Review / Comparison: Okapi / Cold Steel Kudu

[JNieporte]

I got my first "real" Okapi today. The Cold Steel Kudu just didn't cut it. Here's how they stack up:

Size and Appearance: The Okapi measures about .5" shorter in blade length than the Kudu. The Kudu's handle is slightly more tapered, and about .7" longer. The Kudu's blade is a bit wider. The ring on the Okapi is just a tad bigger than the Kudu's. (The Kudu has a standard 1" keyring). The Kudu has the Cold Steel logo and "CHINA" on the right side of the blade and the word KUDU along with a kudu on the left side. Both were easily rubbed off with some rubbing alcohol. The Okapi is marked "OKAPI" over MADE IN SOUTH AFRICA in the left side of the blade.

Materials and Performance: The Okapi's handle is made of a dark red hardwood, with a steel insert on the left-hand side, of stars and a half moon. The Kudu's handle is made of black Zytel, with a steel insert on the left side, which is a kudu horn. The backspring on both knives are very similar in size and shape, but the Kudu's is definitely stronger. The ring lock on the Kudu is a bit rougher on the finger pulling it. This isn't because of the spring strength, though (I switched the rings to test). The Okapi is definitely easier to open and close. But I couldn't get it to fail "accidentally".

Both knives have the same "ratcheting" blade lock to prevent accidental closing on a finger. Both have a nail nick near the beginning of the clip point of the blade. The Kudu's blade is made of 4116 Krupp, while the Okapi's is made of carbon steel. The Kudu came out of the box extremely sharp, but lost the edge quickly and took some time to resharpen. The Okapi came with no edge at all; the blade was almost flat. It only took a few minutes to establish a shaving edge, 14 degrees on each side of the blade. It has held this edge with only one minor touch-up necessary.

Final Thoughts: They are both very inexpensive. The Kudu goes for about $5.50 in stores, and the Okapi goes for about $6 or $7 on-line. I like the blade material, lock, price, and looks of the Okapi. The only things I like about the Kudu are the price and the Zytel handle. If I could pick just one, it would definitely be the Okapi. It's a real working knife that has been used for many years by real workers.

 

[kozak6]

I was actually wondering about how they compared.

Thanks for typing it up.

 

[dulledge2]

nice review and thanks for taken the time to share your insight.

 

[blankster]

Look closer at the Okapi. Are you sure that's wood. It's usually some simulated wood bakelite type hard plastic. Just be careful with that ring-lock. Treat it like a slip-joint knife and you won't have a problem, otherwise be prepared for some inconvenient bleeding.

You're right about the working knife part. That's why they're so cheap. They're mass produced for agricultural use (From harvesting banana's to skinning game). Out of interest, Okapi's also have a dark bloody history here in SA. Ask any South African what an Okapi means to them, and you might get a few horror stories, because this knife is infamous for it's over-zealous use by criminals (i.e. the downside side of ultra cheap blades).

Nice compare though. Any pic's?

 

[Myal]

Look closer at the Okapi. Are you sure that's wood. It's usually some simulated wood bakelite type hard plastic.

Its kinda both actually , wood and plastic . Okapi describes it as resin impregnated wood .

 

[JNieporte]

Blankster: Yes, it's wood. Maybe it's impregnated with something, but it's wood. There were a few splinters that I had to sand out, which of course lightened the color a bit when I did. I don't have any photos available; I really need a new digital camera.

 

[JNieporte]

I finally took some pictures of the two knives side-by-side. I apologize for the low photo quality, but you can get the general idea of size differences here.

The first one is the Okapi, then the Kudu, both closed and showing their emblems.

The next one is the Okapi on top, then the Kudu. The blades are locked open.

This is the Kudu, then the Okapi. The blades are halfway open, as the ratcheting motion of the lock allows.

The final one is the Okapi by itself.