An African Safari

ArielSalaverria

ArielSalaverria

Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
1,617
One of my customers bought this knife from me some months ago.

San Mai and Padouk Wood Small Knife
San Mai damascus in 1010/1070 with a 52100 core.
Tapered butt-end. Overall length is 8" with about a 3 1/2" cutting edge.
Padouk wood handles and handmade leather sheath.

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He took it to his trip to Africa and was kind enough to send me some pictures! Thanks Charles!

"Thanks again for the knife. It did all I needed and with a quick touch up on my return is shaving sharp.

(it performed) Any general tasks that came up, plus it is tradition to cut the tail off an elephant after it is killed. That part was an area I did not think the small knife I took last time would be able to do!

My professional hunter said it was one of the best-looking knives he had seen, but he was concerned that the tang extension could catch your elbow if you were not careful (running away from a big animal, for example). I told him I had no problems with it.

Not everyone understands elephant ecology, but Zimbabwe has about 50,000 more than they think they have the habitat for, so they are not endangered in Zimbabwe (or Botswana, or South Africa, or Namibia, etc.)."


The hunter and his trophy

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Tools of the trade

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Close up

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Another one

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Check out my new website if you haven't already:
http://www.aescustomknives.com.ar/

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Thanks for looking!


Ariel
 
That is a slick little knife. Now what about the rifle? Looks like a custom with a Winchester Model 70 action in .458 Win Mag to me, but I could be wrong:D
 
pete69 said:
and there is 160 million americans in usa maybe we should shoot some ?
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OR i have a better idea....Jackasses are overpopulated....perhaps we should just shoot you and better the world.

Sorry Ariel for the off comment in your thread.
 
Glad to see this pos banned. This kind of comments should not be tolerated. Hope this does not deter others from posting hunting pics... Very nice knife and congrats on the successful hunt!
 
That's a trip of a lifetime. Did you get a chance to eat some elephant? If so I wonder how it tastes, and how its prepared.
 
Those are awesome pics... and an awesome knife as well Ariel. Your blades and your work is very inspiring.

Glad you're able to post these pics. Any others would be well received by myself as well as most here. Great Job!!! :thumbup:
 
Bufford said:
That's a trip of a lifetime. Did you get a chance to eat some elephant? If so I wonder how it tastes, and how its prepared.
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Sorry -- I just saw this. Yes, I had it twice, marinated and grilled over a wood fire. I thought it was very good. Naturally, you must select the cuts carefully or it can be tough.

Strangely, it does not taste like chicken -- more of a beef flavor but it really has its own flavor.

Protein is at a premium in most African countries and in those with a healthy elephant population the meat is welcomed.
 
Mr Helm, did you use your knife any to butcher the elephant? What did the locals use? I imagine any carbon steel knife they had. How long did it take to break the elephant down? Did the locals use any of the internal parts such as liver, stomach, kidneys, etc? Sorry if this is off topic but I am quite curious. Doubt if I will ever get to Africa.
 
beyondmyken said:
Mr Helm, did you use your knife any to butcher the elephant? What did the locals use? I imagine any carbon steel knife they had. How long did it take to break the elephant down? Did the locals use any of the internal parts such as liver, stomach, kidneys, etc? Sorry if this is off topic but I am quite curious. Doubt if I will ever get to Africa.
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No, I let the professionals handle the recovery of the meat, although the knife I took would have been fine for the job and better than most of the ones that were used. I tried to stay out of the way, take pictures, and be a little bit of help where I could.

This is what the skinners and trackers used for the bigger cuts:

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In addition, they had a variety of knives, some pretty good and some not so good. As you said, they used what they had, from the professional hunter's or PH's (what we would call a guide in the states) favorite Buck to an inexpensive Chinese knife that the driver had -- it was his first time out in the bush and all of it was new to him. The PH spent a lot of time sharpening knives as they dulled pretty fast. Although he did his share of the work (interesting to see him cutting out the backstraps) he was kept busy with the sharpening. Absent a decent whetstone, most knives get sharpened on a convenient rock, which can be hard on a knife. The PH liked good stainless steel for its edge-holding ability but said that the softer carbon steels were definitely faster to sharpen in the field.

We had the PH, two trackers, three skinners, and even the government game scout helping out so it did not take as long as you might think to recover the meat. However, given the remoteness and terrain it took most of a day to recover each elephant's meat. One of the harder parts is rolling it over after one side is done!

After a long day of recovery we ended up taking two Land Cruiser pick-up loads of meat up a road that had been unused for some time, with a very long drop on one side and a hill on the other, in the dark. I tried to convince myself that the trees growing out of the side of the hill would stop us if we went over the edge.:eek: On the way back to camp we came across a young male lion. We must have smelled like a rolling smorgasboard with two truck beds full of fresh meat (and a few people in the back of them as well) but luckily he walked into the grass before too long. I think the guys in the open truck beds were quite relieved. I know I enjoyed seeing the lion out my open window, but was pleased he did not want a closer inspection.

In a communal area the locals will often come in and do the recovery directly. It saves a lot of work but the pictures and descriptions I have seen of this type of recovery make you wonder how no one gets hurt with that many people and knives going at once.

Some of the internal organs were indeed recovered, but in the area we were in they focused on the bigger cuts of meat so I do not recall that all the organs were kept. In the communal areas everything is taken, but you are close enough to the villages that the organ meat can stay fresh.

I have more pictures here, although I did not upload many pictures of the recovery process. Not that many people are interested in seeing how it is done.
 
Very interesting, Thanks for sharing the story and pictures. Im really glad there is no wasted meat.
I cant believe how crude the recovery tools look. It sure would be a good edge holding test for some of our fancy-dancy hunting knives but I dont think they can sharpen them on a rock. We are really spoiled here I think.
 
Bruce Bump said:
Very interesting, Thanks for sharing the story and pictures. Im really glad there is no wasted meat.
I cant believe how crude the recovery tools look. It sure would be a good edge holding test for some of our fancy-dancy hunting knives but I dont think they can sharpen them on a rock. We are really spoiled here I think.
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The Pangas (aka machetes) and other tools are also used in cutting wood and other chores and yes they are pretty basic. As I said the knives they had in addition run the gamut. It is not unheard of for clients to leave knives with the staff so sometimes they have decent ones. I have heard that Opinel and Victorinox are both highly thought of. But in a country where US$44 per month puts you above the poverty line not many can afford a good knife by our standards.

The PH did all the sharpening on the knives and he has a proper whetstone, but I saw the pangas getting sharpened on a rock. No doubt it is a good skill to have but better to carry a decent stone. I take a diamond rod along for touch ups.

I have been to Africa twice now and one thing that you quickly notice is how happy people can be who have nothing at all by our standards. It is a lesson my kids could use first hand but they are not likely to get to Africa any time soon. Heck, it is a lesson I can use as well.
 
yondering said:
Mr. Helm, what bullets were you using in the .458? I don't recognize them, they appear to be a truncated cone FMJ or solid copper bullet?
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They are indeed solid copper -- North Fork 450-grain flat-point solids.

North Fork is a great company to work with. In addition to the solids, they make fantastic bonded soft points, at least in my opinion.
 
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