Best Opinel handle wood?

znode

znode

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May 4, 2007
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After seeing how awesome Opinels are for the price, with their stainless versions having 12C27, and simply awesome design. So I wander over to SMKW, and they apparently come in five main handle materials: ash, oak, beech, walnut, and olive. (Also pear, from AG Russell)

Does anyone know much about the woods' suitability as knife handles? Especially, if one of them handles moisture-warping better than another?

I couldn't find much on pearwood and olivewood. I'm assuming oak is right out, since it can't compare with walnut, beech, or ash.

Walnut is obviously the hardest and nicest-looking of them, but it supposedly dries the slowest, and can degrade from the moisture.

Beech dries fast, but can warp and crack when doing so.

Ash seems to dry fast without significant warping, but I haven't heard it being used for knife handles.

Anyone have firsthand experience/comparison with these? Any woodworkers?
 
From a woodworking standpoint: Ash and Oak are both used significantly in boatbuilding for their strength/weight ratio. RED oak is used for outdoor furniture because it does not readily absorb water. Beech is a traditional tool handle wood. Pearwood is very hard and similar to Beech. Olivewood is very hard and tends to have wild grain. Looks cool.

For an Opinel that will assumedly be exposed to the elements regularly, I'd personally go with Ash although any of these woods with a good finish will do well.

my $.02

J-
 
HomeBru covered it quite well. Let me add some minor corrections tho both posts above.
It is WHITE oak which is preferred for outdoor furniture, since it has much more tyloses than red oak, and it is the tyloses what makes white oak water-tight. I have an oak handled Opinel in front of me right now: it might be made of white oak.

Oak is harder than walnut, actually walnut might be the softest one of the above woods. Olive wood might be the hardest one, but it may crack and warp if exposed to extreme changes in humidity. However, if well oiled/varnished, it might be just fine. Many expensive French pocketknives have olive wood handles: I doubt they would sell if prone to easy damage.

I think, in a drier climate or if the knife is not soaked for prolonged time in water, any of the 5 woods mentioned would be fine. Beech might warp considerably, if soaked and dried again. Walnut and maybe white oak might resist warping more. Ash has good dimensional stability, it is superior to red oak in that aspect.
 
you might try AG Russell where I scored a bubinga handled Opinel.....
i figure the bubinga wood to be denser / least maintenance of all the other wood choices...
 
I like beech. It's a fairly common wood used in military surplus gunstocks, so it's durable enough for my needs. It's a good utility wood with a nice, subtle grain with freckles and that weird fish scales on the end grain.
 
I always refinish my Opinels. Sand off that finish it comes with, and seal with the minwax stain/sealer of choice. After that sets up for a few days, I'll give it a couple thin coats of spar urethane or polyshades sealer. Then I grease the joint with Vasoline. Smear it in, and fld up a paper towel and wipe out the excess. You'll have a very water resistant Opinel at that point. I've got a friend who is born and raised in France, and he says that the petroleum jelly trick is used to water proof the Opinels. Treat it about once a month, and it's good to go.

Carl.
 
Asking to clarify. So olive is the hardest wood, and walnut is even softer than beech. Would you say that a harder wood makes a better handle than a softer one? Or is it the other way around?

Also you guys say oak may be the best choice in terms of water resistance. I'm looking for wood that won't warp much from moisture. Is oak that much more resistant than the others that I would choose it? Or would it swell up just the same, only...a bit less?
 
The olive smells SO GOOD too. Only available in stainless, though, as the wood is slightly acidic and would cause carbon steel to rust.
 
Well, my first question would be if anyone has ever had any Opinel in any wood warp or split. You always hear of swelling but not warping or splitting.

I would be curious as to which wood resists the swelling the best.

Beech, properly treated, seems to resist the swelling well. I soak the entire knife in mineral oil for a couple days myself. I used to dry them to be a bit loose first. Now I don't, liking them on the snug side. If warping and splitting is a problem I would think this treatment (amongst others) would stop that as well.

So I would say Beech, only because the Beech handled ones cost much less. The concept of an Opinel to me is a reasonably decent blade in a rudimentary handle of elegant design to equal a good knife for little money.
 
About oak.
I did some looking around. There are two kinds of oak. Apparently, red oak is terrible with regard to water resistance, and furniture made out of red oak is supposed to be kept indoors. I'd say it would also make a terrible material for an opinel handle.
White oak is used for outdoor furniture and for building boats. It is exceptionally water resistant, and I'd bet it would make a terrific handle.

Here's the thing though: in the pictures I saw, side by side, slabs of white oak appeared to be "redder" than red oak, and red oak looked "whiter".

In pictures on google, oak-handled opinels seem to be made of some pretty pale wood. I don't own any oak opinels, so I dont know if it is that pale in person. Can anyone provide info on that?

Oak opinel owners, please chime in. How water resistant is the oak?
 
I have one of their game animals series (the running rabbits one) in oak and haven't had any trouble with it.
 
First, I'd bet anyone here is going to treat that wood handle occasionally so I would take "longevity" out of the picture. It's not going to crumble or turn to fungus during its life with you. Wood only ages nicely when cared for. Even a wipe with furniture polish now and then is going to keep it nice. The threats will be from getting knocked around.

If I were buying a knife for a nice natural wood handle like the Opinels I would probably hit it with a few coats of polyurethane anyway...or maybe a wax or linseed oil, thus the moisture thing would be pretty much solved.

I would go ash for strength; oak for grain; beech for feel; walnut for looks and olivewood for class. All depends on what you're after.

It is interesting to know what the various properties of the woods are though.
 
I was just looking into replacing my 25 year old opinel (that got lost in the bottom of a cardboard box when moving somewhere like 10 years ago). I think I had the most basic #7 or 8 in carbon with beech wood. Nothing fancy as is customary with an Opinel. I think I'll buy the most basic #8 carbon again, but I'd really also like another #7 or 8 stainless with a more special wood grain. I really like the look of some olive wood, but wouldn't dare to order one of those blindly online. I really feel that for the more special woods, you need to see your exact model up close and personal.

Another wood that I really like is the bubinga. As far as I know that's more of a hardwood, so it'll probably be a bit less prone to swelling and shrinking from moisture than something like ash or walnut.

As luck would have it, I'll be visiting Lille in the north of France within the next few weeks (by car, 2 hour drive), and it looks like there's an official Opinel dealer there. Might be a good opportunity to see a few different choices up close. If my girlfriend will not get too impatient, I'm hoping to pick up at least one special handle specimen, maybe two but that'll probably mean I also have to buy her shoes ^^
 
Beech is my preference. It is cheapest, and I know it comes in carbone. I am not sure if the others do.

Walnut is my least favorite. I find it drab and uninspiring. If my Antoninis had something other than walnut, I would carry them more than I do, which is almost never.
 
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