AFAustin
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2004
- Messages
- 2,504
This has been said a million times on this forum and many others, so forgive me, but I'm gonna say it again. It is an amazing fact that an Opinel, which costs so little, delivers so much. Nice wood handles, very respectable blade steel ("carbone" or inox stainless), terrific thin grind, solid lockup (courtesy of the ingenious "Virobloc" ring), and excellent and consistent fit & finish---all are had for a pittance.
In my pocket this weekend is this No.7 inox, which came with a natural beechwood handle, and was purchased for the princely sum of just under $13 shipped.
I wanted to give it a little color, as well as seal it, so I applied Zar clear tung oil and then Zar teak wood stain, since I had these lying around the house already. I like the "mottled" look which resulted, and in hand it is smooth but still grippy.
I do a few minor tweaks to any Opie which comes my way. I start by doing the "pop a top" routine, if the ring is either too tight or too loose, adjust to my taste, and put it back on. Then I smooth the sharp corner of the tang---I went whole hog on the No.7 and the corner is completely rounded and smooth---feels good! Then I smooth out the spine and polish it up, as the factory leaves the spine a bit rough. I rub in a little mineral oil on the exposed end to help keep water out (or in the case of the No. 7, a little tung oil). Unless I'm staining it like the No.7, I'll finally rub a little lemon oil into the handle.
All of this is simple, quick, and cheap, and for me makes a great knife even better.
For my hands and taste, the No. 7 is probably the best all round size, but the No. 8 and No. 6 are close, with the bonus that they are offered with some more attractive woods. So here is my happy trio, the No. 7 surrounded by its big and little brothers---a No. 8 in bubinga (and with a mirror polished blade), and a No.6 in olive wood. Ah, but for all that beauty on the upscale models, I had to pay a price: the grand sum of $22 for the bubinga/mirror, and $17 for the olive wood.
Maybe the best part of all is how Opies sharpen up. Much praise has been heaped on the carbone models, but I am on an inox kick right now, and they have been a real treat. The inox stainless is 12c27 Mod from Sandvik, so its credentials are quite good. (I'm not the only one who thinks so, as seen in these posts by sharpening master David/Obsessed with Edges: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ox-Fast-Edge-Fade?highlight=inox+opinel+David). My three knives sharpen easily, hold an edge long enough to suit me, and with the thin Opie blades, they slice up a storm.
I guess I'll sum up my feelings like this. Sometimes when I look at this little Opie trio and realize that I paid a bit over $50 for all 3, I feel a little silly for how much more I've paid for so many other knives (although, I confess, not silly enough to quit doing it!
).
Thanks for reading and looking.
Andrew
In my pocket this weekend is this No.7 inox, which came with a natural beechwood handle, and was purchased for the princely sum of just under $13 shipped.
I wanted to give it a little color, as well as seal it, so I applied Zar clear tung oil and then Zar teak wood stain, since I had these lying around the house already. I like the "mottled" look which resulted, and in hand it is smooth but still grippy.
I do a few minor tweaks to any Opie which comes my way. I start by doing the "pop a top" routine, if the ring is either too tight or too loose, adjust to my taste, and put it back on. Then I smooth the sharp corner of the tang---I went whole hog on the No.7 and the corner is completely rounded and smooth---feels good! Then I smooth out the spine and polish it up, as the factory leaves the spine a bit rough. I rub in a little mineral oil on the exposed end to help keep water out (or in the case of the No. 7, a little tung oil). Unless I'm staining it like the No.7, I'll finally rub a little lemon oil into the handle.
All of this is simple, quick, and cheap, and for me makes a great knife even better.
For my hands and taste, the No. 7 is probably the best all round size, but the No. 8 and No. 6 are close, with the bonus that they are offered with some more attractive woods. So here is my happy trio, the No. 7 surrounded by its big and little brothers---a No. 8 in bubinga (and with a mirror polished blade), and a No.6 in olive wood. Ah, but for all that beauty on the upscale models, I had to pay a price: the grand sum of $22 for the bubinga/mirror, and $17 for the olive wood.
Maybe the best part of all is how Opies sharpen up. Much praise has been heaped on the carbone models, but I am on an inox kick right now, and they have been a real treat. The inox stainless is 12c27 Mod from Sandvik, so its credentials are quite good. (I'm not the only one who thinks so, as seen in these posts by sharpening master David/Obsessed with Edges: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ox-Fast-Edge-Fade?highlight=inox+opinel+David). My three knives sharpen easily, hold an edge long enough to suit me, and with the thin Opie blades, they slice up a storm.
I guess I'll sum up my feelings like this. Sometimes when I look at this little Opie trio and realize that I paid a bit over $50 for all 3, I feel a little silly for how much more I've paid for so many other knives (although, I confess, not silly enough to quit doing it!
).
Thanks for reading and looking.
Andrew
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