Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => At the Forge => Topic started by: Handforged on March 27, 2020, 08:37:16 pm
-
This is a slightly redesigned kephart knife. 5" blade in 52100 steel. This one has a desert ironwood and elk antler handle. This is a very good all around (general purpose) style. Deep flat grind and a micro bevel cutting edge. These things will shave wood or shave hair, your choice.
-
Nice! Very impressive blade and handle!
Hawkdancer
-
Thanks! It has a distal taper and perfect balance. It's actually surprising how light it feels in the hand. I don't often get to build what I want to, most of the time I am working from someone's desires and not my own. When I get the freedom to create as I like it usually come out well. I don't forge to a shape, I forge to a feel. Constantly spinning it around in my hands and fitting it to my eye.
The Kephart is a proven design. I have made many of them but I never liked the broom handle feel of it. Reshaping the handle and giving a slightly deeper belly to the blade makes it so much more appealing to the eye (to me). It also makes for a smoother grip and reverse grip. The ironwood on the bolster is so hard that 220 grit sandpaper only polishes it really. A finish is achieved by buffing it with a wheel like steel. A finish isn't really necessary although I do usually give it a coat of oil. The elk antler gives traction when the blade is wet or bloody. The large lanyard loop make is possible to use about any material for a lanyard and it also gives a solid foundation for lashing it to a pole if the need arises. The spine is ground and polished dead flat to make using a ferro rod effortless. It throws a shower of sparks. It turned out really nice although there are a few things I wish I had done with it. I wish I had filed the spine at the edge of the handle scales to give traction for your thumb in heavy cutting. I also wish I had used brass tube to match the pins instead of stainless but it was all that I had at the time. I have a meticulous mind and no matter what I think of the finished piece, I still pick it apart and look for ways I could have improved it. It can never be perfect, that is the bane of a handmade piece. That's the only way to make a better piece next time.
-
That knife is a work of art and my favorite style.
-
One more picture of the knife finished in it's new tooled sheath. Matching ferro rod with elk antler handle.
-
The interesting thing, for me, about the Kephart knife is that it was such a simple and useful design. Pretty nice for a 2 dollar knife back in the day.
Now your version Really "kicks it up a notch"... :OK
-
The interesting thing, for me, about the Kephart knife is that it was such a simple and useful design. Pretty nice for a 2 dollar knife back in the day.
Now your version Really "kicks it up a notch"... :OK
Thanks! When Horace Kephart sent his drawings in to have this knife made his way it was available for 2.50 if I remember correctly with a leather sheath. Then again that was a time when 2.50 was a weeks wages or more.
To me in it's original form it's a great knife but I find the handle and grip of the knife to be uncomfortable and not have a positive stop when you grasp it. I changed it a little to correct the thing that I didn't like.