Buck Odyssey I 186FL vs Opinel 8 "carbon steel" (or the match of the cheap ones)

flava

flava

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Mar 3, 2000
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This is the my first tentative of writing a review, so be nice.
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So, who cares about those knives? Don't know, but I own them , used them, so I'll yry to share my opinion about them. I didn't make any photos, if someone shows interest I'll do some scans. Here we go:

1. Price.
Odyssey : about $30
Opinel : about $8

That makes the Opinel almost 4 times cheapper. Does it worth? We'll see!

2. Overall impresion and quality.

Odyssey : Looks very well done for a $30 knife. The blade is fairly thick (about 3mm or 1/8"), the grinds are even but a bit too low in my opinion. It locks up nicely and the action is smooth. The handle is solid with a steel spine that runs on all the length.
Opinel : Well, it looks like a $8 knife. It's very light, the blade is very thin (like 1mm or 1/24") and doesn't seem to be ground at all, the lock (viroblock) is not very smooth and the wooden hanle is not very solid (at least it doesn't give me that impression).

3. Edge holding & sharpening

Odyssey : It is not very sharp out of the box. It is not very difficult to sharpen but the blade gets scratched due to the low grinds. The edge holding is pretty good, but the edge is not razorsharp. Again, I blame that to the grinds.

Opinel : It is not sharp out of the box (but there is no box
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). It is very easy to sharpen (razorsharp) but the edge does not last very long. Maybe I don't know how to sharpen a blade wich is so thin. I don't know what type of "carbon steel" they use, but it isn't the best.

4. Locking
Odyssey : The action is very smooth, and it's ambidextrous. But the lock is not very safe, if you practice a "reverse grip" you can easyly unlock the blade. It passes spine whacks.
Opinel : Definitly not one-handed. The action is not smooth and gets very difficut to lock when the knife gets wet and the wood "expands". Once locked, it's quite safe, I couldn't accidentaly unlock it.

5. Blade strength (stabbings on a hard wodden board)
Odyssey : After 10 stabbings it doesn't show any deformations or chipping of the tip. The tip is quite "thin" (I mean the opposite of blunt) and it stabs fairly deep.

Opinel : The tip broke after 3 stabs. I kinda expected that, the blade is too thin.


Conclusions: Odyssey is the winner by far. It could use some improvements on the grinds heigth and security of the liner lock.
Opinel is cheap, but looks and performs even "cheaper".

That's it, comments are welcomed.
 
Did you get better tip penetration with the Opinel before the tip broke? Did the thinner blade allow it to outcut the Buck?

-Cliff
 
I thought you'd be more complimentary of the Opinel, as it is probably the most famous French make.

In fairness, these are apples & oranges. Not just in cost, but in intended use. I do not like the carbon steel of the Opinels that gets ugly when wet, or the wood handles that swell when wet. But I think it's a great bargain within the parameters of how I use it - I toss it in the cooler pocket to take on day trips/picnic/beach, etc, or in my luch bag for work. It is pretty non-threatening, and much safer to pack than a fixed-blade kitchen knife for food prep. And, the Sharpmaker gets that flat ground blade verrry sharp. It's a different purpose than the Buck, kind of like the closest thing to an affordable, folding kitchen knife.
 
Cliff, the penetration was better with the Buck. I think the tip geometry explains it, Opinel is more "blunt". And when I hit really hard it broke (the tip).

RH, I know that they are not exactly alike, but they are my only cheap knives that I allow myself to abuse. And I like to think that Opinel isn't the most representative French Knife.

Editing to add more details about the stabbing. I did not hit exactly perpendicular on the board. The hits were not EXTREMLY strong becouse I was quite sure that the Opinel will brake and I was affraid that my hand will slip on the handle (both knives). I did not want to cut myself. Anyway, I think it was hard enough for a folder.

And yes, when sharpened, the Opinel cuts better (it gets razorsharp). But it doesn't stay sharp very long.

[This message has been edited by flava (edited 04-02-2001).]
 
About the Opinel...

The knife does take an excellent edge. It is a great cutter, but as Flava said, it does lose it's edge quickly. If you feel with your thumbnail, you can tell that the edge rolls over. I imagine that you could steel out the edge and keep using it for quite a while without sharpening it.

Just my $.02

--Matt
 
well since i got an opinel when i was 8 or 10 yrs old i have a soft spot for them - lost it many yrs ago regretabbly - but it was an excellent knife for the price - i recently bought my son an opinel 3 3/4 " blade for my 10 yr old - for the $$, and for the intended use (utility) they are hard to beat IMHO - sure they will break but they arent intended to be a weapon.......

vet
 
The Buck Odyssey has undergone a few small changes. They no longer have the full metal spacer on the back. They now come with 3 round spacers covering each pin similar to what the Strider has. Obviously, this allows for easier cleaning. The blades have are sharened at a steeper angle so they are sharper than earlier models. I think they do this on all their models now. (Edge 2000)
 
Matt made a very important point concerning steeling. If you look at "edge holding" from the point of view of how much work you have to do keeping the edge sharp, then a blade that can be maintained with a steel has a significant advantage over one that does not. Most of the harder stainless steels do not respond well to steeling and they tend to fracture whereas the softer carbon steel blades will align without fracture and can even be sharpened quickly on a grooved steel.

Try using a decent steel on your Opinel, a lightly grooved one, and use it with low force and see how long you have get between sharpenings with frequent use of the steel, only a few strokes should be necessary.

-Cliff
 
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