A couple of questions about Opinel knives

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WillieD

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Jan 22, 2004
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I ordered a couple of Openils this week. A No 9 in carbon and a No 6 in s/s. What is actually the better steel of the two? Wanted the smaller to be stainless because I figured it would be more resistant to sweat and whatnot from pocket carry. problem is, the place screwed up and sent me a No 6 in carbon. waiting to hear back about an exchange or something. Would I be better of just keeping it, or pull for the s/s blade. Next is sharpening. Is there any advantage/disadvantage of having the convex gring over me just taking these to my sharpmaker at 40 deg? I've never sharpened a convex before. I'm not opposed to learning how and gathering the proper materials to strop one to a nice edge though. Nice little knives for the small amount of money spent. I'm happy. Thanks for the input.
 
Stick with the carbon, Willie. It is tougher, takes a razor edge and with regular use will patina nicely. As for the grind, a convex grind will do it justice, IMO. (Easy maintenance too.)
 
The carbon steel shouldn't be a problem, especially if you let it develop a patina. The sharpmaker will be just fine for sharpening--and if you want to convex it you can just hit it with a strop after using the sharpmaker.. :)
 
Hi WillieD,

If I were you, I would just save the shipping cost to return it. I live an hour North of Harrisburg, so a bit farther North of your area. I have carbon and stainless Opinel knives and have no issues with either blade steel. I personally have no trouble using the Sharpmaker on an Opinel, but if you would like to learn how to sharpen a convex edge, here is a link to some exceptional videos that are provided by knivesshipfree.com to anyone who goes to their website.

http://www.knivesshipfree.com/pages/Sharpening-Videos

I hope you enjoy the thin edges of your new Opinel knives! They slice very well.

Take care,

Doug
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
The carbon steel shouldn't be a problem, especially if you let it develop a patina. The sharpmaker will be just fine for sharpening--and if you want to convex it you can just hit it with a strop after using the sharpmaker.. :)
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No, no, no! Sharpmaker is meant to give you a flat-angled bevel. Convex edges are best! They're the strongest edge profile and IMO the easiest to sharpen and maintain. They also cut brilliantly and hold a great edge - one of the reasons why Opinels make such great slicers - and the grind used by Falkniven and BRKT. Learn how to convex sharpen - please. The free KSF tutorial videos will show you how easy it is. I now convert all my users (except single bevel jap knives and my ceramics) to convex.

If you strop your Opinel regularly, you'll rarely have to re-sharpen it. BTW - I haven't noticed any significant difference between Opinel's carbon and stainless other than the carbon being a little bit easier to touch up. As to rust - I use dilute phosphoric acid to force a protective patina on all the carbon blades that I use, followed by a light coating of a suitable oil.
 
You can use the sharpmaker white to touch up the blade, and then use sandpaper and mousepad after a while to convex the edge back after many repeated sharpenings. 30 degrees or 40 degrees setting should work. Using the sharpmaker you should just hit the very edge, which won't make a big difference in cutting performance over going full convex. Use whatever is easiest / most convenient IMO.
 
antonio_luiz said:
No, no, no! Sharpmaker is meant to give you a flat-angled bevel. Convex edges are best! They're the strongest edge profile and IMO the easiest to sharpen and maintain. They also cut brilliantly and hold a great edge - one of the reasons why Opinels make such great slicers - and the grind used by Falkniven and BRKT. Learn how to convex sharpen - please. The free KSF tutorial videos will show you how easy it is. I now convert all my users (except single bevel jap knives and my ceramics) to convex.
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Dude--I know how to convex. The thin profile of the Opinel's edge will easily convert itself to a convex if you use it on a pasted strop at an angle below the angle you used on the sharpmaker. It's a roundabout way of putting it on there, but it DOES work. Honestly, I don't get why people get their knickers in a knot over how you treat a convex. If you give the edge a quick touch-up with a normal stone it's not going to ruin it or anything--you can reestablish a full convex later. A convex with a V micrrobevel works just fine. :)
 
You'll love the carbon blade, OP. Very easy to sharpen, and I used my Sharpmaker... Some people might prefer their convex edge on these, but the v edge will perform 99% as well, if not completely as well. And, unless you sweat A LOT, I don't think you'll have a problem pocket carrying your carbon steel opinel :P

These will stain/patina very easily, but as long as you are smart about it, nothing harmful will happen to your blade. It will just gain a little character.
 
i use a hand diamond hone on my carbon opinel #6...takes a mean edge! I already want to modify it.
 
Well, I still didn't hear back from the dealer. I'm still up in the air about how to sharpen. I might just put together a strop and just use some metal polish from the store to see how that goes. They are both sharp enough to bite into my fingernail, but won't shave. Go enough till I figure out what I'm going to do. As far as blade care, what should I do? The No 9 is mine for sure so I just wiped it off with some Militech oil. How does the patina form? I'm guessing the patina is a good thing??? Will that deter rust? I see threads every now and then about guys forcing patinas. It seems that you can screw that up. Eveb though it's only a $10 knife, I still want to take care of it and have it look nice. Honestly, I am more fascinated with these Opinels than some of my other more expensive knives. Thanks for all the help.
 
You can keep some mineral oil on the blade if it's very humid where you live, or you're going to be around some wetness. But I prefer to leave it alone. A patina can form plenty of ways, mine has a very light patina from just cutting up some apples and oranges and not cleaning it for 10 minutes or so while I ate. And it's just something that, over time, if you actually use your knife, your blade will have some slight staining at least. As long as you are washing/wiping it off when you're done using it, I'd imagine you'd be fine. But I'm in California where it's not very humid.

As far as sharpening, I'd just do what you're comfortable with, or use the knife as a learning experience for convexing. The 3 I've sharpened all did quite well with the sharpmaker. On two I put a very steep bevel with a diamond stone, then went to 30* on the sharpmaker. On another I simply used the sharpmaker, and they all do well...
 
WillieD said:
Well, I still didn't hear back from the dealer. I'm still up in the air about how to sharpen.
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Strop, stone, ceramic rods - they will all work well to get the Opinel 'shaving sharp'. No matter what method you use it is not a bad idea to polish the edge on a strop afterwards. I just use a piece of an old belt that broke that I rubbed green rouge (bar of waxy (sorta) stuff with chromium oxide powder) on. If a knife has a good sharp edge already then a quick strop will be all you need to be able to shave with it.

I have 3 carbon steel and 1 stainless steel Opinel - only one came 'shaving sharp''. I sharpened the rest with my DMT aligner on the minimum angle and then polished on my strop - they are all 'shaving sharp' now! I have tested on my arm hair (now I am pretty much out of that and have had to start using my leg hair) and I have sliced tomatoes (boy the Opinel does a good job of slicing tomatoes) and I couldn't be happier with how well these cheap folding knives work! Cheap and nasty don't always go together! A lot of cheap products are junk - Opinel and Mora are 2 very clear exceptions.
 
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