What appeals to you about a kephart blade shape?

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I've read this entire thread and I can echo what alot have said here, Kepharts are not for everybody. Having said that I'm going to ask something here and I'm not trying to be facetious. I'm not wanting to ruffle anybodies tail feathers but please tell us what knife you would choose over the Kephart. We need to see the other side of the coin. Pictures are always better.
 
I’m completely indifferent to them. I was always curious about the BK-62, but I have to stick with what I know. I’ve used 6-8” 3/16-1/4” drop point “Camp” knives for a couple of decades now. It’s always worked just fine for me.
 
Uncle Timbo said:
I've read this entire thread and I can echo what alot have said here, Kepharts are not for everybody. Having said that I'm going to ask something here and I'm not trying to be facetious. I'm not wanting to ruffle anybodies tail feathers but please tell us what knife you would choose over the Kephart. We need to see the other side of the coin. Pictures are always better.
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When I'm fishing, I like to "spike" my fish I know I'm keeping rather than let them languish on a stringer. Rather than carry a separate spike or a separate knife, I just use whatever knife I'm carrying; so something pointier is nice in that case. A buck 110, 119, does great; but I prefer the fixed blade for fishing (even if it's overly large). I can do all my camp chores with either (except splitting wood, but that's what the axe/hatchet/tomahawk is for, or wooden wedges for that matter, so no big deal); and the 102 tends to ride on my hip a billion times more than the 119.

I should get a 102...
 
NapalmCheese said:
When I'm fishing, I like to "spike" my fish I know I'm keeping rather than let them languish on a stringer. Rather than carry a separate spike or a separate knife, I just use whatever knife I'm carrying; so something pointier is nice in that case. A buck 110, 119, does great; but I prefer the fixed blade for fishing (even if it's overly large). I can do all my camp chores with either (except splitting wood, but that's what the axe/hatchet/tomahawk is for, or wooden wedges for that matter, so no big deal); and the 102 tends to ride on my hip a billion times more than the 119.

I should get a 102...
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I just use a piece wood that my Kephart batonned. Give them a whomp across their head.
 
Nothing is appealing about Kepharts. I honestly think they are one of the least appealing knives.

I'd pick clip point, tanto point, spear point or even dagger over a kephart any day. I'd rather own a karambit than kephart, and that being said - I'm not fan of karambits at all.

I'm not fan of wharnies, sheepsfoot blades, or puukkos either, but those are at least good looking, speaking of which - puukkos are just georgeous.
 
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Intention is to do some open fire cooking the next weekend
 
EngrSorenson said:
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I have my reasons.

Wharnie - no belly.
Sheepsfoot - wide tip that doesn't pierce well.
Puukko - paranoid about finger safety.

Why I need the tip?
Example - my backpack strap stitches let loose and it fell off. I poked holes on strap and backpack and fixed it with zip ties.

I wouldn't EDC a kephart, but for uses around the house, in garge, camping and sometimes kitchen - Cold Steel AK47 fixed blade does the trick.

It looks good, my hand won't slide up, and it won't fly out of my hand either as I chop, has decent belly and decent tip.
Kephart on the other hand... so yeah.
 
Uncle Timbo said:
I've read this entire thread and I can echo what alot have said here, Kepharts are not for everybody. Having said that I'm going to ask something here and I'm not trying to be facetious. I'm not wanting to ruffle anybodies tail feathers but please tell us what knife you would choose over the Kephart. We need to see the other side of the coin. Pictures are always better.
Click to expand...
I think that where the Kephart comes up short for some people is those looking for a 'one tool solution' to do everything, incl. things that historically were tasks best left to other tools. It's a more recent bushcrafty/survival phenomenon, this obsession with "one tool for everything." And it's kind of silly, imo. Even Ethan Becker, a big proponent of the sharpened pry bar, sees the virtues in the Kephart design. No one back in Kephart's time would have tried to do everything in the woods with just one 5" knife, unless they had broken/lost every other woods tool they had. This was generally considered not a good situation to be in, and not something to do deliberately for fun.

In historical context, the Kephart was and continues to be a great knife, for doing a wide variety of knife things. Pair it with a saw and/or axe, as was intended, throw a SAK in your pocket, and you have a very capable outdoor toolset. Personally, I prefer this approach. Some don't, and that's fine.

I guess that doesn't really answer your question, because I think we are more or less in the same camp. ;)
 
Uncle Timbo said:
I've read this entire thread and I can echo what alot have said here, Kepharts are not for everybody. Having said that I'm going to ask something here and I'm not trying to be facetious. I'm not wanting to ruffle anybodies tail feathers but please tell us what knife you would choose over the Kephart. We need to see the other side of the coin. Pictures are always better.
Click to expand...
For the purposes of this discussion I have four notable bushcraft knives to compare.

https://imgur.com/XNFOwd4
Hackman Tapio Wirkkala Puukko (left)

https://imgur.com/0e8SeB2
Mike McCarter Mike McCarter Kephart

https://imgur.com/xEIqwqc
C Cohutta Russell Reece Strebig

https://imgur.com/a4ujX3J
TRX Splinter 120 pehota pehota

While all are excellent all around camp knives I have a preference for the pehota pehota . Balancing the designs together it is somewhat lighter than the others, more pointable and a more versatile food prep tool as well as being stout enough for batoning chores. There is just enough belly to make a decent skinner on mid-sized game and its ergonomic Micarta scales with palm swell provides a grippier purchase in wet conditions than any wood can.

Although I have yet to do it, the scale ferrules on the TRC make it handy to strap a pole to for a makeshift spear. Just the idea of it makes me smile.
 
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In historical context, the Kephart was and continues to be a great knife, for doing a wide variety of knife things. Pair it with a saw and/or axe, as was intended, throw a SAK in your pocket, and you have a very capable outdoor toolset. Personally, I prefer this approach. Some don't, and that's fine.
I took the liberty of highlighting the fact that even ol Horace never intended the Kephart to be his only tool.
Plus the fact that if I don't have a smaller pocketknife on me....or two...I forgot to put my pants on and I've got bigger issues. :)
 
marchone said:
For the purposes of this discussion I have four notable bushcraft knives to compare.

https://imgur.com/XNFOwd4
Hackman Tapio Wirkkala Puukko (left)

https://imgur.com/0e8SeB2
Mike McCarter Kephart

https://imgur.com/xEIqwqc
Russell Reece Strebig

https://imgur.com/a4ujX3J
TRX Splinter 120 Pehota

While all are excellent all around camp knives I have a preference for the Pehota. Balancing the designs together it is somewhat lighter than the others, more pointable and a more versatile food prep tool as well as being stout enough for batoning chores. There is just enough belly to make a decent skinner on mid-sized game and I feel its ergonomic Micarta scales provide a grippier purchase in wet conditions than any wood can.

Although I have yet to do it, the scale ferrules on the TRC make it handy to strap a pole to for a makeshift spear. Just the idea of it makes me smile.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the pictures. I wish others would post what they like better than the Kephart. I especially like the Mike McCarter version. Ol Sarge knows how to make an authentic Kephart.
 
Smithhammer said:
I think that where the Kephart comes up short for some people is those looking for a 'one tool solution' to do everything, incl. things that historically were tasks best left to other tools. It's a more recent bushcrafty/survival phenomenon, this obsession with "one tool for everything." And it's kind of silly, imo. Even Ethan Becker, a big proponent of the sharpened pry bar, sees the virtues in the Kephart design. No one back in Kephart's time would have tried to do everything in the woods with just one 5" knife, unless they had broken/lost every other woods tool they had. This was generally considered not a good situation to be in, and not something to do deliberately for fun.

In historical context, the Kephart was and continues to be a great knife, for doing a wide variety of knife things. Pair it with a saw and/or axe, as was intended, throw a SAK in your pocket, and you have a very capable outdoor toolset. Personally, I prefer this approach. Some don't, and that's fine.

I guess that doesn't really answer your question, because I think we are more or less in the same camp. ;)
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I'm not survivalist or anything like that. But if I go camping - then hatchet or axe will do, and kitchen knife will arguably more useful than any other knife.

And if I just want to go to a hike (which I usually do)... I think it'd be hard to lug around an axe, saw, knife and whatnot. Especially given the fact that with today's materials and designs you can do it all just with a knife.

But everyone is different and has different needs. I was never making bow, or went out for survival and all that stuff that people talk about. Or carve spoons and stuff... I keep things simple, I'll take a knife and BIC or some other lighter, bring my own utensils and call it a day.
 
LostCause said:
I'm not survivalist or anything like that. But if I go camping - then hatchet or axe will do, and kitchen knife will arguably more useful than any other knife.
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Cool. I wasn't describing "being a survivalist" in my post above. But Kepharts, being fairly thin, tend to work well in the kitchen. ;)
LostCause said:
And if I just want to go to a hike (which I usually do)... I think it'd be hard to lug around an axe, saw, knife and whatnot. Especially given the fact that with today's materials and designs you can do it all just with a knife.
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Of course there's no reason to lug around those other tools, if you aren't going to be doing anything that requires them. Entirely depends on your needs/goals for that particular outing. There are obviously plenty of hikes where a knife may be all you need. And a compact, lightweight saw is generally going to be easier and lighter to pack than an axe if you're making miles. Safer in the backcountry, as well.
LostCause said:
But everyone is different and has different needs. I was never making bow, or went out for survival and all that stuff that people talk about. Or carve spoons and stuff... I keep things simple, I'll take a knife and BIC or some other lighter, bring my own utensils and call it a day.
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Sounds good. Have fun.

"It was made by a country blacksmith, and is one of the homeliest things I ever saw; but it has outlived in my affections the score of other knives that I have used in competition with it, and has done more work than all of them put together."

- H. Kephart
 
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So far we've only been discussing Kephart's knife of choice, but I believe Sears' Nesmuk falls into this kind of catagory, no?
Both capable men of the outdoors in their own right, and Sears was celebrated by Kephart, yet they are associated with two different knives.

Back before knife guys got super excited about the "one knife to rule them all", a knife was a necessary part of a kit of tools.
Didn't have to be pretty, it just had to do the typical tasks required of a knife, and I think that applies to both historical examples.
There's a lot of modern knives that Kephart and Sears would have been perfectly happy to use.

Had they been alive today, I think they'd most likely belong to a camping forum and comment occasionally in a knife thread, rather than a knife forum and comment occasionally in a camping thread.
 
Uncle Timbo said:
Thanks for the pictures. I wish others would post what they like better than the Kephart. I especially like the Mike McCarter version. Ol Sarge knows how to make an authentic Kephart.
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Sorry that links are long, for some reason img.bb doesn't work and neither did few other hosts so I had to upload here.

Anyways, this is what I'd pick over kephart.

Tip fine enough to pierce well, yet sturdy enough not to break, enough belly, edge still fairly close to handle, and handle executed in a way that your hand won't go up on the blade if you ever decide to stab something, and it won't fly out of your hand if you need to chop.
Not a slicer, but I've seen worse. But it is able to split wood if that's what you need. It is built like a tank in all honesty. Slab of CPM-3V that will just keep going.

The biggest difference is - it's not boring. The fact that spine goes down straight to the tip instead of that curve on kephart together with that half assed swedge are kinda making the knife more interesting (and making the tip more useful). And more prominent guard is good/bad depending on who you ask (IMO - good), there's some jimping too, which is also a plus. And finally - the handle itself. I can grab it at the bottom for more lenght if I'm going to chop, and it is executed in a way that I can do a lot with it without fear of it slipping out of my hand. But it looks interesting too.
 
I lean toward drop points, although any blade will do in a pinch, in the right hands. Kepharts seem to me sort of like old '50s Chevys, clunky and basic, but they get you there eventually.
 
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