Jacknife: what kind of finish do you like?
I'm not fond of the strange orange tone either....
Over the years I've used two ways to refinish an Opinel. The long way, and the short way. Both work.
The long way- Use a needle nose pliers while the handle of the knife is gently held in a vise. Spread the locking ring just enough to lift it off the knife. Tape off the metal bolster and open blade with duct tape. Use a 220 grit sandpaper to take off the orange finish, and finish up with 500 paper, and then 0000 steel wool. Any modifing of handle shape can be done at this them with a wood rasp or belt sander. If using power sander, BE CAREFULL, IT TAKES ALOT OF WOOD OFF FAST! I work by hand at a slower pace. Don't take off too much more wood than you need in the area of where the locking ring rides. Make sure you leave a nice shelf for it to be supported by.
Also, fold up some sandpaper and sand the blade slot wider.
When you get the handle all sanded and smooth to where you like it, warm up some linseed oil in a plastic cup in the microwave. Make an aluminum foil trough the open knife can lay in and warm up the wood handle with a blow drier. (Do all this while the old lady is not at home. They have strange objections to linseed oil in microwaves and thier hair driers used for home knife projects)
When the wood handle is good and warm to the touch, lay the knife in the foil trough and totally cover it with the warm linseed oil. Now just leave it soak for a couple of hours. Make sure the oil was good and warm when poured over the knife.
After a few hours take out the knife and let it just drip for a while. Then start polishing the handle with a rag.
this make for a good exersise for watching tv or sitting on the back porch. Its like doing a oil finish on a rifle stock, just alot of rubbing. Every now and then rub a bit more linseed oil on the rag or stock and keep rubbing. Eventually you'll end up with a nice linseed oil finish that you rub down once a week for a year, then once a year for the rest of the life of the knife. The opy will now be very water resistant, as well as a heck of alot more atractive. Even with no stain used, over the next year the linseed oil will give the wood a nice yellow gold patina that is mellow and warm. Not to mention to touch up just rub a bit of oil on it.
The short way- Over the years as Ive gotten older, I looked for a few short cuts. I'm not getting any younger, and I don't feel like taking months to get an Opinel up to all weather staus anymore when I give mine away to somebody who needs a knife or admired it. The short methiod is maybe not quite as good as the long method, but it seems to work. Do all the sanding like the long method. When you get the wood ready to be finished, select a Minwax stain in a hue you like, and use a soft cotton rag to rub the stain into the wood good and deep. You can use a small brush if you like, but I find a rag to dip and rub into the wood works better, just wear rubber gloves.
Let sit for a couple days to a week to let dry real well and set. Buff with a soft rag, and then use Helmsman Spar Urathane and a small brush to coat ALL wood stained surfaces. Use a pipe cleaner to get the urathane down in the blade slot. Use a light/thin coat on the first go round. Let dry for a day, and then use some 500 paper to just rough up the urathane finish, and give it a second coat. Hang up by the taped blade and let dry.
You now will have an Opinel that is alot more weather resistant that it was when you got it. I've taken mine out in the kayak and gotten it wet, and it only makes it just a bit more slow to open. Use a little bit of vasaline petrolium jelly on a toothpick around the blade piviot and your all set.
I've given away a ton of these knives to previous non-knife people, and its amazing how many of them years later are still using them. They show me the knife proudly and tell me its so great to have sharp light weight knife in their pocket, or purse if female.
Good luck, bob.
