CondorTool & Knife Kephart Knife 4 1/2 Inch W/Leather Sheath - 1075 High-Carbon Steel Blade - Ergonomic Walnut Handle for Precise Control - Ideal for Survival, Camping, and Outdoor Adventures

haven't had a chance to use it yet, but first impression is good. It needed sharpening, the black coating on the blade was terrible, and the sheath didn't fit the knife very well... but I don't really mind. I pretty much expected it, after reading other reviews. I just sharpened it, sanded the black finish off the blade, and wet formed the sheath to fit the knife. I had to boil the sheath to get the leather soft, because the leather is really thick... after all is said and done, it is a perfect camping knife. I don't think it could have been designed any better. The handle is very comfortable, the blade is perfect size and shape for bushcraft and food prep, the steel seems very solid, and the sheath is good quality. Very happy with it, so far. Exatly what I was looking for, at a reasonable price.

UPDATEUsed the knife over Memorial Day Weekend and was really satisfied with the performance. I carved wooden toggles, made feather sticks, used it to baton kindling, cut rope and many other tasks. Washed it up and then used it for food prep cutting potatoes and onions. After all that it still sliced tomatoes and raw chicken with little effort and still had a great edge. After touching it up on leather it was back to shaving sharp. The knife is more than worth the price.Gotta say I really like this knife. It would be very hard to find a better knife at this price. The form and function of this knife is spot on.Blade- Was not hair popping sharp on arrival but it would shave. The blade is blued to help prevent rust and should help if you are in the field for a prolonged time without any type of oil. A few minutes on the work sharp field sharpener and the knife is scary sharp.Handle- The hardwood handle slabs feel great in the hand. Holding the knife just feels right. The color of these handles can vary but I am very pleased with mine. They look much better in person than in pictures.Sheath- The sheath is worth the price of the knife. It is of the same if not better quality as most custom sheaths I have seen. Some people say their knife fit loose in the sheath. That isn't the case with the one I received.Function- Man this thing really cuts!!! Feather sticks are a breeze with this knife. I didn't think it would feather as well as my mora knives but I was WAY wrong. Slices very well also. Some people my complain about the blade thickness saying it bends and you can't pry with it.... it's a knife not a pry bar!!! This thing cuts better than many of my more expensive knives.I would definitely recommend this knife to friends and family.

After my good experience with the Condor Swedish axe, I decided to try out their knives because of good reviews and their extremely reasonable prices. Once again, i have not been disappointed, although, as in the case with the axe, the Kephart knife will require some work to achieve a top-notch cutting implement. If you're willing and able to do a few refinements, you can have a really nice and serviceable bushcraft knife at a fraction of what a custom-made knife would cost. Among the refinements: reworking and polishing the cutting edge to a more desirable convex bevel; sanding, polishing and sealing the very nice hardwood scales to achieve a custom-knife look and feel. The 1075 high carbon steel, while certainly not 1095 or 01 quality, is easy to sharpen to a razor edge and retains that edge reasonably well. Once you get the knife sharp, the edge is very easy to touch up and maintain. The sheath is of excellent quality, made of rich, thick leather. So there are basically two ways to go: You can use the knife pretty much "as is" as a beater. Or you can make it a project and, with a little work, turn it into a high-quality cutting implement. Either way, it's certainly worth the money.

This is a nice knife. The sheath is the same one as the Bushlore and is a bit big for the Kephart so the retention is very poor as in none. I am looking at videos to learn how to wet mold the sheath or make a Kydex insert. The blade had minor corrosion when it arrived. The blade is thin with a little flex. The handle is also slim and just long enough for a full grip with an adult male medium/large hand. The Kephart is about 34% lighter than the Bushlore. The Kephart has some imperfections that shows that it is handmade and hand finished. In comparison to the Bushlore again, it arrived better finished. The handle was smooth and treated, the spine is ground to 90 degrees. There is no lanyard hole. It has a blued blade, but the bluing is removed from the spine. The pommel is nice and round and the tip is inline with the center of the knife this makes drilling comfortable. The grind is flat and it is a good slicer. The sheath is of good quality but a poor fit, the corrosion on the blade, and the minor imperfections of the handle scales are the negatives that dropped the rating to 3 stars.

I like the simple look of the Kephart style knife. I feel that this is a well done version of this knife at an affordable price. The blade and sheath are very simple but impressive. The wooden handles are comfortable and darkened nicely when I applied mineral oil, the knife feels good to hold and move, it was sharp but I chose to touch it up. The sheath is a simple leather pouch with a belt loop. The leather is excellent, nice, dark brown and thick for a rigid spine. The quality appearance of the sheath is very surprising for the price of this knife. I am very impressed overall. I do have a couple issues with the sheath fit and blade coating. The knife fit is loose, I would prefer a snug fit to better retain the knife. The knife may be lost if on the belt during high activity. The coating on the blade looks like cheap enamel or black spray paint. It is only on the blade flats and nowhere else. Condor sells a stainless steel blade blank for a project knife. I bought the blank also and feel they should sell the stainless steel as a completed knife option in addition to the coated knife and stainless blank. (I would buy it a second time as a complete knife in stainless steel.)