Mistwalker
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
- Messages
- 19,034
I did a series of field tests and a review of one of the first hand made Kepharts back at the end of 2012 beginning of 2013. In a very short period of time I fell in love with this model. The handle contours and blade profile came together magically for me and it was just extremely intuitive to use. It flowed like an extension of my own arm. The only drawback came from the fact that I had just spent a few months working in south Florida, where every hi carbon steel knife I had kept needing maintenance to avoid serious rust issues. Though two knives I had with me and used on a regular basis stayed bright and rust free the entire time. Both of those knives were made of cryo-quenched CPM S35VN, but from two different knife companies. Later that year I got another knife in the same steel, treated the same way from a different maker. I had learned I really like this particular steel very much overall for my uses and needs. Not just the corrosion resistance, but also the edge taking and edge holding abilities. I'm fine with O-1 here in Tennessee, the rain and fresh water don't cause any issues for me, but a knife I like as much as I like this one...I want to be able to take to the coastal areas when I go too.
So...the wait for the knife I have today began almost three years ago when Andy first mention going mid tech on some models. The following 62 photos is not a review, just some initial observations and me having fun with a knife I have waited a long time for, so I'm not going to talk a lot
Ok, don't get me wrong, the bullseye lanyard holes are bad ass and one of the features I love about the hand made knives. However, if this one can't have the bullseye then the lanyard hole it has is fine with me. I really like how it keeps the lanyard out from under my hand in use. I am a water person who lives on a mountain and hikes along bluffs. I much prefer to have lanyards on my field knives.
I like the spine logo
It does well at feather sticks as expected...but more on that later.
What I really like about this knife is how it handles in carving and detail work.
L-7 trap triggers
I couldn't show all of the pics from this series. Some were sold and I no longer have intellectual rights to them. But these are the parts for a type of dead fall trap trigger called a Paiute dead fall. It involved doing what I call ring-and-break to get good clean ends on my parts with no splits. Plus some splitting, carving, and notching.
When the trap falls it crushes things into the ground
Then I made a figure 4 trap trigger. Which involved all of the same ringing-and-breaking, carving, and notching and more of it. The notches on this trigger are a little more tedious, and have to be good and clean, and fit together well to function smoothly. These types of tasks are why I like pointy blades.
Oh, and yes, it does handle very nicely when making feather sticks
But before it did the first feather stick it had cut a good bit of bamboo for another project, and quite a bit of hickory, oak, and maple.
So initial observations are that lots of fun + lots of functionality + no pain or discomfort = yep, I'm still ecstatic
Damn that was a loooooooong three years, but well worth the wait to me!
.....
So...the wait for the knife I have today began almost three years ago when Andy first mention going mid tech on some models. The following 62 photos is not a review, just some initial observations and me having fun with a knife I have waited a long time for, so I'm not going to talk a lot
Ok, don't get me wrong, the bullseye lanyard holes are bad ass and one of the features I love about the hand made knives. However, if this one can't have the bullseye then the lanyard hole it has is fine with me. I really like how it keeps the lanyard out from under my hand in use. I am a water person who lives on a mountain and hikes along bluffs. I much prefer to have lanyards on my field knives.
I like the spine logo
It does well at feather sticks as expected...but more on that later.
What I really like about this knife is how it handles in carving and detail work.
L-7 trap triggers
I couldn't show all of the pics from this series. Some were sold and I no longer have intellectual rights to them. But these are the parts for a type of dead fall trap trigger called a Paiute dead fall. It involved doing what I call ring-and-break to get good clean ends on my parts with no splits. Plus some splitting, carving, and notching.
When the trap falls it crushes things into the ground
Then I made a figure 4 trap trigger. Which involved all of the same ringing-and-breaking, carving, and notching and more of it. The notches on this trigger are a little more tedious, and have to be good and clean, and fit together well to function smoothly. These types of tasks are why I like pointy blades.
Oh, and yes, it does handle very nicely when making feather sticks
But before it did the first feather stick it had cut a good bit of bamboo for another project, and quite a bit of hickory, oak, and maple.
So initial observations are that lots of fun + lots of functionality + no pain or discomfort = yep, I'm still ecstatic
Damn that was a loooooooong three years, but well worth the wait to me!
.....
