Bought my first Opinel (Pics P.3)

willc said:
That is a most impressive patina on your Opi.
Is that a Walnut handled model?

I have one in Walnut but it is lighter colored.
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Nah, it is the generic beech wood. I just stained and lacquered it.
 
I came across this on a FB Custom Knife page. Just thought that I would share it with everyone. Think that the guy used a Marble Dip Wrap for the handle.

 
Great knives. The basswood handle can swell and bind the blade if it gets wet. I melted a tablespoon or so of hard floor paste wax into the blade slot, let it spread into the pivot, and haven't had a problem since. Bought my No. 8 carbon in Paris for 8.5 Euros.
 
About to go down this road I think. How does a no. 6 feel in the hand? 3" blade is the official legal in MI, although tons of people carry much bigger in folders. The 7 would be my next choice but it's 3/16" over 3"......
 
kraash said:
About to go down this road I think. How does a no. 6 feel in the hand? 3" blade is the official legal in MI, although tons of people carry much bigger in folders. The 7 would be my next choice but it's 3/16" over 3"......
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The #6 is quite a bit smaller than the #8 in handle length and volume. You can see some of the difference in this image;

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For me the #8 is more hand filling and just about perfect, however I'm a huge advocate of the #6 for lightweight hiking and backpacking. It will work just fine in the city for utility too, just takes some getting used to. I am able to adapt easily and it is a much bigger knife than some of the small knives that are popular to carry. The #6 blade is thinner than the #8 and slices better though the #8 is a renowned and phonomenal slicer. For me the #6 excels in food prep in the wilderness or in town and the blade is still stiff enough to be a great wood carver if you are making fires and the like. It is a tough knife that will handle plenty of carving pressure and the handle is comfortable under heavy pressure for extended periods.

I'll take the premium woods like Olive and Bubinga any day over the common beech and their 12c27 steel is a better choice than the carbon though both are good. The 12c27 simply holds an edge better and longer but you will not be unpleased with the carbon either.
 
Thanks for a detailed answer, should I expact the #7 to be just about halfway between these two in all dimensions?
 
I'm new Opinel. My 1st purchases were a #6 and #8 in carbon. Since then, I've purchased a #6 and #8 Trekking version in stainless.

a466bc39ca099120a269ee5198fd2ddb.jpg
 
kraash said:
Thanks for a detailed answer, should I expact the #7 to be just about halfway between these two in all dimensions?
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Yes, I'd expect it would be about halfway in between. There are some good specs on their offical website so you can check further there. I'm sure that would be a great size. They don't make them in the premium woods so it would not interest me but if you like the beech you would have a phonomenal slicer.
 
SwiftDream said:
Yes, I'd expect it would be about halfway in between. There are some good specs on their offical website so you can check further there. I'm sure that would be a great size. They don't make them in the premium woods so it would not interest me but if you like the beech you would have a phonomenal slicer.
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The beech can polish up to be very pretty, if done right.
 
My first Opinel showed up yesterday. A #7 Hermione with Oak Scales.

Much to my dismay, it did not arrive frighteningly sharp as touted in legend and lore. In fact, I could barely hack my way through a sheet of copier paper. It was more akin to a fine tooth hacksaw blade than a knife.

Undaunted and interested, I looked at the overall package. There is a lot to like here. Or more accurately, not a lot to like. I am sort of a Luddite. So low tech and old school rings my bells.

A short bit of time with stone and strop, has brought out, what appears to be a keen edge. It will now take hair off my arm with ease, and push cut through paper. Greatly improved over the way it showed up.

I feel, that there is probably more to be extracted from the edge. I would say I am 85-90% of what is there. Oddly, I was not bothered by the condition the knife arrived in. When shipping is roughly 1/3rd of the knife price. I didn't expect too much.

A dull edge can be easily rectified. The rest of the knife was well put together. Fit and finish was excellent. And overall I liked it. I have receiver much more expensive knives in similar or worse condition.

This simple little guy has sparked an interest to try another Opinel. Perhaps a #9 next. Just simple no frills blades that appear to be long time companions without the pretentious underpinnings many of today's blades.

I'd say it was a good purchase, photos to follow in a few days,
LV
 
LV,

While the Opinel #9 Inox is my most commonly carried knife, you should be warned that they are finicky and demanding. I consider out of the box Opinels as projects; not yet ready for use. Couple of things I do to tune them up. It takes me about a month of carry & adjust to get a new one where I like it....

BLADE - Yes, sharpen it. You'll probably need to live with it a bit and use it a lot for it to reveal its secrets. It's a thin convex grind so it splits and curls wood just a tick better than a full flat grind. This is more noticeable as you move up to the #9 and then to the #10. The #10 is getting close to Mora Companion. If you convex a Mora, you push it closer to an Opinel. The convexity is more gradual and less pronounced than a convexed Mora, even on the thicker bladed #10, so it slices better than a Mora by a huge margin. I think of slicing and wood splitting/curling as opposing goals and the Opinel balances them wonderfully.

PIVOT & WATER - Untreated, the Opinel will bind up when wet. I find the best treatment is to use carpentry beeswax (I'm told floor wax also works well). I break off a bit and melt it into the wood at the pivot. I do this several times and then only as needed. Thus treated, my Opinels will stand up to running water cleaning and being in the rain without siezing up. If you do the wax treatment, do it after you've retreated the handle if you plan on doing that.

PIVOT TIGHTNESS - Adjust in inner collar to adjust tightness. A broad flat head screwdriver in the pivot will open it up. Remove the outer collar (put blade in a vice and use needle nose pliers in reverse while sliding it up) and crimp slightly (or peen the rivet heads) to tighten.

LOCK RING - I prefer a bit more travel on the lock ring. I generally like mine to pivot to the 9 or 3 o'clock positions. Take the ring off and work the top of the lock ring down with a file. Don't over do.

HANDLE RESHAPING - I prefer mine to be flat on the sides. I do this with a sanding block. I also like the butt end to be rounded off just a bit. Not too much, but enough to not hurt my palm. Sorry for the grainy picture, but this is just how I like them.
Opinel 9 Inox and Micra by Pinnah, on Flickr

HANDLE REFINISHING - If you reshape the handle, you'll need to retreat. I use 80 grit paper, Minwax stain and Formsby's Tung Oil Finish (contains some poly).

SIZE SELECTION - The #8 is the most popular. It's about the size of a Buck 112 or 500. I have XL hands and can't quite get a full hand grip on it. The #9 is a bit smaller than a 110 and almost exactly the size of a large Sodbuster. With the sides flattened, I can carry it easily in jeans pockets. The #10 is getting close to fixed blade territory. Bigger than a 110. I use this as my backpacking knife as it's big enough for anything I need but still pocket carryable.
 
So I had a trusty Opinel for many years. It did it's job very well on many an outdoor trip into the wilderness.
One day it came up missing. I searched in vain, then gave up. Later I replaced it with another.
Then I found #1 in the weird compartment in my truck bed. It had been exposed to the elements for about Eight months, and looked like this.....

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Somehow it's missing it's locking ring, but A little rust remover has helped. Still a work in progress.

Here with his replacement.


Is4Varz.jpg
 
LostViking said:
My first Opinel showed up yesterday. A #7 Hermione with Oak Scales.

Much to my dismay, it did not arrive frighteningly sharp as touted in legend and lore. In fact, I could barely hack my way through a sheet of copier paper. It was more akin to a fine tooth hacksaw blade than a knife.

Undaunted and interested, I looked at the overall package. There is a lot to like here. Or more accurately, not a lot to like. I am sort of a Luddite. So low tech and old school rings my bells.

A short bit of time with stone and strop, has brought out, what appears to be a keen edge. It will now take hair off my arm with ease, and push cut through paper. Greatly improved over the way it showed up.

I feel, that there is probably more to be extracted from the edge. I would say I am 85-90% of what is there. Oddly, I was not bothered by the condition the knife arrived in. When shipping is roughly 1/3rd of the knife price. I didn't expect too much.

A dull edge can be easily rectified. The rest of the knife was well put together. Fit and finish was excellent. And overall I liked it. I have receiver much more expensive knives in similar or worse condition.

This simple little guy has sparked an interest to try another Opinel. Perhaps a #9 next. Just simple no frills blades that appear to be long time companions without the pretentious underpinnings many of today's blades.

I'd say it was a good purchase, photos to follow in a few days,
LV
Click to expand...

:thumbup: Good to know you enjoy your Opi. Hermione is a great moment of shared history. A rare knife in fact.
 
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