Photos Kepharts...They just Work

[Pilsner]

How about this custom beauty by Mark Hill, which arrived today:

The oak handles are actually richer and darker looking, but my crappy phone camera can’t capture it. Still, Mark hit it out of the park with this one.

 

[Uncle Timbo]

How about this custom beauty by Mark Hill, which arrived today:

The oak handles are actually richer and darker looking, but my crappy phone camera can’t capture it. Still, Mark hit it out of the park with this one.

I agree with you Pilsner. She's a beaut.
Can we ask what kind of steel and grind she sports?

 

[22-rimfire]

I know a lot of us are attracted to the Kephart design and have purchased one to fulfill that itch. The question I have is did this knife supplant another knife that you would normally carry say in the woods or is it just another knife?

In my case, the only one that I want to use is the Becker BK-62 version and I am likely to just carry it when I feel like it rather than it pushing out the consideration of other knives I already use for this. I don't do much cutting in the woods on day hikes and woods walks. That mostly happens if I am camping and the frequency of camping is decreasing significantly as I get older. I might rent a motel room or cabin if I need to spend multiple days in the area. On occasion, I choose to camp but it requires carrying a lot of stuff with me.

 

[Pilsner]

I agree with you Pilsner. She's a beaut.
Can we ask what kind of steel and grind she sports?

It’s in O1, and a convexed sabre grind is the best way I can describe it. Looking forward to putting it to work and will post a review soon, with full specs.

 

[bikerector]

I know a lot of us are attracted to the Kephart design and have purchased one to fulfill that itch. The question I have is did this knife supplant another knife that you would normally carry say in the woods or is it just another knife?

My LT bushcrafter Mark II replaced my ratmandu. My bushbaby didn't really replace anything as I was kind of searching for a little knife with a big handle for fireside carving and other crafting projects I like to do for reflection time. I actually traded my RMD for the bushbaby.

My BK62 hasn't replaced anything yet. I'm still getting a hang of the thinner edge that is much more slicey and lighter weight blade than what I'm used to in this size blade. Most of my stuff is based around woodcraft, unless it's a buck which is thin hunting stuff. The BK62 is in the middle as it's lightweight but still has a stout tip. I guess it's more that it's in the mix instead of replacing anything right now. I haven't gone camping or anything since getting it to where I actually need to consider limiting how many knives I have on me but that's probably where this would fit in. Kind of where the LT mark II fits in as well but the BK62 is going to be better if hunting or a lot of food prep is need as it's a fair bit more agile. The LT is a lot more robust and I feel a lot better about processing wood with it than the BK62.

 

[Pilsner]

I guess I’d consider a knife like this to be ideal in tandem with at least an axe/hatchet. Possibly a small folder thrown in. Hold on a minute... I think that was the original idea!

On the other hand, I would not anticipate any problems using this knife on its own to make a fire, for example. I’m not much into chopping wood with knives, as there are other ways to skin a cat. Sure, something like a machete or BK-9, or an ESEE-boat anchor, sorry, ESEE-5, could do it. But why? That’s just me. I reckon paired with SAK Farmer it would be a great combination for most things. For log cabin building I would want a few more bits and pieces, I reckon.

 

[bikerector]

I guess I’d consider a knife like this to be ideal in tandem with at least an axe/hatchet. Possibly a small folder thrown in. Hold on a minute... I think that was the original idea!

On the other hand, I would not anticipate any problems using this knife on its own to make a fire, for example. I’m not much into chopping wood with knives, as there are other ways to skin a cat. Sure, something like a machete or BK-9, or an ESEE-boat anchor, sorry, ESEE-5, could do it. But why? That’s just me. I reckon paired with SAK Farmer it would be a great combination for most things. For log cabin building I would want a few more bits and pieces, I reckon.

I think you get into preferences there for sure. I prefer big knives lately, a lot of it to do with their ease of portability because they lay straighter in a pack, on a belt, or outside of a pack. The axe bits carry odd for me. Also, there is a desire for something to clear grass and such in the areas I work in which axes aren't efficient at.

I've had some curiosities of what would happen if a knife, like a BK2, were tied to a stick or something to create a longer handle and thus the extra leverage needed to chop with. It's certainly thick enough. Could the same thing be applied to a thinner knife and used like a machete? Really, it would be like fashioning a small spear to get leverage and reach for tasks that need it. Not too much different than just carrying a hawk head and fashioning a handle when/if you need it for ease of transport.

"lumber camp" in the winter

"lumber camp" in the spring/summer/early fall, after cleaning it up with a latin machete.

Hiking trails

For the area I work in, I want to say a kephart and a saw could do a lot of work if I needed to limit the tools. Fashion a wedge for wood splitting or just find smaller branches from the plethora of dead trees so you don't need to split anything. I actually went as far as getting 28" pack saw and a standard wood saw from irwin instead of a folding saw because it worked so well. That irwin is really nice. These do get back to the odd way it packs but the irwin is short-ish and flat so it often can slide around the area a hydration pack would be, or in a laptop sleeved since every pack seems to have one now.

From a day of testing gloves, saws, and cleaning up a downed tree and keeping the wood for fire or bush furniture.

 

[Pilsner]

I think you get into preferences there for sure. I prefer big knives lately, a lot of it to do with their ease of portability because they lay straighter in a pack, on a belt, or outside of a pack. The axe bits carry odd for me. Also, there is a desire for something to clear grass and such in the areas I work in which axes aren't efficient at.

I've had some curiosities of what would happen if a knife, like a BK2, were tied to a stick or something to create a longer handle and thus the extra leverage needed to chop with. It's certainly thick enough. Could the same thing be applied to a thinner knife and used like a machete? Really, it would be like fashioning a small spear to get leverage and reach for tasks that need it. Not too much different than just carrying a hawk head and fashioning a handle when/if you need it for ease of transport.

"lumber camp" in the winter

"lumber camp" in the spring/summer/early fall, after cleaning it up with a latin machete.

Hiking trails

For the area I work in, I want to say a kephart and a saw could do a lot of work if I needed to limit the tools. Fashion a wedge for wood splitting or just find smaller branches from the plethora of dead trees so you don't need to split anything. I actually went as far as getting 28" pack saw and a standard wood saw from irwin instead of a folding saw because it worked so well. That irwin is really nice. These do get back to the odd way it packs but the irwin is short-ish and flat so it often can slide around the area a hydration pack would be, or in a laptop sleeved since every pack seems to have one now.

From a day of testing gloves, saws, and cleaning up a downed tree and keeping the wood for fire or bush furniture.

Great post! I enjoyed reading that. Yes, definitely down to personal need and preference.

 

[Uncle Timbo]

I think you get into preferences there for sure. I prefer big knives lately, a lot of it to do with their ease of portability because they lay straighter in a pack, on a belt, or outside of a pack. The axe bits carry odd for me. Also, there is a desire for something to clear grass and such in the areas I work in which axes aren't efficient at.

I've had some curiosities of what would happen if a knife, like a BK2, were tied to a stick or something to create a longer handle and thus the extra leverage needed to chop with. It's certainly thick enough. Could the same thing be applied to a thinner knife and used like a machete? Really, it would be like fashioning a small spear to get leverage and reach for tasks that need it. Not too much different than just carrying a hawk head and fashioning a handle when/if you need it for ease of transport.

"lumber camp" in the winter

"lumber camp" in the spring/summer/early fall, after cleaning it up with a latin machete.

Hiking trails

For the area I work in, I want to say a kephart and a saw could do a lot of work if I needed to limit the tools. Fashion a wedge for wood splitting or just find smaller branches from the plethora of dead trees so you don't need to split anything. I actually went as far as getting 28" pack saw and a standard wood saw from irwin instead of a folding saw because it worked so well. That irwin is really nice. These do get back to the odd way it packs but the irwin is short-ish and flat so it often can slide around the area a hydration pack would be, or in a laptop sleeved since every pack seems to have one now.

From a day of testing gloves, saws, and cleaning up a downed tree and keeping the wood for fire or bush furniture.

Hey BE - were you looking for a Bull Moose? There's one in Osage ORANGE down there for sale.

 

[marchone]

How about this custom beauty by Mark Hill, which arrived today:

The oak handles are actually richer and darker looking, but my crappy phone camera can’t capture it. Still, Mark hit it out of the park with this one.

Fantastic! You got it after all.

 

[Pilsner]

Fantastic! You got it after all.

Yes. There is egg all over my face and I am still eating humble pie. Not afraid to admit that I got that totally wrong. Mark did a great job, he absolutely followed through. Lesson learned on my part.

Very pleased with this knife and can’t wait to put it to good use!

 

[marchone]

It looks like Mark Hill got a lot right about it. What are the dimensions? Stock thickness, blade height, blade length, handle length?

 

[Mikael W]

I like that! And I'm not a stag fan or a spear point fan for looks. But together... I like that a lot.

Mikael - I agree with BE, that's one sweet knife.

Thank You both!
GEC made it right with the 78 and it is my favorite new knife for 2018.
I liked it so much that I got a second also in Stag and 2 more for the girls boyfriends.
One in smooth white bone and one in Ebony.

Regards
Mikael

 

[Pilsner]

It looks like Mark Hill got a lot right about it. What are the dimensions? Stock thickness, blade height, blade length, handle length?

As I said, I’ll be posting a full review with all the specs once I’ve put it to work over a range of tasks.

 

[Mikael W]

I know a lot of us are attracted to the Kephart design and have purchased one to fulfill that itch. The question I have is did this knife supplant another knife that you would normally carry say in the woods or is it just another knife?

In my case, the only one that I want to use is the Becker BK-62 version and I am likely to just carry it when I feel like it rather than it pushing out the consideration of other knives I already use for this. I don't do much cutting in the woods on day hikes and woods walks. That mostly happens if I am camping and the frequency of camping is decreasing significantly as I get older. I might rent a motel room or cabin if I need to spend multiple days in the area. On occasion, I choose to camp but it requires carrying a lot of stuff with me.

I wouldn't call my Kephart just another knife, it is too good for that, but I tend to use the Fällkniven F2 fishing knife in my avatar when going outdoors.
When spending nights Outdoors, it is nowadays mostly onboard my sailingboat and I bring with me the fishing gear including the F2.
It sees use in food prep besides fishing. This works well enough but I think the Kephart would be a better choice for boat specific tasks.

Regards
Mikael

 

[Uncle Timbo]

As I said, I’ll be posting a full review with all the specs once I’ve put it to work over a range of tasks.

Thanks Pilsner, I look forward to that review.

 

[Uncle Timbo]

I wouldn't call my Kephart just another knife, it is too good for that, but I tend to use the Fällkniven F2 fishing knife in my avatar when going outdoors.
When spending nights Outdoors, it is nowadays mostly onboard my sailingboat and I bring with me the fishing gear including the F2.
It sees use in food prep besides fishing. This works well enough but I think the Kephart would be a better choice for boat specific tasks.

Regards
Mikael

Mikael - sounds like you have it all figured out. Also, that's pretty cool you have a sail boat.

 

[Uncle Timbo]

All - something that Mikael said made me think, what is every bodies first Kepgart inspired knife and do you still have it.
I for one joined the Kephart party (if you will) late. Just call me a late bloomer.
Mine is the one I posted very early in this thread, the one by ML Knives, and I still have her....for now anyway.

 

[Mikael W]

Mikael - sounds like you have it all figured out. Also, that's pretty cool you have a sail boat.

Sailing is my main hobby but this also includes edged tools. I always keep a couple of stainless Mora's onboard for emergency and scraping the wood trim.
Boatcamping is big here were I live on the Swedish Eastcoast, with inumerous sheltered lagoons for easy anchoring.
The blue boat in the middle is my old 31 footer, designed by US naval architects Sparkman & Stephens and Swedish built.
S&S was the top designers in the world for 50 years.


At sea in the Baltic and a Mora hanging in the aft of the sitting area.

Regards
Mikael

 

[bikerector]

All - something that Mikael said made me think, what is every bodies first Kepgart inspired knife and do you still have it.
I for one joined the Kephart party (if you will) late. Just call me a late bloomer.
Mine is the one I posted very early in this thread, the one by ML Knives, and I still have her....for now anyway.

I do, the LT bushcrafter Mark II. I always thought they looked mundane but I started to figure out how that blade shape makes sense. As mention, I really like the looks of clip points with trailing points being next up. I really started liking sheepsfoot and wharns for EDC even if the look is superb, it just worked better for nearly everything I used a knife for, away from a cutting board and cleaning game. But in use, it started to make sense, especially as I started doing more things with wood and practicing woodcraft.

Edit to add, my progression through the Kephart design:
LT Bushcraft Mark II - still have
Condor Kephart - gifted away after getting BK62
Bk62
LT Bushbaby
2nd BK62 (for the boy)
LT Genesis

The condor was an okay model and I liked the thin blade but the handle was very small for me and I got bad hot spots working on a fire bundle. I already posted this but here's where I stand now, excepth the 2nd BK62 stays in the box for the little man.