Opinel 8: give it time?

I found my No 8 to be a bit bulky in my pocket, so it goes in my camp bag for every trip. For me it is a great camping knife. I decided to try a No 6 for EDC carry, and that was perfect for me. Now I have 3 different No 6's that go in my front pocket and the No 8 is a camping knife.

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Z
 
Got a no7 stainless while in France this summer. MY Gf replied why are you buying this knife you already have 3 knives back in the tent.... hahaha
In the French Alpine region they actually sell them in supermarkets, and just about on every street corner.

I use mine in the kitchen, great little slicer. The price is also great, you can buy 15 Opinels for the price a Spyderco would cost you.
 
I first got a #8 carbone which I like but then got a#6, carbone also.

I've found I end up grabbing the #6 most of the time.
It weighs almost nothing. I forget I have it in my pocket but
it's there when I need it.
I usually pair it with a Schrade 340/80T or Buck 301.

Give it some time, they are worth having.
 
From comments made by others and my own experience, the size of an Opi matters a lot. If you have big hands, the #8 and #9 (and maybe larger) will work well (meaning you can get 4 fingers wrapped around the handle for a solid grip). Smaller hands may be happier with the #7 and smaller sizes.

My #6 just vanishes into the pocket, but I don't use it that often because it gives me only a 3-finger grip and for most jobs, that's too small. (However, I did buy it in the mid-1990s in Paris on the Rue Mouffetard, so it's a forever-keeper memento as well as a cutting blade.)

And if you don't warm up to your Opi, just find it a good home.

By the way, the handles are wonderful for carving, if you like to personalize a knife:
http://opinel-passions-bois.blogspot.com/
http://michel.montlahuc.free.fr/opinel4.htm
http://forum.neoczen.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4780&start=150

The French really get into that sort of thing.
 
I have an 8 I keep in my truck for JIC situations. I also bought a 12 as a backup to my fixed blade for EDC. I carried it in my back pocket next to my wallet. I found it very handy and useful, but would never replace my standard EDC. The 12 has now found a home in my camping bag as the "can I borrow a knife?" knife.
 
If it's not for you, then it's not. Toss it in the kitchen drawer or backpack, someplace you might need a razor sharp cutting tool from time to time.
 
I have a #9 I keep in a drawer in our front room, perfect for opening and tearing down packages.

I also think they excel as a loner. It's probably the safest knife for a non-knife person to use.
Simple, reliable lock and no spring to yank the blade out of their grasp when opening/closing.
 
Nalon pif'd me an 8 and a 6. Let me choose which to keep and pif the other. I gave the 6 to coworker and new BF reg user lonewolfmcblade. We use them both daily at work. I can say the 8 does everything from cutting pkgs to stripping wires. I love it and will probably never part w/ it
 
short answer:
yes, probably.

elaborate answer:
i am of the opinion that (most of the time) you need to carry a knife for 20-30 days to really tell how it will do for you. these need not be consecutive days. you have to see how it rides in different clothes, how it works doing every day cutting, how it holds an edge, how easy it is to fish out of a pocket and all sorts of other little things. and for many of us we may not actually need a knife every single day so you have to live with it for a while. heck, it takes a week or so to get over the 'new and novel' phase.

sometimes there will be a knife that obviously will not work for you somehow. i have a rough rider toothpick that is just too long to carry comfortably, for example. didnt have to endure that one wedging itself in the bottom of my pockets too often to figure out i didnt like it lol. i use it in the kitchen where the extra length is a plus.

of course this mainly applies to 'carry' knives. if you have a job where you need to use your knife for hours at a time and your hand starts to cramp after fifteen minutes then you obviously have the wrong knife. but if you have that sort of job then you can likely tell if a knife is suitable or not without having to find out the hard way lol.
 
I bought an No.6 and No. 8 awhile ago. The handles just didn't do it for me and I gave them away. Then I decided to give them another try after seeing some of the pics of Opinels that individuals had modded - everything from the handle to the blade. Tried a No. 8 and fell in love with it once I thinned down the handle, and gave it a little of my own character. Tried a No. 6 after that. Love it. The No. 8 is still just a little bigger than I need for pocket carry, but the No. 6 is a constant companion. Can't beat it and for the price and fun of modding the handle, I figured I didn't have anything to lose. If I lose it, break it or ruin it, I'm out about $10 and a little time.
 
If you're having a problem with the bulk of the standard handle shape, carving/sanding is an option, as others have stated. I saved myself the trouble, and picked up a Garden knife in stainless, which has a tapered handle, that I like quite a bit. Fits much better at the bottom of my pocket, and is even lighter than the regular style.

It really is a matter of finding the right fit for your hands.
 
My no. 7 broke after a few days use. Mayb a lemon but it didn appeal to me at all. The blade did slice tho.
 
Okay, I'm two days in and I'm liking it more. The lack of handle weight initially put me off, because the whole thing felt cheap. Now, I'm finding that the lack of handle weight makes the thing disappear into my pocket. I forget that it's there, because it's so light. After carrying knives with pocket clips for years, I'm also finding that it's nice to have the knife in my pocket, with nothing sticking out that can snag. I'm coming around, for sure.
 
flivver, I can see where the light weight would bother you if your used to knives like Beckers. I picked up a no.8 in a kitchen store on clearance. At first I didn't care for it but I reshaped the handle a little, added a lanyard, and reshaped the blade to a drop point. Now it's one of my favorite knives. I use my knives for a lot of cutting fruits and veggies which this knife is awesome at. Even though its so large and the handle is so thick it really does disappear in my back pocket. I would really recommend at least adding a lanyard hole, it helps make it easier to draw from your pocket and holds it upright in your pocket.
 
Customize every aspect of it and then MAYBE you will love it as much as I do mine.







Kevin
 
I have a 7 that I have really tried to like. I ground a drop point, I changed the shape of the handle, and I sanded and stained it a different color. I'm never going to really like it. I keep it in my desk drawer. I use the heck out of it for all the crappy jobs I don't want to use a knife I like for. It gets as much use as any knife I own but if you haven't warmed up to it yet you're unlikely ever to.
 
Richstag, is that the 1890 Anniversary Edition No. 8? My son gave me one last year for Christmas that he modded the handle on. Great slicer and very light in the pocket. I just got an Esee Zacundo in foliage green that is now clipped to my pocket, but the Opinel rides in the pocket as well.
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