CPK Kephart

Nathan the Machinist said:
Leave it alone. It's perfect.
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haha, unfortunately you cant see the dings in the back of the spine where it looks like it was beat on with something metallic.
Like I said, it's just a little deformed metal- it's not sharp or anything so it's not a problem, just "striking" in the face of an otherwise flawless knife.
If anything it's a testament to the toughness and just another story in a knife that's about to get a lot more use.
I'll leave it alone.
 
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EngrSorenson said:
Thanks to the kindness and generosity of @Murphjd25 I now have a CPK to call my own.
Freaking love this thing. She's got some scars which I was thinking about maybe trying to file out, but it's just cosmetic.
PD42lwa.jpg
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EngrSorenson said:
haha, unfortunately you cant see the dings in the back of the spine where it looks like it was beat on with something metallic.
Like I said, it's just a little deformed metal- it's not sharp or anything so it's not a problem, just "striking" in the face of an otherwise flawless knife.
If anything it's a testament to the toughness and just another story in a knife that's about to get a lot more use.
I'll leave it alone.
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There is hope for grasshopper
 
Pàdruig said:
Now that you have one in hand, how does the grind and geometry hold up under your scrutiny? I know you were concerned about it being too thick.
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I'm actually really surprised with how it performs- I was cutting some onions with it just for the sake of using it, which is a task that can get messy with chunky knives.
It didn't out perform my kitchen cutlery, and I wouldn't expect it to, but it did well enough such that when I'm in the woods it's going to be perfect for what I need.
The complex grind actually releases the food easier than my kitchen cutlery. It's one of my thicker knives, but I wouldn't guess that by how it cuts.

I'm really impressed- it seems like a good jack-of-all-trades knife which, based on what I know about the original, that was kind of the intent.
Some general comments? The handle is super comfortable in multiple holds- particularly a reverse hammer grip, which I use a lot for removing waste wood quickly.
I absolutely love the smooth transitions from tang to scales, and the jigging in the handle really adds some pleasing texture and meaningful grip.
it's got great balance and I find myself fiddling with it, letting it balance on my index finger.

I don't know if it was as interesting of a knife to make as it is to use, but I'm absolutely smitten.
 
EngrSorenson said:
I'm actually really surprised with how it performs- I was cutting some onions with it just for the sake of using it, which is a task that can get messy with chunky knives.
It didn't out perform my kitchen cutlery, and I wouldn't expect it to, but it did well enough such that when I'm in the woods it's going to be perfect for what I need.
The complex grind actually releases the food easier than my kitchen cutlery. It's one of my thicker knives, but I wouldn't guess that by how it cuts.

I'm really impressed- it seems like a good jack-of-all-trades knife which, based on what I know about the original, that was kind of the intent.
Some general comments? The handle is super comfortable in multiple holds- particularly a reverse hammer grip, which I use a lot for removing waste wood quickly.
I absolutely love the smooth transitions from tang to scales, and the jigging in the handle really adds some pleasing texture and meaningful grip.
it's got great balance and I find myself fiddling with it, letting it balance on my index finger.

I don't know if it was as interesting of a knife to make as it is to use, but I'm absolutely smitten.
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Very cool. I think it can be argued that the Kephart is one of CPK's more mundane offerings but I find nothing boring about it. It's a superb knife and I have no doubt that it will always remain the best modern rendition of a historically significant pattern. I'm glad you got one and good on Josh for sending it to you.

I have a couple of buddies who are quick to discard knives that they deem to be too thick or overbuilt. They want a knife to cut and do it well and I really can't fault them for that, right tool for the job and all. Dismissing a CPK is a mistake though - they are engineered to not only be tough but to cut supremely well too. One of the first things I did with my first CPK (a HDFK) was take it on a glam camping trip. I handed it to one of my buddies and he proceeded to slice up a tomato for our burgers. He isn't even a knife guy and he was super impressed.
 
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Pàdruig said:
Very cool. I think it can be argued that the Kephart is one of CPK's more mundane offerings but I find nothing boring about it. It's a superb knife and I have no doubt that it will always remain the best modern rendition of a historically significant pattern. I'm glad you got one and good on Josh for sending it to you.

I have a couple of buddies who are quick to discard knives that they deem to be too thick or overbuilt. They want a knife to cut and do it well and I really can't fault them for that, right tool for the job and all. Dismissing a CPK is a mistake though - they are engineered to not only be tough but to cut supremely well too. One of the first things I did with my first CPK (a HDFK) was take it on a glam camping trip. I handed it to one of my buddies and he proceeded to slice up a tomato for our burgers. He isn't even a knife guy and he was super impressed.
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I do like to point out, for folks who don't know, that we are the current national and world cutting champions. We haven't really advertised that fact, because I suck at marketing, but we know what we are doing when it comes to the geometry and metallurgy.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
I do like to point out, for folks who don't know, that we are the current national and world cutting champions. We haven't really advertised that fact, because I suck at marketing, but we know what we are doing when it comes to the geometry and metallurgy.
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Your customers are the best marketing for a product I've ever seen.

But for the record, even a CPK uninitiated, non-knife-sport-observant, grandpa knife-toting guy like myself has heard of your successes.
Particularly proud of Jo, who's not only a great competitor, but the lady with the biggest angel heart collection.
 
It's a no-go to have the spine sharpened/squared up. A couple of people have suggested that I use the cutting edge to strike the fire steel (including CPK). My guess would be that a fellow would have a very dull spot in his cutting edge very quickly.

Would you fellas do that? Maybe it would be just fine. Perhaps my happy answer would be to get a Kephart with a swedge and sharpen it for a sacrificial edge?
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
I do like to point out, for folks who don't know, that we are the current national and world cutting champions. We haven't really advertised that fact, because I suck at marketing, but we know what we are doing when it comes to the geometry and metallurgy.
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You don't suck at marketing but marketing by incorporating modern fashionable tools of the trade like flooding the social media by using "influencers" to create and inflate a "buzz" is just not in your business DNA.

Since I have gone down the knife rabbit hole recently familiarizing myself with different makers and makes, what has really further impressed me about you/CPK as opposed to other small makers of ~ same size of operation, apart from your engineering and design background/education/knowledge/experience, your knowledge of metallurgy and your company's successes in cutting competitions / championships, the other really impressive stuff is the immaculate record keeping and archiving, both in-house and also the reliable reference material on CPK on the Interwebs. Access to reliable and accurate data is very important to some people but that unfortunately record keeping is not everyone's forte. IMO accurate record keeping is a crucial difference between a successful and on-the-ball type of business vs those who operate by the seat-of-the-pants mentality.
 
jacobconroy75 said:
Would you fellas do that? Maybe it would be just fine.
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it's not going to be great for the cutting edge, but the knife will survive.
I wouldn't do that if, say, noticing the dull spot during your camping trip was going to bother you.
It would bother me. I hate boogered edges and feel compelled to fix them.
 
EngrSorenson said:
it's not going to be great for the cutting edge, but the knife will survive.
I wouldn't do that if, say, noticing the dull spot during your camping trip was going to bother you.
It would bother me. I hate boogered edges and feel compelled to fix them.
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Yeah, it would bother me too.

I'll go pick up a good file and try to square up the back. If it doesn't work, I guess the Kephart will go into the box with the others. My Benchmade Bushcrafter needs a room mate. :)
 
jacobconroy75 said:
Yeah, it would bother me too.

I'll go pick up a good file and try to square up the back. If it doesn't work, I guess the Kephart will go into the box with the others. My Benchmade Bushcrafter needs a room mate. :)
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I think Nathan’s advice about filing with a standard file is correct- you’ll just blunt your file. DMT makes small hones that would probably work.

I would opt for a striker before making the back potentially hard on fingers.
 
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