I've been wanting to make a Kephart style knife for a while, and I've been sitting on this piece of Damascus steel for ages because my limited knifemaking skills meant I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't make a mess of it. Then I thought 'what the hell, I can always replace it' so I decided to hit two birds with one stone. I've now found out the Damascus steel has tripled in price since I bought it 
Anyway, here's my attempt at a Kephart style knife. Far from perfect but it follows many of the design features of the original: blade 5" long and 1/8" thick, convex ground thinning at the spine, broader towards the point and with distal taper to the point.
The handle is oak, probably over 400 years old; it was taken from a rotten beam removed from a 370 year old barn - the core of the beam is still solid.
Anyway, here's my attempt at a Kephart style knife. Far from perfect but it follows many of the design features of the original: blade 5" long and 1/8" thick, convex ground thinning at the spine, broader towards the point and with distal taper to the point.
The handle is oak, probably over 400 years old; it was taken from a rotten beam removed from a 370 year old barn - the core of the beam is still solid.
