What is the purpose of carrying a knife out in a safari..

[HankBuck]

Do you realize this thread is about carrying a knife on a Safari where you are pampered and cared by a group of dedicated people day and night?
I'm more surprised with your confusion...

I carry a knife in my Tux at a wedding and in Board meetings - often just cuts a loose thread or opens a package but always useful…It’s Not always about survival or a disaster but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have one then either. Fashion never enters into it and many good functional knives under $100, a 3” blade can dress and bone out a deer. Maybe it’s a Boy Scout thing?

 

[HankBuck]

Why carry a real hunting knife on safari... you ask? So you look like a real hunter of course. And that way you and possibly other hunters have something to talk about around the evening campfire.
All I carry is a small, lock back folding pocket knife... and it goes in my day pack and that stays in the cruiser.

Tarzan carried a Knife - and he did OK….proof enough. (Actually it doesn’t matter the type or size - as long as it’s sharp it can com in handy for lots of stuff)

 

[HankBuck]

I don’t go to the bathroom without a knife - much less hunting anything or being in the outdoors.

Spot on !

 

[HankBuck]

No sir, that’s just part of the question, the remaining part is what advantage does it have over a pocket knife/utility tool in Africa. Assumption is you are in a guided hunt where the skinning is best left to the pros.

Same purpose carrying one to the office or a bike ride, dinner & a Movie - they are just a damn handy tool with 10000s of uses.

 

[Randy F]

Randy,

I’m curious is it a potato peeler that you carry around with you? .

When you get back to my area, you will have to give me a call.

John.

So!! As I spud guy who’s fed people over 3.6 Billion pounds of potatoes over the last 30 years, I believe it should be international law for everyone on the planet to have to peel one every day. Especially on safari.

And yes sir, I owe you and @rookhawk both a visit when I get back over there.

 

[pilar]

A knife is an article of a well dressed man. Along with a belt , button shirt and laced up boots. Try not to dress like a 10 year old.

That’s a totally different thread, how and why some of the guys on here play dress up in their safari costumes ( yes I have noticed the weird trends people do in safari costume fashion & think OMG ) teddy Roosevelt syndrome !

 

[DPHunter4570]

What's the point of owning a Kalinga, if you don't take it to Africa?


View attachment 585352

My dad has a Kalinga, in the original box, stashed away in a filing cabinet where he keeps random gear. A wicked cool knife!

 

[HankBuck]

On my last safari, I was the only one with a knife while stalking game.


I was asked to borrow it at least twice!

I’ve had a Guide borrow my knife once - he lost his…I am surprised at how many Hunters fail to carry basic tools - a knife and compass among them. Sure you pay for a guided hunt and to be cared for and pampered - but at some point you might not always have a tit in your mouth.

 

[Doubleplay]

I carry a knife in my Tux at a wedding and in Board meetings - often just cuts a loose thread or opens a package but always useful…It’s Not always about survival or a disaster but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have one then either. Fashion never enters into it and many good functional knives under $100, a 3” blade can dress and bone out a deer. Maybe it’s a Boy Scout thing?

Trust me between me and my son we have 10K worth of custom knives and tomahawks and we carry most everywhere except to the bathroom in the house like some others here
However the safest place in Africa is actually being in the bush with your PH and trackers.
In that case we carry to look cool in the videos and pictures

 

[HankBuck]

Wearing a knife on safari is a matter of "personal grooming really." That sums it up nicely I think.

Regarding “grooming” - I’d rather have a Knife then a Shower

 

[HankBuck]

Trust me between me and my son we have 10K worth of custom knives and tomahawks and we carry most everywhere except to the bathroom in the house like some others here
However the safest place in Africa is actually being in the bush with your PH and trackers.
In that case we carry to look cool in the videos and pictures

Well, if it’s for Dress Up then I agree with You but appearance never enters into my thinking regarding knives = function first, good steel trumps a nice Ivory handle, 4”-5” fixed blade is long enough for anything since WWII and a 3” folder should work for most stuff.

 

[SStomcat]

A knife is an article of a well dressed man. Along with a belt , button shirt and laced up boots. Try not to dress like a 10 year old.

I'm talking about going hunting in the bush, not walking on a fashion ramp...btw the thread was over the efficacy of carrying a fixed blade knife over something like a utility knife/tool.

 

[Safari Dave]

The crew at the safari company was great, but I had to show them how to roll start a stick shift Landcruiser!

 

[SStomcat]

You need a knife to go to the bathroom? Maybe try a laxative.

Soumya Sarkar, I would never go anywhere without a knife (not even to the bathroom) and whenever Hunting I carry two - a fixed blade 4“-5” and a 3” light folder. It is the most useful tool you can have especially outdoors - especially if something “goes wrong”. If you need to save weight - take off your underw

This is getting hilarious, find something more useful to carry to the bathroom than a knife

 

[Doubleplay]

This is getting hilarious, find something more useful to carry to the bathroom than a knife

Thanks for starting this thread.
Made my day

 

[grand veneur]

I'm talking about going hunting in the bush, not walking on a fashion ramp...btw the thread was over the efficacy of carrying a fixed blade knife over something like a utility knife/tool.

Thats right !

It's not about whether or not you should have a knife on your belt or in your pocket when hunting in Africa, but rather what kind of knife you should carry during the hunt.

Like other members, I am of the opinion that a folding, practical knife makes nowadays more sense than one with a long, fixed blade. The latter is certainly part of the cliché of the great African hunter as some imagine it, but not the current reality of hunting in Africa. Some clients but need the appropriate outfit and, among other accessories, this also includes a long knife on their belt.

 

[Tanks]

How things have changed. Most of us grew up with pocket knives and would not dream of leaving home without one in our pocket.

Fast forward to today where one would get arrested in the UK or even NYC for having a folding knife on one's person. I literally felt naked in England last summer.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Africa is by far the easiest big game hunting physically, that I do.

Obviously we all have different mandatory equipment requirements.

Most of my hunts are either at higher elevations and I carry far more than a knife. And walk all day also.

I had at least one knife on all of these trips.

The knife on the Buffalo was to honor someone. And it was used to process my bull. Dozens of us carried that same knife on a hunt on our separate hunts. Then gave the knife and a journal to his daughter after a year of hunting.


So when deciding what not to carry. A knife is one of the last to be left home.

 

[HankBuck]

How things have changed. Most of us grew up with pocket knives and would not dream of leaving home without one in our pocket.

Fast forward to today where one would get arrested in the UK or even NYC for having a folding knife on one's person. I literally felt naked in England last summer.

TANKS, agree - never without one and including everyday I worked in NYC. Under 3” blade was ne’er a problem and even going into a Court House (metal detector) I could just check-it-in and then get it back when I left…..Not sure about UK but seems “everything” was an issue there.

 

[HankBuck]

Africa is by far the easiest big game hunting physically, that I do.

Obviously we all have different mandatory equipment requirements.

Most of my hunts are either at higher elevations and I carry far more than a knife. And walk all day also.

I had at least one knife on all of these trips.

The knife on the Buffalo was to honor someone. And it was used to process my bull. Dozens of us carried that same knife on a hunt on our separate hunts. Then gave the knife and a journal to his daughter after a year of hunting.


So when deciding what not to carry. A knife is one of the last to be left home.View attachment 585460View attachment 585464View attachment 585465View attachment 585466View attachment 585467

Altitude, very nice photo’s, they look like someone “Self reliant”