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.