Among an extremely crowded world of knives of all sorts, types, kinds, quality grades, and price levels, there are certain classic patterns that remain relevant today, despite modern advances in styling and materials.
The fighting Bowie belt knife, the rancher’s utility folding stockman pocket knife, the military KA-BAR, and so on are all iconic samples of basic designs that are still with us long after their introduction. And, there’s a reason for that.
Fads may come, fads may go, but once you put all the latest & greatest bling and promotion aside, concentrate more on sheer performance than being trendy or showy, analyze what a given blade really needs to do for you, and depend more on your own skills than an ad agency’s sales skills, certain core requirements stand out.
The humble Kephart pattern survives because it very simply works, and works very simply.
Trim, light, multi-task-capable, and ranging from a near identical wood-handled carbon steel version of the original to high-end tool steel and unbreakable synthetic handle materials, here’s a look at six of the best currently available.