Photos Kepharts...They just Work

[cbach8tw]

Here is today's Kephart made by Bark River Knife & Tool; Mini Kephart. It is really a nice little blade. Specs: 3.8" blade, CPM-3V, 7.5" overall length, handle > "black herringbone" micarta, double liners (red and natural), convex grind, 0.093" thick blade, 2.8 oz, leather vertical belt sheath. Feels like a paring knife in the hand, so it is very nimble handling. I think their "herringbone" micarta is pretty cool looking. If it wasn't available or I didn't like the look, I was going to go with iron wood. I didn't want this one flashy as I might or could edc it.

View attachment 1199852

EDC it and be proud of its looks. Let it stand out.

 

[Uncle Timbo]

Hmmm, just noticed this thread...Here's my take on the Kephart, in 80CRV2, just under 10" with a 5" blade and client supplied Mallee burl. I did a fair bit of research (here mostly) and got many pics of the original and interpretations by others. Convex grind with slightly convexed to the spine as well. The handle's flared front behind the plunge was surprisingly challenging. I decided to modernize the sheath though, the original looked a bit dangerous by today's standards. The floral tooling and dye is to complement the fine fellow's holsters. I mostly grind in pairs or batches and have another to finish in due course when I get round to it.View attachment 1199682 View attachment 1199683 View attachment 1199684

JW - that's a mighty fine rendition of a Kephart. I'm sure somebody will or is proud to own her.

 

[Uncle Timbo]

EDC it and be proud of its looks. Let it stand out.

I agree, if you like the knife, carry her proudly. That's one beautiful knife.

 

[22-rimfire]

Cropped that BR Mini Kephart photo down a bit to make the knife stand out more. The fungus is pretty cool looking on the original picture and actually has similar colors to the Mini Kephart handle. See if you like this one better? I believe that is Turkey Tail Bracket fungus.

Fun to play around with digital photos. I like this knife if you can't tell.

Added: I find it interesting how many 5 inch Kepharts are being made now that Ethan Becker obtained an original and had measurements taken. When I was looking for a Kephart back a couple years ago and only owned the Condor, nobody seemed to make a 5 inch model. They were always 4 to 4.5" which I can understand since that is the knife size that sells real well overall.

John Cahoon Where are you located? I looked a couple places and saw no mention of your location.

 

[John Cahoon]

Hi 22-rimfire , I'm in Tempe AZ. Hi Uncle Timbo , Yes the customer is a cowboy shooter so the dyed and tooled sheath matches his holsters. I appreciate your comments.
John Cahoon

 

[Uncle Timbo]

JW - I just checked yours out again and you did a fantastic job on that one. You should be proud.
I had my McCarter out and it started calling me to use it. So far it's the first knife I've ever owned and not used and it's the most utilitarian. I will post pics when it happens.

 

[22-rimfire]

Uncle Timbo You're already enjoying the McCarter Kephart. You don't need to use it.... maybe technically you are already using to give you pleasure. You have other stuff to use at least for the time being.

Since the Becker BK-62 was released Nov-Dec 2018, I have purchased four Kephart knives. Starting to think I have gone a little over board with my urges. Time to shift gears.... But I need to do a group photo of the Kepharts. I still haven't gotten the new Condor Compact Kephart. I may wait until I see one in a store and handle it especially after shelling out the cash for the BRKT Mini Kephart. That Barkie is totally functional! Yeah, you need one Uncle T. You need a finesse kephart.

 

[bikerector]

I wonder what that mini-Kephart could do in a piggyback sheath with a full-sizer, besides take down a tree? That should handles nearly all of your knife needs.

 

[22-rimfire]

I wonder what that mini-Kephart could do in a piggyback sheath with a full-sizer, besides take down a tree? That should handles nearly all of your knife needs.

That would be kind of cool. The funny thing is even though I like the full sized Kephart knives (5 inches more or less), the Mini Kephart is all I honestly NEED for my woods activities. The only thing it would be lacking for is some sort of power cutting (handle size or some sort of baton action), but I often have a Vic Trekker with me in the woods which has the saw and could handle 90% of anything I might do in the "power department".

 

[Lodd]

After using the BK62 I think the very first custom knife I'll ever commission might be a Kephart. The BK62 is almost perfect, I just wish it came in a better (stainless) steel and the sheath was made for lefties. (I can fix the latter myself).

I see a lot of the other Kephart production knives lack the tapered tang, which I happen to like very much. I guess custom is the way to go then. Better start saving.

 

[22-rimfire]

The BK-62 is definitely a winner. The two Beckers I like the most are the BK-15 and BK-62. I basically had the same feeling about a Kephart after getting the Becker version. I wanted something a bit more. The only Kephart I am not crazy about that I own is the Lon Humphrey. The little BRKT mini is a winner.

 

[Lodd]

I have one Bark River knife(bushcrafter in '3V') but after seeing it perform, I wonder if the steel is properly heattreated. (Using a firesteel damaged / deformed the spine). The knife was very expensive and the performance was very underwhelming. I'm also not a huge fan of the convex grind they do. Combine those things with the whole steel controversy thing going on a while back, and I'm quite put off Bark River Knives. And tbh, where I'm at you can get better knives for that money.

 

[Uncle Timbo]

Uncle Timbo You're already enjoying the McCarter Kephart. You don't need to use it.... maybe technically you are already using to give you pleasure. You have other stuff to use at least for the time being.

Since the Becker BK-62 was released Nov-Dec 2018, I have purchased four Kephart knives. Starting to think I have gone a little over board with my urges. Time to shift gears.... But I need to do a group photo of the Kepharts. I still haven't gotten the new Condor Compact Kephart. I may wait until I see one in a store and handle it especially after shelling out the cash for the BRKT Mini Kephart. That Barkie is totally functional! Yeah, you need one Uncle T. You need a finesse kephart.

Right now my little finesse knife is this Case "Kinfolks"

I also own it's big brother.

 

[22-rimfire]

Looks good but you "need" another.

 

[bikerector]

Right now my little finesse knife is this Case "Kinfolks"

I also own it's big brother.

My little finesse knife, very happy with this one from @JK Knives. It's a sweet little carver.

 

[Uncle Timbo]

My little finesse knife, very happy with this one from @JK Knives. It's a sweet little carver.

BE - your's looks more finessable than mine. You have plenty of handle. It reminds me of Coyote (?) knives I've seen for sale here.

 

[Jarhead Greasemonkey]

Gave this one away in a fundraiser, but have thought many times about picking up another...

 

[bikerector]

BE - your's looks more finessable than mine. You have plenty of handle. It reminds me of Coyote (?) knives I've seen for sale here.

It isn't a common thing, a full-length handle with an itty bitty blade. I did make a special request to add 1/4" of handle to the maker's original design.

 

[22-rimfire]

I think anyone that uses fixed bladed knives needs what they might consider a finesse knife. Sure many folders fill this need. Do most of us choose folders in our kitchen? I don't. So, why choose a folder for a finesse knife? My little Condor Mayflower that I purchased in June for a pittance along with the White River Backpacker Pro were my primary finesse knives until I picked up the BR Mini Kephart. So, we add one more to the pile so to speak.

Many choose what are called neck knives as their edc fixed blade. I have yet to see one that I particularly love. The closest was the Blackjack 155 but the design is such that the edge is very close to your fingers holding the knife. So, it needs a little modification to be safer in my opinion.

Many of the small knives simply use too thick steel stock. The White River Backpacker Pro is one of those. I really like this knife and it is certainly tough and I guess that qualifies it as your only knife backpacking. But it would cut better with a thinner blade stock.

So, as far as finesse knives go, many bird & trout knives could fill this role. I like Bob Dozier's knives for this roll overall and his kydex belt sheath is excellent for a cross draw carry. I have a couple of his knives that could easily fill this roll (Compact, Personal, and Canoe models). The little 3" Condor Mayflower can also fill this role and I like this knife. Now I have the BR Mini Kephart as another option for this roll.

So, keeping at least one finesse fixed blade is a good thing. There are lots of choices.

There are so many options with knives these days for carrying in the woods. Horace Kephart seemed to prefer a thin stock fixed blade and a jack knife. I like the approach. For now, my "jack knife" is a Vic Small Tinker. He generally did not like the knives with tools approach..... but I don't think Vics (as we know them) were available then. So, it was scout type knives for the most part then. I would be willing to bet that H Kephart would have liked the pliers based multi-tools that we see today.

Edit: Corrected some spelling.

 

[Uncle Timbo]

Custom or production. I just love the Kephart design and I'd love to see what's out there.
My first here is a custom. Sorry for the weak picture. She's back having the slab thinned a tad as she was rear-heavy. I post a pic of her when I get her back.
This baby is 3V with a FFG.

Same knife, tang shaved down a tad and canvas green micarta slabs. Much better.