Opinel habit.

[steelscout30]

Hardly an Opinel thread gets by ole yobbos on these forums without my .02 worth, I even wrote a lame poem for anyone who has search function.
I have 18 of 'em now ranging from the #2 to the#8 in various configs. My personal fave is the carbon #7 followed closely by the stainless #8. The #8s I have are the walnut' bubinga, oak, olive, yellow, blue and the orangy beech. The exotic hardwoods resist water a little better than the standard with the olive being the best of the lot. That said I think the 'little quirks' of the Opinel are half the charm. I have a real sentimental feeling for them along with the Mercator that I seldom if ever get for other manufactured knives.

+1 on the sentimentality. Great post. :thumbup:

 

[jackknife]

AG Russell carries one in Bubinga.

Thanks Bob, I gotta check that out!

 

[jackknife]

Hardly an Opinel thread gets by ole yobbos on these forums without my .02 worth, I even wrote a lame poem for anyone who has search function.
I have 18 of 'em now ranging from the #2 to the#8 in various configs. My personal fave is the carbon #7 followed closely by the stainless #8. The #8s I have are the walnut' bubinga, oak, olive, yellow, blue and the orangy beech. The exotic hardwoods resist water a little better than the standard with the olive being the best of the lot. That said I think the 'little quirks' of the Opinel are half the charm. I have a real sentimental feeling for them along with the Mercator that I seldom if ever get for other manufactured knives.

My carbon number 7 is the one I carry the most, next to my number 8 carbon spear point. But I admit to having a worked over number 12 that sees coat pocket duty once in a while.

Wow, Mercator's. That's a trip down memory lane. I used to use them as a kid. They used to be .98 cents at Sonny's Surplus in Silver Spring Maryland back in those happy post war days when they had real army-navy stuff in the surplus stores. I think at one time, every kid on the block had one as a beater knife. I wonder if they are still made in Germany and are of good quality? They used to have nice thin carbon blades that got scary sharp like Opinels and Douk-Douks.

 

[TINGLER]

I really like Opinels.

I like the company's history.
I like the carbon blades.
I like the looks of them.
I like that they are somewhat weird and a tad different.
I really really like the fact that they age well.
I love how they cut.
I like the BIG quality for the small price.
What's not to like?

At this moment I only own about 8 or 9 of them. I've got 3 #10's, a #9, 2 #6's......etc. I like to buy them here and there and give them away to friends and family. I try and open people's minds to them....Don't know if I do much good....but I still try.

My favorites are #'s 8-10. My #8 is like a razor. The #9 is doing kitchen duty. The #10 fits my hand the best and has that thicker blade.

I've got a #8 with the factory sheath with the sharpening steel......and since I've not seen any factory sheaths for the other sizes, I started taking matters into my own hands and making them myself.

....now if I only had some sheath making skills to accompany my ambition.

I also really have a thing for Ontario's "Old Hickory" kitchen knives too. Much for the same reason as my fondness for Opinels. They are inexpensive and they last forever gaining a wonderful patina along the way. I've got a nice 6" Old Hickory butcher knife that my Grandmother gave to me. I doubt I'll ever wear it out.....and hopefully my great grandchildren will have a difficult time wearing it out as well.

I have probably collected about 10 Old Hickory knives lately as well. I also buy those and give them away sometimes.

In a way, neither the Opinels or Old Hickorys are really great knives. There are definitely more impressive offerings on the market if that's your thing. I mean Opinels and Old Hickorys aren't fancy, they aren't particularly put together perfectly....they aren't expensive meaning a person doesn't flash one as a visual indication of the size of his bank account. Women don't swoon over Opinels......Most probably think an Opinel owner is weird.

....but Opinels and Old Hickorys are EXCELLENT tools that cut beautifully and are just simply well designed to give decades (and longer) of faithful service to their owners. They are knives built for honest people working the land. They are built for farmers, peasants, grandmothers, fathers, sons...etc. They are inexpensive so that common people can afford them....but they DON'T pull the old Chinese junk switcharoo and offer affordability in exchange for quality. NO, they don't do that. Opinel is the opposite. They provide an abundance of quality for a small price.

I for one appreciate that fact. I wish more folks in this world valued it as well.

 

[stockman242]

Hardly an Opinel thread gets by ole yobbos on these forums without my .02 worth, I even wrote a lame poem for anyone who has search function. [...]

Not too lame in my book. Its a traditional way of saying thanks to a traditional knife...:thumbup:

A poem by yobbos
Opinel oh, Opinel I dig your twisty ways
Number 7 Opinel I carry every day
I like your nifty blade design
your handle made of wood
Your blade is called a yatagan
and your steel is really good
I think you'll always be my EDC because you're tried and true
and if you're lost I will not cry cause I've five more just like you.


Please accept my sincere apologies for inflicting this on you all

Peter(I thought I'd digg it up , Its good after all.)


Edit:

Wow, Mercator's. That's a trip down memory lane. I used to use them as a kid. They used to be .98 cents at Sonny's Surplus in Silver Spring Maryland back in those happy post war days when they had real army-navy stuff in the surplus stores. I think at one time, every kid on the block had one as a beater knife. I wonder if they are still made in Germany and are of good quality? They used to have nice thin carbon blades that got scary sharp like Opinels and Douk-Douks.

They sure are, and I do love them. Now they are Made by Otter Messer in Solingen.

Next to each other:

 

[TINGLER]

Stockman,
That knife collection is perfection.

 

[yobbos1]

Wow, Mercator's. That's a trip down memory lane. I used to use them as a kid. They used to be .98 cents at Sonny's Surplus in Silver Spring Maryland back in those happy post war days when they had real army-navy stuff in the surplus stores. I think at one time, every kid on the block had one as a beater knife. I wonder if they are still made in Germany and are of good quality? They used to have nice thin carbon blades that got scary sharp like Opinels and Douk-Douks.
01-09-2009 09:59 PM


My Mercator is a real beater. Last spring I used it all through planting season, it cut wood, sharpened stakes, dug in the ground, pried rocks and returned to an Opinel-like shaving edge with just a few swipes on a ceramic rod and was then used to prepare lunch.

Sockman242, 'ouch!' that was even worse than I remember Thanks (I think) for digging it up!