Good time at show this weekend

[hso]

In addition to telling a lot of people about the knives I had on my table a local knife maker was able to visit and put some knives out. That makes for fun being able to talk about someone else's craft.

Another great thing was having Mr. Becker show up with one of only two privately owned Horace Kephart knives and getting not only see and handle it, but make measurements!

http://www.thetruthaboutknives.com/2017/06/the-original-kephart-knife-examined/

With any good fortune my knife making buddy will produce a close copy of the actual Kephart.

Horace Kephart was an actual turn of the century outdoor enthusiast who wrote about his experience camping in the southern and central Appalachians.

 

[bikerdoc]

Wow, you just just see the adventures and stories that blade holds. If only it could talk!

I put a few notes in my "future project" notebook.

 

[kBob]

Oh, great another Kindle book I have to have......

Seriously though thanks for sharing this with us. As it happens I will soon be in the Dyson City area NC where he ended up. I bet it is no where near as Wild and natural as when he was there! Just got my trout ticket for that week. I will keep a look out in case Kephart dropped one of his knives in one of the creeks and no one else noticed it the last 100 years.........

-kBob

 

[kBob]

SO having read your blog......... does that forward belly and tapered tang mean Kephart was thinking about chopping with this design?

-kBob

 

[hso]

Ohh, that's not my blog although I peripherally contribute.

Kephart details the way he used his knife. Chopping was left to the axe/hatchet. The balance point is just at the front of the grip so it isn't a chopper.

 

[Bad Ninja]

Love the pics of the Kephart knife.

A heavily used Kephart copy lives in my backpack/truck.

 

[22-rimfire]

I am expecting Ethan to have Kabar make the "Kephart" the next new Becker knife. He has not told me that..... Makes sense however.... (That collectible knife is a business expense for him.)

Don't get Camping & Woodcraft on your Kindle. There is a free copy you can download to your computer but it is very tedious to read on a computer. I believe you loose the pictures and it's a book you page back and forth through and read parts when the urge strikes you. I have Kephart's Our Southern Highlanders on my Kindle however. It was free. It is a bit difficult to read at times, but I found it extremely interesting overall since I am very interested in "what it was like 100 years ago" in the Appalachians.

Kephart carried an axe and his knives. He never mentions chopping with a knife that I recall.

Added: Like most of us, use of an axe or hatchet depended on what he was doing and how long he was going to be camping in the woods. I doubt he carried an axe on an overnight camp. There are old structures (buildings) and he would utilize them to camp or stay with folks for the night rather than camping often. In the Appalachain Mountains, there is no shortage of dead wood in the woods unless you are close to where someone lives and they pick up the stuff for burning.
Edit: (Added underlining for the book titles.)

 

[hso]

I am expecting Ethan to have Kabar make the "Kephart" the next new Becker knife. He has not told me that..... Makes sense however...

I wouldn't bet money on that, at least not on a production scale as a new model in the BKT line. Perhaps as something limited, if they'll go for it. Remember that the company makes all the decisions about what they allocate resources to, even when they respect a designer as much as Mr. Becker.