- Joined
- Mar 22, 2006
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Recently got a few Opinels #7's from ragweed forge, as usual Customer surface was outstanding and 2 days after placing my order I had the knives in hand. At first glance the Opinel #7 can be described as a utilitarian design with a certain cultural elegance to it..it has a pear wood handle a slightly up swept "skinner style blade" made of carbon steel, and a unique twisting ring locking mechanism..I have owned Opinels in the past but have usually passed them along as trade items or gifts..But decided I'd get A few to put through the paces as actual users. The #7 is what I would describe as a medium style folding knife..with a blade that is slightly over 3 inches in length..it has a cylindrical handle that is rather comfortable to hold, And the blade stock it self is very thin...Out of the box, Both knives where very dull, but Instead of taking it to the sandpaper or the stone I decided to see what a loaded strop would do..Within less than a minute the first knife was easily shaving hair slicing paper and push cutting through newsprint..I attribute this to the relatively soft steel and thin blade stock. I pocketed it and decide to bring it to work with me..As part of my additional work responsabilites I was required to dispose of a large industrial cardboad box..4x10 feet, and about 3/16's thick..I was reluctant to use the extremely light. thin and fragile feeling opinel for this but since it was the only knife I had on me I decided to give it a whirl..At first I tried to just push the cutting edge through as I have done int the past with thicker knives and, found that not to be very effective. However once I began to use a long sweeping slicing motion the humble blade sheared through the cardboard like nothing..After a lot of cutting the project was complete..the blade was still sharp and would catch a finger nail but..was definitely not shaving sharp. However a few strops on the cardboard I just cut and it was back again. I have noticed some tiny little blemishes (1 or 2) that I havn't removed yet..I think much like a mora one might have to remove a little steel to get to the "good steel" Which might hold an edge a bit longer...THis morning I made some fuzz sticks (a breeze with such a thin blade, and carved a figure 4 trigger out of maple..A little contact with some Hard wood carving and you might have to hit a strop again..I wil be carrying this knife as part of my normal battery and will be subjecting it to more wilderness related tasks as I go and when done will conduct a thorough review Hopefully with pics..But the My first impressions over all are Positive:
I found a cheap knife with a sort of classic look and feel that while relatively easy to dull, is wickedly easy to sharpen with nothing other than cardboard or a belt. WHile the thin profile allows it to do well for carving and shaving wood I feel this knife is much more of a slicer..and it seems it would be great for game prep, Skinning, and it is thin and flexible enough that I think it might even make a servicable fillet knife in a pinch. THe locking mechanism when engaged is quite secure and almost fool proof provided you are using it within it's means, THere is litteraly no lateral of forward to back blade play when the lock is engaged, and there are no springs to break over time. Also the thin squared carbon steel spine of the blade throws an enormous amount of sparks off a ferro rod, and the knife is so light that when thrown into a pocket, you almost forget it's there. Overall for a folding knife that can be had for between 7-9 bucks it's really hard to go wrong..I'll post my findings after I really get a chance to take it outdoors,,Thanks for reading.
I found a cheap knife with a sort of classic look and feel that while relatively easy to dull, is wickedly easy to sharpen with nothing other than cardboard or a belt. WHile the thin profile allows it to do well for carving and shaving wood I feel this knife is much more of a slicer..and it seems it would be great for game prep, Skinning, and it is thin and flexible enough that I think it might even make a servicable fillet knife in a pinch. THe locking mechanism when engaged is quite secure and almost fool proof provided you are using it within it's means, THere is litteraly no lateral of forward to back blade play when the lock is engaged, and there are no springs to break over time. Also the thin squared carbon steel spine of the blade throws an enormous amount of sparks off a ferro rod, and the knife is so light that when thrown into a pocket, you almost forget it's there. Overall for a folding knife that can be had for between 7-9 bucks it's really hard to go wrong..I'll post my findings after I really get a chance to take it outdoors,,Thanks for reading.
