Yeah, I'm sure we all played that game as kids, pluck a daisy and one by one pull of petals saying, "she loves me, she loves me not
"
Sounds like my long running love/hate relationship with Opiel knives. Ihave to admit that since my first brush with them, Ihave always had one around, but it's been an on again-off again relationship. The are finicky, you have to tune them, and sometimes they can seem to be a minor PITA, but they do cut like the dickens.
I had my very fist brush with them in about 1981ish. I was in a backpacking store picking up some nice new rag wool socks, and while paying, there was this clear plastic bucket by the cash register with some folding knives like I had never, ever seen before. Plain wood handles, a single thin blade, and a weird rotating color that semi locks the blade. Being a knife nut, I had to have one. It was the beginning of an addiction. That one Opinel led to another Opinel. Bigger Opinels, smaller Opinels. And of course they didn't stay untouched long. Soon sandpaper and stain came out, and different methods of water proofing came and went. Some more successful than others, but not really sealing them off. I came to the conclusion that the Opinel was like French cars, maybe not the most reliable, but they sure had character. A family friend had a little Peugeot 403 for a while, and it was kind of neat.
Sometimes I'd have a short amount of patience with the Opinel's, then it would be tossed into the sock drawer and my 'regular' knife would be back in my pocket. But then I'd have some nasty cutting to do, and the Opiel would be flung into the breach, as I didn't want to mess up my 'good' knife. Other times, I;d reach into my pocket, and instead of my Buck stockman, there would be the Opinel. I swear I have no idea how it got there, maybe some kind of continental trickery. But they do cut like the dickens!
I actually don't know how many of them I've given away over the years. I'd sand and stain, and tinker, and adjust them. Then someone would admire it, and I'd give it to them because it was a darn good knife. Did I mention they cut like the dickens?
Then age and wear and tear take their toll, and I find myself gravitating to friction folders. The Opinel already has a long history with me, so the Sardinian Resolza fits right into my daily rotation. I even went so far as to snug up a Opinel and use it like a strait up friction folder. When I read that the locking ring was only added in 1955, and Pablo Picasso used an Opinel to carve a sculpture, I liked that. ONce again my Opinel become my dirty deeds knife. I can replace an Opinel a lot easier than my Resolza. Did I mention that they cut like the dickens?
In the sock drawer, out of the sock drawer. It's been a long strange trip, but with the house on the market and lots of last minute things to do, painting, speckling, a little fix here and a little fix there, dealing with packing tape and bubble wrap, the number 8 Opinel is again in my pocket. Thinking back over the past decades, it seems like there's been very few camping trips, fishing trips, woods rambling trips, where an Opinel hasn't been along for 'just in case. They've been wet and stiff to open, they've been finicky and needing some tuning here and there, but I always seem to have one around.
Long after we got a nice family car, I kept the old VW bug for many years. It was finicky, needed some TLC on occasion, and was a bit dated compared to modern cars. But I loved that old bug. Karen would ask me why I kept it, and I couldn't really give her a good answer except that I loved the way it felt and drove. Funky but kind of neat. Kind of like an Opinel. They seem to fit in with old rifles with walnut stocks and blued finishes. Waxed cotton coats.
So, how many Opinel nuts do we have here? I know I'm a closet Opinel nut.
Opinel with friction folder cousins.
Sounds like my long running love/hate relationship with Opiel knives. Ihave to admit that since my first brush with them, Ihave always had one around, but it's been an on again-off again relationship. The are finicky, you have to tune them, and sometimes they can seem to be a minor PITA, but they do cut like the dickens.
I had my very fist brush with them in about 1981ish. I was in a backpacking store picking up some nice new rag wool socks, and while paying, there was this clear plastic bucket by the cash register with some folding knives like I had never, ever seen before. Plain wood handles, a single thin blade, and a weird rotating color that semi locks the blade. Being a knife nut, I had to have one. It was the beginning of an addiction. That one Opinel led to another Opinel. Bigger Opinels, smaller Opinels. And of course they didn't stay untouched long. Soon sandpaper and stain came out, and different methods of water proofing came and went. Some more successful than others, but not really sealing them off. I came to the conclusion that the Opinel was like French cars, maybe not the most reliable, but they sure had character. A family friend had a little Peugeot 403 for a while, and it was kind of neat.
Sometimes I'd have a short amount of patience with the Opinel's, then it would be tossed into the sock drawer and my 'regular' knife would be back in my pocket. But then I'd have some nasty cutting to do, and the Opiel would be flung into the breach, as I didn't want to mess up my 'good' knife. Other times, I;d reach into my pocket, and instead of my Buck stockman, there would be the Opinel. I swear I have no idea how it got there, maybe some kind of continental trickery. But they do cut like the dickens!
I actually don't know how many of them I've given away over the years. I'd sand and stain, and tinker, and adjust them. Then someone would admire it, and I'd give it to them because it was a darn good knife. Did I mention they cut like the dickens?
Then age and wear and tear take their toll, and I find myself gravitating to friction folders. The Opinel already has a long history with me, so the Sardinian Resolza fits right into my daily rotation. I even went so far as to snug up a Opinel and use it like a strait up friction folder. When I read that the locking ring was only added in 1955, and Pablo Picasso used an Opinel to carve a sculpture, I liked that. ONce again my Opinel become my dirty deeds knife. I can replace an Opinel a lot easier than my Resolza. Did I mention that they cut like the dickens?
In the sock drawer, out of the sock drawer. It's been a long strange trip, but with the house on the market and lots of last minute things to do, painting, speckling, a little fix here and a little fix there, dealing with packing tape and bubble wrap, the number 8 Opinel is again in my pocket. Thinking back over the past decades, it seems like there's been very few camping trips, fishing trips, woods rambling trips, where an Opinel hasn't been along for 'just in case. They've been wet and stiff to open, they've been finicky and needing some tuning here and there, but I always seem to have one around.
Long after we got a nice family car, I kept the old VW bug for many years. It was finicky, needed some TLC on occasion, and was a bit dated compared to modern cars. But I loved that old bug. Karen would ask me why I kept it, and I couldn't really give her a good answer except that I loved the way it felt and drove. Funky but kind of neat. Kind of like an Opinel. They seem to fit in with old rifles with walnut stocks and blued finishes. Waxed cotton coats.
So, how many Opinel nuts do we have here? I know I'm a closet Opinel nut.
Opinel with friction folder cousins.
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theres a few others scattered about the house and garage as well...
).
