Kephart Length Preference?

[jayjaygee]

For those of you Kephart lovers, what length do you think is right? I guess the 5+" model is the one Mr. Horace himself carried, but that seems like an unusually large blade to me for a camp knife.

On the other hand, maybe something about the design makes the larger blade preferable? I have large hands, so don't need to worry about that.

What are your thoughts on Kephart lengths? (Asking people who have Kepharts only please.)

 

[MolokaiRider]

Five inches is a pretty handy size in a hip knife.

I have a few that are four inches and while I like them I find five to me a bit more well rounded. That extra reach is quite useful.

 

[Alone]

Another vote for the 5".

I'm a "field knife" guy, so I find myself drawn to blades between 5" and about 7.5". For me, the 5" Kephart just seems to work. As MolokaiRider mentioned, just the extra inch of span over some of the 4" Kepharts is nice to have.

 

[LimpCroissant]

When I read your title, and before reading any of the comments, 5 inches is what immediately came to my mind. If you get it too short, then it becomes not quite big enough for a little light chopping, some batoning, etc., yet at 5" you're still at a manageable length for doing pretty fine carving and what not. Plus you'll probably have a smaller folder in your pocket for the light stuff anyway.

 

[LuckyC]

I prefer 4.5" to 5". I have an Esee PR4 (Patrick Rollins Kephart interpretation), a Condor Kephart (Joe Flowers design after he studied the knife Horace Kephart carried) , a KA-BAR Becker BK62 (Ethan Becker design patterned after a Colclesser Brothers Kephart he owns), a Carothers Performance Knives Kephart, and a KA-BAR EK51 (not strictly a Kephart pattern but very similar).

 

[Blues]

5" seems to be the sweet spot.

 

[Alberta Ed]

I have the Ka-Bar BK62 Kephart reproduction and it works fine for me.

 

[DeadboxHero]

I like 4"

 

[Henry Beige]

4 1/2”. None of my Kepharts is that size, but the Green River 4215 fish knife is perfect.