Condor Kephart Knife & History

The Condor Kepheart Knife is an outdoor classic. Its utilitarian design and simple functions serve well as a general camp knife. Excels at cutting tasks, it is lightweight for long distance hikes. The bluing on the knife seems to come off immediately and it certainly didn't come sharp, but nonetheless it deserves a 4 out of 5!

[@johnchastain4351]

The 1075 steel that is used to make the Condor Kephart is probably very close in composition to the type of steel used in Kephart's actual knife. I have 1095 knives that I like and I also have a Condor Bushlore that is a Kephart inspired knife in 1075. I really like it. The Bushlore has a scandi grind that really needs a micro bevel or convex edge to prevent rolling under very hard use. The full flat grind and micro bevel on the Condor Kephart makes it a tough, easy to sharpen knife. I have a friend that has one and uses it hard. I think Joe Flowers - the designer of this knife - captured the Kephart Knife design better than many more expensive versions. I like Becker and have his BK7 and it is my favorite large knife. However, I ordered his version of the Kephart (BK62) and sent it back because I did not like the handle that was not pinned. It just was not a Kephart - it was too modern. I live near the Smokies and my son has hiked in Kepharts old haunts. I may buy him one and one for me. Don't tell anyone!

[@crypto118]

Great job of giving the historical background of the knife. I have one and use it all the time - it's a really good knife, especially for its price.

[@Gearaholic]

+DL Wood You are welcome, it does take a lot of time to do the research and make the videos. It certainly is a good knife for the $.

[@EDCAdventures1991]

Great vid. I've seen those for a long time. I've read a lot of outdoors books, but finally actually picked up a copy of his book and started it today.

[@user-hx9tp9cn2h]

You did an excellent Field Test review, young man! I have 2 Condor Kephart knives & 1 Condor Nessmuk. All are excellent knives for the money. It is my understanding that Condor's knife-making operation actually began in Germany before moving it to El Salvador. Overall, I find Condor superior in many ways to Chinese copy cats. At age 83, I am obviously an Old Schooler who grew up in the aftermath of great Classic Outdoorsmen like Kephart & Nessmuk. I am paying you a high compliment when I say that in many ways you remind me of a beloved grandson with whom I still hunt, fish, & camp. He is in his late 20s. Thank you & May God bless you! By the way, do you have other videos? Being as OLD as I am, I am rather NEW to KZbin. They did not even have Cell Phones or Computers when I was your age. We did things the Old Time way!

[@HoosierRallyMaster]

Really nice job producing the video. Great presentation of your historical research.

[@Eurotrash4367]

I have the Condor Bushlore as well as the Eco Parang and a few of their machetes. Overall, I think you get a lot for your money but every one of the Condor products that I bought needed some work before they were ready for hard use. They all required sharpening and the Bushlore had to be completely re- beveled because the factory grinds were uneven. The sheaths were perfect and well made. I find the carbon steel that they use to be rather soft. It is easy to sharpen and takes a razor edge but it doesn't hold as well as my 1095 blades do. Overall, if you don't mind putting some TLC into your blades Condor products have some really good designs at very reasonable prices.

[@Gearaholic]

Yeah I'm not sure what's up with condors funky sharpening process, they really need to work it out!

[@watermain48]

Nice look at the Condor Kephart. I like your use of the slow motion. Got you a sub. Thanks for sharing.

[@dixy2k]

Thanks for the history lesson.

[@scotthill6807]

Thank you for the brief history on Horace Kephart. I have one of these knives and really like it. If you want to touch up the coating on the blade just use Birchwood-Casey cold gun blue. Mine takes and holds a razor sharp edge well. I was surprised since it only 1075 High Carbon steel. Beautiful countryside in your video. Thanks again.

[@Gearaholic]

+Scott Hill Thanks for the info on gun bluing, I try to incorporate knowledge into my reviews as a standard. My thoughts are if your going to sit on you butt and watch KZbin... you might as well learn something! lol

[@paulie4x1]

Say Heah, Ever since I heard the phrase "Keep It Simple" I try following that rule. I find that to be true in knives too. I can see that in two, well alot of them because I'm aware of that. But my Blind Horse Bushcrafter is one with a Kephart design which I had the broomstick handle thinned down and polish and boy did it ever turn out nice..Then there's my Blackbird SK-5 that looks like a Bushcrafter on steriods, and the simplicity of the knife makes it a good knife. I also helped design my version, I always like a Bushlore Style because it's simple enough, but I had it made in a 6" blade and a 1/4" thick. I used a 3V Steel and had it Cryod. Tge Handle I had made in a Black G-10 and had the Rocky Mountain Track scalloped handle. It's also a 1 14"+ wide and a Flat Vex Grind so there's little wood drag when I baton, Yes Sir Keep it simple is good.

[@KnifeCrazzzzy]

Thank you for the info on Kephart man! Thank you for the decent video to thinking about getting this sucker.

[@Gearaholic]

Its a good blade, you will need to put a little work on the edge to get it razor sharp but it is still a reliable blade!

[@JunkyardFox]

Loved this video. Planning on making any new vids soon?

[@MrEdium]

Thank You for The History !

[@tubezv]

good vid. you must buy and use KA-BAR Becker BK62 Kephart Knife...

[@Airik1111bibles]

I love Condor knives , they make their flagship blades the Bushlore, Woodlaw and Kephart as blanks now. Ragweedforge.com has them for $19😀 His site is awesome very good prices. My only complaint with Condor is that they dont offer danglers on 99% of their knives yet they have it for the Swamp Romper??? Another annoying thing but isn't just a Condor thing, the rivet for the belt loops SUCK😑 JRE Industries Lt wright sheaths do the same thing. They always stretch out and eventually will fail you, my fix is either adding glue or if possible stitching it yourself. BUT for the money Condor is the best budget friendly company you can find.

[@enzowarren9832]

You add glue to condor sheaths around the area of the belt loop rivet? What kind of glue? Would epoxy work in your opinion? If so, I'll do that. I carry a condor compact kephart as a neck knife and would hate to have the rivet fail. Ive not had any problems with it so far but I'd rather shore it up and improve its durability before any problems emerge.

[@Airik1111bibles]

@@enzowarren9832 Yes , you can use gorilla glue if ya want . That stuff bonds rock solid. Only use a very thin layer. Those sheaths are already treated so it won't soak into the leather to much. I use a clamp overnight when bonding that stuff . I've never had an issue with using it even with knife handles . It does expand and bubbles out so use a little amount . If any ends up coming out from the edges it can be removed pretty easy after it drys. Other apoxy glues sometimes turn into glass and if any of that spreads out its so freaking hard to get off.

[@simonevalota5601]

Awesome video!

[@cafeqc3793]

thanks man!

[@markmccarty9505]

Have you tried the Becker BK 62. Becker’s version of the Kephart knife.

[@selfinflictedjoy]

Why is the blade 1075 and Kabar is 1095?

[@enzowarren9832]

different manufacturers will choose different steels. Kabars isn't 1095 btw, it's 1095Cro-Van, which has added chromium and vanadium when compared to regular 1095. That translates to somewhat better edge stability and slightly improved corrosion resistance. As a general rule of thumb, 1075 is tougher than 1095, but wears faster and thus doesn't hold an edge as long. It's the better option if you intend on using the knife hard and doing a lot of forceful tasks, like heavy batoning. 1095, on the other hand, is weaker than 1075 but holds an edge better. It is the superior option for a general use knife, or a hunting knife, or a whittling knife. Overall though, the two steels are very close in performance and in all likelihood you won't notice a difference between 1075 and 1095 usually. What WILL be a noticeable difference is the heat treat between the two companies at hand. Condor hardens their 1075 soft, while Kabar hardens their 1095CV relatively hard. In actual use, you will have a noticeably longer-lasting edge with the Kabar kephart when compared to the Condor.

[@ramonrodriguez5728]

Good review.👍

[@MaNi-cn7to]

Thx for the vid! looking at this knife. Sheath looks like it just holding the knife? is tight so not to lose it?

[@roberteckard9771]

How do you get sharpness like that.

[@dannyclarke2439]

Very well made video. Could you possibly tell me what the music is please?

[@georgeorgain8365]

Where do you purchase the condor kephart knife for $35 or under? Thanks for a reply.

[@jonathanhill8116]

2015

[@dwightehowell6062]

If properly heat treated there is nothing wrong with 1075. It isn't brittle when hardened to the middle 50 or slightly more and that is as hard as you want a knife if you are the one going to sharpen it by hand. Kephart would have most likely had a small 1 x 3 whetstone in his kit which was all he needed to touch up his knives. Machine sharpening removes too much metal way to fast. You can normally touch up a sheath knife with a steel and then strop it a bit and be ready to go with almost no metal removed. Do feel free to do what you want including using bench grinders cause I'm not replacing your blades and knife makers need jobs. ?8^) Um, Kephart used his knife to turn fresh food into ready to cook/eat food. He also did crafts but he was more apt to make a feather stick with his pocket knife and process wood with his small double edged ax. When he went camping he'd create a wood pile the first day in camp then hunt and fish the rest of the week. In this day and age that usually isn't allowed most places.

[@ssunfish]

Good point, fires aren't allowed so much. I haven't read his articles and books, but was told the paragraph he wrote on knives. Kephart wrote the hardness must be low so as to roll instead of break against bone, but hard enough to cut greenwood. He dialed in his needs and didn't have a laundry list of requisites. I wonder how he would have done with A-2 tool steel, 440C and high tech sinteted steels of today.

[@enzowarren9832]

I just gotta say, sharpening by hand does NOT require the steel to be that soft. I've spent years with many knives in the 60+ range, including my main camp knife which is 60HRC Sleipner steel, and have never found a knife I couldn't sharpen by hand. The only difference that happens when you sharpen knives with high hardness is that it takes longer to do it. But, the actual process remains the exact same.

[@michiganedge4770]

nice video and great blade!

[@user-cw1qx3kh6e]

In Russia with love