost matte - the knife had been finely gone over and I was VERY happy - this is the same with a new BRKT Bushcrafter. I think BRKT has taken their business in the right direction and cured much of these little nit picky problems that have bothered me. This is a VERY good sign. The business is growing with the times and making improvements to their processes. The newer FT BRKT Kepharts seem to have none of the little issues my knife did - which were small to begin with).
The handle was essentially perfect. The black paper micarta was put to a high polish and the pins were even and level. The only thing I did when I got it was to rough it up a little with some baking soda - as to add a little grip to it. It was a bit slippery with all that spit and polish!
Original Sharpening - and Sharpening over time:
As you can see - I am anal. I have spend quite a bit of time with this blade taking out the deeper scratches (grind lines) and taking the edge to a high polish. A2 steel is not quite as easy to work with as, say, 1090 or 01 but it is nearly so. I used 400 and 600 grit wet dry paper (keeping it wet) to hand rub the blade. Then I took the entire flat to worn 2000 grit and set my edge. Then I took the edge through three types of compound on a JRE Strop bat and then to bare leather.
This knife is a joy to sharpen - when I have to - which is rare. The heat treat is really spot on and this knife and it can do a LOT of hard work with even heavy woods without needing sharpening. The edge has never chipped or rolled on me and I have had nary and issue with the performance of this knife.
Blade Geometry:
There are a few schools of thought on the Kephart blade geometry. There are those that put a edge on the kephart that is parallel to the spine the length of the blade and there are those that put a little more belly into the knife. Check out the original Kephart design:
You can see that the original Kephart came with a little belly to it. Whereas many other makers leave this belly out (ML and JK for example) Bark River decided to keep this belly in. I am not a huge skinner of game - so this belly doesn't really effect how I use the knife - but Kephart was - and I know that a little belly in the front of the knife assists in this process.
There is are also two schools of thought concerning how high to grind the knife. ML and JK, again for example, use a high sabre grind and a full convex edge on their knives. It appears that Kepharts original design called for a full height grind. It is tough to tell if it was a full height flat grind - but it quite obvious that Kephart himself (most likely through hand sharpening) convexed his blades over time.
BRKT has a full height convex on their Kephart. I have found that it doesn't really matter the difference in these grinds - as long as the maker knows that they are doing. In the case of all makers mentioned - they do - so all knives perform very well.
The A2 steel, I have found, will patina quickly for you (especially at the tang) but does not pit or rust easily. It gains a patina and then seems to halt any corrosion there (in normal circumstances). I leave the patina on he handle and use some wet dry sand paper on the blade to make it shiny. It takes seconds and is a great steel.
Balance:
The balance point of my knife is about 1/4 inch behind the front pin. This has the advantage of making the blade feel very light and the handle feel very solid in your hand - but in terms of pure balance - it is a tiny bit butt heavy.
Handle Design:
The handle design on a Kephart is very simplistic. As I have said elsewhere - it is essentially a halved broom stick that is shaped to fit the tang. It is the most neutral grip on the knife designs I use. However - I have come to love this handle. Simple is hard - and in this case - simple is good. The BRKT is not as hand filling as the ML - and is fairly equal to the JK - but all of them are comfortable and very easy to use. Again, if I were to choose a knife that I needed to use (especially on wood) over a long period of time - the Kephart is what I wish to have. This knife is no different. In fact, I have made DOZENS of walking sticks for friends and family and used the BRKT Kephart for the majority of them. The Straight Back ML Kephart for the rest. This entails stripping bark off dozens of staves to allow them to cure and then cleaning them up once they are cured. It is a pleasure with a good handle and the Kephart handle is made to please.
Sheath:
It is a Sharpshooter type A sheath. It is Sharpshooter. Here are some pics.
I have come to change my mind on the Sharpshooter A and B designs for a sheath. I find Sharpshooter's leather to be too thin and the belt loop to be sewn on too too low on the sheath for my tastes. I have sold every Sharp Shooter A and B designed sheath and made my own.
I made my own sheaths for the Kephart and Kephart Companion:
They were meant to be worn together as seen here:
This was when I was first learning to bend leather and I am quite embarassed by these sheaths. They have been used - but they are, in my opinion, clunky and ugly now. I will be making new pants for my Kepharts soon and have thought about the designs I want.
Either way - I like them better than the Sharp Shooter A - and wish I could order a BRKT without the sheath.
With that said - I really like my Gunny sheath and the KSF Forest sheath by Sharp Shooter. Thicker leather - better finish - better thought out. So- I think Sharpshooter is improving right along with BRKT's knives. No worries. I will say this - the ownders at Sharpshooter are easy to work with - and since I ripped off their designs wholesale when making my first sheaths - I owe a lot to them. I think they are good people and their sheaths are GREAT for the price.
A small addendum:
I was absolutley smitten with my Bark River Aurora when I first made this review - and have sense sold the knife in favor of the BRKT Gunny. However - I compared EVERY knive I owned to the Aurora. In the end, the Aurora was a little too long in the handle and the blade for my tastes - but man - what a great knife. It is the bar many people set their bushcrafting knives to.
Overall Thoughts:
Personally - bang for the buck - a ML or BRKT kephart is hard to beat for the price. I have owned the BRKT for 3 years now and have never had an issue and always used it hard. This knife will likely not leave my hands any time soon. It has taken a back seat to other knives - but it is an heirloom quality knife that I simply love. If mine was suddenly stolen - I would not hesitate to buy another.
Steel: A2
Rockwell Hardness: 58 Rc
Handle Material: Black Paper Micarta
Overall Length: 8.805
Blade Length from tip to Ricosso: 4.097 Inches.
Handle Length from butt to Ricosso: 4.728
Ricosso Length: 0.186
Steel Width at Spine of Ricosso: 0.144
Steel Width at blade in front of Ricosso: 0.124
Blade Height at Ricossa: 0.988
Handle Height at Butt: 1.044
Handle Height at Center Pin: 1.005
Handle Height at Front Pin: 0.901
Handle Height at Finger Guard 1.227
Handle Size at Butt: 0.834
Handle Size at Center Pin: 0.786
Handle Size at Front Pin:0.684
Fit and Finish:
I originally ordered this knife in 2009 and have been using it steadily for the last 3 years. It has been sharpened, polished, cleaned up, oiled, and sheathed so many times it isn't funny. Now that I have a few years under my belt, and learning a lot about knives from this forum and a little from a few others, I am now in a better place to give perspective on this knife. When I recieved the knife from bark river - the plunge lines were uniform and the grind was nicely done. However, the finish grit was rough and even after three years of use and polishing - I can still see a few grind lines in the blade. I have owned SEVERAL Bark River knives since then - and I must say that all my BRKT's recieved in 2009 and 2010 were this way. Great knives - but the grinds were not as good as they could be. Often, they came a little rough in the grind and the fit and finish were not perfect. These were always nit pics to be sure - but let me give you some examples:
BRKT scales are C&C'd, assembled, and then cleaned up. If you look at the finger guard on this knife you can see it does not match the tang underneath - the maker did not take the time to clean this up.
Also - there are few errors in the grind that I have fixed over time. The blade should be flat to the plunge line.
As you can see here - a few more seconds on the grinder would have made this knife perfect. Nit picks to be sure - but I have to put them in a review.
(With this said - I have owned many BRKT's in the last few years - and about a year ago - Jackie from BRKT mentioned they were going through some policy changes at BRKT and that they were altering the final finish of their knives - all knives that come in for a Spa treatment are put through this new process. I recently sent in a BRKT Gunny to have the thumb ramp taken off - it came back with a grind that I would call perfect. The finish was taken to a fine grit and was almost matte - the knife had been finely gone over and I was VERY happy - this is the same with a new BRKT Bushcrafter. I think BRKT has taken their business in the right direction and cured much of these little nit picky problems that have bothered me. This is a VERY good sign. The business is growing with the times and making improvements to their processes. The newer FT BRKT Kepharts seem to have none of the little issues my knife did - which were small to begin with).
The handle was essentially perfect. The black paper micarta was put to a high polish and the pins were even and level. The only thing I did when I got it was to rough it up a little with some baking soda - as to add a little grip to it. It was a bit slippery with all that spit and polish!
Original Sharpening - and Sharpening over time:
As you can see - I am anal. I have spend quite a bit of time with this blade taking out the deeper scratches (grind lines) and taking the edge to a high polish. A2 steel is not quite as easy to work with as, say, 1090 or 01 but it is nearly so. I used 400 and 600 grit wet dry paper (keeping it wet) to hand rub the blade. Then I took the entire flat to worn 2000 grit and set my edge. Then I took the edge through three types of compound on a JRE Strop bat and then to bare leather.
This knife is a joy to sharpen - when I have to - which is rare. The heat treat is really spot on and this knife and it can do a LOT of hard work with even heavy woods without needing sharpening. The edge has never chipped or rolled on me and I have had nary and issue with the performance of this knife.
Blade Geometry:
There are a few schools of thought on the Kephart blade geometry. There are those that put a edge on the kephart that is parallel to the spine the length of the blade and there are those that put a little more belly into the knife. Check out the original Kephart design:
You can see that the original Kephart came with a little belly to it. Whereas many other makers leave this belly out (ML and JK for example) Bark River decided to keep this belly in. I am not a huge skinner of game - so this belly doesn't really effect how I use the knife - but Kephart was - and I know that a little belly in the front of the knife assists in this process.
There is are also two schools of thought concerning how high to grind the knife. ML and JK, again for example, use a high sabre grind and a full convex edge on their knives. It appears that Kepharts original design called for a full height grind. It is tough to tell if it was a full height flat grind - but it quite obvious that Kephart himself (most likely through hand sharpening) convexed his blades over time.
BRKT has a full height convex on their Kephart. I have found that it doesn't really matter the difference in these grinds - as long as the maker knows that they are doing. In the case of all makers mentioned - they do - so all knives perform very well.
The A2 steel, I have found, will patina quickly for you (especially at the tang) but does not pit or rust easily. It gains a patina and then seems to halt any corrosion there (in normal circumstances). I leave the patina on he handle and use some wet dry sand paper on the blade to make it shiny. It takes seconds and is a great steel.
Balance:
The balance point of my knife is about 1/4 inch behind the front pin. This has the advantage of making the blade feel very light and the handle feel very solid in your hand - but in terms of pure balance - it is a tiny bit butt heavy.
Handle Design:
The handle design on a Kephart is very simplistic. As I have said elsewhere - it is essentially a halved broom stick that is shaped to fit the tang. It is the most neutral grip on the knife designs I use. However - I have come to love this handle. Simple is hard - and in this case - simple is good. The BRKT is not as hand filling as the ML - and is fairly equal to the JK - but all of them are comfortable and very easy to use. Again, if I were to choose a knife that I needed to use (especially on wood) over a long period of time - the Kephart is what I wish to have. This knife is no different. In fact, I have made DOZENS of walking sticks for friends and family and used the BRKT Kephart for the majority of them. The Straight Back ML Kephart for the rest. This entails stripping bark off dozens of staves to allow them to cure and then cleaning them up once they are cured. It is a pleasure with a good handle and the Kephart handle is made to please.
Sheath:
It is a Sharpshooter type A sheath. It is Sharpshooter. Here are some pics.
I have come to change my mind on the Sharpshooter A and B designs for a sheath. I find Sharpshooter's leather to be too thin and the belt loop to be sewn on too too low on the sheath for my tastes. I have sold every Sharp Shooter A and B designed sheath and made my own.
I made my own sheaths for the Kephart and Kephart Companion:
They were meant to be worn together as seen here:
This was when I was first learning to bend leather and I am quite embarassed by these sheaths. They have been used - but they are, in my opinion, clunky and ugly now. I will be making new pants for my Kepharts soon and have thought about the designs I want.
Either way - I like them better than the Sharp Shooter A - and wish I could order a BRKT without the sheath.
With that said - I really like my Gunny sheath and the KSF Forest sheath by Sharp Shooter. Thicker leather - better finish - better thought out. So- I think Sharpshooter is improving right along with BRKT's knives. No worries. I will say this - the ownders at Sharpshooter are easy to work with - and since I ripped off their designs wholesale when making my first sheaths - I owe a lot to them. I think they are good people and their sheaths are GREAT for the price.
A small addendum:
I was absolutley smitten with my Bark River Aurora when I first made this review - and have sense sold the knife in favor of the BRKT Gunny. However - I compared EVERY knive I owned to the Aurora. In the end, the Aurora was a little too long in the handle and the blade for my tastes - but man - what a great knife. It is the bar many people set their bushcrafting knives to.
Overall Thoughts:
Personally - bang for the buck - a ML or BRKT kephart is hard to beat for the price. I have owned the BRKT for 3 years now and have never had an issue and always used it hard. This knife will likely not leave my hands any time soon. It has taken a back seat to other knives - but it is an heirloom quality knife that I simply love. If mine was suddenly stolen - I would not hesitate to buy another.
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