3 months with just an Opinel.

[VictorLouis]

What a wonderful experience you two are having. An education, of sorts, also...that you won't ever forget. As to the knife situation, you've once again proved that simple can get it done, if we can only wrap our minds and desires around that, LOL.

 

[davek14]

One thing that struck my wife and I here is how far we are from this being a vacation. We can go to Venice for the day, but we grocery shop on our way back and only go there when we have something to do.
Our separation from home and our lives is evident every 5 minutes. Finding what we need is difficult, talking to people to find those things is more difficult. We bike and walk to many places because that is how you do it. I work 10-11 hours a day and am quite tired after.

This is not a complaint: it's a blessing. It's a blessing to really live in a place so foreign, not just visit and see the shiny parts, but to be a part of the grimy parts. We struggle to even get through some days (spending 6 hours trying to navigate getting a cellphone fixed, walking a kilometer only to find out a place is on it's 3-hour siesta, etc.) and smile through others, but we live them all. My employer was (ehem) tardy in sending us. My wife quit her well paying job almost a year before we left because we "were leaving later that month". The leave date has been pushed back 10 times or so, but always so soon that we didn't have time to re-settle our lives. To say we have had a stressful (and frugal) year is an understatement. But we will remember this year until we die.

Nice. That hit the spot after a hard day. Thanks for the centering. Go kiss your wife.

 

[quattromori]

Welcome to my country
A few random thoughts about your posts...
I'm not surprised that traffic seems awful here. Don't know which part of the US you come from, but I understand the shock. Believe it or not, when I took a car for rent in southern FL a few years ago, I found driving unbearably boring there
As for white peaches...aren't there any in the US? Now that sounds weird
Back to knives now. I love Opinel's, and I'm glad you are enjoying yours here. Should you need assistance, remember that this subforum has branches even on this side of the pond....

Fausto

 

[RickT57]

Man I'm lovin this!

 

[knarfeng]

There's enough knife focus in the post to warrant this being in the knife discussion forum.

"An adventure to remember." Absolutely and that is the way to look at it. How very much fun.

A fun read. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[Macchina]

It's blood red plums today. They are a terrible mess with a dull knife!

 

[clutchcarter]

What a neat experience! The adversity will make for much better stories later on so I'm glad you're making the best of it.
Now....why don't I own am Opinel?

 

[kamagong]

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. Sounds like a life-impacting event.

As for white peaches...aren't there any in the US? Now that sounds weird

Lol. That's like asking if there are any white peaches in Europe considering the sheer size of the US.

It depends where you are from I guess. I see white peaches all the time, at local farmers markets and whenever I drive through agricultural regions. Then again I'm blessed to live in a Mediterranean climate, near some incredibly fertile land. The vineyards who took part in the Judgment of Paris are less than an hour away.

- Christian

 

[quattromori]

Christian,
it did sound weird but when it comes to "what grows - or is grown - somewhere" I never give anything for granted.
Back to Opinel knives: although my country has alot of traditional/regional patterns, Opinel's (and SAK's) are still the most common pocket knives in many areas of the country, especially in the north (not much here - Sardinian knives rule their homeland ).

Fausto

 

[Macchina]

My wife has been touring some of the castles around here. I think there's enough ultra-traditional knives in here to warrant posting it:

 

[Macchina]

I have written about it elsewhere, but we have fallen in love with the Dolomite mountains here and staying in the Rifugi (plural for Rifugio or "Mountain Hut"). They are simple places in rugged areas (tops of peaks and at the ends of long hiking trails) full of nice people, great hot homemade food, herds of yaks, hot coffee, and amazing views. This is the kind of place that changes you as a person, my wife and I both feel it. I brought my Victorinox Electrician Plus and used it often on the wine sausage and hard cheeses...

 

[Macchina]

We also visited on of the great knife towns of Italy (Maniago). The Museum of Manufacturing Art was very cool, a glimpse of the first production machines to make working knives (and scissors) for the working classes of the world:

 

[combatjiujitsu]

Great pics thanks! I hope to see it for myself someday

 

[davek14]

The old knife pics were wunnerful and it's always neat to see some of the old belt driven machinery. Steam and water power built this country. I think the Green River works were water powered intitially.

 

[Slip joint fan]

Sir, what wonderful photos and great perspective on life. Neat images of those knives, and the machinery,scissors.
Regards, SJF

 

[Slip joint fan]

Sir, what wonderful photos and great perspective on life. Neat images of those knives, and the machinery,scissors.
Regards, SJF

 

[jackknife]

Macchina, what other knives have you seen in the hands of your Italian co-workers?

Would a yellow Case sodbuster in CV fit in over there?

 

[Macchina]

To be honest: the Opinel kinda sticks out as an aggressive knife to them! Because it isn't a serrated steak knife pulled from the kitchen drawer (it's different) and therefore it stands out to them.
I would be shocked to see one of them carry a knife around (EDC), even if carried just at work. We build A LOT of prototypes, open a ton of baggies of parts, trim and modify 3D Printed (SLA and SLS) plastic parts, etc: There is a definite need for a knife. When somebody needs one, they walk all the way to the workshop to grab a break-off razor (very dull) and go at it with that. My Opinel is stored with my lunch silverware on my desk, but I use it for all of these tasks.

Bottom line: the people here (age 30's-40's) just don't carry/own pocket knives. I'm sure it would be different out on one of the many farms here or in the mountain region, but definitely not around here.

I don't even EDC a knife around town. When I go to the mountains I now carry the Lionsteel Opera I picked up in the city it was made in (Maniago, IT).
This picture was taken on a huge footpath suspension bridge off the road a bit. I thought I caught a glimpse of the bridge from the mountain road last time I went through this area, but I wasn't sure. I thought I must have imagined it until we pulled off on a small lot on the road to allow a fast driver to pass us and I saw a trail leading into the woods. We followed the trail and came upon this bridge. It's probably 200-300 meters long and about that high off the river beneath. The old oiled wood boards creak when you cross the bridge as if you were the only person to use it that month. On the far side is a small dirt path with a simple sign telling you walking times to the nearest villages. I think the bridge was used before this area got a road and is now only used on occasion. It was an extremely erie place, with large concrete structures on the other side covered in so much moss that you couldn't even make out what purpose they once were used for...

Where would you like to walk to? Notice the 6 hour+ walk to Palughet...

The view from the center of the bridge:

 

[quattromori]

I assume you're in the "wrong" part of the country to see people carrying knives yet I'd love to see the Dolomiti soon and I might travel there this year (my cousin lives and works in that area so I might go visit her).
Great scenery though (and nice gents knife as well).

Fausto

 

[Macchina]

I assume you're in the "wrong" part of the country to see people carrying knives yet I'd love to see the Dolomiti soon and I might travel there this year (my cousin lives and works in that area so I might go visit her).
Great scenery though (and nice gents knife as well).

Fausto

For how much paperwork the government requires, and how I yet to see a person carrying a pocket knife, and many other things I don't understand... You have a beautiful country Fausto! I visited Maniago on (I believe) your recommendation elsewhere and was not disappointed. When you are driving through the country (in between round-a-bouts) you could almost feel like you're driving through the cornfields of Southern Michigan. Then when the Dolomiti come into view you realize you're in an amazing place!

I do think that carrying a pocket knife would just be strange to the people in this area. I don't push it on them and I don't do it because they wouldn't like that.