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Kephart Blues

Fixall

Fixall

Brian
Moderator
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 26, 2018
Messages
5,453
Some wonderful person decided they needed my CPK Kephart in 3V more than I needed it while we were camping in Leavenworth, WA (snatched it right off our picnic table at the KOA!). To make matters worse, they also stole my custom designed sheath setup made by the talented Lorien Lorien . :mad:

Such an absolite bummer! But such is life I suppose.

This leads me to ask the question though.... What do you guys consider the all-time best knife made by Carothers with the main purpose being backpacking (two to four night trips), while also serving car camping duty (no cooking, no making kindling). This will be my "luxury" item while backpacking, so a little weight is ok, but it does need to be a little nimble.

Maybe the FK, or FK2... Basic Field Knife? Or maybe I need to just go back on the hunt for another Kephart? Whatcha think?


Photo in honor of the fallen!
kep-XL.png
 
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Hard to beat a basic or signature series right now while they are prevalent/available. Edited to add...Otherwise man, thats a hard choice. I feel like any thing from a DEK, UF2, any of the field (basic, signature/super duty) knives could fill that role. Depending which way you want to lean for exact purposes.

another edit - thieves suck.
 
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BUMMER! Sorry to hear that!

My suggestion would be an FK3. The latest iteration of the field knife in full signature series dress (swedge, lightening in the handle) is a really fantastic all-around knife that's quite nimble and relatively light weight. I think it's about as perfect as you're going to get.

Second to that I'd say a DEK 1.

I really want to recommend the latest EDC if you're into the really lightweight and compact side of things but it's probably a bit small for any real camping duty. The DEK is about as small as I'd recommend then.
 
Fixall said:
Some wonderful person decided they needed my CPK Kephart in 3V more than I needed it while we were camping in Leavenworth, WA (snatched it right off our picnic table at the KOA!). To make matters worse, they also stole my custom designed sheath setup made by the talented Lorien Lorien . :mad:

Such an absolite bummer! But such is life I suppose.

This leads me to ask the question though.... What do you guys consider the all-time best knife made by Carothers with the main purpose being backpacking (two to four night trips), while also serving car camping duty (no cooking, no making kindling). This will be my "luxury" item while backpacking, so a little weight is ok, but it does need to be a little nimble.

Maybe the FK, or FK2... Basic Field Knife? Or maybe I need to just go back on the hunt for another Kephart? Whatcha think?


Photo in honor of the fallen!
kep-XL.png
Click to expand...

Absolutely horrible

I’m so sorry this happened to you 😭
 
Thieves suck! Sorry to read your post.

To answer your question ... I'm probably odd man out, but for camping of any kind and bummin around in the woods my HDFK is the one I reach for. It excels in that role IMHO. It belt carries very well and if you don't like that it straps to a pack for easy access just as well.

If I just need a little more than my EDC and you're not going be rough on it and not going to baton with it the DEK1 fills that roll for me.

I'm sure the BFK or old school FK would perform anything you asked of it. It kinda boils down to personal preference and how each individual uses their blades.
 
I would recommend a field knife, specifically FK2 or FK3. FK2 is my all time favorite CPK, I feel like it hogs off material better when carving. Not sure if that's the extra handle contouring, or my sharpening angle, or just my imagination.
I would say the FK3 "feels" more nimble in hand and the extra blade length can obviously be helpful.

Haven't owned an FK1 or BFK, but I'd imagine either of those options would be fantastic as well.
Sorry this happened to you, good luck with the search for your next blade.
 
Sorry, that sucks :( Such a cool knife ....

Replace with the UF of course.

I suggest to order the still available Boker UF at SMKW right now to make you feel better.

Then you have time to monitor the Exchange until something else (a D3V UF, another Kephart, FK2, SDFK, DEK, etc.) comes up. They are all great, which one to pick will likely depend on the deal you can make.
 
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osprey888 said:
Fantastic sheath! Everybody keep their eyes open for that one to appear.

Let’s hope there’s a special Hell for those who steal especially loved knives and firearms!
Click to expand...
I'm going to seriously doubt that it would be anyone who would be a member of these forums or stupid enough to display it here.

But, there's always a small chance...and I'm good at tracking ne'er-do-wells.
 
Fixall said:
Some wonderful person decided they needed my CPK Kephart in 3V more than I needed it while we were camping in Leavenworth, WA (snatched it right off our picnic table at the KOA!). To make matters worse, they also stole my custom designed sheath setup made by the talented Lorien Lorien . :mad:

Such an absolite bummer! But such is life I suppose.

This leads me to ask the question though.... What do you guys consider the all-time best knife made by Carothers with the main purpose being backpacking (two to four night trips), while also serving car camping duty (no cooking, no making kindling). This will be my "luxury" item while backpacking, so a little weight is ok, but it does need to be a little nimble.

Maybe the FK, or FK2... Basic Field Knife? Or maybe I need to just go back on the hunt for another Kephart? Whatcha think?


Photo in honor of the fallen!
kep-XL.png
Click to expand...
That is horrible. I hate hearing that. I really like the DEK1 as my work and utility knife, and would be my recommendation, especially since you said no cooking or kindling.
 
Dang Brian that’s terrible and ridiculous. Camped there a few times. I wasn’t too fond of the Kephart myself, but my backpack camping and hiking knife is my FK2. All around fantastic knife. If I was in the market for one I’d be looking for an FK3. I think the FK3 is maybe 3/4 to 1” longer blade then the FK2 though.
 
This community is something else. This morning an EXTREMELY generous member of the forum reached out to me and offered me his Kephart with a Pirtle made sheath for FREE (I won't mention their name so their inbox isn't flooded with requests for the knife, but you know who you are, you awesome person you)! That was just too much, and I just can't accept that. I am over the moon with appreciation though, so THANK YOU!

Another generous member reached out and offered me their spot from the Friday sell for a Signature Field Knife, which I accepted and am ecstatic about! So thank you for that!

To give a little back, I'm going to post a giveaway thread today for a free Carbide Straightening Hammer in the Shop Talk subforum, as well a Great Eastern Cutlery in the Traditional Folders subforum. I'll have to give some thought for a giveaway for this sub. :D

Oh... And Nathan the Machinist Nathan the Machinist , I just got a USPS flat rate large box of african blackwood heading your way today!!

Thank you all for being so great!
 
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Jeff_t said:
How was it stolen ?
From a backpack ?
Set it down for a moment ?
Who’s the suspect ?
Click to expand...

The KOA was showing an outdoor movie on a projector. The knife was sitting in the sheath on our picnic table well within our campsite bounds. They snagged the tackle box that was next to it too. :(
 
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