Can you recommend any folder that outcuts or cuts same as Opinels,Carbon or Inox?

I've sharpened some Spyderco Domino's that were shockingly thin, 0.08 behind the sharpened bevel. It was one of the thinnest production grinds I have seen, wish more were like this.

Shirogorov FFG is also top notch but comes with a hefty price tag.
 
Why look for an Opinel replacement?

My 40 year old Opinel No. 8.

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You'll be hard pressed to find a better slicer. Opinel solved your search as they now make non-wood handled friction folders.
 
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jackknife said:
I finally became a bit tired of the Opinel and it's Achilles heel of moisture/swelling, and just carry a SAK now.
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lonestar1979 said:
Only thing that really bothers me with Opinels is Handle swelling,making it really hard to open-close.Otherwise, blade geometry is superb,and their new INOX 12c27 is excellent!Wish there was more folders with same blade geometry.
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Carl and Lonestar,

You might try this trick to help with the joint swelling issue.

Get some carpenter's beeswax at the hardware store. Hard floor wax may work as well or better. Break off a bit, shove it into the nooks and crannies of the joint and melt in with a hair dryer. Best done with the ring off to keep the ring from fouling.

I've tried Vaseline, mineral oil soaks, and pure Tung oil soaks. None of these approaches give anywhere near as much protection as wax and none of these other approaches last nearly as long.

Hope this helps
 
Jason B. said:
I've sharpened some Spyderco Domino's that were shockingly thin, 0.08 behind the sharpened bevel. It was one of the thinnest production grinds I have seen, wish more were like this.
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For me and my uses, the issue isn't that the Opinel uses comparatively thin blade stock nor is it that they are thin behind the edge (although both are true).

The thing I find remarkable about the Opinel grind is the convex swell about a 1/3 of the way up the blade toward the spine. It produces just the right amount of wedging and according to my feel in the hand, why it does so much better than comparable full flat grinds in things like potatoes or squash.

Additionally, the convex swell helps me control edge angle so much better when working with wood. I can produce consistent curls much easier than with a FFG. Although, I really only use 9s and 10s for wood working.

Anyway, FFG doesn't compare to the performance and versatility I find in Opinel's convex grind. The secret is the slight swell.
 
A raw potato (soup potato cultivares if we must be specific) is a very good test medium for whether a knife binds. Full flat grinds don't do well. I think it has to do with there being more surface area contact. It can bind all the way up the spine. Neither does anything that is thick at the spine.

The japanese santoku chefs knives have scallops in the blade that are supposed to reduce binding by lowering contact area but a thin convex edge might have the same effect.
 
pinnah said:
Carl and Lonestar,

You might try this trick to help with the joint swelling issue.

Get some carpenter's beeswax at the hardware store. Hard floor wax may work as well or better. Break off a bit, shove it into the nooks and crannies of the joint and melt in with a hair dryer. Best done with the ring off to keep the ring from fouling.

I've tried Vaseline, mineral oil soaks, and pure Tung oil soaks. None of these approaches give anywhere near as much protection as wax and none of these other approaches last nearly as long.

Hope this helps
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Naaa, I'm just tired from messin' with them. I've done the wax melts, the oils, the heat with the better ha;fs blow drier. Then theres the fiddle factor with the lock ring that needs to be tinkered with now and then. I think I've reached a stage in my life where I don't feel like investing time in some time that needs to be fiddled with. I drop a SAK in my pocket, or my Sardinian resolza, or a Douk-Douk, or a Case sodbuster, and I've got a great cutter that is reliable in all conditions. If I want a lock blade, the old Mercator K55 is a great slicer and all metal. No wood swelling.

I just don't feel like messing with the Opinel anymore.
 
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Carl, I totally get that.

If GEC (or somebody) did a locking Sodbuster with Opinel's convex grind, my search would be over.

The Opinel is a fiddly, demanding knife.
 
pinnah said:
Carl, I totally get that.

If GEC (or somebody) did a locking Sodbuster with Opinel's convex grind, my search would be over.

The Opinel is a fiddly, demanding knife.
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I think GEC does a locking version of the Bull Nose, but it's way way more expensive than an Opinel, so it's not the same kind of thing. In it's price range, the Opinel is the king pocket rocket if ya want to mess with it. They do cut great, that can never be argued. In the end, it just comes down to if you want a fiddly 14.95 knife or a non fiddly 14.95 knife?
:D
 
Yes, they make it with different plastic handle,but the blade is half serrated,and I have no use for that.Wish they would make it without serrations,would grab couple right away,and use the hell out of it!Also their Slim line is amazing,just the problem is wooden handle!
 
I think Rough Rider makes a locking sodbuster. Sharpen it to any type grind you wish.
 
My answer to the OP:

Victorinox, Leatherman and Gerber multitool blades: thin, soft, really easy to sharpen

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Folders like the Domino, FFG Spydercos, FFG Folders or AK47 from Cold Steel, etc.

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Or classic and time proven thin slicers: Higonokami / Vic Gardener / Opinel / Douk douk / Mercator / Pallares / Svord /

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Or as a novelty/different experience: any modern folder with replaceable blades (Havalon Pirantha / Kershaw Lonerock RBK / Gerber EAB / Outdoor Edge Razor Lite...)
 
To the OP,

Pretty much any SAK will equal the Opinel, to better it, any of my Spyderco Calypso Jr.;s, Case Sodbusters, and many stockmans from various manufacturers. They will all cut at least as good (and better), and hold an edge many times longer.

I like the geometry of the Opinel, but IMO they need to use a better steel. Once you've tried (for example) M2 HSS at 66 HRC, you'll never go back. If they would only use 1095 at 65 HRC, the difference would be night and day. I'm saying 10 times the edge holding, no joke.
 
1095 at full post-quench hardness is about 66RC as I understand it, and with their geometry they'd be extremely brittle unless they used a different steel entirely. They could run them a few points harder, but I wouldn't push it too much.
 
How are those Pallares folders,how is edge holding and quality on those.Theyre inexpensive and thin,might be gettindg couple.I like that blade shape and old world style.
 
lonestar1979 said:
How are those Pallares folders,how is edge holding and quality on those.Theyre inexpensive and thin,might be gettindg couple.I like that blade shape and old world style.
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I actually handled one the other day, a Spaniard I work with had one. Really nice ergos, tight lock, they take a nice edge.
The price I saw (75) is a little high IMO though.
 
Many traditionals cut just as well. I had a Lethiers Chambriard in sandvik that was a scalpel.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
1095 at full post-quench hardness is about 66RC as I understand it, and with their geometry they'd be extremely brittle unless they used a different steel entirely. They could run them a few points harder, but I wouldn't push it too much.
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I think it might be less brittle than most would think. I've watched paring knives being used at that hardness doing a variety of tasks, including cutting sod, and there wasn't any issues. Of course, it's not a chopper, that's for sure...
 
sodak said:
I think it might be less brittle than most would think. I've watched paring knives being used at that hardness doing a variety of tasks, including cutting sod, and there wasn't any issues. Of course, it's not a chopper, that's for sure...
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If left at post-quench hardness without tempering the internal stresses alone are going make it brittle. It would have to be tempered down at least a few points just to relieve them.

What paring knives were these that were being used for sod-cutting?
 
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