Opinel #8 for lite camp chores?

S

sir woodley

Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
285
Hi all. Just ordered one and curious about your opinions. Tuff enough for fuzz sticks, whitling, food prep, etc. I love carbon steel and know how to maintain it. I'm just wondering if this will be a "sturdy user". (I will not be batoning with it!) ;) How is the fit and finish, any blade play, ... ?? Thank you much, Matt
 
the opinels i have are both great. good geometries and steel. there is pretty much no blade play and the lock is nice and secure. the edge will need some work out of the box though. and they are convex, so be sure you know how to sharpen those.
 
I love my #8. It's so light, it usually rides shotgun in my kitchen kit, no matter how many other knives I have along. Have to be careful, though. It rusts if you look at it wrong. I really have to dry out my pots when I stash it in there with my stove.
 
Always used the swiss army type knives preferably in so called hunter variant, with a minisaw. Size is similar to small or medium sized Opinels but the screwdrivers, can openers, and so on are very useful. I'm planning to buy a Victorinox Outrider anytime soon.
But Opinels look great, I really love the shape. Plain and useful farmer's tools.
 
Love my little Opinels, One resides in my hiking kitchen ( MSR alpine I think) I don't want to cut my tomatoes with the knife I've just skinned something with.
Carl
 
.....there is a reason why these knives have been around for quite some time.....they are very versatile and quite capable cutters. My only caution would be to refrain from immersing the wooden handle in water; this will cause the handle to swell and make opening and closing the blade nearly impossible......and you'll have a devil of a time turning the locking ring. :(

- regards
 
Last edited:
sir woodley said:
Hi all. Just ordered one and curious about your opinions. Tuff enough for fuzz sticks, whitling, food prep, etc. I love carbon steel and know how to maintain it. I'm just wondering if this will be a "sturdy user". (I will not be batoning with it!) ;) How is the fit and finish, any blade play, ... ?? Thank you much, Matt
Click to expand...

Hehe it's the opposite of bladeplay that most people find annoying about Opinel, as pointed out before, it has a tendency to "stick" because of the wood swelling in the joint.
Not a big problem, hold it by the locking ring and tab the buttom of the knife against a tree / your boot / other solid object.
I have a few Opinels and they are nice pocket knifes :thumbup:
 
A smaller one is my wife's main camp carver (and she has a better collection than pretty much all of the population that doesn't post here!). She has done some very nice carvings beside the fire she started using only that knife. I can't see why it would not hold as a slicer for you- unless issues like humidity are in effect where you are (maybe not a whitewater kayaking knife).
 
It's a simple,very reliable and versatile knife that will give you a lot of service. Comes in many sizes too, feels very good in the hand and has no springs,liners or complex locks to go wrong.Just avoid soaking it as pointed out,but even then, once dried out it will be fine again.

As for batoning, well er you could try....if you must lose a finger... but why baton with a folder when a mini hatchet is the tool!
 
I use an Opinel everyday to cut fruit or as a steak knife. My favorite one is a very thin bladed 4" SS fillet knife with a bubinga handle. I always get the stainless blades (Sandvik) so they won't get rusty. I think I'm up to about five Opinels now and one other French knife called a Marjaqc with an ebony handle which is very similar. I've given them as Christmas gifts, several friends got SS #10's this year. The #10 has a 4" blade and is a very sturdy utility knife. I keep one in a computer satchel, another in a bugout bag, one in a good junk drawer, and one next to my easy chair. I don't think I'd ever try batoning with one except in an emergency. They are inexpensive when compared with all the high tech knives us knife nuts fawn over.
 
They are great pocket knives. They are thinner than 0.1" along with their carbon steel, can be made sharper than just about anything else you will own. By far the best slicer that I have among my knives. Forcing a patina on them helps quite a bit. Some people try sanding the region around the pivot and apply some varnish to help sway swelling, but this is the main downfall of the knife. Even under very high humidity conditions, you will get the condition where the knife is difficult to open or close.

Other than that issue, and yes, even though I as a habit voraciously defend the appropriateness of batoning as a survival technique - the opinel is not really the knife to do it with. I'm sure you could do it as somebody else indicated, but this is truly beyond the intended use of the knife.

Personally, because I find myself on water often in the field, I have forgone the Opinel as a field knife. However, if wet/humid conditions are not an issue that it makes an excellent pocket knife. I really like my opinely #8 as an urban EDC blade. It is laser sharp, people friendly, stylish looking (especially when customized) and easily modded to your liking. All that at a really cheap price!
 
I have an Opinel # 7 and love it !Sturdy enough to baton small branches with it,great slicer and excellent for whittling.Don't get the hadle wet :D Mine is carbon steel and it rust easly,but sharpens so easy :thumbup:
 
In order to lessen the water problem work some mineral oil into the wood at the pivot. Mine hardly swells now, even if immersed in water.

I also sanded an easy-open notch in the handle so I can pinch it open if need be.
 
Actually, in regards to batoning...

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=425239&highlight=batoning+opinel

:D

Also works well if you hit the handle side rather than the tip end, but you have to be very careful with the thin tip not to snap it. If you grind the top of the blade and make the point more of a drop point style than clip, it will eat up the baton much less.

Not that I'd recommend anyone do this on a regular basis, but you can certainly do it. Multiple times even, without any noticeable damage to the knife if you're careful.

the Opinel 8 is one of the best folders for the woods. The geometry is very thin, simply wonderful for the types of jobs a small folder would do. Things like carving wooden tools, making fuzz sticks, food prep, striking a ferro rod etc. The price is right as well. I carry SAKs instead for their tools, but the #8 is a great choice if you just want a good blade.
 
Gramps said:
My only caution would be to refrain from immersing the wooden handle in water; this will cause the handle to swell and make opening and closing the blade nearly impossible......
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's probably the main drawback.
They make small series with other wood type (common type is beech) that may be less affected by water (and plastic material) but they are uncommon, and pretty expensive for what they are.
 
Haas anyone s tried putting a water seal on the wood handles to keep them from absorbing moister? Something like Thompsons water seal or maybe even linseed oil?
 
udtjim said:
Haas anyone s tried putting a water seal on the wood handles to keep them from absorbing moister? Something like Thompsons water seal or maybe even linseed oil?
Click to expand...
You probably can but keep in mind you can't simply coat the outside, you have to coat inside the blade slot too. Plus blade pivot is wood directly on blade and is pretty complicated to dissamble. Finally stuff like oil protects wood by getting into the pores before water can. That means you'll pre-swell wood which means you'll either pre-tighten the pivot or have to readjust the blade slot.
Since I haven't purchased one for a bunch of years (I've plenty already) I'm not sure but I think they come/did come (lightly) varnished, which gave some debatable water protection.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top