need opinions on the opinel no. 12

My wife bought me one a few year ago ...
Its OK , I carry a 10 usually tho
The 12 was our camp kitchen / chef knife for many many trips , used it to skin , part out a few roos and goats .. carve up the roasts too ... tough as nails , but just that bit too big for my belt .
Mines a hi carbon one .. its an opinel - what is there to say about it ? .. takes a screaming sharp edge pretty easy , no issues , no problems ..
Interesting .. it chops OK .. even tho its a ( big ) folder .. it has the mass to chop smallish stuff OK .. something I havent had with any smaller folders . My wife noticed it before I did .. she was chopping kindling ..
 
I have used Opinel stainless. I'm a carbon steel lover myself. The knives I have the most of are old USA made Schrades. I dislike 440A in it's Rough Rider incarnation at least. Opinel stainless is fine grained and easy to sharpen. To me, it is much like carbon steel. It is nothing special in that it is certainly not a high carbide super steel. Their carbon steel is too soft.

If you like carbon steel, as I do, I think you will like it. Look up 12c27.

What don't you like about stainless? Personally I feel *cheaper* stainless' are hard to sharpen and dull quickly to a working edge.


(edited to add)
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...nless-has-the-closest-characteristics-to-1095

Here is a good and recent thread about stainless steels which are similar to carbon-steel. 12c27 is mentioned.

*The following is totally my opinion.*

Many company's version of AUS-8 are great if you like carbon steel. Maybe a bit harder with better edge retention.

12c27 is an even better steel if you like carbon. It'll take a fine edge and get it back quickly. From what I've seen it's more consistently good than AUS-8. 12c27mod (as in Opinel) has a bit less carbon and isn't quite as good, however Opinel has a good heat treat and makes the most of it.
thing is i love being able to put a ludicrous edge on my blades, i find it very theraputic to take a little time and see how sharp i can make it (i've even gone through abrasives all the way down to sharpening it on a cotton t-shirt having done the grindstone, wetstone, oilstone, steel, strop and yes even leg hair route), and you just can't do that with a lot of stainless, but carbon steel sharpens like a dream IMO and i don't mind losing a BIT of that sharpness but i don't want to lose as much as the average stainless makes you forfeit.
 
My wife bought me one a few year ago ...
Its OK , I carry a 10 usually tho
The 12 was our camp kitchen / chef knife for many many trips , used it to skin , part out a few roos and goats .. carve up the roasts too ... tough as nails , but just that bit too big for my belt .
Mines a hi carbon one .. its an opinel - what is there to say about it ? .. takes a screaming sharp edge pretty easy , no issues , no problems ..
Interesting .. it chops OK .. even tho its a ( big ) folder .. it has the mass to chop smallish stuff OK .. something I havent had with any smaller folders . My wife noticed it before I did .. she was chopping kindling ..
she chopped kindling with a folder? that's pretty impressive, (both the knife and your lady)
 
thing is i love being able to put a ludicrous edge on my blades, i find it very theraputic to take a little time and see how sharp i can make it (i've even gone through abrasives all the way down to sharpening it on a cotton t-shirt having done the grindstone, wetstone, oilstone, steel, strop and yes even leg hair route), and you just can't do that with a lot of stainless, but carbon steel sharpens like a dream IMO and i don't mind losing a BIT of that sharpness but i don't want to lose as much as the average stainless makes you forfeit.

Me too, try the Opinel stainless.

I was actually beginning to not like Opinel as I had always gotten the carbon steel and it wasn't hard enough for me, and I like carbon steel. Someone here on BF talked me into trying the "new 12c27 they use" and I haven't looked back. It's not like it glows in the dark or anything, but it's quite capable and better than the carbon. That, along with the edge geometry, make my Opi's some of my sharpest knives.
 
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i've been carrying my little opinel no.6 as my EDC for a while now and it's great! i can put an edge on it in five minutes keen enough to shave with! the only problem is that i whittle and the blade is just too delicate for heavy work and for this reason i went looking in my local knife store for a hardier blade and soon encountered the opinel no.12. the balde is thicker and sturdier but a couple of things worry me; 1. i've never seen a folder that big, does the joint strain with heavy use? and 2. unlike my 6 the blade is shiny as if it's stainless steel as opposed to carbon (the primary reason for my interest was carbon steel) anyone got any answers on this one?

Couples of thoughts...

LOCK - Never rely on the lock to resist closing forces. It will pop off and you'll loose your fingers.


JOINT STRENGTH - The Opinel joint is like a wooden shovel handle or axe - with a metal fitting over the end of wood. Grain matters, just as it does on axes. But size matters most. Smaller Opinels (6s and 7s) can be broken by strong hands. I can't imagine somebody busting a bigger one using any normal hard cutting (9, 10, 12...). Normal wear spot is at the back of the blade/inner ring interface. It will dent eventually under hard cutting. Lateral prying won't bust the joint either (other than the wood) but will eventually work harden the blade and the blade will snap. This will happen before significant lateral play develops. I gave a buddy an 8 to bust and he used it to open paint cans for 2 years before he snapped the blade. The joint was fine.

STEEL - Opinel's carbon is hardened to 56RC (similar to Victorinox inox) and will roll at less than 20dps. Opinel's Inox is 12C27 and hardened to 58 Rc and can be taken to a more acute edge angle. I can see a case for the carbon for doing work in the trades as it is very tough and it is possible to dent the harder Inox. But for general EDC use, food prep and wood working, I very much perfer the Inox.

SIZE/UTILITY - I like a larger EDC carry and like a #9 with the handle thinned a bit. The #10 is a better food prep knife and insanely tough but a bit big for pocket carry. I still do. It's my go-to backpacking knife. For woodworking that requires some lateral pressure on the blade, I prefer the thicker 10 to the thinner 9, but the 9 is a LOT more knife than the 6. Most people like the #8 better for EDC use.

Hope this helps
 
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Nothing to loose buying any opinel model. I kept an opinel #6 on my desk as a letter opener for years until someone "borrowed" it. Permanently
 
I appreciated this thread. I bought a few Opinels recently but couldn't find one I was comfortable with. I wanted a carbon steel blade that was bigger than my Case with the 2 1/4" blade. I ordered a No. 9, but found the end of the handle hit right in the hypothenar eminence. I got a No. 10 and it was finally big enough to fit a full grip with my index finger around the collet. The only problem was the locking collet was really loose. Besides that there was a huge burr along the whole edge of the blade. I could have fixed that easily enough, but combined with the collet that was so loose it rattled, I had to reject the knife as a quality defect. With such a big blade on nothing more than a wood handle, I had some of the same questions mentioned in this thread. It seemed dubious to handle this knife like I would my similar-sized Mora No. 1. I wondered if the Opinel design wasn't better as a small pocket knife that just butts into the thenar.
 
I ordered a No. 9, but found the end of the handle hit right in the hypothenar eminence. I wondered if the Opinel design wasn't better as a small pocket knife that just butts into the thenar.
So that's why people sand down the bump on the handle facing the palm, the hypothenar eminence.

Gee, I love that kind of talk.:)

Sanding down that bump and an easy open notch are all the handle mods needed. Anything else is unnecessary (but fun).

Opinels have been likened to a knife kit by some. They do take some tinkering to shine. Fixing the locking ring's tightness is common. The burr on the blade stinks though.


https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28597626/tuning-opinels.txt

Good reading.




hand_anat1347244208118.png
 
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I have a No. 12 and love it. Mines carbon and I'm changing the handle but overall, love it.
 
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