![]() This modification resulted in the knife now being properly held by the sheath, to the extend that even shaking the lot upside down cannot dislodge the blade. This extra layer - strictly limited to the handle area of the knife - cannot be seen from the outside. I had some leather left over from making mocassins. This was done by gluing an extra layer of leather (tanned deer skin) inside the sheath. To that effect, I added some thickness into the sheath thereby pinching the knife handle more securely. Since I had been eyeing the Kephart for a very long time and did not relish at all the prospect of returning it (and still running the risk of receiving another one with an ill-fitting sheath), I decided to correct the problem myself. not the sort of thing you want to discover when you enthusiastically unpack a new product. The sheath not fitting the knife was a very big disappointment right of the bat. It seemed that the sheath was manufactured for a knife with a much thicker handle and profile! Indeed, it did NOT provide any retention whatsoever, and the Kephart just floated freely in an oversized pouch!! Needles to say that turning the sheath upside down, jumping, or running would immediately cause the blade to come out! Similarly, carrying the knife in a pack would be very dangerous because, in no time at all, the unsheathed blade would be free to travel anywhere, inflicting damage to pack, gear, belongings, and hands. This yielded a much more pleasing finish and the blade now looks much much nicer.Īlthough, as I mentioned above, the sheath was well made and of good leather quality, it did not fit the knife. so I proceeded to sanding it off with ScotchBrite pads. The blade came with an ugly varnish-like coating covering unevenly the gun blued steel - possibly for protection in transit and storage? This coating scratched very easily with my finger nails. After that, the handles should be very good. ![]() The next thing I will have to do is to rub the handles with very smooth steel wool and apply more boiled linseed oil. The walnut handle slabs were very dry and required the immediate application of boiled linseed oil to start looking and feeling like they should. Īs is usually the case with Condor, the pouch style sheath accompanying the Kephart was made of good leather and well finished.Īlthough the knife was relatively sharp out of the box, the edge required several minutes of touching up on ceramic sticks and a strop before successfully performing thin paper cut tests and being shaving sharp. Note, however, that this is not a one-tool option. ![]() This knife should be as useful to today's outdoors person as it was 120 years ago. I suspect that Horace would have been relatively pleased. ![]() The back of the knife is squared enough to throw a decent shower of sparks from a ferro-rod or scraping natural materials. It performed very well on the try stick I tackled immediately after the unboxing. For a light, thin bladed, and handy knife, it is surprisingly sturdy - no doubt due to its full-tang construction. The Condor Kephart is a neat knife, rich in historical significance.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |