i could manage just fine without mine too lol.
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If you don't have an Opinel...
- Thread starter Capt. Carl
- Start date
i could manage just fine without mine too lol.
[sarcasm]Yeah! And you won´t buy anything german, too (rotten nazis). Or from damn jews or f*cking niggers, right? Not to mention those damn commies...[/sarcasm]
scnr
You don´t happen to look like this, do you?
BJE
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That is uncalled for and you should be ashamed of posting that. You think that just because he doesn't like the french that he is a southern racist. It seems you are the one who is stereotyping.[sarcasm]Yeah! And you won´t buy anything german, too (rotten nazis). Or from damn jews or f*cking niggers, right? Not to mention those damn commies...[/sarcasm]
scnr
You don´t happen to look like this, do you?
dantzk8
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I admit the a$$hole comment was a bit harsh,but I stand by my other convictions...as well as being some of the bravest europeans in the world:thumbdn:
Bob W,Please accept my apologies.I got a little carried away with expressing my contempt for the French.You're right,it does belong in W&C.
To everyone else,I'm sorry for dirtying up the general forum.
BTW,nice dig on NJ
I'm sorry to see you disputing about us "the french". We certainly don't deserve such a consideration and our modesty suffers from it.
dantzk.
Hm, any man who doesn't want to own a quality Laguiole, in my opinion, has strange tastes in knives.
dantzk8
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Indeed, but I still can't see a scenario when you WOULDN'T want a beautiful, handcrafted knife? Just because it's from France? Seems a bit weird.
dantzk8
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Sorry for the misunderstanding. I agree, i can't see such a scenario but i'm a lucky guy, i don't have any kind of prejudice about any people or nation.
dantzk.
kamagong
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Believe it. I don't have an Opinel, but I have a Laguiole with a Sandvick 12c27 blade. That French knife puts my regular Sebbie to shame when it comes to pure cutting ability.
The Sebenza costs as much as it does due to materials, excellent warranty, incredible fit and finish etc. Paying a certain amount for a knife does not guarantee good edge geometry. Just look at all the thickly ground tacticals out there ranging from 100$ to 250$.
I've never handled a Sebenza in real life so I don't know how good it's geometry comes from factory, but I've never seen a modern (Clip and one handed opening) knife with better out of box geometry than an Opinel. Keep in mind Opinels do not ship with an edge, so one will need to be ground on. I will be interested to hear your results comparing the two.
When it comes to the ability to penetrate media during the cut, no factory knife has outclassed an Opinel for me. However that is only one aspect of what a knife blade is expected to do. Edge holding and corrosion resistance should be much lower than your Sebenza in S30V.
Dantzk, just curious, do you have a "Le Camarguais"? I bought an 8cm model with a horn handle recently and it's a pretty good and good looking pocket knife in my opinion. What do you think of it (if anything)? I am also interested in classic French country knives. I have 2 laguioles, a bunch of Opinels and 2 Nontrons. I am curious about your opinion on the many other ones.
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I have a No. 7 in carbon, polished the the blade, didn't like the grind ridges, but I'm not sure if they are normal as most of the pics I've seen seem to be smooth. I was sharpened a bit, but during the polishing I took the edge to a proper paring knife grind (scandi I guess) It is my kitchen knife, as I like having a sharp knife for food prep where ever I am (it lives in my EDC backpack) and I can't leave a knife in the kitchen as my room mates tend to kill them. It has a very nice patina, I've noticed that different fruits impart different colors, besides the base gray there are also some purples and blues. I've also rounded the butt of the handle and taken the sharp corners off of the ring. My buddy calls it a bottle cork with a blade, but I think he is planning to add one to his camping kit. Best slicer I own by far, (not that I own many) but it works nearly as well as my high end chief's knife (lee valley peasant knife) just not as good at prying frozen stuff apart. I'm probably going to add an 8 or bigger to my camping food kit, just because they are so nice to use. and as far as peeling fruit, how about cutting sandwiches without ripping them apart, or cutting other delicate foods, the looks I get from a blade that sharp and cultured looking are sweet.
might have to get a 12 for cutting watermelons.... and another 7 for my girlfriend..... good thing they are cheap! maybe cut one apart and carve a handle out of UHMW polystyrene, that would be interesting, not grippy, but cool looking, or a block of home made polyester resin and fiberglass, or auto store carbon fiber... this could get fun!
might have to get a 12 for cutting watermelons.... and another 7 for my girlfriend..... good thing they are cheap! maybe cut one apart and carve a handle out of UHMW polystyrene, that would be interesting, not grippy, but cool looking, or a block of home made polyester resin and fiberglass, or auto store carbon fiber... this could get fun!
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just ordered my first opinels! a #8 and #12! looking forward to testing them out.
mongomondo
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Ok this frakking sucks. I got the Opinel 12 in the mail today and I sharpened it for 2 minutes and it was impressively sharp. Cut some vegetables for a stir fry with it and washed it under hot soapy water and dried it before closing. I try to open it a couple hours later and it's stuck. I had to use pliers to get it open and it's really stiff right now. I hate this thing.
dantzk8
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Dagon,
I don't own "Le Camarguais". In fact all what i know about it comes from your post, recently on BF. Very nice looking, really. The "classic french country knives" are for a large part recent patterns in a "back country spirit". I don't know much about them 'cause the only ones i've handled weren't of great quality, some may be better however. There are two brands you should to look at: the true and rare Pradel and the Parapluie à L'Epreuve. Very nice utility pocket knives a bit like are the Case XX. Opinels and Nontrons are great classics, you can't go wrong with them. There are numerous Laguioles' makers and the finish may vary a lot.
Best regards.
dantzk.
Blue Sky
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It should loosen back up after the wood dries out. That's the one real flaw of the Opinel, getting tight when wet. Many people advise that you can treat the handle/pivot area with mineral oil (it's food safe, won't spoil) and that will keep the water out. Sounds like it would work though I've never tried it.
Here's some discussion about it:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2940508#post2940508
I just recently bought a #6 and a #8 carbon.
They are flat ground to an impressively thin edge- (like Vivi said) mine came pretty much without an edge grind at all and were still almost sharp. A little time on the Sharpmaker to put a very small 15' per side edge bevel on, and they cut *really* well.
Not only should you keep the wood dry, it is also sensitive to variations in humidity. Mine (particularly the #8) get noticably harder to open when the air gets more humid. I have mineral oil, I'm considering ways of using it to reduce this.
They're both light enough that you can stick them in a pocket and forget they're even there. Size wise, the #6 is small enough that you can 'lose' it in a relatively small pocket. Very handy.
And yes, they're cute and harmless looking, downright quaint. This is an advantage in NJ.
They are flat ground to an impressively thin edge- (like Vivi said) mine came pretty much without an edge grind at all and were still almost sharp. A little time on the Sharpmaker to put a very small 15' per side edge bevel on, and they cut *really* well.
Not only should you keep the wood dry, it is also sensitive to variations in humidity. Mine (particularly the #8) get noticably harder to open when the air gets more humid. I have mineral oil, I'm considering ways of using it to reduce this.
They're both light enough that you can stick them in a pocket and forget they're even there. Size wise, the #6 is small enough that you can 'lose' it in a relatively small pocket. Very handy.
And yes, they're cute and harmless looking, downright quaint. This is an advantage in NJ.
Dantzk,
Thanks for your informative reply: I will check out the knives you informed me about.
About Le Camarguais: I suggest you to check it out: it is very nice in reality and pretty well made. A modern knife in the spirit of the classic French knives.
Thanks for your informative reply: I will check out the knives you informed me about.
About Le Camarguais: I suggest you to check it out: it is very nice in reality and pretty well made. A modern knife in the spirit of the classic French knives.
So Thumbs Up for no blade wobble?
The wooden handles are very lightweight, and seem to be rather porous. It should loosen back up as the wood dries again. You can try soaking the handle in mineral oil so that next time it cannot absorb water.
I've had them get stiff and difficult to open, while working in the humid Arkansas forests, but never had one swell completely shut to the point of being unusable.