Opinel is to France as ______ is to the USA

Opinel is to France as BUCK is to the USA.

That trademark has been around since cowboys rode into the sunset
And if cowboys are not distinctive enough for you, I don't know what else
 
Opinel is to France, as Buck is to the USA.
Laguiole is to France, as Case is to the USA.
Victorinox is to Switzerland, as Camillus is to the USA.

I'm sure one can make the list even longer.
 
aarya said:
Opinel is to France, as Buck is to the USA.
Laguiole is to France, as Case is to the USA.
Victorinox is to Switzerland, as Camillus is to the USA.

I'm sure one can make the list even longer.
Click to expand...

Agree with the first 2 but not the last. The old Camillus based in New York, maybe. I would think of the old Camillus more like Boker myself. Can't really think of a good equivalent to Victorinox from any country. They have a single core style that is uniquely theirs and recognizable throughout most their line. The old Old Timer brown saw cut derlin perhaps?

Anyway, the equivalent to Opinel is the Buck lockbacks. Buck really invented the category, just as Opinel did theirs. I carry a Buck and Opinel pretty much every day.
 
aarya said:
Opinel is to France, as Buck is to the USA.
Laguiole is to France, as Case is to the USA.
Victorinox is to Switzerland, as Camillus is to the USA.

I'm sure one can make the list even longer.
Click to expand...

I surely agree with the first, for the reasons others have posted. Also, at first I hadn't thought of the "locking factor" in these two brands.
Laguiole is actually not a brand but more a knife style, and I would not think of it as an equivalent of Case, even though there are analogies.
As for Victorinox...honestly, I can't find any equivalent to Victorinox in the knife world. :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
Not terribly traditional, I admit. But what about Leatherman? As an American living abroad, I do see Leatherman products for sale a lot. Far more so than Buck or Case which I almost never see. I guess the only other American companies I see an equal amount of would be Spyderco (and most of their products are manufactured in Asia) and Benchmade to a lesser extent.

Just FYI, the two products you'll see in every knife shop in Europe are Victorinox and Opinel.
 
You have a very strong point with Leatherman's actually. :)
It's just that, to me (and I know it's a very very personal point of view) I never saw LM as mainly knives.
I mean, they all have a blade, but I see them as multitools with an added blade, while SAK's are, basically, knives with added tools (like a TL 29, or a HJ, things like that). Not sure I'm explaining my perspective though...

Fausto
:cool:
 
That's what i get for not explaining what i'm thinking. :)
When i said Camillus, i was speaking only from the fact that the old Camillus produced scout knives, that resembled the Victorinox knives somewhat.
As for Laguiole, i guess it isn't really a brand as such, but more a generic description of a type of knife.
I still say it goes though, as it is an iconic French knife, as is opinel, and Case/Buck/Camillus/etc in America.
Just don't shoot me, if you think i'm wrong. Doesn't go a day without being wrong! :D
 
My vote is for BUCK as well. It is iconic just as the Opinel in France. I'm going to stay out of the rest of the discussion.

Ed J
 
aarya said:
That's what i get for not explaining what i'm thinking. :)
When i said Camillus, i was speaking only from the fact that the old Camillus produced scout knives, that resembled the Victorinox knives somewhat.
As for Laguiole, i guess it isn't really a brand as such, but more a generic description of a type of knife.
I still say it goes though, as it is an iconic French knife, as is opinel, and Case/Buck/Camillus/etc in America.
Just don't shoot me, if you think i'm wrong. Doesn't go a day without being wrong! :D
Click to expand...

Noooooooooooo I didn't mean to shoot at you, not the least, and one of the (many) things that I appreciate on this forum is that everyone is free to express opinions fand have them respected. And I don't think you are wrong, I just have a different opinion. If my post sounded like "shooting" :D please forgive me, it was never my intention nor I thought it could be taken that way.
As for icons in the knife worlds, there are many, and (to me) they're always good things, to have something in which you "recognize" a country or place, as long as you are open to see outside of the fence and into other worlds of course. :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
I wasn't meaning to shoot either. Just thinking out loud.

I could definitely buy "Victorinox is to Switzerland as Leatherman is to the USA."

Both created those niches IMO
 
One of the things that cements the Opinel/Buck connection for me is the degree to which these knives are routinely modified. I sort of see the Buck 110 as the Harley Davidson of the US knife world. You often see stock ones running around, but often as not, you see them modified in some way. Opinels are the same way. They really beg for modification.

My modifications are very tame compared to what others do.

Great, great thread by the way. Can't believe somebody has linked them. Something I've often thought about but never said.


Some crappy pictures...

Top to bottom:
+ Buck 110 (2 dot, softened bolsters)
+ Opinel #9 (modified to drop point with shortened & thinned handle)
+ Opinel #8 (slightly modified blade and old)
+ Buck 500


Lockers by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
The more I think about it, the more the "Opinel/Buck" connection convinces me.
The "mod" factor didn't occur to me either...but I onyl saw one Buck 110 in my life, and it had not been modified. I didn't know it was used as a "basis" for modifications. Instead, I have seen lots of Opinels modifies in any way, dyed, handles cut, shaped, blade reshaped, and so on. Weird to know it happens to Buck 110's too :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
Fausto,

Among hunters in the US there is (or has been in the past) the tradition of notching your hunting knife for every deer you've cleaned with it. My grandfather's old bowie knife has 3 in the pommel. It's not uncommon to see folding hunters like the Buck 110 with the spine of the blade notched. This tradition of notching and the tradition of rescaling knifes give way to the full range of 110 mods.

The beautiful extension of notching is careful file work along the blade spine and lock lever. Here is some stunning work by the Buck forum's Jared (aka J.A.G). Rescaled 112 with an inlay
JAG112b.jpg


Really nice filework along the spine:
JAG112c.jpg


More discussion here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/926544-Thank-you-J-A-G-!



One one of the most notable customizers David Yellowhorse. His work is definitely rooted in the south west Native American tradition.
PICT0125.jpg




If the Buck 110 is THE American folding locker (and I think it is, no question), the knives like the Yellowhorse customs are the statements of Americana, in the same way that customized Opinels are a reflection of deep French culture.


More here if you dig...
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...l-Heavyweight-Champion-The-Venerable-Buck-110
 
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