The Bark River Kephart, and old design with new technology.

This is the Bark River Kephart, an old design but with modern steel. This version of the classic design is built with CPM 3V and a thin stock to mimic the original design.
#BarkRiverKnives
#Kephart

[@highplains7777]

I used this knife to build a bow drill set, tinder and kindling from a single log of California Buckeye today. This knife works very well for detail work, feather sticking, making curls and light batoning. There is no reason to take a larger knife into the woods unless you plan on building a shelter or need to process large amounts of wood. The 3V blade dulled slightly after putting it to work, but I was able to bring it back to shaving sharp with 5 minutes of stropping, and I actually think it's now sharper than it was before my project. This is a great knife and would make a wonderful companion to an axe, hawk or large knife. I plan on using this knife in combination with a Corona folding saw and a Swiss Army Farmer for most trips.

[@KnifeRev]

+Dick Tracy Thank you for your comment, Glad you are enjoying yours, I think it's a great knife and light weight. I enjoy taking it on my hikes it's easy to carry and very functional knife.

[@madedigital]

I say its the best looking one so far and the full convex from edge to spine the highlights look glorious, i always wanted a Bark river i was looking at the bravo 1.5 and the trapper but i do have a custom trapper and large tactical blades the kephart would be perfect for my collection, the form and function is on point....Imagine when i first seen a kepheart i thought it was plain and ugly ....here i am now i know a lot more about the creation of this simple but perfect design.

[@mrc2205]

It’s a beautiful knife.

[@robertbrunston5406]

I watched this one before! Thanks.

[@aHigherPower]

I really wanted to try this knife but, unfortunately can't find one now. I would be sending that thing back on the chip, no way I would accept that, but seems Bark River needs to improve their fine detail work.

[@bosse641]

Beauty.

[@markjg2275]

It looks like a good knife for all camp chores and food prep as well as a good fish gutting knife?. Does 3v sharpen easy ? what king of grind is this convex or flat ?. I am thinking of buying one but the thin blade tip looks like it would break easy.

[@KnifeRev]

Hi Mark, it is a very nice knife. I have used it while on my hikes for food prep, cutting cordage and other trail chores. I don't fish so I can't say how it would do fish but I imagine it would do fine to gut one. This is a convex grind, I have not had to sharpen it yet because I strop it after using and it has stayed sharp so far. Have not had any issues with the tip yet. Thanks for your comment.

[@jamesritchie6899]

It's a truly beautiful knife, but it is not a Kephart. If you want to make a Kephart knife, stick to the Kephart specs. There are good reasons why the specs are as they are, and departing from them makes no sense at all. Unless you want to have a knife custom made, I can't find any company that makes a true Kephart knife. Now, I absolutely do not want that steel in a bushcraft knife, I absolutely don't want a convex grind that makes sharpening it in the field extremely difficult, and I don't use my knife to strike a ferro rod, so I wouldn't want this knife even if it were a real Kephart, but it's annoying that so many companies make what they call a "Kephart", but that isn't a Kephart at all. I suppose they all want to be different, but if you aren't going to make a true Kephart, find something else to call it.

[@highplains7777]

I find convex blades easy to maintain in the field. All you need is a small leather strop with some green compound. Sharpening a very dull or damaged blade would be more of a chore, but you're not really going to do that in the field anyway.

[@aHigherPower]

Its designer pride, that's way we don't see an identical copy of the Kephart.

[@ORflycaster]

It’s pretty darned close to a Kephart, and clearly looks more like one than anything else. I don’t get the purists hard line feelings some guys carry. I’d bet Horace would have gladly carried the new Bark River it it was available during his time. Then purists would be happy with THIS knife. Convex grinds are great, and it’s my understanding that Kepharts originals were convex ground.

[@francissobotka8725]

Its there version .That's it.