Bought my first Opinel (Pics P.3)

[AreBeeBee]

#9, #8 (garden), #6 — #s 6 & 9 are carbon steel, #8 is stainless. All have had the handles refinished with Rit clothing dye and urethane varnish.

 

[afishhunter]

I am checking out the carbon model. And yeah, I can get both for, like, $30. I am debating doing it. I would carry it during Re-enactments. It is close enough to period.

Which period? I used to do Civil War and Buck Skinner.

 

[Bigfattyt]

Im not sure I have a pic of my burned Opinels. I may have to take one.

 

[afishhunter]

I took a few of mine and burned the handles black. Without the logo, and with the blade patina they look even older. Now if they would only offer them with carbon steel sleeve and locking ring!

That that they do. However, keep in mind that for reenactments, those participating are "venturing back in time", to show the rest of us how it was back in those days. Therefore, their gear, clothing, and accessories need to be "period correct" (to the smallest detail; the stitching on their clothes, for example, should appear hand stitched) and should look new to somewhat used; not an antique.

 

[edbeau]

All these are 8's.

 

[Ferahgo]

Which period? I used to do Civil War and Buck Skinner.

I am doing Civil War. I am with 1st Texas Infantry of the Confederacy.

 

[5K Qs]

My constant edc that I never show in 'whatchu totin' is a No.7 It's my reliable locking knife, great geometry, very keen edge on my No. 7 in carbone. By constant I mean whenever I leave the house it's the companion always in the pocket to my main blade for that day if that says anything about how much I enjoy Opinels.
...

Tim, I think it's VERY cool that you have a knife that's literally EDC!! You should show it more often!

They do tend to flock, don't they?

I find these simple knives way compelling myself.

Here are my three-- olive wood No. 6, stained carbon No. 7, singed Garden No. 8 (with an outlier atop):

I'd envisioned the 'singe-ing' to result in a more uniform appearance....

~ P.

pertinux, you seem somewhat disappointed in the way your singeing turned out, but I think it looks great!! :thumbup::thumbup: Can you describe the procedure you used? Where did you get that cool Opinel "logo" on the lanyard in the last photo?? Very nice!

- GT

 

[Ferahgo]

I really like the scorched appearance!

 

[Gary W. Graley]

You'll love it for sure and probably be a little surprised at how well it cuts! and it will make you reconsider all the other knives you have in that regard

I carry an Opinel #10 Slim in olivewood, I use it mainly for food as it has a nice polished blade and a blade length that seems about right for slicing sections of a sub Used it just tonight for that very purpose !

G2

 

[Ferahgo]

You'll love it for sure and probably be a little surprised at how well it cuts! and it will make you reconsider all the other knives you have in that regard

I carry an Opinel #10 Slim in olivewood, I use it mainly for food as it has a nice polished blade and a blade length that seems about right for slicing sections of a sub Used it just tonight for that very purpose !

G2

I would like to get one in olive sometime. But, I must build up. I will start with the most basic and work my way to the top.

 

[Bigfattyt]

I snapped a pic of mine. I need to finish sanding the burned ones, but I've been using them for quite a while as is, and am pretty lazy!

 

[pertinux]

I really like the scorched appearance!

Thanks! It looks better now than it did....

Tim, I think it's VERY cool that you have a knife that's literally EDC!! You should show it more often!

Agreed.

pertinux, you seem somewhat disappointed in the way your singeing turned out, but I think it looks great!! :thumbup::thumbup:

Thank you. I'd envisioned it a more uniform middle-brown, instead of leopard-y.

Can you describe the procedure you used? Where did you get that cool Opinel "logo" on the lanyard in the last photo?? Very nice!

1) The Opinel logo piece is from davek14 here on the forums-- a fun gift-- threaded with grocery-store-quality rawhide replacement shoe laces. Works!

2) Process: how 'bout some pictures?

Inspired, foolishly or no, by someone else's attempt, I decided to do a light "burnt" finish on mine, created by repeatedly holding sections briefly over a candle flame, buffing off the soot, then sanding lightly with steel wool to see what remained.

I figured the worst that could happen was that I would have an excuse, er, a rational, understandable reason to obtain another Opinel.

Off we go:

Buffing off the soot on a readily available surface:

Further progress:

Several passes and buffs later, good and dark:

But, it was mostly soot-- it rubbed down well, but 0000 steel wool revealed less "evenness" than was previously apparent, leaving us with this:

At this point, I was... bored, so I decided to call it "tortoise shell" and be done for now. Its appearance is more muted in "real life lighting," as per the above pictures, but here you can see its underlying Turtleness more clearly:

I may decide to try to even it a little bit, especially when we have some evenings by an outdoor fire.

But for now, I have once again made one my knives decidedly mine.

~ P.

Update, already:

Fortified by a late lunch, I brought this project to a more satisfying conclusion:

Whew.

If I were to do this again, I'd stay further away from the flame, and try for a lighter over-all color.

But for now? Decent.

A subsequent picture of my pertinux'd Opinels together, with the Garden Knife looking much better than immediately above, after some fading and further ministrations (mostly to do with 'feeding' the parched wood with oil, if I remember correctly?):

Since then, it's faded even more, to a the pictures I first posted-- and with a very pleasing, satiny feel in-hand.

~ P.

 

[coolio]

Cripes P., that's a lot of work for that Opinel - you must be hanging around Primble too much. Looks beautiful though!:thumbup:

 

[5K Qs]

...
1) The Opinel logo piece is from davek14 here on the forums-- a fun gift-- threaded with grocery-store-quality rawhide replacement shoe laces. Works!

2) Process: how 'bout some pictures?
...
Since then, it's faded even more, to a the pictures I first posted-- and with a very pleasing, satiny feel in-hand.

~ P.

I should have guessed that davek14 was behind the logo; he sent me some very nice Case emblems (and offered to do "on-demand" engraving)!!
The pictures were very helpful!! I'd like to try something like that to approximate the scorching on my Taramundi:

- GT

 

[Henry Beige]

Here's my oldest Opinel, which I have had since the mid 70s. Actually, I don't have it any more. I gave it to my grandson in July.

 

[SAK Guy]

My two favs, The Garden and the Coghlan's No 9.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

my #10 Slim in olivewood

G2

 

[supratentorial]

 

[GasMan1]

Nice looking Opinel Gary. You always take great looking pics.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Thanks sir and Jake, nice collection there!
G2