How hard to replace Opinel scales? Any market for polymer Opinel scales?

MatthewVanitas

MatthewVanitas

Go Army, Beat Navy!
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Oct 6, 2004
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I just ordered the entire Opinel box set from Smokey Mountain. I blame BladeForums and The High Road, as usual. Set me back $59 for (10) knives, sizes 2-12.

Reading BladeForum, it seems the main complaint is the liquid sensitivity of the grip/scales. Various folks dunk them in spar sealant, antifreeze, etc. Some folks have wished that they used Delrin or such instead.

I know a guy who's a polymer caster, usually makes grips for pistols. His stuff is supposed to be pretty good, holds up to firearm recoil and such. He's currently borrowing a couple of my grips to make molds from.

So I thought: what if I take off and send him my Opinel scales, and he can make molds and cast new polymer scales for them?

He does a lot of pseudo Ivory and Stag, or grips with inset medallions, or relief-carved longhorn, etc.

Do you think there would be any market at all for Opinel scales (for one of the popular sizes, 6-9 or so) made from polymer for around $15? Especially so if he could make pseudo-stag grips for traction and looks.

If anyone thinks it's a good marketing idea, I'll look into sending him the scales off one or two of my Opinels.

-MV
 
Cold Steel used to make the Twistmaster. There is one on the bay right now. It used a synthetic handle and barrel lock. I've always been curious but not enough to buy a Twistmaster.

opinel.jpg


Mr. Stamp did a piece on it (that is his pic above) you might find interesting: http://images.google.com/imgres?img...vnum=10&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=ISO-8859-1&sa=G

If you delivered some additional value in your handles then success is possible (no sticktion, inhanced grip, lanyard feature, glass breaker etc). However, the key to Opinel is mass production, love of history, natural wood and beautiful simplicity.

All the best,

oregon
 
Cold Steel offered a synthetic grip (I don't think the term 'scale' is strictly correct for these knives) Opinel style knife in a variety of blade sizes and shapes. I have one in a spear point. The steel is Carbon V. Although there nothing fundamentally wrong with the CS knives they have never been anywhere near as popular as Opinels and lack their simple charm. It is quite simple to moisture proof an Opinel grip using epoxy.

On the other hand, the Opinel's simplicity and low cost lends itself to a lot of experimentation. There are pics of antler and bone grips on Opinels on various French websites and some look great. making a synthetic grip would be a relatively simple exercise.
 
MatthewVanitas said:
I just ordered the entire Opinel box set from Smokey Mountain. I blame BladeForums and The High Road, as usual. Set me back $59 for (10) knives, sizes 2-12.

Reading BladeForum, it seems the main complaint is the liquid sensitivity of the grip/scales. Various folks dunk them in spar sealant, antifreeze, etc. Some folks have wished that they used Delrin or such instead.

I know a guy who's a polymer caster, usually makes grips for pistols. His stuff is supposed to be pretty good, holds up to firearm recoil and such. He's currently borrowing a couple of my grips to make molds from.

So I thought: what if I take off and send him my Opinel scales, and he can make molds and cast new polymer scales for them?

He does a lot of pseudo Ivory and Stag, or grips with inset medallions, or relief-carved longhorn, etc.

Do you think there would be any market at all for Opinel scales (for one of the popular sizes, 6-9 or so) made from polymer for around $15? Especially so if he could make pseudo-stag grips for traction and looks.

If anyone thinks it's a good marketing idea, I'll look into sending him the scales off one or two of my Opinels.

-MV
Click to expand...


Interesting... How will you get the handle off without ruining the knife ? I mean I'm too sheepish to try to take my Opi's apart. How will you re-attatch the new handle ? This is an interesting idea for sure , keep us informed :D


I have one of those CS knives and I like it , in an odd sort of way. Funny thing is , I forgot I had one , now I have to recall where I put it cause now I want to "play" with it. lol

edit , found my Twistmaster and a polymer dirk I forgot I had made by Lansky. :D
 
oregon said:
The barrel pops off easy with a screwdriver or reverse pliers. Then just push out the exposed pin.

Best,

or
Click to expand...

I did that and put a no6 blade in a REAL stag horn...then sold it on Evil bay and only got 6 bucks for it
I Felt very :jerkit:
Did the whole job in about 30 min with a dremel through, so no great loss really.
 
I would like to have seen a picture of the finished product. Sounds terrific.

All the best,

or
 
An Opinel doesn't have scales; it's a one piece wooden handle.

The pivot isn't just a pin you can push out; it's a rivet. It's soft aluminum, though, easy to drill or file off one of the heads and then you can push it out, and you can push it back in too. I filed one head off the rivet in mine when I wanted to remove the blade intending to replace the rivet with a bolt, but I never got around to doing that and it's been fine.

The question is, how many people would want to buy a molded plastic replacement handle and have to drill or file that rivet to make the switch? I guess if there was a big demand for plastic Opinels the Opinel company would make some....
 
Cougar Allen said:
An Opinel doesn't have scales; it's a one piece wooden handle.

The pivot isn't just a pin you can push out; it's a rivet. It's soft aluminum, though, easy to drill or file off one of the heads and then you can push it out, and you can push it back in too...
Click to expand...

I just knocked mine out with a screwdriver and a little hammer. Are the old ones different to the new? I dont think the old Opi's locked shut either.
 
Come to think of it, I got mine a good while ago ... it was before Bladeforums was founded, anyway; I remember posting about how I modified it on rec.knives ... I shouldn't be surprised they've changed the design since then.

I forget the size number, but mine has a 3" blade and the locking collar. I guess I got it around 1995 or so. Maybe earlier.

I think if all you have to do is pop the collar off and push a pin out to change handles that will make the whole idea more attractive to the multitudes. I still wonder if the multitudes want a plastic handle Opinel, though....
 
A plastic handle would cost several times more than the knife is worth, unless you manufacture them in very high quantity. I'd be surprised if you could get them as low as $15.
 
Cougar you are right, and I am wrong, about the pin on the one I just dismantled. It is flattened on both sides. You would need to drill out or otherwise remove the mushroomed end of the pin in order to push it out.

This one is a carbon #9 that locks open but does not lock closed. Can't say when I bot it. Probably within the last two years. However, its difficult to say when it was manufactured.

Here is a link, from Opinel, showing the pin (click fabrication):

http://www.opinel.com/FR/tech/index.htm

All the best,

oregon
 
Here is a pic of the #9 Opinel on the operating table. The pivot pin is spread a bunch on the other side and just somewhat on this side.

opineldismantle9carbon001.jpg


And, the other end of the pivot pin (big mushroom):

opineldismantle9carbon002.jpg


or
 
I got 3 of the twistmasters from CS. And I got to say that i do love them. @ large and one small. Perfect for hunting!
 
The Twistmasters were incredible! Huge belly on the blade. I bought 2 different sizes on ebay back in 2007, and they were out of production even then. They are tougher than the opinels, but are overkill for that kind of use, and very difficult to open (super tight). Anyway, I have two pristine examples in my collection :)

oregon said:
Cold Steel used to make the Twistmaster. There is one on the bay right now. It used a synthetic handle and barrel lock. I've always been curious but not enough to buy a Twistmaster.

opinel.jpg


Mr. Stamp did a piece on it (that is his pic above) you might find interesting: http://images.google.com/imgres?img...vnum=10&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=ISO-8859-1&sa=G

If you delivered some additional value in your handles then success is possible (no sticktion, inhanced grip, lanyard feature, glass breaker etc). However, the key to Opinel is mass production, love of history, natural wood and beautiful simplicity.

All the best,

oregon
Click to expand...
 
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