Got an Opinel, have a few questions

A

Against_The_Wind

Joined
Feb 15, 2022
Messages
42
Finally got an Opinel No. 8.

The blade has zero side to side play when open, which is impressive, although I'm sure it will loosen over time.

When I lock the lock ring with the blade open, there is a very small amount of fore and aft play, which I'm sure is normal.

However, in theory, I would think that the further one would turn the lock ring in the locking direction with the blade out, the tighter it would get againt the blade since its tapered and therefore would further limit any play.

What I can figure out, is there something that only allows the lock ring to only turn so far when the blade is out?

I can turn the lock ring in the locking direction with the blade open to the point the cross pin is about fully exposed, but it seems to be limited in going any further.
 
That's just how it works. The locking ring or collar lock doesn't tighten, it just turns to prevent the blade from closing. Melt a dollop of hard wax (Johnson's floor wax works great) into the blade slot with a hair dryer (ask your SO first) or heat gun to seal the wood and prevent it from swelling and binding the blade.
 
Against_The_Wind said:
Finally got an Opinel No. 8.

The blade has zero side to side play when open, which is impressive, although I'm sure it will loosen over time.

When I lock the lock ring with the blade open, there is a very small amount of fore and aft play, which I'm sure is normal.

However, in theory, I would think that the further one would turn the lock ring in the locking direction with the blade out, the tighter it would get againt the blade since its tapered and therefore would further limit any play.

What I can figure out, is there something that only allows the lock ring to only turn so far when the blade is out?

I can turn the lock ring in the locking direction with the blade open to the point the cross pin is about fully exposed, but it seems to be limited in going any further.
Click to expand...
See this thread:

Opinel new lock ring - bad design

Ok, we already have a thread in on the "porch". But I think it would be nice to let all knife guys to know what's going on. So I just quote the thread: "I got my first O[pinel in 1982, and I've had what I admit to having a love/hate relationship with these knives ever since. I love how they...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
Having zero play was never a design intention for the Opinel. The knife works because it cuts stuff. It is a friction folder first and foremost, so the idea of "play" is not applicable. The lock is an add-on. Some folks intentionally remove the lock, because it is not necessary.
 
Just Tom. said:
See this thread:

Opinel new lock ring - bad design

Ok, we already have a thread in on the "porch". But I think it would be nice to let all knife guys to know what's going on. So I just quote the thread: "I got my first O[pinel in 1982, and I've had what I admit to having a love/hate relationship with these knives ever since. I love how they...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
Click to expand...

Agree. Opinel re-designed the lock a few years ago. The prior locks locked up tight. I have several. I'm told the new ones don't and can be overcome relatively easily. I have always thought they did that to make the knives more acceptable in the EU. A lot of countries in the EU have a prohibition on folders that lock open.
 
It is not terribly difficult to modify the current design lock ring so that it secures the open blade more tightly. Use a Dremel to remove the nub on the inside of the lock ring. While you are at it, grind a second locking ramp to the left of the slot, so that you can turn the ring either way to lock it, the way god intended. If you don’t like the fit of the lock ring, loosen or tighten it using hand tools.

Once you have the knife working the way you want it, it is easy to forge the transition to pure friction operation. With the knife closed and the blade engaged in the closing notch, pull the blade open against the pressure of the lock ring. The blade will lever the ring off the ferrule and send it spinning into space.

Voila! Pure friction folder. Whether you are able to return the lock ring to normal operation depends on whether you can find it.
 
Any photos of the new lock system? When did they change? I have a few of the older ones and they lock up nice and tight.

oops, never mind, watched the vid!
 
Last edited:
knarfeng said:
Agree. Opinel re-designed the lock a few years ago. The prior locks locked up tight. I have several. I'm told the new ones don't and can be overcome relatively easily. I have always thought they did that to make the knives more acceptable in the EU. A lot of countries in the EU have a prohibition on folders that lock open.
Click to expand...

I have never heard of that, but I assume that the distinction will be whether it locks or not. I doubt you can claim that because it does not lock very tight it is non-locking. My Opinels are less than 20 years old, so I do not know how they used to be.

There are other options, like the plastic handled ones that are more stable and seem to lock well, or the OP could try similar designs from Cold Steel, Nontron and Antonini, to see if they are more suitable for his needs.

https://imgur.com/2TMMTzK
https://imgur.com/DTLlvno
https://imgur.com/ekNxU0o
 
Henry Beige said:
It is not terribly difficult to modify the current design lock ring so that it secures the open blade more tightly. Use a Dremel to remove the nub on the inside of the lock ring. While you are at it, grind a second locking ramp to the left of the slot, so that you can turn the ring either way to lock it, the way god intended. If you don’t like the fit of the lock ring, loosen or tighten it using hand tools.

Once you have the knife working the way you want it, it is easy to forge the transition to pure friction operation. With the knife closed and the blade engaged in the closing notch, pull the blade open against the pressure of the lock ring. The blade will lever the ring off the ferrule and send it spinning into space.

Voila! Pure friction folder. Whether you are able to return the lock ring to normal operation depends on whether you can find it.
Click to expand...
If you remove the nub, then the locking ring will have more of a tendency to fly off like that. Previously, the peening of the pivot pin riding in the annular "groove" formed into the locking ring helped to hold it on. The peening is nearly non-existent now and generally only on one side. The could have made that annular relief much smaller or even eliminated it when they redesigned the locking ring. IMO, they redesigned it to do the same thing that the peening riding in that groove used to do.
 
davek14 said:
If you remove the nub, then the locking ring will have more of a tendency to fly off like that.
Click to expand...

Of course it will. I have always thought that is why they put the nub in there, to keep the ring from flying off, because the closing notch (introduced 1990) made it possible to lever the ring off with the blade. The pins were still fully peened, then, and did not prevent the ring from flying off.

I don’t know if you can still lever the ring off with the nub still intact. I haven’t tried. It should be more difficult, because spreading the ring to clear the pin does not necessarily lift the nub out of the slot. All I know is that the introduction of the closing notch created the problem, and I have never heard of anybody launching a nubbed ring by opening the blade against it.

In any event, the nub prevents the ring from operating the way I like it, turning both ways so that either ramp can lock the blade open , and tighten progressively by turning the ring.
 
The peening did at least help in that regard. I noticed that the ring didn't "ride up" nearly as much when you tried to open it locked with proper peening.
Whenever I took a knife completely apart to mod it, I never got the peening as done as well as they did it in the factory. I actually stopped completely disassembling as I was unhappy due to this. It was likely finicky to do, though.

I also like being able to turn the ring in either direction to lock open. In my case, it's maybe because I am left handed and it just felt more natural.
 
This thread and the link to the other Opinel thread really got my curiosity up, so I ordered a new #8 in carbon just to see how the new lock worked. Ordered from Amazon yesterday(Sunday) and got the knife today! Anyway, it looks like the new action is an improvement. The locking sleeve turns much easier than the old ones and holds in place. The lock works - I could not get it to fail, even with some moderate spine wacking. Congrats to the Opinel people for improving a classic!
 
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