KA-BAR Becker Kephart Fixed 5.1 in Blade Walnut Handle, Brown BK62 Overall Length: 9.688", Carbon Steel

I bought this knife after having read Horace Kephart's book, "Camping and Woodcraft." This knife just works. It's not a knife I would baton with, but slicing and cutting with it is a pleasure. The handle isn't thick, but it fits my medium-large hands very well. It's comfortable. The blade feathersticks very well, and slices off bark effortlessly. Another bonus is that you can grip the blade directly, and the slight hump at the top of the handle comfortably presses the pad of your hand beneath the pinky - providing extra leverage. I've also found the blade superb for scraping fuzz up near the tip of the knife by holding the top of the spine near the tip with my left thumb, and rocking the knife back and forth with the right hand. I have several good knives and none of them handle like this. I think this has to do with the spearpoint style tip, and the fact that the spine is rounded. Basically, this is a finesse knife. I wouldn't go hacking or batoning with this knife, but for feathersticks, notches, camp chores, and I'd bet skinning game - this is a wonderful knife. The blade appears to be slightly thicker that 1/8", but not 3/16". It is a solid blade that I would trust. It is a full tang blade, and is made from 1095 Cro-van steel. The knife is a real looker imho. I judge a knife's looks by how it looks in my hand - and this blade just does it for me in that respect. I doubt anyone that purchases this knife would be anything other than pleased - provided they weren't trying to make it into a one-tool option survival knife. For whittling and camp chores, field dressing game - when paired with either a hatchet/axe, or chopper-style knife like a Becker BK 9, it will do it's job. I'd also recommend picking up a copy of the book (mentioned above) by the man that inspired this knife design. The Lord made heaven and earth, and this is a fine blade to take out cruising in His woods.

The balance, shape, and subtle complexity of the blade geometry of this knife are all great. It's very comfortable in the hand, exudes a spartan functionality worthy of its history and pedigree, and seems ready to be put to work. However, the wood scales are rough, dry, and appear unfinished. These rough wood scales might very well be keeping with the original, and it could be argued the rougher texture of the scales could help with grip when the weather is wet or cold. But the dryness of the scales was really quite noticable, and I had to wipe down the scales with mineral oil several times before the texture was at all pleasant in the hand. Personally, I doubt this was a conscious design decision, rather I'm suspicious it shows Ka-bar's lack of familiarity with natural handle materials. The issue is easily fixed with sandpaper and any common wood oil, and I'm still very happy with the knife, but Ka-bar should really consider improving the finishing, and consider releasing after market micarta or g10 scales. ### Updated Review ### I've decided to update the review to be five stars. The knife is a true joy to use, and stands up well to extremely rough usage. Also, the issue with the dryness of the scales turned out to be embarrassingly easy to fix. It took roughly 20 minutes to thoroughly polished the scales steel wool (#0000 grade), which was followed by a thick coat of food-grade mineral oil. This absorbed very nicely into the scales. Since that treatment, the knife is a delight to hold in the hand. I could not be happier with the purchase.

Absolutely perfect multi-purpose belt knife. Nimble, trim, and slicey, all in a sexy knife sort of way. It's an amazing design of old still as useful today as it was over 100 years ago. Blade grind, sharpness, finish and quality is superb. While trim, the walnut scales provide exceptional fit and are not too slickly finished. The handle is long enough for my XL hands but not too trim given the depth, and I believe would be a good fit for M and L hands as well. The leather sheath is very high quality and provides "just right" access and retention. Having been a wee bit OCD in knife acquisition, this Kabar Kephart is my favorite out of 112. However, my Esee PR4 (with TKC burlap/micarta scales) is a close second. Buy it. It will not disappoint.

I wasn't sure that I would like this knife because the handle scales are pretty thin and I have very large hands. Once I played around with the knife I was very surprised to find that the handle is really comfortable and not the problem that I thought it would be. It just feels really good. I read all of the reviews and yes some people had issues that concerned me. I bought mine from Tomar's Ka-Bar and it was perfect. Grinds were even and I found nothing wrong with it. As a matter of fact I liked this knife so much that I bought two more for a couple of close friends. Both of these were from Tomar's and they were also both perfect. Now you have to understand that these knives are copies of a very old knife and meant to look old also. They are not LT Wrights and they are what they are, a very good copy of an old knife that wasn't perfect either. The handle scales are walnut that have no protective coating on them. I simply took them off of the knife and rubbed them with mineral oil. Makes a nice "finish" for them without taking away from the old look. They lined up perfectly with the tang as long as you do it right. Adjust them as you tighten the allens. All three of the knives I bought were pretty sharp out of the box. I improved the edge as I always do on a knife and they are awesome now. One thing I did was rub the "Stonewash" finish with 2000g paper which smoothed out the finish and then did a hot vinegar patina. I think it actually looks better than before I did that, made it look even older. This knife quickly became my favorite always have with me knife. One last comment. Both of my friends that I gave one of these to also love the knife and carry it all the time.

Factory scales are rough and not finished, however I believe that’s to keep in touch with its origins as surely a Kephart knife from the time period wasn’t all pretty and polished. I’ll admit I mostly use it for food prep and not really anything outdoors. The knife is amazing, patinas really nicely and get yourself a set of Carroll’s custom knife scales. These are Dymalux and wow! What a difference! Factory walnut ones look fantastic once sanded down with 400 and 600 grit along with a few coats of boiled linseed oil, but the Dymalux scales are another whole thing. Highly recommend the knife!

Overall, this a great knife. Good balance, nice blade shape, good fit and finish. The wooden scales are rough enough for a good grip, without being annoying. They're fairly thin, but if they were thicker (and more more comfortable to use) the knife would be bulkier (and less comfortable to carry); overall, I like the configuration. They're also screwed instead of riveted, which means they can easily be swapped for something else if desired. I think the most remarkable point of a Kephart-style knife is the blade: it's a simple flat grind with a microbevel, which makes it a good general-use profile that allows for finer work like feathering wood, wel as well moderate strength for chopping. It has distal taper along the blade as well as the tang, giving the knife a very good balance and comfortable to use. The profile is a spearpoint, which is IMO great for a do-it-all blade. It's got just a bit of belly, which is probably an artifact of Kephart's surviving knives having been sharpened many times, but it's a neat feature and doesn't hurt anything. The steel's a very nice carbon steel, 1095 CRO VAN...but still a carbon steel. It'll take a fine edge quickly, wears (dulls) slower than basic 1095, and stains and rusts fairly easily. It's a serviceable, but not particularly high end, steel. But the fly in the pie is the cost. You can get a perfectly serviceable Condor for a third the cost, or a similar Old Hickory for a sixth, or any number of knives that diverge further from the Kephart shape. The BK62 is nicer, but I can't just say it's nice enough to warrant the extra cost if one only wants the utility. But if you want a nearly-exact and perfectly serviceable replica of Kephart's knife, this is probably your gig...unless you buy a carbon steel kitchen knife and reprofile it yourself.

Look. The knife isn’t the prettiest knife in the world BUT it’s an amazing design. Perfect for what I need a woods knife for. Food prep. Game prep. Small amount of wood work and fire starting. General camp tasks. Well worth the money. Love the knife. It’s a good size. It’s a good slicer. Centered point so you can drill with it. Smooth spine for power cuts and so you are less likely to accidentally pierce the stomach sack. Good steel. Good fit and finish but it’s not too “fancy.” You can take off the scales so you can clean it well. It’s just a great knife. Only thing that some people may say is a “downside” is no squared spine to strike a ferro rod. If you want that, it’s easy to put on in a minute or two with a file. For me that’s not an issue. I personally use a bic lighter most of the time. And if I happen to lose the striker on my ferro rod and it’s an emergency, I’ll just use the blade of my knife. I’m perfectly capable of sharpening knives and you should be too. Buy this American woodsman classic.

I had been looking at the kephart blade for a while now. Plenty of company’s out there make one version or another. When I found this one and heard that Ethan Becker had an original kephart and used it as a model for this one I decided to try it out. I am real glad I did. It is solid Becker craftsmanship and quality. Once in hand it has the feel of history. Edge was decent out of the box. There was one spot on the walnut scales that was rough but seemed to fit the feel of knife. Classic leather sheath helps complete the old school feel and look. I couldn’t be happier. This is a classic design and great for bushcraft. The blade had a kind of petina on it that gave it an old world look. When looking around for a specific blade it is overwhelming how many companies make the same blade in one version or another. Taking your time and doing your research and you get rewarded with a beautiful piece like this knife!

It's pretty well made. However, it's pretty expensive for what you're getting. I did not buy this knife to use it, only for collection, as this was made by Ethan Becker, who has one of the knives designed and possibly used by Kephart himself. Update. The price is almost double since I bought it less than 1 year ago. It's a nice collector knife but not at this price. I used to work in antiques and collectibles and at this price you will have to wait a lifetime for the value to go up.

would I take it with me to the woods..? yes, if I won't have the others now days knifes. Would it do the job in the bush? Yes, it definitely would. But now days knifes are much more convenient and functional. Does this knife has any flaw? Maybe the handle is too thin for my hand (large size gloves), but it is still very comfortable. What can you do with it? Basically it is perfect utility knife, but you can process fire wood to if very carefully. I won't push it to hard buttoning. Bottom line: my respect to Mr. Kephart, for making a great knife a century ago. My great thank you to Mr. Becker and Kabar for giving me opportunity to hold this knife, as well as making the other great knifes which I actually use!

This is an excellent quality knife for use outdoors or hunting. The only reason why I gave it four stars instead of five is that the finish on the handle is slightly rough I was able to fix this with a little bit of light sanding.