What appeals to you about a kephart blade shape?

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3fifty7 said:
Honestly, nothing.
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Ditto.

There's some variation in the design of Kepharts (maker to maker) but they all look like they're just "butter" knives or pry bars to me.

The blunt tip is no good for stabbing/piercing and the very short belly at the tip of the blade is not much use for cutting with the tip and the angle of the tip makes it difficult to make use of the straight edge behind it.

So, it looks pretty useless to me and I've never purchased one for that reason.
 
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sgt1372 said:
Ditto.

There's some variation in the design of Kepharts (maker to maker) but they all look like they're just "butter" knives or pry bars to me.

The blunt tip is no good for stabbing/piercing and the very short belly at the tip of the blade is not much use for cutting with the tip or the straight edge behind it.

So, it looks pretty useless to me and I've never purchased one for that reason.
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Yeah. So far I'm not seeing any use for one that another knife wouldn't cover much better.
 
carnifex knifeworks said:
Yeah. So far I'm not seeing any use for one that another knife wouldn't cover much better.
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I think something to remember is that even Kephart himself didn't see it as the end-all, be-all of knives. He later showed images of a Marbles knife in his book as his "perfect" knife. That said, it works just fine. The "blunt" tip makes short work of carving divots or drilling holes (like for making a bow drill). The belly at the tip is plenty for skinning and broad enough to scrape hides (so you can make furs). The long straight section makes short work of notching, cutting, making feather sticks, etc. (again for making fire and camp furniture). The handle shape allows you to choke up really well for fine work. The broad tip allows you spread stuff on bread (butter, peanut butter, or bacon grease), the length let's you get to the bottom of the the peanut butter jar, and the grind being sort of convex over breadth (top to bottom) of the knife keeps it from wedging too bad (it's not supposed to be a flat grind). The wide, flat, handle is comfortable, unobtrusive, and rides well in a sheath and fits easily under clothes like jackets, etc.

At the end of the day it's just a good knife, but it's not the ONLY good knife. If you don't like it no one is going to force you to buy one. It's working well as a general purpose outdoors knife is the most appealing part of it.
 
The Becker BK-16 is Ethan’s rendition of the Kephart with improvements! I also have the BK-16 and also believe its better put head to head against the BK-62. However, the BK-62 is longer and heavier, hence, can do some bigger chores than the BK-16 can tackle.

So said, Ethan concludes one should have a trifecta, BK-9, 11, 16 to cover all ones needs. That means something bigger and another smaller than the 16.

With that in mind, the BK-62 does more on the bigger side and should be paired with a smaller knife as well.

I considered cutting a BK-62 down about an inch, but after putting micarta scales on one, I liked it that way better at full length. I ended up giving my son the extra when he was home over Christmas.
 
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Are we talking about the aesthetics or how it works?

I find it perfect overall blade shape. It can whittle while also it's good for food and meat cutting. Tip is great for both "belly work" and precision cutting due the tip being "closer" to the edge.
I like the handle comfortable for variety of grips while being safe to use.

Aesthetically I also like the plain looks.
 
Honestly, nothing really appeals to me about it...... It however is a solid performer in 95% of ones needs!!
I like the mountain man pattern better!!!!!! I carry it often..
 

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It’s not about how it looks, it’s about how it works. It is the kind of knife you keep in your cabin or in your pack for years and years, and you use it for everything. It does not do any one thing brilliantly, it does a lot of things very well. If you ride a KLR, you will understand.

It is curious to me that such a plain-Jane, utilitarian knife has so many designer variants. If you want similar utility in an inexpensive knife, try the Dexter-Russell Green River 4215 fish knife.
 
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