Review, Ka-Bar Kephart Knife
Being a retired chef, MrsMac is a knife connoisseur. She has oodles of knives, mostly chef type kitchen knives along with other knives like the Crenshaw onion or scallion assist open knives she always carries. One kind of knife she doesn't have is a good, fixed blade utility belt knife.
I learned in mid-2021 that Ka-Bar had reproduced the famed wilderness author,
Horace Kephart's knife and was available to the public.
Most of you young folks will not know
who Horace Kephart is. Well in short, he is a author that focused is writing's on camping, woodcraft, and survival. In my early teens it was required reading for my small outdoorsy clique.
https://youtu.be/tA00VxcamT8With a loss of what to get MrsMac for Christmas, I ordered the Kephart knife in the early fall of 2021. It arrived several weeks after and this is what I think of this historic tool.
The knife that came was unbelievable sharp. Rumor has it that Kephart never sharpened his knife. It is a full tanged knife wrapped with stained (not lacquered) walnut grips. The 5 1/4" blade is made of 1095 Cro-Van steel and features a drop point blade design. The knife is accompanied with a leather sheath that sports I nice 1 3/4" loop for the wearers belt. The sheath was partly wet molded to the knife which acts as a solid grip on the knife and handle.
Last and very important to me, the knife and sheath are USA made.
MrsMac opened the present Christmas morning and she kind of had a look of, "odd Christmas present for your wife". A similar look I received when I bought her a really cool vacuum cleaner the second Christmas of our 45-year marriage. My explaining the history of the knife did not generate any additional appreciation for this historical tool.
Jump ahead to two weeks ago, we had some friends over for an adult beverage before we left for dinner at a local (30-minutes away is local where we live) restaurant. My friend commented on the Ka-Bar box sitting on our kitchen table and MrsMac told him to check out her "Christmas present". Well, he did and started to generate his own critique and to talk about a hero of his, Horace Kephart. Well last week I saw that she was wearing the knife and was actually using it. Albeit to cut veggies, cheese, and other food groups while in the kitchen.
Being a smart husband, I kept my mouth shut. I see nothing, I hear nothing, I speak nothing, comes to mind.
Last night we had a small MAG meeting at out cabin, and she pulled the knife out to show two of the ladies that were there. She told them that she had been wearing the knife for about a work and she loved the balance of the knife and has used it for a multitude of chores of late. One of the ladies hefted it and thought she might get one, while the other lady did not seem very interested.
The knife seems to be 'wife approved' at this point.
If I owned one, I would make a few very minor changes. First I would drill a 1/4" hole through the end of the handle for a lanyard. I really love the concept of having things attached to me. Less chance of setting it down and losing it.
The second thing I would do is grind down maybe 2" long section on top of the blade to a 45-degree angle, close to the front of the wood handle. This would add in starting a fire with my firesteel.
Last, although the molded leather sheath is nice and well made, I would prefer a Kydex sheath. Just personal preference.
There you go, share any stories if you have any, on reading Horace Kephart adventures.
73 & God Bless
