Excellent Quality and Affordable...

IVANKERLEY

IVANKERLEY

Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
2,397
For christmas my son bought me a no. 7 carbon Opinel, it joins the ranks of my affordable "Pocket Dogs" the knives that didnt cost alot but i feel offer alot bang for the buck. No fancy heirloom bone, shields, etc. But they function perfectly, they are interesting and uncomplicated. Of all of these the CV soddie was the favorite (all are great though) that was until i received the opinel. Wasnt expecting to be quite as impressed with the opinel as i am. Neat design, carbon steel, great size, comfortable handle, great pocket size came decently sharp too. Been carrying it since after christmas, works great in the kitchen too!
I Will pick up a no. 8 in the future, possibly to experiment with the handle (gonna get creative:D)
thought id share some picts of the Opinel and my other bargains.
regards
gene
p.s. the svord, vic and the case have been modded, another benefit of the lower initial investment, eases ones anxiety as your grinding in swedges, and reshaping handles:D
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Ahhh, the bang for the buck knives. I love them.

Every knife knut should have at least one Opinel around. It's too good a lesson knife not to have. One, it's a great dirty deeds knife. Two, it's a lesson in how sometimes less is more. Great simple design that has stood the test of time, and nothing cuts like an Opinel fresh of the strop. And they're fun to sand down and refinish to your own taste.

You should also check out the Eka knives from Sweden for the bang for buck group. The Bg Swede is a great light weight but sturdy folder for outdoor use.
Carl.
 
That knives are a great bunch. I own a couple of theese patterns myself. You should look out for a Mercator knife to make the value-for-money nearly complete. :)

Kind regards
Andi
 
thanks guys, i get a thrill (who doesnt) when i find something thats both affordable, excellent quality and a conversation starter... like the svord or the opinel neither look like what folks are used to seeing, especially the svord!
Hope to add a Vic Alox Pioneer and a Mora Sheath knife, ive checked out the EKA's and those are interesting too...
Shame i couldnt get them all in yeller handles:D
regards
gene
 
Opinel, a MUST HAVE. Many different sizes, some types of wood and bone, all simple,reliable and fantastic slicers. Cheap price but real quality and authenticity.

It's also interesting to note that France has a really rich&impressive cutlery heritage, many small artisan makers keep complex and costly designs alive, but the Opinel is a knife for all ages,jobs,incomes and countries. Allez L'Opinel!
 
I have a "very" tiny Opinel that I recently found while cleaning out my attic. It was in a box full of otherwise "junk" knives I had when I was a kid back in my cub scout days. This Opinel, though, is a #2, I believe. My mother brought it home for me as a souvenir from France, back in the days when you could have a knife in your carry-on.

It's tiny. But it's paper thin and sharp as hell. Nice little letter opener.

I may have to try the big-boy models.
 
Opinel knives...what else is there to say........every day, I choose the knife I carry among four knives. One is an Opinel.
Welcome to the club! :D

Fausto
:cool:
 
Yay for Opinels! Mine is stainless but I still like it:) Gonna have to get me a carbon one one of these days.

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The Opinel is a sleeper. Light, sharp, rugged, unobtrusive, folksy, inexpensive, and graduated. Scandinavian simplicity.

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I gave my 8 away on here, but I like a 7 for pocket carry. I get lured by 'pretty' knives sometimes, but if you are talking function, not form - you'd have trouble convincing me that Opinel has a competitor for the money.

I also have a mercator and a douk douk, and I have to say I like the latter better.
 
I have #6 that usually goes with me. I built it up by swapping the carbon blade to a olivewood handle. I did a little smoothing of "action" with the dremel while I had it apart.

If you haven't found it yet, the best way to protect the pivot is to take a paper match, cover it with a glob of petroleum jelly and smear it in the pivot. Also the handle will take on more character if you coat it with gun oil/ballistol/linseed oil from time to time.

Great knives!
 
I've owned my #7 (i think its a 7) for over 30 years now, my second oldest knife in terms of my ownership. Paid about the same then as they cost now, except 8 or 10 dollars was alot more money to my 9 year old self's wallet than to my current wallet. Excellent slicer, steel gets very sharp, very easily.

Rob
 
Picture? :)

robbobus said:
I've owned my #7 (i think its a 7) for over 30 years now, my second oldest knife in terms of my ownership. Paid about the same then as they cost now, except 8 or 10 dollars was alot more money to my 9 year old self's wallet than to my current wallet. Excellent slicer, steel gets very sharp, very easily.

Rob
Click to expand...
 
Love the Opinel's. Gave my son a #6 during hunting season as his first knife. The friction joint is much easier for young hands to operate safely than any slip joint or lock back. I've got a #9 on order with the intention of doing a bit of blade and handle modification. Want a slightly wider blade and more of a drop point profile than my #8. That's one of the fun things about an Opinel. They're sort of like the Tandy kit of knives - they invite modification and tweaking.

Anyway, here's mine...


opinel-leaves by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
thanks for sharing, i'm already sketching up my gameplan for the handle on my no. 8 and i havent even bought it yet!!!:D
over christmas i gifted a carbon mora (green handle) to a close friend of mine, hunting and fishing guy and he's handy in the kitchen so he assured me he'd find a use for it!
having handled one of those it made it on my wish list too!
cheers
gene
 
I just wanted too add that while I have an Opinel and use it as a shop knife (well, when my shop was up in our basement of the last house), my wife has really taken a shine to her ?#6?. This is her first time using an Opinel and carving wood- being from the Arctic she had always carved stone before. All done with the Opinel and sand paper on fresh Poplar.
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The detail she got out of that little knife really amazed both of us. We hadn't tried Opinels before but she wanted a carving knife for camping and she had just sent in the Spyderco Meerkat that she had chosen for the task as it hit the back spacer and dented the edge. Of course I had to get one too for "research" purposes. Juli's now resides in her bugout/emergency supplies/camping backpack 24/7 and she still uses it to carve with. Pretty high praise seeing as she has her own collection that rivals most men, and full access to my knives- yet the Opinel is back in her hand when we are bushing it.
 
Cuts like a kris,
beautiful carving! Your wife is very talented, she should try doing the figural carving on a opinel!
cheers
gene
 
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