- Joined
- Oct 20, 2016
- Messages
- 189
First of all, I am not a Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider and I’m not trying to violate or circumvent any rules here. I plan to upgrade at some point but I’m not offering to sell anything right now… I'm just sharing the first year+ of my Kephart journey for those interested.
Thank you, E and 1066vik for your kind words regarding my work.
I posted a couple pics a while back in my intro/new to the forum thread; I believe I’ve made some progress since then. I first saw the Colclesser knife in June 2017 and finished my first attempt at a copy … er tribute… in late June. I had never tried a convex grind – I had never even used a convex blade – and this thing was convexed toward the cutting edge and the spine. I made knife #1 out of 5160. I took it to Ethan's on July 4, I think.
We did some side x side comparisons and pics. I missed the dimensions a bit and exaggerated the handle contours. I left the convex bevel too thick and it didn’t cut very well. Subtle is the theme of that original knife.
I then cut out 4 blanks from an old 1/8” thick saw blade I had on hand. These would be my practice convex grinding knives. I got close to the dimensions of the original with knife #2 - 5" blade, 4 3/4" handle.
I thinned the blade down some and it cut a lot better than #1. I took knife #2 to my first ever Beckerhead Gathering in August 2017. It got a pretty good workout that weekend.
I finished sawblade knives #3, #4, and #5 with each being a little closer to the original than the previous one. Here are #1-#5 right to left.
I was quite happy with #4 and started to gain some confidence ... but not too much ... because each time I think that, the knife throws me a curve ball. #4 not only looked pretty good, it felt good in hand and cut well.
#5 (Below) has become my user.
I've used it in the woods, the kitchen, the back yard, etc. I know I know...it's mystery metal or whatever some might call it but I've sliced, diced, carved, whittled, and batoned with it and have only ever had to touch it up with a honing steel rod and/or a leather strop. Four convex bevels per blade is a real pain but sharpening a convex blade isn't all that complicated.
As I was finishing the last saw blade knives, I was also preparing a batch of O1 tool steel blanks to send to heat treat. I threw in a Kephart; it would become #6. It turned out well. The weight and balance was very close to the original and Ethan let me do another side x side comparison with the original. I got a lot closer than with #1.
I then profiled a dozen blanks, did rough grinds, and sent them to HT.
I've since finished a few of those 12 blanks and the rest are in progress.
If you've made it this far, thank you for your interest.
Thank you, E and 1066vik for your kind words regarding my work.
I posted a couple pics a while back in my intro/new to the forum thread; I believe I’ve made some progress since then. I first saw the Colclesser knife in June 2017 and finished my first attempt at a copy … er tribute… in late June. I had never tried a convex grind – I had never even used a convex blade – and this thing was convexed toward the cutting edge and the spine. I made knife #1 out of 5160. I took it to Ethan's on July 4, I think.
We did some side x side comparisons and pics. I missed the dimensions a bit and exaggerated the handle contours. I left the convex bevel too thick and it didn’t cut very well. Subtle is the theme of that original knife.
I then cut out 4 blanks from an old 1/8” thick saw blade I had on hand. These would be my practice convex grinding knives. I got close to the dimensions of the original with knife #2 - 5" blade, 4 3/4" handle.
I thinned the blade down some and it cut a lot better than #1. I took knife #2 to my first ever Beckerhead Gathering in August 2017. It got a pretty good workout that weekend.
I finished sawblade knives #3, #4, and #5 with each being a little closer to the original than the previous one. Here are #1-#5 right to left.
I was quite happy with #4 and started to gain some confidence ... but not too much ... because each time I think that, the knife throws me a curve ball. #4 not only looked pretty good, it felt good in hand and cut well.
#5 (Below) has become my user.
I've used it in the woods, the kitchen, the back yard, etc. I know I know...it's mystery metal or whatever some might call it but I've sliced, diced, carved, whittled, and batoned with it and have only ever had to touch it up with a honing steel rod and/or a leather strop. Four convex bevels per blade is a real pain but sharpening a convex blade isn't all that complicated.
As I was finishing the last saw blade knives, I was also preparing a batch of O1 tool steel blanks to send to heat treat. I threw in a Kephart; it would become #6. It turned out well. The weight and balance was very close to the original and Ethan let me do another side x side comparison with the original. I got a lot closer than with #1.
I then profiled a dozen blanks, did rough grinds, and sent them to HT.
I've since finished a few of those 12 blanks and the rest are in progress.
If you've made it this far, thank you for your interest.
You sure have made a lot of progress , that last Knife is Beautiful. Thanks for sharing. 
You have a serious skill set to get as close as you already have, I like them!
