Douk Douk or opinel????

S

Sourpunch

Joined
Jul 18, 2006
Messages
15
Which one for a beater/slicer. I was introduced to the world of high quality cutlery by my cousin. He gives me some nice ones. But even cooler i get to play with his. heheheheh:D


But as a beater/slicer which would work better? As i understand the opinel is a lock-back, while the douk douk has no lock. Would this make the opinel a clear winner or am i misinformed.
 
I've got no experience with douk douk, but the opinel is a great knife, although the lock is with a collar, and not a lock-back. There is a recent thread about opinels
 
I've got both a 12cm Opinel and a "geant" Douk Douk. Althought I've abused neither, I would say the Douk Douk is more robust. The back spring is the strongest I've seen on a slip joint, the handle is heavy-gauge formed steel, and the blade has a thicker spine. This is MHO, but Fred Perrin thinks highly of them, as well.

All that being said, there are no problems with the large Opinel: It's a great slicer, and you won't feel bad if you mess it up--just buy another one (for the cost of one "geant" you could buy 3 Opinel 12s).
 
Opinel locks.
Douk-douk hasn't any lock (it is a strong slipjoint though).

Douk-Douk is very slim.
Opinel has a more comfortable and convenient handle.

Both have very good carbon steel slicers (opinel is also available in stainless).

Opinel is cheaper.

Opinel looks like a tool.
Douk-Douk looks more exotic, and somewhat more aggressive.

On a pratical point of view, for an utility knife/worhorse knife, I'd choose opinel, mostly because of more convenient handle.
Douk-douk looks much cooler though, and would be Ok for casual use.
 
i personnaly prefer the doukdouk (by the way, he is in my pocket today !:D)
I have several good spydercos, benchmades, Mcustas etc.. and he still find his way to my pocket around 3-4 times per month...

reason why i like my 15 years old doukdouk...:
- it's really a pleasure to sharpen it !
- it's so light you easily put it in your pocket and forget it..

the handle of the Opinel is rounded, therefore not thin (yep, it's evident...:D ) which make it less confurtable in the pocket, IMHO

I never had any lock problem with any of my douks.
 
I'm so curious, but doukdouks are simply not available in my country:( Is there a reliable english/german speaking web-shop, where I could find one?
 
Neither , I hate both types . Spend your money on something better, like a sodbuster for a cheap beater.

Paul.
 
Both knives are great if you are looking for a classic. But if you want a beater that you can beat the hell out of and at a good price, I would look into Spyderco's Byrd line.
 
Balazs said:
I'm so curious, but doukdouks are simply not available in my country:( Is there a reliable english/german speaking web-shop, where I could find one?
Click to expand...

wow, nice to know there are knife enthusiasts back home (I'm Hungarian too)
 
I'd go with an Opinel. They are cheaper, look nicer and have a more comfortable handle. Plus there are some interesting models like the #8's with different wood handles (olive, oak, etc).

Douk-Douks are OK, and they are certainly very pocket friendly, but I find the handles less comfortable than the nice Opinel handle.
 
The Knife Dealers here that resell The Douk Douk are ripping us off! The knife would sell in Africa for 3.00 USD Tops! Why they jack the price up is anyones guess. If you want a great carbon steel lightweight carry knife look into Okapi knives from ragweed forge.com They cut like a Razor Blade on Fire!
 
Douk-Douk has a thin tapered blade. It is VERY sharp. You can find them at Cutlery To Go and from Laci Szabo (at the bottom of the long, slow-loading page).

The similar knife, L'Ecureuil, is a spearpoint and looks less aggressive.

Opinel is a standard, classic, cheap working knife. A real bargain, safe and comfortable to use. Arno Industries also makes a nice locking collar folder.

If you want an Okapi, you may want to get it from Ragweed Forge and ask him to put an edge on it. It doesn't come sharp from the factory, and can take some work to sharpen it yourself.

He also has Opinels and Brown Mules.
 
Carry both! I drilled a hole in the handle of my #7 carbon Opinel and tied a little paracord to it to extract from the right front pocket easily. The Douk rides in my wallet.
 
just my five cent, but from the Knife nuts from the european part of BF (mainly french:rolleyes: )... it seems that plenty of us use Douk douk quite often, much more than Opinel (even if we had great fun customising it..).

So it speaks by himself...:thumbup:
 
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