Photos Kepharts...They just Work

[Henry Beige]

Seems to me that the Dadley may well be the forerunner to the Kephart pattern. The timing for Dadley (Dadly) preceded Horace Kephart but he may well have had one and wanted a knife similar to it for an all around woods knife.

That seems to be the conventional wisdom. Until a few months ago, I had never heard of the Dadley. It came up in a Kephart discussion, and since then I have seen several people refer to it that way. So now I have two of them. FWIW, the 5” Green River fish knife feels more Kephart-ish to me, probably due to a similar heft and balance to my Kepharts.

 

[John Cahoon]

Here's my latest tribute to old Horace, a custom job in 80CRV2 and Ironwood, the WIP handle's sitting at 400 grit, going to 1200 by the end of the day, oil it up, final touchups and off to it's new home. It's near sharp already without starting the sharpening process.

 

[Pomsbz]

Here's my latest tribute to old Horace, a custom job in 80CRV2 and Ironwood, the WIP handle's sitting at 400 grit, going to 1200 by the end of the day, oil it up, final touchups and off to it's new home. It's near sharp already without starting the sharpening process.View attachment 1296042

I'll bet that handle is good in the hand.

 

[22-rimfire]

Here's my latest tribute to old Horace, a custom job in 80CRV2 and Ironwood, the WIP handle's sitting at 400 grit, going to 1200 by the end of the day, oil it up, final touchups and off to it's new home. It's near sharp already without starting the sharpening process.

That's really nice. Looks to be about a 4.5" blade.

 

[John Cahoon]

Hi fellas, thanks for the kind words. It feels great in my hand with a solid index. The blade is 4.9" and the handle is 5.0". It has the typical flared front, narrowest behind the front pin and widens back out steadily to the butt.

 

[deltablade]

Modifying a butcher knife to a more Kephart shape may work pretty well. This 6" Nowill and sons knife has excellent carbon steel, flat ground blade, is developing a nice patina, is easy to get sharp as a razor, and is fairly stout. I actually like the tip as it is, yet think reshaping into a Kephart pattern may be more useful outside the kitchen. The handle is a touch short, so I may replace its current oak with osage or tiger maple and lengthen it a bit. What do you think?

I reshaped the tip a little....works better for me this way

I decided to rehandle. The stock handle is a touch short for me, and the scales/tang had gaps, so...off came the scales, and there was already rust developing on the tang. Glad I got started.

curly maple scales and copper pins glued up

handle shaped ready for stain

stained and with one coat of Watco. I think it came out pretty nice. Will be a really handy camp knife.

 

[P D]

I am not sure if this has been debated in BF, but I would appreciate any inputs on Kephart vs. Nessmuck. Maybe the Kephart excels in some areas while the Nessmuck may excel in others.

I have an ESEE-PR4 (Kephart style) and LT Wright JX2 (Nessmuck style) knife in my collection, but haven't used them enough to truly understand and appreciate the pros/cons of their respective patterns. Again, any inputs would be appreciated.

 

[bikerector]

I am not sure if this has been debated in BF, but I would appreciate any inputs on Kephart vs. Nessmuck. Maybe the Kephart excels in some areas while the Nessmuck may excel in others.

I have an ESEE-PR4 (Kephart style) and LT Wright JX2 (Nessmuck style) knife in my collection, but haven't used them enough to truly understand and appreciate the pros/cons of their respective patterns. Again, any inputs would be appreciated.

There are some very significant differences between the two. The Kephart is a better all-purpose knife where the Nessmuk is essentially a skinning/butchering knife, and does better in those tasks.

The Jessmuk is not a good example of a Nessmuk. I believe Chris Tanner, the designer, says the blade shape was inspired by an ulu. It's a fine knife, but the scandi grind keeps it from being the slicer a Nessmuk is, along with the very different blade shapes of the Jessmuk vs a Nessmuk. The rounded spine of a Nessmuk is an essential piece to what made the Nessmuk so popular and effective, and the short clip of the Jessmuk doesn't make up the lack of a hump in regard to the skinning/butchering prowess of the Nessmuk.

Personally, I think the design would have been better with a saber grind or thinner steel. It's a compromise as it is since it's a design that should slice well but it's using a grind that excels at woodworking, not slicing. Just my opinion.

I own a Jessmuk and I do like it, but it's more about it being cool and funky than being purely functional. I do find myself enjoying quirky knives, but the Kephart is a better bushcraft knife and a Nessmuk is a better skinning/hunting/butchering knife and I don't think the Jessmuk's mashup makes it better than anything out there.

It does have one of the better handles available on any knife, and because of that, I think it makes it a lot more intriguing. Especially if you have big hands.

Below is an old thread on the Nessmuk topic and there is plenty of info on Kepharts in this thread.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/why-a-nessmuk.775979/

 

[22-rimfire]

I am not sure if this has been debated in BF, but I would appreciate any inputs on Kephart vs. Nessmuck. Maybe the Kephart excels in some areas while the Nessmuck may excel in others.

There are some very significant differences between the two. The Kephart is a better all-purpose knife where the Nessmuk is essentially a skinning/butchering knife, and does better in those tasks.

In a nutshell, this fits my perception of the two blade shapes from a woods use perspective. The important point on the Nessmuk design is skinning and butchering and not necessarily general use or even doing hunting field dressing chores. You can obviously use a knife that is sharp for anything and there is a lot of personal preference involved. Just depends on how much of a particular use you generally have. Me, I prefer a general purpose woods knife design versus something geared toward skinning as I can muddle through the skinning part considering the infrequency of actually doing that any more.

 

[deltablade]

Thanks for the info.

 

[eveled]

Seems to me that the Dadley may well be the forerunner to the Kephart pattern. The timing for Dadley (Dadly) preceded Horace Kephart but he may well have had one and wanted a knife similar to it for an all around woods knife.

I’ve seen it spelled Dadely too. I think you are right it was a forerunner. It’s really a pretty generic shape. The blade grind and tapered tang are what sets the Kephart apart.

 

[deltablade]

here is my Old Hickory cabbage knife with the tip modified a touch, and a patina starting. I am planning to add an inch to the handle by extending the handle along the blade, malking the blade 5" or so. This is a great slicer, thin and slightly flexible blade.

I removed the scales, and noticed the tang has ozidized a bit.

new osage scales and shorter blade

osage beginning to mellow

 

[Uncle Timbo]

Gentlemen - my apologies for not keeping up with this discussion about the Kephart. I choose the option to watch but somehow things didn't happen like I planned.
I still have my McCarter and Gray Wolf Kepharts. I have slowed my purchases down to zero for the current time. I'm trying to use all I have...except for the McCarter. That's the only safe queen I own and I never thought I'd ever have a SQ until that one came along.

 

[22-rimfire]

Gentlemen - my apologies for not keeping up with this discussion about the Kephart. I choose the option to watch but somehow things didn't happen like I planned.
I still have my McCarter and Gray Wolf Kepharts. I have slowed my purchases down to zero for the current time. I'm trying to use all I have...except for the McCarter. That's the only safe queen I own and I never thought I'd ever have a SQ until that one came along.

All or almost all threads peter out over time.... Been doing the same and my Dogwood Kephart really hasn't seen use (yet). It is simply a case of too many knives and choices that function about the same.

By the way, "Gentlemen" is probably a stretch.

My little Condor Compact Kephart (1095) has been seeing regular use. Think I'll sharpen it up again today. You can certainly tell it isn't high end steel but I'm fine with it. To think that I hesitated to buy this $50 knife and it sees 10x as much use as any other fixed blade I own (probably more actually). Amazing.

There was another thread that mentioned Lucas Forge knives and went to their (his) website. Thinking seriously of another Kephart done in O1 this time. His knives aren't real expensive. I believe someone in this thread got one of his kepharts, but I am not going to go searching back for the post. I might ask if he'll down size one a bit and see what he says.... There is no question that I use the little knives more than the bigger ones.

 

[Uncle Timbo]

Hey RF22! I know a lot of threads die out but I guess I thought that since this one was about an ageless knife? But then again, how much do you have to say about something or anything.
Believe it or not, I've been looking at that little Condor off and on for about a year now. My philosophy has always been that if your rig or go to knife is not comfortable to wear, you might not include it on every trip. You have to be able to sit down and move freely. Also, it can't get snagged on every other twig or branch. Comfort, in and around the camp.

 

[22-rimfire]

.... Believe it or not, I've been looking at that little Condor off and on for about a year now. My philosophy has always been that if your rig or go to knife is not comfortable to wear, you might not include it on every trip. You have to be able to sit down and move freely. Also, it can't get snagged on every other twig or branch. Comfort, in and around the camp.

The little Compact Kephart meets those constraints which is why I edc it in it's factory sheath. I think it's biggest criticism is the short 3-finger handle. I need to break out the Bark River Mini Kephart and bring it again into the use mix. Just too many knives. I have cut down on my knife buying and the little Arno Bernard Bush Baby Squirrel has been my only purchase this year so far. It is a good little knife too and handles the edc role if you like.

I don't do all that much camping any more to really include "camp" as one of my criteria. It is more woods walks, day hikes, and day to day life here in the southeast TN. Planning on another woods visit on Monday and hopefully some photography. We'll see.

 

[Ruukuu]

I've only known about the Kephart design for a few weeks ( yes i'm that naïve ) I can see what the shape it intended to be, but looking at Google pictures i've seen lots of slight differences. So.…..what is the main defining character trait in this knife? or is there more than one?. The grind. the point, handle shape etc?

 

[Uncle Timbo]

Hey RK, welcome aboard. I apologize for not having the time to properly state all the characteristics that make up a true Kephart. All I can do at this time is show you my McCarter Kephart that is most true to the original.

 

[Ruukuu]

Hey RK, welcome aboard. I apologize for not having the time to properly state all the characteristics that make up a true Kephart. All I can do at this time is show you my McCarter Kephart that is most true to the original.

Thank you i admit i didn't read all the posts to see if my question had been asked before. I have some sight problems and reading too much hurts my eyes.
Love that knife though. It really does seem like this style knife is a good all round, light to medium use user.

 

[22-rimfire]

Thank you i admit i didn't read all the posts to see if my question had been asked before. I have some sight problems and reading too much hurts my eyes.
Love that knife though. It really does seem like this style knife is a good all round, light to medium use user.

The McCarter Kephart is probably the closest recreation of the original Kephart at 5 inches. (But the original was more of a utility knife. The customs take it to a much higher level.) Cruise back through this thread and you will see the characteristics summarized. If you're interested in trying out a Kephart, I highly recommend the Kabar Becker BK-62 Kephart. It is a gem for a factory knife! There is also a good thread in the Becker forum on the Kephart back when the BK-62 was introduced.

Some makers call their knife a kephart when it is really more of a woods lore knife. But yes, I think you have the gist of it in that it is a good general purpose woods knife that is not too big and not too small. It is not a chopper knife and if I had a lot of skinning to do, I would choose something else. But it is sort of a jack of all trades design.