Has anyone ever broken an Opinel?

V

Voltron

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Dec 13, 2008
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I am still in the honeymoon stage of my relationship with my Opinel #6, and of course, I hold it and look at it constantly, and was wondering how durable these knives are? And I don't mean how it holds up to "hard" use, since all it is going to do is what All folders do, which is cut. I was just wondering about weaknesses. While some say it is a flimsy feeling knife, I haven't ever read about people breaking them, even though many use them as their bush knife. Since it has no springs, my main concern is the pivot point. With the metal bolster and metal ring on it seems pretty hardy. Has anyone ever had one fail on them?
 
I can't speak for a #6, but used a #9 hard everyday for over 6 years in construction and HVAC, used it to cut insulation, cut/score Sheetrock, cement board, scrape mortar off bricks, started holes in 30g & 26g metal in a pinch, cut heavy duty 36" zip ties,used as a scribe, cut cedar shingles, cut flex duct, 1&1/2 closed cell insulation, scrape PVC and copper fittings, light prying to seat duct work, etc. my Opinel #9 has been put to work pretty hard, much harder than I think any other knife I own without fail. I trust my Opinel #9 more than any other knives I own because I know what I have done with it.
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The closest thing I've done to causing an Opinel to fail was busting one while trying to remove the blade.

I had a #9. I took off the ring and filed the head off of one side of the rivet. The plan was to drive it through and out using a punch, so I could sand down in the inside of the handle for a more freely working pivot. The pin must of had some thickness to it still because the head of the pin hung up when it got to the blade. I gave it a good wack in hopes of freeing it but it held and I suceeded in snaping the wood off of the other side of the handle.

I know enough to know when I'm being stupid and for a $15 knife, I chose to be stupid. So it goes.

I've owned other #9s and currently have a #10 and #8 and my kid has a #6. The #10 gets used for heavy brush work and given the amount of stupid things I do with it and compared to the things I've done with my Buck 110 and 112 and the amount of blade wobble that's developed in those knives and the amount of wobble I've produced in some of teh slip joints I own (and abuse), I feel pretty confident in saying that my Opinels are the most durable of the folders I've owned (and this includes the Buck 110).

All things have their limits, obvious. They aren't industructible. But I've found them to be very durable.
 
I've been fooling around with these things since 1982, and I've worked the heck out of them. Since they are a cheap, excuse me, low cost knife, I've leaned on them more than I would have a more costly knife. I have abused them. In all the time I've used Opinels, I've broken just one, and that was on purpose.

I was curious as to just how hard an Opinel could be pushed. I took a number 8 and hacked, pried, and even did some battening with it even though I consider the practice of that silly. Finally, after doing all that with no problem, I stuck the blade halfway in a vise, put a pipe over the handle and started to bend it. I was actually very surprised to see it make it to just past 45 degrees before snapping off even with the vise, leaving half the blade still usable. It actually took a good effort to bend it over enough to break, and I think that without the cheater pipe over the handle, it would have been hard to do by hand.

These are not delicate knives. You have to try to break them.

Carl.
 
Between the stainless steel ferrule, pivot pin and the locking collar, I just don't see one of these pivots actually breaking under extreme use, UNLESS the wood itself comes apart (rotting/splitting). I'd bet the thin blade would deform/break first (Edit: and I see Carl has even confirmed this. :)), before the pivot, if subjected to some real harsh lateral stress (in other words, flagrant abuse).

I could see the blade accidentally closing if the locking collar was loose and disengaged, but I just don't see it breaking. I've taken the locking collar off of mine a number of times, and I'm always impressed at the apparent strength & temper of the steel hardware in these.
 
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It's definitely eye opening. Makes a person laugh when someone says "A 3/32" pin just isn't enough to secure a blade. That why I use 1/4"."
 
Not yet, but a couple years hard use in Scouting hasn't even fazed my #8.

On another forum we call inexpensive yet high quality items "affordable" ;)
 
No I've never broken one, and I've been using them for 20 years. But I've never broken any other knife either.
 
Ozark, you're going to love it. It is so light, you don't even notice it in your pocket. The round handle makes it extremely comfortable in hand, and it cuts like a laser, even when in need of some sharpening. It has no back springs, no fancy handle material, no can opener, drivers, or awl. It has no multiple blades. It is spartan and simple, yet I can't stop carrying it. I was a skeptic at first, and have been trying really hard to find a reason not to like it, but the fact is, I LOVE it. Now that you guys have told me how durable Opinels are, I can carry it with confidence. Thanks guys.
 
I love Opinels. It's not built for abuse like batonning, but there is no better slicer. Thin, high-quality carbon steel is rockin'. The only issue you'll probably encounter is that the wood swells with moisture, making it hard to open. The locals in Savoie (where Opinels are from) use the "coup de savoyard": hold it by the bolster and knock the end against something hard. The blade comes out just enough to grab. :D Here's mine with forced patina:

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I have many Opinels and find the swelling problem is only a issue in the newer stages, after a little bit, the wood wears out by the pivot, I have one the spent time in Jamaica and it swelled pretty good there, but I can now flick it open faster than any one hand opener.
 
Stich2442 said:
I have many Opinels and find the swelling problem is only a issue in the newer stages, after a little bit, the wood wears out by the pivot, I have one the spent time in Jamaica and it swelled pretty good there, but I can now flick it open faster than any one hand opener.
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Or you can do some sanding in that area.

One thing I do to all theOpinels I've had, is when they are brand new, sand the inside. I open them up, and take 400 or 500 sandpaper and fold it over two times and sand down in the blade slot around the pivot. Then I close the knife and sand around the pivot as much as I can from that angle. After that, I grease the pivot area with the Vasoline jelly like our friend Pascal told us. This will give you a pretty water resistant Opinel. For wear resistance I'll give the outside a light coat of clear polyurethane satin finish.

I used to go hog wild and sand everything down and take days of rubbing a linseed oil finish into them. But while it looks great, I'm not sure it's any better than my new method, but takes a heck of lot longer to do. I know a certain ember here who likes his oil finished Opinels that I spent a lot of time on.:)

But with my advancing years, I'm taking less time to work on stuff anymore time to go out and do while I still can, so I'm investigating shortcuts. So nowadays, I just grease them like a Frenchman, and go. It seems to work well for giving the Opinel some good water resistance. Now, I think I should have mailed an Opinel as well to myself in Key West, to see how well it would have stood up to the tropical afternoon thunder storms that soaked us everyday. I would have ben a good experiment.

Carl.
 
Carl, as a resident of Florida, I can vouch for an Opinel in a rainstorm. It gets a little stiff, but is still openable (?). I think you have to submerge it for a while before it will stick. Humidity doesn't affect it much. I've washed mine and gotten it wet and could still open it ok. Like much on the internet, I think the whole story of an Opinel getting wet and sticking shut has grown way out of proportion.
 
I swap out my Father's day gift Opinel with one of the fancy carved handles every weekend. I almost always have an Opinel in my pocket around the house. Just a great knife all the way around!
 
I picked my first Opinel about a month ago, and used it as it came from the factory for a little bit. When it got wet, it would swell to the point that closing it was nigh impossible. Opening was difficult, but manageable. So, I followed jackknife's recommendation, sanded off the coating everywhere I could, sealed and stained it, and put petroleum jelly around the pivot.

Coincidentally, the color I chose at random is spot on identical to the original handle varnish.
 
I've been carrying them for a couple of years now and have managed to break one. I was sitting on my bench in front of my store and business was slow so to entertain myself I would drop my opinel 06 letting it stick tip first into my wood floor on my porch after 10 or so drops I heard a snap and realized I had broke the tip off of my blade 100% my fault. My dad also broke the tip off of his worn out 09 using it as a screwdriver again not something I would blame on the knife. But still I'm a huge opinel fan and am carrying a 06 as I type this iMO they're wonderful knives for the money.
 
Broke the tip off of one (my fault) but never the pivot. Believe me I have used my opinels HARD. I have a #2,#3,#4 and a bunch of #7's and #8's. No issues with the toughness of any of 'em.
Here's one of my favorites.

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