My Kephart knife story (and struggles)

I don’t mean to brag, but I think you have come a long way since the first one you ever made. You can tell you are a perfectionist, pay close attention to detail and take pride for every one you make. I tell you all the time you make beautiful knives, but seeing all these comments from people, I REALLY know now that you really do. Keep doing what what you love and share these awesome stories. Word will get around someday that you had some awesome people to help you along the way. If Becker likes your knives then you really are doing good!
 
Drummer Girls Mum said:
I don’t mean to brag, but I think you have come a long way since the first one you ever made. You can tell you are a perfectionist, pay close attention to detail and take pride for every one you make. I tell you all the time you make beautiful knives, but seeing all these comments from people, I REALLY know now that you really do. Keep doing what what you love and share these awesome stories. Word will get around someday that you had some awesome people to help you along the way. If Becker likes your knives then you really are doing good!
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He really does.
good of you to come on here and rub his nose in it. ;)
 
marchone said:
My search led me from Ethan Becker's posts here to all over the internet right back full circle to BladeForums. Will you sell any?
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I appreciate your interest. I will offer them for sale at some point just not quite ready yet.

nutoknives said:
Awesome work, and a great rendering of a Great Blade, that many of us are about to get to experience. Thanks for sharing
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Thanks for looking!
 
Mike McCarter said:
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.

If you've made it this far, thank you for your interest.
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Dear Sir,

I want to know that what is the advantage/disadvantage of a not having/having a lanyard hole/tube except for that "Old Wold / Traditional" ""look""?
I see no reason why this most important addition is omitted in many such knives!
Why?

Ra.

Mod edit: You're bumping up a year old thread, clearly done to promote your own site. Link removed.
 
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Rahul_Does said:
Dear Sir,

I want to know that what is the advantage/disadvantage of a not having/having a lanyard hole/tube except for that "Old Wold / Traditional" ""look""?
I see no reason why this most important addition is omitted in many such knives!
Why?

Ra.
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Good Question!
I'd like the answer too..... Except, I'm kinda the opposite (as usual)…..Why is the lanyard hole even there?
I don't want it!
Only thing I can think of is if I were using a knife on a ladder, cliff, skyscraper, scaffolding, elevator shaft...etc.
(basically in an Action Movie) and I was worried about it being Dropped on someone?

Chopping and hacking?.... Hell No!
If a knife slips out of my hand then.... I want it Gone.
Not whirling around my arm and body, slicing me to pieces. :/

plus that rope hangs down, gets in the way, snags things, and is difficult to wash blood off of.... The blood of me from whirling back into me....haha. :D

*Seriously, I'd like good reasons one way or another.....(probably high jacking this thread/Sorry)
 
Rahul_Does said:
Dear Sir,

I want to know that what is the advantage/disadvantage of a not having/having a lanyard hole/tube except for that "Old Wold / Traditional" ""look""?
I see no reason why this most important addition is omitted in many such knives!
Why?

Ra.
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If I may interject, I got one of Mike’s first batch of Kepharts. In keeping with the originals, no lanyard hole is historically correct. He’ll add one of you want it. But then you modified the original pattern.
 
Rahul_Does said:
Dear Sir,

I want to know that what is the advantage/disadvantage of a not having/having a lanyard hole/tube except for that "Old Wold / Traditional" ""look""?
I see no reason why this most important addition is omitted in many such knives!
Why?

Ra.
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I believe you got your answer when you posted the exact same question in the kephart thread out in General Knife Discussion.
 
mbZaYYv.jpg


Gratuitous photograph because this thread needs it. ;)

Mike McCarter Mike McCarter
 
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Late to the discussion... haven’t logged on here in a few days. You guys have pretty much covered the lanyard pros/cons.

I general, I prefer a shorter lanyard vs. wrapping one around my wrist. For practical purposes, I best like a short lanyard on a knife that rides deeply in a sheath. Lanyard helps with the draw. I also like the looks of a lanyard bead matching the knife handle material like this one. But that’s aesthetics not utility.

DT0xLEE.jpg


Specifically regarding the Kephart style knife, I do not think the design, size, or Horace’s intended use necessitates a lanyard. I doubt he chopped or batoned with his. I’ve added a tube to a few of the Kepharts I’ve made. IMHO it’s there if you need it but doesn’t detract a great deal from the looks if you don’t use it. Like Marchone wrote, it is a departure from the original Colclesser.
 
Mike McCarter said:
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.

jIbWt4F.jpg

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.
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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.
pWK3JDT.jpg

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.
OX0yLi7.jpg


97Yyn4k.jpg


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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.
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I then profiled a dozen blanks, did rough grinds, and sent them to HT.
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I've since finished a few of those 12 blanks and the rest are in progress.

L1y1XCB.jpg


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If you've made it this far, thank you for your interest.
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I realize this is an old thread but does anybody know what is the book is with the pattern on the cover? It is in the picture of sheath layout.
 
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