A project brings peace outdoors - Thanks to my friend Sam

Kevin,

It will be fun/interesting to see if and how the knife "earns its keep" with you.

As I noted in the "what are you carrying today" thread a few days back... Every time I carry a different knife, I switch back to my Opinel #9 when I get home. For example, today I'm carrying a Buck 500 and it's a nice enough knife. But, I miss the #9. And when I carry the #9, I never think of switching.

I suspect that the ease with which these knives can be modified and they become "your" knife, is a part of it.


opinel-9 by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
Yeah, I know what you mean :) I have never tried a no9 and for cycling I had a no6.

I remember I while back you and I talked about how I used an opinel as a cycling knife.

I don't think this one will get knocked out of an EDC role. I really like it. You know how some knives just feel right from the beginning? :)
 
Thank you, Mark.

I was just thinking of a couple mods to the blade. One dropping the tip to take out the clip and make it into a drop point. I drew up an idea with VERY minimal steel removal. I am still not sure what I think. Second is to angle to the area of the blade right where the locking ring engages by the edge. I would angle from where the lock engages outward toward the edge. Essentially pushing the edge out a millimeter or two making it easier to sharpen the entire length on a stone (although I can get the entire edge now).

I was hoping for some honest feedback on these two ideas. I am hesitant on both. One side says leave it alone and the other side says I would like it better.

Anyone that has an opinion, good or bad, I would appreciate hearing it. Thanks :)

Oh, and to the guys that have done the drop point mod are you glad you did?

Here is the basic idea I have



Kevin
 
I've seen some nice examples where the tip has been dropped. With regard to taking the edge back away from the handle to ease sharpening the only thing I'd be wary of is any work adversely influencing the area of the blade presented to the lock ring. In my mind the lock ring is a double edged sword for Opinels, at once being beautifully simple and at the same time prone to wear. I now have several Opi's where the lock ring can effectively turn right round, I've put this down to three factors; loosening of the ring (easily sortable), blade tang wear (hey ho!) and wear of the inner ring the pivot passes through. This is the main culprit as far as I can tell. Opinel make the inner ring out of a cheap, mild steel. Over time an indent appears where the top edge of the blade tang is pushed against it in the open position during use. Of course users of a standard Opi would probably shrug and carry on with a loose ring or toss the knife and pick another one up. Having spent some time making a nice handle I think my next step will be to pick up a doner No8 and swap the inner rings over.

Sorry if I digress.....
 
I have ever so slightly dropped the point on most of mine. They seem to be a bit back for my tastes. The exceptions for me were the #10's that are used only in the kitchen. The point where it sits stock seems to work very well on cutting board type usage. I personally agree that I wouldn't mess with the area around the ring, if I wanted to dull that area I would probably just use a steel...
 
I like the idea of the drop point mod. From the drawing it looks like your intention is to leave the ridge(?) in the middle of the blade and go in a straight line to the tip. If I would do it, I'd probably grind it in a way that the whole spine is a very slight convex curve to the tip. There's still very little metal removed, just a bit more in the middle. The main point is that there's still a sharp and pointy tip.

I'm curious how it turns out :)
 
Thank you guys so much for the feedback and advice. I did NOT mess with the "kick" for the lack of a better word.

Before





After



Comments are welcome, but I like it :)

Kevin
 
Yep, I like it better as a drop point, the tip is much more useful for me that way.

Are those scans? They look great, you can really pick out all the details of the knife!
 
Thank you, Vic!

Yes, jpeg scans. I don't have PS anymore to be able to do the really cool color adobe files. I figured I'm finished the knife so a before and after you can't hide anything with a scanner :)

Thanks again to everyone. I love this knife.

Sam, I owe you one my friend.

Kevin
 
Nutella.

I'm not kidding.

I use my #9 in the kitchen like all the time. Cutting vegetables, opening packages, cutting bagels. I rarely reach to the knife drawer unless its big meat.

My #9 is dropped but my #8 is not. I've left the 8 stock as an experiment and just can't wait to swap it back for the dropped 9. I just hate digging into the Nutella jar and feeling the clip's tip drag on the side of the jar.

The one kind of cut I like a clip for is deboning chicken. It's easier to stick the tip of the point into joints and other tight spots. But the Opinel doesn't get used for that usually. In balance, I like the drop point much better.

My dropped #9 is above. Here's its big brother.

Opinel #10 (modified) by Pinnah, on Flickr

This dropped Case 316 is in the kitchen drawer.


Case 316-5 (drop point) by Pinnah, on Flickr


More recently, I dropped my Schrade H-15.

H 15 drop point 2 by Pinnah, on Flickr

I thought long and hard before I tackled the H-15. But, I've not regretted dropping any of these.

Yours looks super nice!!!!
 
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