My Knife For Africa (I didn't make it like the heroes on AH usually do)

[rookhawk]

Definitely you have two reasonable options @Art Lambart II :

On one end a sharp little 2-3" utility knife would be great. I like the Swiss army that has a lock blade and a couple screwdrivers.

On the other end, a 10" Iraqi gripper style military issue Kukri is a helluva utility tool. It's a shovel, hammer, machete, bush knife all in one. It also has a tiny pen knife razor sharp in the sheath for civilized work and a steel unsharpened pen knife to use as a steel, a flint strike or anything else you can think about.

Both options can be found on Amazon for under $70 delivered.

If I was staying in a lodge in RSA I'd have the former, If in fly camp the latter.

 

[rookhawk]

This was the knife I was referring to when I said its just an honest no-nonsense handy pocket knife for USA and RSA purposes @Art Lambart II

https://www.swissarmy.com/us/en/Pro...es/Large-Pocket-Knives/Trailmaster/p/0.8463.3

 

[Art Lambart II]

@rookhawk thats a nice Victorinox, I carry this one 6 days week, for some reason I don't wear it to church. I just carry the tool the bits and driver I leave at home

https://www.swissarmy.com/us/en/Products/Swiss-Army-Knives/SwissTools/SwissTool-CS-Plus/p/3.0338.L

I also carry a buck pocket knife and a credit card knife my wife bought me. I always tell my wife if I'm wearing pants I'm carrying a knife. Maybe I'll buy one of those trailmasters and I won't feel so naked in church

 

[ZG47]

Our SAS adopted the folding pruning saw for most of their branch cutting during the Malayan emergency (when they weren't busy wiping out Indonesian invaders) and passed that trick to the British SAS. They pretty much abandoned the Golok/machete because a folding pruning saw is quieter, more efficient, lighter and more compact.

 

[Red Leg]

Our SAS adopted the folding pruning saw for most of their branch cutting during the Malayan emergency (when they weren't busy wiping out Indonesian invaders) and passed that trick to the British SAS. They pretty much abandoned the Golok/machete because a folding pruning saw is quieter, more efficient, lighter and more compact.

We did a similar thing during our Vietnam adventure - hell probably learned it from your lads. The small folding crosscuts are much faster than the typical deer hunter's pruning saw. Hasn't been much value in the last couple of decades in the desert - we'll likely have to learn it all again some day. Had the privilege to work with the Aussie SAS twice in the Gulf. Real professionals. I am sure your lads are as well.

I have a number of knives which I have and will carry hunting in Africa. The majority have 4.5 to 6 inch blades and all ride on my left side in cross-draw sheaths - most of which I have had to have custom made. They ride with zero discomfort in a vehicle, and are instantly available. A particular Randal has been to Africa with me three times. I am not going to cape or gut a game animal. So, I tend to think of it as an absolutely worst case weapon rather than a tool (not having the option to carry a .45!). Having followed up two leopard, I want something easily accessible that will reach a leopard's plumbing if I have to try to scrape him off. And having nearly been robbed once in Rundu (while Jamie Traut was in a store picking up last minute supplies), I want something which will intimidate the local thief while also providing a credible last line of defense if it should ever come to that. And don't roll your eyes . With a bit of training, a knife is a surprisingly effective weapon, and a couple of inches of steel showing from a sheath immediately ended what could have been a bad few minutes on the Angola border. I also sleep better in places like Johannesburg.

And the only wood we would use in the Caprivi was Mopani. Hot clear flame with almost no smoke. Locals sell it along the side of the road throughout the tribal region.

 

[ZG47]

@Red Leg Your practices and reasoning make sense to me. No eye rolling here. At one stage we had a guy living at the start of our street, who was my dad's computer offsider (these days he would be called the city IT Manager) . Laurie's father, like my mother's father, came from Dalamatia. During WWII, Laurie (possibly spelled differently from given pronunciation) received additional close-quarter training and was sent into then Jugoslavia on special mission(s). He always insisted that you only needed two (2) inches of steel, to kill a man.

 

[Art Lambart II]

@Red Leg, Amen to carrying a .45, thankfully I was in the service before they switched to the M9. I also like the idea of carrying a knife for self defense but is it legal to carry a large fixed blade knife in the RSA

 

[rookhawk]

@Art Lambart II I would never recommend a large knife for self defense or even a .45. Both are open carry items likely to escalate a situation and you've given up your element of surprise.

A tiny .22mag or .380 or .38, or a fully concealable knife will be much more likely to save your life and your freedom should you be forced to defend yourself.

You will be sent to a grand jury and a discreet and understated weapon will stand the best chance of surprising the aggressor (you live) and will subsequently be more sympathetically viewed by the grand jury, states attorney or trial jury in the end. (You freedom isn't gone for good)

Just my take, exposed large weapons invite trouble and give the impression you'd welcome a confrontation.

 

[sierraone]

I just thought I'd download my thoughts on knives to AH after a few lessons learned previously on what to bring to Africa. What I know now that I didn't know before I went to Africa:

1.) I have no business having a sharp little caping knife in Africa. I hired professionals to cape and salt hides and they actually know what they are doing.

2.) All the genteel, civilized things I'd carry a knife for in the USA are completely irrelevant to Africa.

3.) Little knives fall out of pockets or you get the pleasure getting poked by them in your front pocket every time you sit down.

4.) The task list a knife must do in Africa is not the same task list a knife would get on say an elk hunt or whitetail hunt.

The tasks I needed done in Africa were as follows:

REALLY IMPORTANT - I needed to open my beers expeditiously. I needed a bottle opener.

I needed to be able to whittle mapani wood into skewers to prop up my lunch over the open fire in the bush. (they pack nice lunches but I enjoyed shooting birds and grilling them for lunch with the boys)

About 30 years ago I was involved in a military training exercise with a few Malaysian SF officers. Each of them carried a Gurkha knife. That was by far the most practical knife that I have ever observed in a survival setting. They were heavy enough to be used as a hatchet. And when it came time to build shelters or anything else that required lashing fresh cut saplings and small timber together, this was by far the best tool for the job. It's funny though that I never bought one. Hmmmm, Christmas is only about 6 months away!!!
I could forsee needing to do "machete tasks" to set up blinds for hyena, leopard, etc.

Some of the thorny acacia bushes grew over most of the roads and if I'm going to lend a hand getting the truck past them, I need something to hack with. Also need to liberate myself from thorny branches coming at my head on the safari bench in the back.

The tiny little $0.10 padlocks that are almost no deterrent to theft at all were used to secure the spare tires to the nut that holds them on the back of the safari wagon. Guess what rusted shut and needed busting/clubbing to fix flat tires? Those damn locks!

Put the tent stakes I keep tripping over back in the ground.

Quickly dispatch game that is mortally wounded and anchored.

Use it as a priest to properly dispatch fish with a whack to the noggin with the back of the knife

What I concluded based on what I experienced is that I needed to bring my kukri knife. They are made from 57 chevy leaf springs, are totally overbuilt, indestructible and work for the above tasks perfectly. They are a heavier, much more compact version of a machete + hammer + bottle opener. Good steel. Easy to sharpen. Holds an edge. They come in several sizes. (I picked the heavier weight one as I'm not really in need of its "cutlery" abilities)

I bought one like this but everyone has their own preferences: http://nepalkhukurihouse.com/680/Gurkha-Iraqi-Brown-Gripper-Guard-Handle-Kukri.php

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You can get decent ones starting at $50 and a mega top-of-the-line one isn't much more than $120.

I can't emphasize enough how useless a conventional hunting knife was and how useless a little folding knife would be for my trips abroad. The ONLY reason not to like a kukri is that they are big and it looks a little cheesy to lug around a rambo sized knife. If you can get over the goofiness factor of having a big knife they really are ideal for bushcraft and camping.

I welcome disagreement and would like to hear what works well for you on your Africa hunts.

 

[Red Leg]

@Art Lambart II I would never recommend a large knife for self defense or even a .45. Both are open carry items likely to escalate a situation and you've given up your element of surprise.

A tiny .22mag or .380 or .38, or a fully concealable knife will be much more likely to save your life and your freedom should you be forced to defend yourself.

You will be sent to a grand jury and a discreet and understated weapon will stand the best chance of surprising the aggressor (you live) and will subsequently be more sympathetically viewed by the grand jury, states attorney or trial jury in the end. (You freedom isn't gone for good)

Just my take, exposed large weapons invite trouble and give the impression you'd welcome a confrontation.

I was in Rundu. That is in Africa. On the Angolan border. In Texas, I would agree with much of what you said. However, a concealed handgun was not exactly an option in Northern Namibia, however much I would have preferred one. This native beer drinking character backed off when he perceived, however dimly, that I was not the easy mark he first thought. Following your advice, I likely would have had to try and disable him which probably would have played hob with the rest of my hunt.

 

[Red Leg]

@Red Leg, Amen to carrying a .45, thankfully I was in the service before they switched to the M9. I also like the idea of carrying a knife for self defense but is it legal to carry a large fixed blade knife in the RSA

I have one of the wonderful Sig 1911 clones with the commander length slide and Officer's Model length magazine. It is an easy concealed carry while wearing jeans (which is most of the time around the place).

 

[sierraone]

Anything .45 cal in a handgun is near impossible to beat for self defense!

 

[Art Lambart II]

@rookhawk, generally I agree with you suggestion of smaller calibers and recommend the .380 and 9mm often for self defense, unless I know the shooter is very experienced with a .45. I personally carry a Para Ordnance "Para Carry" with a LDA trigger in 45 ACP but I have 10's of thousands of 45 rounds under my belt and all of those are with a 1911. I use an IWB holster paired with a light jacket, safari vest or a Hawaiian style shits and that little 45 disappears. Here in the states I carry several knifes on a daily basis but I never consider any of them as a defensive tool but outside of the US where I'm denied the right to carry a firearm for self defense carrying a knife may by my only option. Unfortunately I have read several accounts that are very similar to Red Legs experience and given his long service to our country and time spent in harms way his advice requires some thoughtful consideration. What I don't know is how the SAP would react to me strapping on a 6" blade at the Afton House and driving thru Joberg on my way to the outfitters lodge.

On a different note I really like that Victorinox you recommended, I'm trying to find one at a local store before I pull the trigger on an Amazon order.

 

[Bren7X64]

Just one thing to keep in mind - if you splash out big bucks for a custom knife or even just buy a decent knife do NOT ever lend it to a skinner or tracker unless you like the looks of a knife sharpened on a brick / rock / whatever he has to hand.

 

[rookhawk]

I had some old Mako skins floating around. (don't ask, I have stockpiles of weird stuff) Had a local leather worker put a better sheath on this knife for me using the sharkskin. A decent bushcraft knife overall now, albeit a bit overkill for anything less than a flycamp hunt.

 

[siml]

Leathermen type knife/multi tool is always a wise things to have on hand. Just last week while bird hunting, one of the clients managed to wrap up barbed wire around his propshaft, I had my leathermen, took about an hour but managed to cut him lose.

I always carry a knife on my belt while hunting, like others have said, the time you need a knife and you don't have one is ....@#$%

 

[Viti]

I carried a leatherman and a solid 5" blade bark river knife the whole time I was in SA. I used both enough to warrant their carry, and regardless of use, felt better for having them.

I always have this combination when out hunting or in the bush.