Okapi and an Ocopy. Learn from my mistakes.

[Nephilim]

For any unfamiliar, Okapi's are cheap, somewhat roughly made, ubiquitous South African folding knives. The brand was originally German, made for export to Africa. Sometime in the 1980s (IIRC) the business and manufacturing moved to SA itself. They come in a few different shapes and sizes, but the most distinctive is the large ring locking model. I like collecting traditional folders from different corners of the world, so I thought I'd pick up one for myself.

The first one I got was a used one with some wear and tear, so I thought I might pick up a new one as well. I noticed some differences between my old and new knives, but I chalked it up to changes in their manufacturing through the years. Turns out my new Okapi is a counterfeit most likely made in China or Pakistan. Took me by surprise. I know there are plenty of counterfeit knives out there, but Okapi aren't exactly Benchmades; they're really cheap knives, although its getting harder to find them in the US. Even the ebay shop that sold me my knock-off now labels them "Repros". Well, you cant call it a repro if the original is still in production and the country of origin is deliberately misstated.

TLDR: I got a real Okapi and a (strongly suspected) counterfeit. Lets compare!

The top is the original and the bottom is the knockoff. The top has a compressed wood handle, stained brown with rounded edges. The bottom is stained red with sharper angles. On the copy, the tang protrudes noticeably from the handle.

You can see a difference in the blades. The bottom has a sabre grind, compared the the top's flat grind. I'm pretty sure the bottom is a stainless steel, while all Okapis use 1055 carbon.

And finally, the logos. Besides the differences in font, the bottom one is struck much more shallow, more so than is obvious in the picture.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Very interesting. What does a real one run, price wise?
I saw recently a seller on ebay from China had counterfeited a Moki, but it was one of the lowest priced Moki’s out there. Price was double what they were asking for their counterfeit Chris Reeves knives. Maybe there is more profit in selling low end counterfeits than the higher end?

[jerryd6818]

Very interesting. What does a real one run, price wise?

This one is genuine & I got it for $13.

I've had this one since 2011 & didn't record what I paid for it. Probably about the same as the one above.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Thanks Jerry. Less than I thought it would.

[Doc B]

Interesting!

[Mumbleypeg]

As I have posted previously in other threads, China has no copyright or patent laws. Culturally they have no norms or moral objections against copying - he who copies best wins. They will not steal money or physical tangible goods from you - that is morally wrong. But they will readily copy your ideas, your designs, your intellectual property, with ruthless abandon. In Western culture that is considered theft. In their culture it is admirable. There is a subtle but important difference between your physical property and your ideas. They take pride in copying even the most minute detail, even including your country of origin stamp if they can get away with it. Often they don’t even know what, if any, function those minute details provide - they just copy.

So unless you or your government are willing and able to take actions to defend your intellectual property, the Chinese will copy it, and use it to produce products in competition with you. Because of cheap and/or government subsidized labor and capital needed to produce goods, they will undercut your price until you are out of business. Then they own a monopoly on the market for that product, after which they can and will price it as they wish, or use it against you. A “free market” no longer exists. And a portion of every sale goes to the communist government for military purposes. That applies not just to smart phones, pharmaceuticals, small appliances, clothing and other consumer goods. Yes, even pocket knives.

Wake up people! Pay attention to what is happening.

Ken

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Amen to that Ken! To add insult to injury the tax payer has been subsidizing shipping charges from China for decades. This will finally change come July of this year.

[Nephilim]

As to the question of, "What do these usually cost?" it has become a slightly tricky question. Every American online retailer seems to be out of stock of the ring locking Okapi, or has removed them from their product list. I wonder if something hasn't happened to their distributor? When they're readily available they should be around $12-15. But if your getting them shipped from a seller in Africa or the Mideast you'll pay more than that in S&H of course.

[knife7knut]

Here is an older model Okapi.