The Kephart is here!

I pre-ordered the BK-62. Looking forward to it. Might be a while before I buy another fixed blade, but this is pretty much exactly what I was looking for with a Kephart recreation.

The only Horace Kephart book I want in print is Camping & Woodcraft which I really enjoy browsing and reading bits and pieces of it. I really enjoy reading about how things used to be. I have the Kindle version of Our Southern Highlanders. I read it over a year ago. It is worth reading if you're interested in Horace Kephart.

Still want to visit Hazel Creek and do some hiking and fishing. Maybe next year....
 
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The free pdf version of Camping & Woodcraft does not include the pictures and unless you simply want to read it from cover to cover I strongly suggest a print version. I bought mine at the Visitors Center at Townsend TN.

I very much enjoy reading about the Southern Appalachian culture before the automobile came into common use. I keep looking at a book on Hazel Creek history and setting it back down.... and the repeat every time I visit Cades Cove. I have lived in the Southern Appalachians for about 30 years off and on. Very familiar with the slang and general heritage of the region.

I want to kayak over to Hazel Creek across Fontana, but have been worried about someone stealing my kayak while I'm fishing or exploring. I want to look around the old copper mine for one thing. Hazel Creek is fairly big water for a trout stream in the Smokies. I read that due to limited access, it has some good trout fishing.

Kephart was a very smart guy. Due to his personal habits, I don't honestly know if I would like the man. But times were different and applying today's standards to someone who lived on the NC side of the Smoky Mts is probably a bit unreasonable. It is hard to really appreciate just how remote that area is for people who don't understand the area.
 
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It is a woodsman’s tool par excellence with a wonderfully flat profile

Mr. Becker, it's exciting you own an original Kephart. Does the Ka-Bar Becker Kephart have the same blade geometry as the original?

http://www.thetruthaboutknives.com/2017/06/the-original-kephart-knife-examined/

"Most interesting is the blade geometry. The shape is convexed about halfway up the blade, and then slightly convexed back toward the spine as well. This makes the thickest part of the blade in the middle, rather than at the spine. Combined with chamfered edges at the spine and a distal taper, such a shape should move very efficiently through soft materials (such as flesh while processing game). Seriously, there is a lot going on within that “simple spear point” shape."

Thanks!
 
I see that Tomar’s processed my payment. Hopefully that means I’m getting mine sooner than later.
I ordered through them as well. Hopefully that means I'll get one as soon as they come in.... otherwise it would mean waiting for the next shipment from Kabar.

Ethan donated the original knife to the Kephart museum in Asheville NC.
 
It is a full height flat grind with the spine relied to assist the exit of the blade in flesh ....Very slicey.... The double convexities cannot he achieved on machinery..... The originals were all individually forged and ground by hand....Not really possible to do in mass production...Both Dan Eastland at Dogwood Knives and Mike McCarter are doing extremely fine stock removal versions that closely mimic the originals..... Ka-Bar has done about as good a job as it is possible to do in a production setting.....
 
Hey 22Rimfire....

I am going to donate a Model 62 to the museum..... I like to think of myself as a kind and generous soul and all around friend to mankind but, that blade is a most prized possession... I may encourage my son to make that donation but, it ain’t leaving my hands until they are quite cold....LOL....e
 
Sorry Ethan, I thought you did that already. My mistake.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my order for the BK-62 was too late to catch the initial batch. Guess that means Mid-January. If I see a shipment notice, I'll revise this post. They confirmed my order but that really doesn't mean anything.
 
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That is interesting. :thumbsup:

There are more than a few rare, out-of-print books that contain gems of all sorts. One comes to mind for the rifle men and women out there called "White Feather" by the brothers Roy F. Chandler and Norman A. Chandler; subtitled 'Carlos Hathcock USMC Scout Sniper'. It is the story of the Arkansas native's life and military service during the Vietnam war. Real tough to find that one.

One other is "The Life and Adventures of George Nidever" [1802~1883] as dictated to E.F. Murray. An early California pioneer from east Tennessee, George hunted and trapped extensively through the Channel Islands for otter, and discovered the last native of San Miguel Island, a woman, living alone there for 18 years.
Gonna quote meeself here; and add picture proof. Both good reads.
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It is a full height flat grind with the spine relied to assist the exit of the blade in flesh ....Very slicey.... The double convexities cannot he achieved on machinery..... The originals were all individually forged and ground by hand....Not really possible to do in mass production...Both Dan Eastland at Dogwood Knives and Mike McCarter are doing extremely fine stock removal versions that closely mimic the originals..... Ka-Bar has done about as good a job as it is possible to do in a production setting.....

Hey 22Rimfire....

I am going to donate a Model 62 to the museum..... I like to think of myself as a kind and generous soul and all around friend to mankind but, that blade is a most prized possession... I may encourage my son to make that donation but, it ain’t leaving my hands until they are quite cold....LOL....e

The depth and breadth of Ethan's knowledge is only surpassed by his generosity and class.
 
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