We moved to Omak, WA in December 2021 and it took a few months for me to get the knife making shop set up the way I want it. It’s still not 100% there, but at least I’m able to work and build knives. Which is a good thing because I’ve sold a couple more knives! In fact I’ve sold FIVE in just the past month!
I am so pleased that folks in the area like my work.
I’m working on a couple of new designs that I’ve been tweaking over the last couple of weeks. Some of them are going to be one off’s as they were a real challenge for me – like the dagger – been there, done that, now moving on.
But there is the ‘Just Basic Camp Knife’ and a couple others that are just that. I enjoy making each one because no two are the same. That knife is the ‘Day Tripper’. I’m going to keep making those but my best seller I’m not making any more – I just made the last one. I’ll post pic’s once they are all done and I have the sheaths made for them. This Last One is the last of the PuP series. It is 440C etched with 200 year old American oak and purple heart scales and it comes with one of my hand crafted leather sheath. ANYWAY I’ll post pic’s.
Say “Hello!” to the Nomad, the newest addition to the MoonDog Knives line up.
This is a knife to go everywhere with you, whether you’re hunting, hiking, working on the ranch or farm, working around the house… a knife for all seasons. Small enough to be easily carried and handled by people with smaller hands but big enough to do the job comfortably for someone with bigger hands.
The version pictured here has an oak and walnut handle. The blade is flat ground D2 Tool Steel. The bolsters and pins are copper. The overall length of the knife is 71/2″. The blade is 3″ long, 1″ wide and 5/32″ thick. The sheath is handmade specificly for this knife.
This knife/sheath combo normally will retail for $125 but is now on an introductory offer of $95 until the end of November, so get your Holiday Season shopping done early!
Handles can be in a variety of woods so contact me at moondogknives at gmail dot com.
The K-Bar KephartI subscribe to all 3 of the prominent knife magazines and every issue is read from cover to cover… more than once. As I am a custom knife crafter (stock removal) I always pay particular attention to the knife reviews. To be honest I have always wondered whether or not the articles were biased in favor of the maker. One of the magazines did a review of K-Bars new release of the Kephart Knife and I bought the K-Bar ‘Kephart’ based on that review. Sorry to say, I was more than a little disappointed with their product (and consequently decided that there is definitely a bias).
The steel is good (1095 CroVan Carbon Steel) and I really like the finish K-Bar used on it. I also really like the knifes design (designed by Mr. Horace Kephart in 1897) and the thickness of the blade. I was also impressed with the quality of the sheath although it was not true to form for a Kephart reproduction. Unfortunately, ‘my’ review goes downhill from there.
First off K-Bar used nuts and bolts to secure the handle material instead of steel pins. Then they placed the nuts facing out rather than the bolt heads (Very tacky looking and an obvious lack of quality control?).
K-Bar scale above. The knife remade with my own walnut scale below.
The “walnut” grips were not epoxied onto the tang and when I removed them after my testing, the tang was heavily rusted. I am well aware that in Mr. Kepharts time there was no epoxy, but then again there was no rust inhibiting coating like K-Bar used either. I’m all in favor of using modern technological advantages if it improves the quality and extends the life of the knife and is not blatantly obvious.
In that same vein – the walnut scales were not stabilized or finished with anything (raw wood) and I was getting small chips of wood coming off at the finger guard. The handle also ended up being very scarred up from use. Treating the wood with Tung Oil or some other hardener would have helped prevent this from happening. This is the first time I’ve received a knife with an unfinished handle. I also found the knife handle way too thin, which resulted in hot spots and difficulty in gripping it under serious use… and I do not have a large hand. Since it is a reproduction, maybe the measurements taken were of an old and worn handle and that’s why it is so thin?
Given the quality of the K-Bar version, I would have priced it at around the $80 mark rather than the $119 I paid. Having said all that – I really like the knife (thanks mainly to Mr. Kephart) and it will become my EDC once I finish modifying it to my liking.
“….It was a rough looking affair when I received it, neither ground nor polished. Every cent of its value had been put into material and temper, leaving me to beautify it as I might wish.” (Horace Kephart)
So that’s exactly what I’m doing. I am beautifying it as I wish. Thicker stabilized walnut grips with a red fiber liner (both epoxied on), peened copper pins and a Tung Oil/Linseed Oil finish. On mine I did a mustard etch and a partial bluing of the blade, just my own personalization of ‘my’ knife.
Blueing and mustard treatment modification I made to finish on the blade.
I added red G-10 liners.
My completed modified knife with blueing/mustard treatment on blade, new heftier walnut scales, red G-10 liner, copper pins and my logo pin.
I am in the process of making 4 more that will be for sale in about a month. So if you bought a K-Bar Kephart knife, and are not quite as happy with it as you thought you’d be, and you like what I’ve done with mine, and leave a message or email: moondogknives@gmail.com. And I can “beautify it as YOU wish.”
If you find Mr. Kepharts knife design aesthetically pleasing, as I do, and want to know more about the knife and the man – pick up a copy of Knife Magazine or go to www.knifemagazine.com. They did an outstanding article that intrigued me enough that I went to Amazon and got one of Mr. Kepharts books.
This series – the first – has come about by interpreting the market trend towards a “Non-intimidating” EDC (Every Day Carry). Thus the blade is 2 7/8″ in cutting edge length and is made of ‘High carbon” Stainless Steel – 5Cr15. This is the first time I’ve used a Stainless Steel. I usually use plain High Carbon Steel. Although it is somewhat harder to work with, I must say that I am pleased with the edge I was able to get. It holds it’s edge well and is easy to ‘Field sharpen’. I think you will be pleased with it as a handy EDC.
Each knife in this series is one-of-a-kind custom made with a customized handmade sheath.
All knives pictured on this page are for sale at $125.00 (Price includes knife, sheath and shipping)unless it is marked sold. Payment to be made via PayPal. Email me at moondogknives@gmail.com to place your order.
If there is a knife you like and it has been sold, let me know and I will see if I have the woods necessary to recreate it. However, keep in mind no two knives can ever be exactly alike.
PuP – 08
Purple Heart with Spaulted Poplar. Green G-10 liner. Nickel silver pins and logo.
PuP – 09
Quilted maple with American Walnut. Red G-10 liner. Brass pins and logo.
PuP – 10
Spaulted poplar with Black and rust colored G-10 liner. Brass pins and logo.
Say “Hello!” to the Nomad, the newest addition to the MoonDog Knives line up.
MoonDog Knives 