- Joined
- Dec 13, 2005
- Messages
- 6,105
Getting sick of seeing this kind of stuff from me yet? Well too bad! 
I recently scored the Kephart from jwilliams and got it a couple of days ago. I've been playing with it a lot and have really enjoyed it! I thought I would snap some pics and give some thoughts on it for those on the fence about this one. Basics for comparison, with Aurora, Northstar, and F1:
The blade feels quite good in the hand. The thinnest point near the first finger is a little too small for me, but not by much. Very comfortable in the hand still. The Kephart handle has that way of making you 'choke up' on it with a very secure feel.
The edge came as sharp as you'd expect from bark river, shaved quite easily. I'm actually beginning to run out of hair on my forearms and thighs from doing this so much, my fiance says I'm beginning to look like a drag queen! But what can I say, I have nice legs...
The Kephart is surprisingly nimble in the hand. That was the first thing I noted when I got it out of the box. For some reason I expected it to be heftier or more brutish, but it handles quickly and easily, thanks to the hidden tang and light micarta. Balance point:
I've been using it to help me cut some watermelon, make lunch, carve fuzz sticks and trap pieces, and to open my mail. The edge has held up great of course and it's worked well for all those tasks. No real hot spots have developed, except a couple of short periods where my big hands didn't like certain holds for long. I have not tried batoning yet, not sure if I will.
I'm most impressed with how comfortable it is for different grips, most notably the chest lever/side grip. It's super comfy to use that way for power cuts.
I hope the pics helped give some proportion to the Kephart for anyone considering this model. Thanks for looking folks!! :thumbup:
I recently scored the Kephart from jwilliams and got it a couple of days ago. I've been playing with it a lot and have really enjoyed it! I thought I would snap some pics and give some thoughts on it for those on the fence about this one. Basics for comparison, with Aurora, Northstar, and F1:
The blade feels quite good in the hand. The thinnest point near the first finger is a little too small for me, but not by much. Very comfortable in the hand still. The Kephart handle has that way of making you 'choke up' on it with a very secure feel.
The edge came as sharp as you'd expect from bark river, shaved quite easily. I'm actually beginning to run out of hair on my forearms and thighs from doing this so much, my fiance says I'm beginning to look like a drag queen! But what can I say, I have nice legs...
The Kephart is surprisingly nimble in the hand. That was the first thing I noted when I got it out of the box. For some reason I expected it to be heftier or more brutish, but it handles quickly and easily, thanks to the hidden tang and light micarta. Balance point:
I've been using it to help me cut some watermelon, make lunch, carve fuzz sticks and trap pieces, and to open my mail
. The edge has held up great of course and it's worked well for all those tasks. No real hot spots have developed, except a couple of short periods where my big hands didn't like certain holds for long. I have not tried batoning yet, not sure if I will.I'm most impressed with how comfortable it is for different grips, most notably the chest lever/side grip. It's super comfy to use that way for power cuts.
I hope the pics helped give some proportion to the Kephart for anyone considering this model. Thanks for looking folks!! :thumbup:
