Is it just me but does anyone else think Opinels are cutting machines!!!!!!!

bill2000 said:
France :barf:
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Welcome to Bladeforums, a worldwide community of knife enthusiasts. :)

We have a noticeable and valuable contingent from France and other francophone areas, like Quebec. We're all friends, however much we argue from time to time about peripheral issues! :D

But the Opinel, Douk-Douk, Laguiole, and American Revolution unite us. Relax and enjoy the ongoing conversations.
 
Yes, Opinels cut very well. The only real issue I have is that the handle seems to dull my blade. I'll have to look into finding something soft to line it with.
 
I haven't noticed the blades becoming dull from the handles, but the Opinel knives aren't perfect. In addition to the swelling of the wood handles that can make the blade difficult to open, as mentioned above, I can say from years of desert experience that getting sand in the lock ring sucks.

Still, I'm confident that there is no better knife for the money.

-Bob
 
" In addition to the swelling of the wood handles that can make the blade difficult to open, as mentioned above, I can say from years of desert experience that getting sand in the lock ring sucks.

Still, I'm confident that there is no better knife for the money.

-Bob"

I sanded mine down and gave it a GOOD soak in mineral oil- I was told that only tung oil would work but it did just fine. No problembs after that.
I also found that the locking ring caught crud from my pockets which made it a little harder to turn, so now it lives in a cloth tube (old hankie-three minets work to sew) which acts like a
"sheath" in my pocket. Also saves all the rumageing around to find my knife .
 

Bought a number 6 from Ragweed forge, along with some other odds and ends. Poped off the locking coller with some effort and sawed the handle off just below the neck ring. I then (VERY carfuly) ground the 'inner ring' which holds the two bits of wood and the blade to an even line (its sort of cone shaped) and used a drill guide to determin the size of the inner ring (!/2)
Used a big drill to put a hole in the top of a nice peice of stag horn, then used brute force, saws, and (mis)used drill bits to cut a channel along the horn from the large cavity in the top most of the way along it (not all or i could have just band sawed it)
USed a light mallet and gorrila glue to fix the inner ring and blade into the top cavity, it foamed over and sealed the end pores of the stagehorn. Finaly notched the side so that i could get at the blade's notch and open it when needed.
End result a (Non Locking) ,razor sharp (after a few strops down the ceramic rod i also got from Ragweed forge-first time with these things and i was VERY impressed) pretty little knife.
Hopfuly the picture will show but i'm not sure if i've done it right.....
 
You need to be a paying member to download from your hard drive as an attachment here. [ img ] ... [ /img ] only works with the correct extensions, like. jpg.
 
"Love the Douk-Douks. I prefer them over the Opinels because they're extremely thin to carry, and can really take an edge."

The douk-douk... he is uggly, but when you test one, you discover that you don't need any other knife !

Same kindda blade than opinel, but it's so thin, that when you take it with you, you forget it until you need it !
It would have a clip it would be close to perfection...

I recently have fun in customising an Opinel (for the first time...)
Reshaping the blade, modifying the handle, etc...
It's so easy to do that i was under the illusion of being a knife maker (i usually have two left hands !)
You should all try ! (and it's so cheap that if you miss your custom, trow it away, you'll just had lost 7 usd !) :D
 
freddy1 said:
You should all try ! (and it's so cheap that if you miss your custom, trow it away, you'll just had lost 7 usd !) :D
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When my girlfriend worked in a floral shop a year or so back, she used an Opinel to trim flower stems for arrangements (the issued Vic Florists didn't support her to the level to which she was accustomed ;) ), which she had me keep razor sharp for her. One day, a customer remarked on her knife; she was a French citizen on en extended stay in the States, and hadn't realized that Opinels (which evidently _are_ ubiquitous in some parts of France) could be found here.

...But what _really_ surprised her was the fact that we sharpened 'em. The idea was totally foreign; it'd never even occurred to her. She was accustomed to the French attitude toward Opniels: buy it, dull it in use, throw it away, and buy another. :D
 
hehehe, in your sentence "she was a French citizen" you should'nt focuse on "french" but rather on "she" :D
as a french citizen, i could insure you that my grand-fathers use their Opinel up to disapareation of the blade (almost !)....
But often (not always !) women are not really interested on "why is this knife sharp?" and it's in all the countries of the :rolleyes: world !
 
I like Opinels ,but I perfer okapi knives from south Africa.

They are about the same price, same carbon steel,same charm and charachter but better lock, in my opinion.

Alex

okapi2.jpg
 
I have some 'antique' Okapi knives that were actually made in Germany and exported to South Africa. The quality is more miss than hit. How are the modern South African Okapi knives? Side-to-side play? Loose blades?

-Bob
 
okapi does not cut as well as Opinels because the blade is thicker, but they are better desigend and better knives, in my opinion,

At least if I was a survival instructor, I would choose an okabi over an opinel. How can you survive with such a thin blade?

Charm is different than performance.

Most of modern knives would out perform the old ones easily.

point is, most modern knives are far better performers and far better value for money than old charmers.

Alex
 
Can someone tell me what 'virobloc Brevete ' meens on the locking collar ring .

Thanks

Duncan
 
Charm is different than performance.

Most of modern knives would out perform the old ones easily.

point is, most modern knives are far better performers and far better value for money than old charmers.

Alex


I have two little (non-locking) Okapi's from Ragweed forge-they are pretty knives but I’m not sure that trust their Pin-through-wood construction as much as I do my Opinel’s Pin-through-thick wood-through –Metal ring. It seams to me that over time wear could result in a loosening of the blade- Just opinion as I’ve not used them much. Their interesting enough that I want to get the lock back though, and are quite charming in their own right.
I’m not sure that modern knives ‘outperform’ old fashioned ones by a great margin. How do you rate Performance? For me it’s safe, easy, Slicing Power. The Opinel Slices as well as any top dollar knife- and better then some. My small Okapi’s (once the edge was set up) seam pretty good at it too. I doubt either would slice up heavy duty PVC pipe, or chop up a branch, but I don’t expect them too.
As for value for money I don’t believe that you can beat the Opinel- while there are no doubt better knives I doubt that you will ever get a knife that’s as MUCH better as the extra cash being forked over. To use an allegory its like my Casio G-shock versus a Rolex- sure the Rolex looks nicer, it might even keep better time (I loose maybe a second every couple of months), it might even have a tougher shell and be able to take more abuse. My Watch might be inferior, but its still better VALUE for the money paid. I believe you get more knife per dollar with an Opinel then with any other brand I know.
People think that by coughing up a lot of money they’ll get a better product, sadly it’s often a rip off.

Price and Value are not the same thing……

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=321268 link to a thread with comparative cutting photo's
 
dunc5 said:
Can someone tell me what 'virobloc Brevete ' meens on the locking collar ring .
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Virobloc is the name of the twisting collar locking system. Breveté means patented.

Cheers,

David
 
I like Opinels, especially carbon steel ones. They are very
easy to sharp, and cut like shark's tooth. Great knife, great price.
I do not like SS ones so much because of softer steel.
 
okapi knifes look great, but i seriously doubt that they have better lock system (or may-be better in the sens of "easy to use"? :confused: )
Because in essence, the opinel blocking system can't failed, except if you broke everything but most probably, the blade will broke before the lock.

But i admit that plenty locking system are smoother and more friendly user.

regarding surviving with the thin blade of the opinel, if the instructor choose it, he probably had his reasons....
90% is the knowledge of the guy , 9% is luck, 1% is your knife :D
(and ok, it's easier to survive with a sebenza in hand than with a butter knife...)
 
It just depends if you prefer to go with a big or a small 1% :D

For a folder, the opinel will probably do and survive all your cutting needs, otherwise go with a fixed blade if you really want something that will widthstand more abuse other than cutting, but I think that if there was a scale to rank knives, based on the ratio between weight and usability, an opinel would be hard to beat ;)
 
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