Heavy wood work with an Opinel

[Cliff Stamp]

Tried some batoning to cut a sapling to length, very time consuming. With the lock engaged even light impacts will just push the ring down and compress the wooden handle. The work has to be done then with no lock and just batoned right above the point of impact which reduces it to shallow cuts, working around the wood to notch it to allow it to be broken. Faster than carving a notch, but about 10 times as long as even a moderately powerful chopper like the Ratweiler.



Batoning to split isn't thus productive as only the start cut can be made and even trying to cut off small slabs isn't productive and they can't be pryed off significantly either. Even a slim Mora is in another class in regards to strength as are any of the modern tactical folders which are far more efficient for this type of work. I carved a piece of deadfall into a small wedge but unfortunately so much of it was rotted that I ended up with a very small splitter and it took three attempts before I broke off a decent slab :



Once the first decent slab was broken then it is easy to take apart the rest of the round :



The opinel shines at carving, it reduced one of the slabs into very fine shavings, so thin you could almost see through them. This wood was fresh and thus wet, but paper thin it dries extremely fast. It was also hot here (meaning above 20) which helps. This is one of the cases where it benefits to prepare tinder before the rest of the fire wood :



Once it is going it is of course fairly trivial at that point to continue :



-Cliff

 

[mp510]

That looks interesting. I always figured that a Opinel would be incapable of that sort of chore. Nice to know that it can do the job if need be.

 

[Kevin the grey]

I like opinels . Anything near a 4 inch blade has a fairly fragile factory edge and point . I was trying to fish a metal arrow head out of a soft target . Just the snick , snick sound the point made in contact with it told me it would break .
do you think reprofiling would help enough to make it worthwhile ?

Are you batonning so close to the ring you are touching it ? Does the impact vibrate so much as to loosen it and compress the hardwood handle ? To me I must be reading it wrong as I find the locking mechanism to be quite robust under normal circumstances .

 

[Cliff Stamp]

The initial edge profile may have to be adjusted. I did some work with the edge full to the primary so 3-5 degrees per side and it visibly turned immediately even on moderate cutting like cutting off pine boughs. However with the edge reground at 10 degrees per side it is fairly stable and cut through the small knots in the slabs to make wedges with no problems. For those unfamiliar with the knife, they are very cheap and present basically an optomized convex cutting profile which is near full flat. The initial edge sharpness is often low and they typically need a full sharpening before they can do precision work well.

I was trying to fish a metal arrow head out of a soft target . Just the snick , snick sound the point made in contact with it told me it would break .
do you think reprofiling would help enough to make it worthwhile ?

The tip is really weak due to the distal taper, you would need to cut it way back to make it strong. I would carry another knife or use different methods.

Are you batonning so close to the ring you are touching it ? Does the impact vibrate so much as to loosen it and compress the hardwood handle ?

Batoning towards the tip and pressing down on the handle to keep the knife from rotating. This combination of forces causes the blade to try to fold into the handle and press heavily against the locking ring which easily cuts into the wooden handle. The stability of the lock is extremely high, but the strength low. I have actually engaged it locked and opened it accidently and popped the ring right off.

-Cliff

 

[Kevin the grey]

I won,t speak for you though I am sure you agree . The Opinel has been around for I beleve centuries . It is an innovative design and a good knife . The larger ones are robust . I think they are a trade knife or a poorer mans knife .

Some people may get the impression this is a so-so knife . I have a four inch blade one and with a little work it will be a great knife . Its just not an expensive knife .

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Yes, I think Opinels are one of the few basic standards that you should definately have or at least work with because they are completely optomized from a particular viewpoint and thus make a very useful reference. Most knives praised for high cutting ability would not be so readily raved about if they were compared to an Opinel. The Spyderco Calpyso Jr. has a very similar profile in a modern clipit.

-Cliff

 

[WeaselBites]

Isn't it more like the kind of thing you would use to scribe wood, or whittle, or clean fish?

 

[laurens]

Opinel make a paring knife if it has the same thin grind and stock it might make excellent knife for fine cutting.Being a fixed blade it would probely stand up to battening better than the opinel folders.
link to knife
http://ragweedforge.com/HistoricalKnifeCatalog.html

The handle looks a little thin but you could probely add cord or eletrical tape to make it more comfy.

 

[Kevin the grey]

I think it should also be pointed out that the Opinel has an innovative locking system .

Its not the toughest knife for prying though I wager it was in the pocket of many a man over the years . One of my buddies whittles a curving point like an antler out of the back of the handle .

 

[shecky]

The Opinel paring knife is a fantastic utility knife. I think mine gets more use than any other. The handle is a bit small and rudimentary, but it would be easy to fashion a new one if broken. The sheath for mine is the handle of a Fiskars hatchet.

 

[Kevin the grey]

Is the paring knife a folder ? How did you make a sheath from a fiskars handle ?

 

[rebeltf]

Interesting experiment Cliff , but I would not want to rely (ever) on a knife like that for such a task.
In a pinch , sure but in the longrun that Opinel will break , sure as rain.
Dont get me wrong , I love my 'Opi' but I would not want to rely upon it solely if brass came to brass.

 

[shecky]

Is the paring knife a folder ?

No.

How did you make a sheath from a fiskars handle ?

The knife nests inside the handle of the Fiskars, which is entirely hollow plastic of some kind. I drilled a hole in the Opinel handle so that the hatchet lanyard also holds the Opinel in place. In the past, I've used it to carry a Victorinox Tinker, instead.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Isn't it more like the kind of thing you would use to scribe wood, or whittle, or clean fish?

Yes it can do that too.

...in the longrun that Opinel will break ...

With the lock not engaged there is little concern aside from cutting into a really heavy knot and the edge twisting, but that would be obvious. I would not want to reply on it in an emergency where you cold get sloppy with technique because you could bend the blade fairly easy.

-Cliff

 

[Kevin the grey]

What length is the blade on the opinell ? One thing I,ve noticed is that those who own a small Opinell might not know how wide the spine is on a longer knife .
I compared a roughly 4 inch blade and a five inch blade and the difference is worth toting around a slightly larger knife .

 

[Cliff Stamp]

The blade is just under 4" long and is 0.090" thick.

-Cliff

 

[Kevin the grey]

It sounds like the same size I have . If I remember correctly I think the next size up is much more robust . I am going to to the " Centre Razoir " and check out the situation . I would like to check out the paring knife as well . They are going to have a tough time selling me one as I just picked up a very nice one with a laminated handle for free . Agood weight in the hand and great balance .

 

[Cliff Stamp]

I have an exceptional paring knife as well, 1095, 66 HRC, pretty much perfect. Has anyone worked wtih an Okapi?

-Cliff

 

[Kevin the grey]

Mine is from Oneida with the name Entree Cutlery on it . It has what looks like a laminated wood handle . Someone ground two finger groove into the wood and so the laminations really stand out . I e-mailed the company a question on what kind of material the handle is made from . I never got an answer back . Good balance and an interesting blade that is just right to sharpen and keep an edge .

I have heard the name OKAPI I will check them out .

 

[rdelliott]

The moral of the story? Use the right tool for the job. Using an Opinel to convert a sapling to firewood is like entering the Paris-Dakar in a Smart car. That's quite a feat.