The Okapi is a lockback or slipjoint

Slipjoint

A slipjoint knife is one of the most ubiquitous types of pocketknives.A slipjoint knife consists of a handle with one or more folding blades. These blades are held in position by a strong "backspring" which biases them towards the open or closed position...

 knife originally produced in 1902 for export to Germany's colonies in Africa. The knife takes its name from the okapi

Okapi

The okapi , Okapia johnstoni, is a giraffid artiodactyl mammal native to the Ituri Rainforest, located in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Central Africa...

, an animal which had recently been discovered in the Belgian Congo

Belgian Congo

The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...

.

The Okapi knives are no longer produced in Germany. In 1988, Okapi South Africa (then trading as All Round Tooling) bought the trademark and tooling and began producing the Okapi line of knives in South Africa. The South African Okapi lockback knives are produced with carbon or stainless steel blades, with or without serrations. The most commonly found Okapi knives in Africa are made of resin impregnated wood (usually cherry)and the blades are made of 1055 carbon steel.

Due to the use of Okapis by criminals they have been nicknamed "the Saturday night special" of knives. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones has been known to carry a large Okapi lockback for years that he was given in Jamaica where they are very common working tools and also known as weapons.

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