The "Ask Nathan a question" thread

Casinostocks said:
Nathan, I read the phrase "limited run" in one your most recent Kephart related posts, IIRC. I have been toying with the idea of adding another to my preorder because I always get at least one back up CPK (not named chopper) but my urge for instant gratification forces me toward scoring another one during the upcoming Fridays sales in 2021 as the CPK-Keps get produced and presented.

I am still leaning in this way to get at least one more but the word which you used, i.e, limited, leaves a bit too much to luck during the upcoming FS's. My original interpretation of "limited" was more along the lines of a non-recurring future pattern like one-and-done but if you could perhaps elaborate? If you mean something like 50 or so more on top of whatever the PO numbers end up, I may wish to reconsider my current decision by adding to my preorder to stave off the future needs to scramble. Thank you.
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Yeah, I don't plan on this being a recurring pattern. The Kephart is something I had to get out of my system. I don't see re-visiting it again in the future. We'll make a few hundred of them and be done with it.
 
XtianAus said:
What is your favourite pattern?

What is the most popular/sold pattern?
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The Field Knife 2 is a brilliant tool in real use. I also like the Behemoth a lot.

I'd say the Field knives have probably been our best sellers. They're winding down now, but they had a really good run.

The Shiv has "legend" status but we never really made very many of them. It was a weapon with a limited utility.
 
XtianAus said:
Another: why did you switch from elmax to aebl for a stainless option?
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Jason pointed out that soldiers are almost all gear heads that appreciate a good knife, but most of them are not knife nuts. And they're judged by the condition of their gear. The stain resistance of 3V was not adequate and most folks would choose a shitty stainless blade over our 3V just for the corrosion resistance. Look at the Buck 650 "nighthawk" for example. There were real special forces Green Berets carrying this POS. The UF was developed for these folks and we needed a stainless option. I chose Elmax because (given the right heat treat) it had an unmatched combination of edge retention and durability. What's not to love?

But Elmax was a bear for these guys to sharpen. And because they're not always careful about clacking the edge against something hard it goes dull just as fast as AEBL. They weren't getting much of a dividend from the wear resistance because for many people knives don't really go dull from abrasive wear. They go dull due to a lack of edge stability. For many applications wear resistance is just a "selling feature" for knives made from steels designed to be plastic extruder screws exposed to abrasive mineral filled plastics. People who baby their knives and use them in soft abrasive materials will benefit from high abrasion resistance. Knuckleheads in Afghanistan don't need or want that. They need a stainless that is tough, holds an edge well in rough use and is easy for them to sharpen. Optimized AEBL is the best there is. It also happens to be inexpensive.
 
beattheheat said:
Hi Nathan,is it possible for some/most of us to put a 90 degree spine on the Kephart?just for the ease of striking a firesteel rod?
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I will apply a small chamfer and tumble it. But yes, someone could grind that back into a sharp spine if they wanted to
 
Hi Nathan, I was wondering how thin you think that you could go with a D3V blade without it becoming too fragile? I'd love a kitchen knife with as thin a blade as possible. I like very thin slicey blades sharpened to a very actue edge. Do you think that it would be better to do this as a very thin blade flat-ground to near 0 with a convex edge, or would a better approach be to hollow-grind a somewhat thicker blade (like your famous potato knife)? As I recall, you said that you have sharpened D3V to a 13 DPS edge. Do you think that it would be possible to go to a 10 DPS edge and still maintain edge stability? Or would another steel be even better for this type of blade? - Bob B.
 
moparsbob said:
Hi Nathan, I was wondering how thin you think that you could go with a D3V blade without it becoming too fragile? I'd love a kitchen knife with as thin a blade as possible. I like very thin slicey blades sharpened to a very actue edge. Do you think that it would be better to do this as a very thin blade flat-ground to near 0 with a convex edge, or would a better approach be to hollow-grind a somewhat thicker blade (like your famous potato knife)? As I recall, you said that you have sharpened D3V to a 13 DPS edge. Do you think that it would be possible to go to a 10 DPS edge and still maintain edge stability? Or would another steel be even better for this type of blade? - Bob B.
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Delta 3V was optimized for edge stability. Meaning we put a great deal of effort into making a somewhat complex steel behave almost like a simple steel in that regard. but you'll never do better than Hitachi white or W-2 or even AEBL at extremely narrow geometry. At a certain point, low carbide wins the day in the kitchen.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
The Field Knife 2 is a brilliant tool in real use. I also like the Behemoth a lot.

I'd say the Field knives have probably been our best sellers. They're winding down now, but they had a really good run.

The Shiv has "legend" status but we never really made very many of them. It was a weapon with a limited utility.
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Would you ever revisit the shiv pattern? Just curious.
 
Hi Nathan - For the Kephart you said that the balance would be between the first and second finger, and I'm just wondering what the logic is for that, as I have the impression that everything you do is by design. For a general use knife. I prefer the balance to be on the first finger, which I consider to be a neutral balance. Anything behind that, and it feels handle-heavy to me, and therefore makes me feel like I'm carrying unnecessary weight. That was one of the things I wasn't so keen on with the original Field Knife (have never handled the FK II).
 
Brummie said:
Hi Nathan - For the Kephart you said that the balance would be between the first and second finger, and I'm just wondering what the logic is for that, as I have the impression that everything you do is by design. For a general use knife. I prefer the balance to be on the first finger, which I consider to be a neutral balance. Anything behind that, and it feels handle-heavy to me, and therefore makes me feel like I'm carrying unnecessary weight. That was one of the things I wasn't so keen on with the original Field Knife (have never handled the FK II).
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The Field knife was a challenge to balance because it was a multi purpose knife with a long handle with multiple positions. Ultimately the short blade and long handle made it a little handle heavy which is why it was so extensively skeletonized. With the longer blade and shorter handle the Kephart won't have that challenge. It won't need much adjustment.

Like you, I like my tool knives and skinners to balance on the first finger. A bushcraft knife like the Kephart needs to be frequently repositioned in normal use with a loose grip without concern about it tipping out of the hand while being repositioned. It should be a little handle heavy for this. Probably between the first and second finger.

I don't have the original here to measure the balance point but I do have a copy of it that differs from the original in a few ways but (in theory) has the balance "correct".

This detail isn't a settled property yet. Like anything, we will play with it.


I am also going to attempt a modified flat grind where the angle along the spine is more acute than directly behind the edge. I'll do this with two distinct flat grinds for the primaries instead of one. The goal being reduced binding when splitting small wood, like a convex grind. This might affect the weight of the blade which will affect the balance properties which will determine how much adjustment the final design will need.

TL;DR Idunno we'll try it
 
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Siddhant said:
Hi Nathan, perhaps you already discussed this, but have you settled on a method of deployment for the CPK folder?
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The first CPK folder is going to be a shameless blatant rip off of the Chris Reeves Sebenza.

We will evolve and gravitate into titanium flippers etc, but to start I want a simple heavy duty tool folder.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
The first CPK folder is going to be a shameless blatant rip off of the Chris Reeves Sebenza.

We will evolve and gravitate into titanium flippers etc, but to start I want a simple heavy duty tool folder.
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Two slabs of titanium with a high performance blade in the center, combined with CPK craftsmanship, certainly sounds like a winning formula.

So it will be a thumbstud opener then?

There have also been some nice designs using a fuller, might be nice on a CPK folder at some point...

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