Until I posted The pic of the orange CL175 in another thread, I did not notice that the photo included a view of one of my Becker BK62 Kephart knives. Ethan Becker, the cookbook writer ( “Joy of Cooking”) is also a well-known knife enthusiast and designer, whose outdoor knives are manufactured by Ka-Bar.
A few years ago, Becker came into possession of the last known r knife of Kephart design still remaining in private hands, outside a museum. He designed a knife that replicated as many of the features of the original as he could in a knife that had to be mass produced to sell for a reasonable price.
I have a couple of those knives. One of them is artfully posed between the seat and gas tank of the Honda, where it lodged after I clumsily dropped it.
Horace Kephart is a legendary outdoorsman and outdoor writer of the early Twentieth Century. Among other accomplishments, he was a prime mover in the establishment of Smoky Mountain National Park. Kephart was very specific about the attributes he desired in an outdoor knife, and had some made to his specification. A lot of manufacturers and custom makers offer knives based on the Kephart design. The Becker Kephart is widely regarded as the most faithful reproduction of the original.
The second photo is a BK14 Eskabar, another Becker knife created by the handle from an Esee Izula to the blade of a smallish Becker neck knife.
The last photo, shows my two BK62s together with another Kephart, by Condor, and a couple of Dadley knives.regarded by some as a precursor to the Kephart design.
This post is sort of haphazard, and I am no scholar, but I hadn’t seen anything here about Becker knives or the Kephart, two subjects which I find interesting. Has anybody here got any Beckers, or any Kepharts?
A few years ago, Becker came into possession of the last known r knife of Kephart design still remaining in private hands, outside a museum. He designed a knife that replicated as many of the features of the original as he could in a knife that had to be mass produced to sell for a reasonable price.
I have a couple of those knives. One of them is artfully posed between the seat and gas tank of the Honda, where it lodged after I clumsily dropped it.
Horace Kephart is a legendary outdoorsman and outdoor writer of the early Twentieth Century. Among other accomplishments, he was a prime mover in the establishment of Smoky Mountain National Park. Kephart was very specific about the attributes he desired in an outdoor knife, and had some made to his specification. A lot of manufacturers and custom makers offer knives based on the Kephart design. The Becker Kephart is widely regarded as the most faithful reproduction of the original.
The second photo is a BK14 Eskabar, another Becker knife created by the handle from an Esee Izula to the blade of a smallish Becker neck knife.
The last photo, shows my two BK62s together with another Kephart, by Condor, and a couple of Dadley knives.regarded by some as a precursor to the Kephart design.
This post is sort of haphazard, and I am no scholar, but I hadn’t seen anything here about Becker knives or the Kephart, two subjects which I find interesting. Has anybody here got any Beckers, or any Kepharts?
Attachments
Last edited: