Okapi Knives

A

Astrogator

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I once again hope that these fit in with the forum rules.

Okapi knives are an institution in South Africa, they are probably the most common knives found in the country.
These knives, although cheap, roughly made and finished, are used for everything from preparing food and skinning animals to commiting homicide and murder.
These knives are true workhorses, and despite their flimsy appearance, the knives are unbelievably tough and strong.

Okapi (now made exclusively in South Africa), make many different patterns of their knives, these shown ore only 2 of the many patterns that are available.
Okapi also make machetes and other agricultural knives.
I have seen stainless steel bladed examples, but the majority are made of carbon steel that is of quite good quality.

These knives do not receive any tender loving care by their owners, but are used hard.


Here are some pictures of an Okapi made in Germany, (the original home of the brand).
The example shown was aquired in 1978, (confiscated from a drunk that was causing trouble). LOL.
This knife is a non-locking slip joint which is by far the most commonly encountered pattern.
I have lightly cleaned the knife up.


DSCF0047_zps2f51e5ce.jpg



DSCF0048_zps70256df8.jpg



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Here is an example of a locking version made in South Africa, the knife is still in its original unopened bubble pack.


DSCF0050_zps411a0771.jpg
 
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Great knives, I've always wanted one, you see them used in Jamaica also. I tried to do a trade, my Opinel for a Okapi when up in the mountains in Jamaica but the local man did not go for it, I was surprised because I've done trades in Jamaica before, I think the Opinel lacked the ornate designs in his eyes. Anyways proof that carbon steel does just fine in humid & salty air.

Pete
 
I have a plain none locking one bought in South Africa back in the 60's only just rescued it from my toolbox after not using it for a few years, no rust put it in the knife safe now.

Richard
 
Astrogator said:
Okapi knives are an institution in South Africa, they are probably the most common knives found in the country.
These knives, although cheap, roughly made and finished, are used for everything from preparing food and skinning animals to commiting homicide and murder.
These knives are true workhorses, and despite their flimsy appearance, the knives are unbelievably tough and strong.

These knives do not receive any tender loving care by their owners, but are used hard.
]
Click to expand...

That sort of describes the knives used by most of the rest of the world that are not knife nuts. :)

I had an Okapi, and it was a very good knife. It did what I asked of it, to cut. Very often, the working class knife of a country is a great buy for a cutting tool. Okapi, Opinel, Mercator of Germany, EKA of Sweden. There's a reason they got to be such a popular item with the working masses.

Carl.
 
I have one and I like it. It has a very thick blade and a less-than-stellar grind so I resort to a Kudu when I'm in the mood for that type of knife as the blade is much thinner and cuts everyday materials better.
 
They are OK, but I could never pull the trigger on one. I believe the Douk Douk, Mercator or Opinel are better knives as far as blade profile, grind, fit/finish over the South African Okapi. I've never had the opportunity to handle a German one.
 
In my experience, the modern knives made in South Africa are far superior to the knives that were originally made in Germany. I promised a friend I would send some better pictures of my old German Okapi knives - haven't had time to take the pictures yet, but here's an old flatbed scan image:

Okapi.jpg
 
I had several Okapi knives, a few years ago. Bought them initially because a girl I was dating went to teach in South Africa for a semester. I had 3 sizes, and gave the smaller ones as gifts, keeping the largest one. I used it a lot, and the steel was really pretty good. The ratcheting mechanism is neat, too, and is what introduced me to the carraca knives. From there, I moved on to a large Spanish navaja, also with the ratchet lock.
Gave my last remaining Okapi to a friend, maybe 3 or 4 years ago, and have been meaning to get another for myself. Among the inexpensive-yet-effective regional knives from around the world, it's one of my favorites... mainly because I think the lock is neat.

Thanks for reminding me, once again, of another cool tool. :)


(If anybody knows of a trustworthy retailer who sells these, maybe shoot me a pm? Thanks!)
 
I don't know about today, but in the 1970's, the pattern shown in the original post was very common throughout the Middle East.
 
yobbos1 said:
I have one and I like it. It has a very thick blade and a less-than-stellar grind so I resort to a Kudu when I'm in the mood for that type of knife as the blade is much thinner and cuts everyday materials better.
Click to expand...

This was my experience with them. The one I had I did a lot of work with a very course stone to rebevel it to a better edge. It was pretty blunt when I got it, to the degree that it made some old Queen stuff look like scalpels.
Carl.
 
jackknife said:
This was my experience with them. The one I had I did a lot of work with a very course stone to rebevel it to a better edge. It was pretty blunt when I got it, to the degree that it made some old Queen stuff look like scalpels.
Carl.
Click to expand...

Yes, the factory probably intentionally makes them this way.

The average user will merely rub the knife to and fro on any available piece of stone, rock or concrete block until the knife cuts.

I have never seen a regular user of these knives make any attempt at all to put a normal bevel on them, and I have seen a lot of these knives in use.

LOL LOL.
 
Bob W said:
In my experience, the modern knives made in South Africa are far superior to the knives that were originally made in Germany. I promised a friend I would send some better pictures of my old German Okapi knives - haven't had time to take the pictures yet, but here's an old flatbed scan image:

Okapi.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice pictures, thanks.

It is a pity that the South African factory does not appear to make these any more, they probably do not sell.
 
Astrogator said:
It is a pity that the South African factory does not appear to make these any more, they probably do not sell.
Click to expand...

It may have been something lost in the transition from German to South African production. Those three were some I bought a few years ago in a "warehouse find" special and were supposedly made in the 1950s.
 
Here are two Okapis in stainless. The origin is not marked on the blades but I recall that the original package (which I didn't keep) indicated that they were made in Italy.

okapi1.jpg


okapi2.jpg
 
nice pix. yet another on a growing list of regional knives that i may well get around to tracking down and checking out.
 
Bob W said:
It may have been something lost in the transition from German to South African production. Those three were some I bought a few years ago in a "warehouse find" special and were supposedly made in the 1950s.
Click to expand...

The South African factory definitely used to make (or distribute) such knives not so long ago.
The Okapi factory probably stopped making them due to the influx and flood of cheaper Chinese junk that has happened over the past few years.
 
2manyknives said:
Here are two Okapis in stainless. The origin is not marked on the blades but I recall that the original package (which I didn't keep) indicated that they were made in Italy.
Click to expand...

Nice pictures, thanks.
It seems that new information is appearing on the Okapi brand.
 
Got a couple new Okapi ratchet-lock knives on the way! I'll make sure to post pictures when they arrive. :)
 
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