First Opinel and Ballistol info

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kraash

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May 26, 2010
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So I stopped by a knife store on my way to a vacation in the Smokeys and picked up my first two Opinels. I have to say that I'm loving these things. I went with the 6 in stainless and the 9 in carbon. So I'm looking for any pic heavy walk throughs on Opinel tuning that any of you guys might know about.
In my research to find the best way to water seal an Opinel I ended up getting a rather prompt and somewhat surprising email response from Ballistol when I asked them if regular (non h1) Ballistol would be food safe if used on a knife.. Here it is

"Hello, thank you for your enquiry.
It depends whether you are prepping food for public consumption. If you have to adhere to health and safety standards then it would have to be the H1 spray. If not, then Universal Oil is safe if ingested but not recommended.
I hope that helps."

Anyway I'm sure you guys will have some thoughts, and since I know none of this happened without pics-



 
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Hi Kraash, welcome to the quirky world of the Opinel.

You will have to go pretty far to find an knife that cuts as well as an Opinel. They are great slicers and dicers. But they have their faults, or quirks as some call them. Water is their enemy, but that can be minimalized with some treatment. Blade friction and lock function can be fine tuned to suit your tastes.

I'd avoid any oils in the joints to start off. Use some kind of wax or grease. I took some vaseline jelly and smeared a good amount in the pivot area, to include the flat end grain at the end of the handle by the lock ring. Then I used the better half's blow drier and melted it into the wood. Repeat that a few times and then just let the knife sit for a bit. Wipe off with a rag and use the heck out of it. Some folks have used the hard Johnsons paste floor wax or carpenters bee's wax and melt that into the wood. I've never tried it, but it has merit. Any kind of good wax will probably work if you use the hair drier and met it in really good. YTou just need to seal the wood well.

The lock ring inmost need to be filed down so they rotate farther around for a good secure lock up. But I don't know if I'd really trust the lock that much. I keep my Opinels snug, so they can be used as a friction folder like they were designed to be in the beginning. Apparently the locking ring was added in 1955, so from 1890 to then, the Opinel was a non locking pocket knife. Opinel was not a unique knife in its; day, but it was the first mass produced friction peasants knife. Before Joseph Opinel started his company, most of the folding knives like the Opinel were locally produced by blacksmiths. Joseph took the concept to a large scale manufacture.

I got my first Opinel in 1982, and used linseed oil soaks to try to water proof them. Then about 10 years ago I went to the vaseline jelly, and got better results. One of our members, Pinnah, is a Opinel fan, and he said he had good results with the wax, so I maya try that on a new number 7 I'm looking at.

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Opinel water test. I've go them to stand up to 30 minutes of total submergence with the vaseline melted into the wood around the blade pivot.
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Soaked mine in a jar with linseed oil with repeating hot and cold cycles for a couple of days.
That wood was thirsty as measured with a scale before and after.
I let it dry after wiping of excess. Took steel wool to it very lightly
applied tung oil,
wiped after an hour
let it dry for a day.
Steel wool. And again.
Maybe 5 times, probably more.
Why tung oil on the outside? When it's cristaluzes it is fairly water resistant.

Now the Opinel looks great and is water resistant and I doubt the handle will shrink or expand much with all that polymerized material in there.
 
Why would gun cleaner be food safe? It's supposed to be a heavy, nasty solvent for the removal of burnt powder and copper.

Substances that are foods: Beeswax, ethanol, olive oil, canola, etc.

Substances that are pretty neutral for use near people: Shellac, mineral oil, parafin, vaseline.

Pretty much anything else is not something you want in your body if it is still wet, oily or has an odor. Gun oil/solvents remain wet and are full of complex hydrocarbon solvents.
 
Welcome to the world of opies. I have the same two as you mentioned. I did a slight mod on both of mine; I used a Dremel sanding wheel and made an "easy opener" indentation in the handle under where the nail nick is. Of course sanded and resealed the handle with clear nail polish. Makes them easier to open IMHO.
Rich
 
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RX-79G,,,,,Google up Balistol!,,, it's not just a gun cleaner! Germans developed it for all kinds of uses,,, some will surprise you!
 
I feel like I miss out on all the Opinel fun - maybe I just got the wrong one and need to try again. I got this one (video below) and didn't like it. Yes, it cut great, but I had problems opening it (yes, lock was off) and have since given it away.

[video=youtube;rI3NXKjVUSo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI3NXKjVUSo[/video]
 
Doubletee said:
RX-79G,,,,,Google up Balistol!,,, it's not just a gun cleaner! Germans developed it for all kinds of uses,,, some will surprise you!
Click to expand...

I'm not against Ballistol - it just isn't something you should be ingesting. Isobutyl, isohexane, remains stable in gasoline and "biodegrades" in 24 months? No thank you.
 
Wavester, I've come the think of Opinels like 70s vintage muscle cars. They're really NOT meant to be run stock. They're really more a pre-assembled knife kit.

As with a muscle car, once you've tuned and modified one to suit your taste, you "own" it more deeply.

I also recommend numerous side by each cutting tests. If you're still getting used to, leave your next Opinel in the kitchen and do daily tests compared to your current EDC. The blade shape and grind will need to prove their merit with you or not.
 
Old pic of my Opi's; they have only received mods; no oil or wax treatments. The pivots/blades loosen and tighten with the changing seasons and have never been an issue.

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If you do any camping or bushcraft, don't forget the Opinel saw. They go through wood fast and easy!
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I wouldn't recommend removing the lockring by Pinnah's second method. It warped my lockring so it doesn't work as well as it did initially. I wish I had left it alone because my Opinel was working perfectly.
 
jackknife said:
If you do any camping or bushcraft, don't forget the Opinel saw. They go through wood fast and easy!
Click to expand...
C'mon and say it. "Goes through wood like a beaver on crack."

Pinnah, glad you still have that online somewhere. Good stuff.

Dunno about Ballistol but I've used WD-40 on food prep knives and it has never adfnl nasd nweukg b slfjg.
 
RX-79G said:
I'm not against Ballistol - it just isn't something you should be ingesting. Isobutyl, isohexane, remains stable in gasoline and "biodegrades" in 24 months? No thank you.
Click to expand...
Is that what's in Ballistol?
Eek. No wonder it works as a laxative :-)
 
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