Opinel Mods, lets see them

I used Rit clothing dye (warm brown) for these. I microwaved the water to about coffee hot, then poured in the powdered dye and stirred it to dissolve. The knives all had their handles sanded well, though with only a medium-coarse paper (I forget what I used).

The dye-soaking lasted about five minutes, then I removed them and let the dye dry. Then rinsed the handles under running cold water until no more dye came off them. Let them dry again, then over several days wiped on about half a dozen coats of semi-gloss urethane.

All these were treated identically, but there are differences in depth of color. Well, shrug. They're natural materials not manmade ones, so some variation is to be expected.

I'm now thinking of making the #6 a dropoint, and I have already added a shallow "ramp" to the collar's lower edge to lock the blade closed.

Love 'em all.

tumblr_muvhfdniZi1r4zf5xo1_1280.jpg


Top to bottom: #9 carbon steel, #8 (garden model) stainless, and #6 in carbon steel.
 
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onojoe said:
Now that's what I am talking about, would love to know the process you went through to do that mod
Click to expand...

The lock ring was removed and the handle with the blade still attached went into my lathe. I cut all but one inch off and turned it down to fit into a hole I had drilled into the antler.
The hole and slot in the antler were done in my mini mill.

Measurements escape me now it was done ages ago.

Thank you for the comments guys.

Richard
 
AreBeeBee said:
I used Rit clothing dye (warm brown) for these. I microwaved the water to about coffee hot, then poured in the powdered dye and stirred it to dissolve. The knives all had their handles sanded well, though with only a medium-coarse paper (I forget what I used).

The dye-soaking lasted about five minutes, then I removed them and let the dye dry. Then rinsed the handles under running cold water until no more dye came off them. Let them dry again, then over several days wiped on about half a dozen coats of semi-gloss urethane.

All these were treated identically, but there are differences in depth of color. Well, shrug. They're natural materials not manmade ones, so some variation is to be expected.
Click to expand...

They look great. :thumbup: The variation from handle to handle is fascinating. I guess that could be frustrating if one is trying to make a matched set. On the other hand, it ensures each one is a one-of-a-kind original. :)

Thank you for documenting your process. I may give it a try. Do you remove the lock ring before dyeing? Is my assumption correct that the dye has no effect on the blade and collar?
 
Tinbasher said:
The lock ring was removed and the handle with the blade still attached went into my lathe. I cut all but one inch off and turned it down to fit into a hole I had drilled into the antler.
The hole and slot in the antler were done in my mini mill.

Measurements escape me now it was done ages ago.

Thank you for the comments guys.

Richard
Click to expand...
Thanks for the explanation! What a smart trick to use the top of the old handle.
 
Thanks Richard, I was afraid that you had used a lathe, a piece of equipment I don't have. I will have to figure another way, because now I am obsessed with doing something similar

Tinbasher said:
The lock ring was removed and the handle with the blade still attached went into my lathe. I cut all but one inch off and turned it down to fit into a hole I had drilled into the antler.
The hole and slot in the antler were done in my mini mill.

Measurements escape me now it was done ages ago.

Thank you for the comments guys.

Richard
Click to expand...
 
WhittlinAway said:
They look great. :thumbup: The variation from handle to handle is fascinating. I guess that could be frustrating if one is trying to make a matched set. On the other hand, it ensures each one is a one-of-a-kind original. :)

Thank you for documenting your process. I may give it a try. Do you remove the lock ring before dyeing? Is my assumption correct that the dye has no effect on the blade and collar?
Click to expand...

Thanks — I went into it more as an experiment than anything else. No one was more surprised than I in how they came out.

My procedure for the dyeing process was to open the knives, lock them open (thus the ring stayed on), then used clothes pins on the blades to hold the handles vertically in the dye jar (1 qt. Ball jar) without immersing the lock-rings. I kept the rings out of the dye so as not to goober up the mechanism, but if it happened, I suspect the dye would clean off easily as it won't "take" on the metal.

Good luck! But be really careful with the dye — it does stain clothes like gangbusters....!
 
onojoe said:
Thanks Richard, I was afraid that you had used a lathe, a piece of equipment I don't have. I will have to figure another way, because now I am obsessed with doing something similar
Click to expand...

Something like this can be carefully made with files. A belt sander would make it easier (finish with files).






abizzybomb said:
fa171af3bcc55b5ce6dd62ee6c69b6b9.jpg


I like your "folded friction folder" quite a bit. What metal or material did you use for the body? What did you use for a pivot?

Click to expand...
 
This thread is giving me ideas! I have a few Opinels, two NIB and my user #8. Looks like some winter projects are coming my way!
 
I love the look of the opinel handles that are rounded off. This morning I went searching around for some instruction on doing some basic Opinel mods like that, and I ended up on a YouTube video in which a guy was going to show how to artificially age/patina an Opinel beech wood handle. As I was watching the video, though, I had one serious concern about his process. His instructions basically went like this:

1) Open the knife (obviously, I'm with you so far)

2) Rub a light coat of olive oil all over the handle (alright, seems normal enough)

3) Place the open, olive oil-coated knife on a stone baking dish (ok, this is getting a little weird)

4) Place the knife in a 350° oven for 90 minutes… :eek: :eek:

Now I'm no metallurgist, but I would think that 90 minutes in a 350 degree oven might affect the temper of the blade steel. Thoughts?
 
Here's another one I did recently. Started out as a No7 child's safety. Modified the bladed and hand just a "tad".


 
btb01 said:
I love the look of the opinel handles that are rounded off. This morning I went searching around for some instruction on doing some basic Opinel mods like that, and I ended up on a YouTube video in which a guy was going to show how to artificially age/patina an Opinel beech wood handle. As I was watching the video, though, I had one serious concern about his process. His instructions basically went like this:

1) Open the knife (obviously, I'm with you so far)

2) Rub a light coat of olive oil all over the handle (alright, seems normal enough)

3) Place the open, olive oil-coated knife on a stone baking dish (ok, this is getting a little weird)

4) Place the knife in a 350° oven for 90 minutes… :eek: :eek:

Now I'm no metallurgist, but I would think that 90 minutes in a 350 degree oven might affect the temper of the blade steel. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Best way to round off the handle is come up with an idea of the shape you want and go to town with some 80 grit sand paper and sander till you get close to the shape and then refine it with a finer grit. Beechwood takes stain better with a rough grit. You can always use a fine grit then heat the handle a little but not burn it to let it open up some and take stain.
 
btb01 said:
I love the look of the opinel handles that are rounded off. This morning I went searching around for some instruction on doing some basic Opinel mods like that, and I ended up on a YouTube video in which a guy was going to show how to artificially age/patina an Opinel beech wood handle. As I was watching the video, though, I had one serious concern about his process. His instructions basically went like this:

1) Open the knife (obviously, I'm with you so far)

2) Rub a light coat of olive oil all over the handle (alright, seems normal enough)

3) Place the open, olive oil-coated knife on a stone baking dish (ok, this is getting a little weird)

4) Place the knife in a 350° oven for 90 minutes… :eek: :eek:

Now I'm no metallurgist, but I would think that 90 minutes in a 350 degree oven might affect the temper of the blade steel. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I'm not a metallurgist, but I was a machinist for the last half of my working life. I can tell you when making small springs, 350 degrees was the 'tempering' range for drawing down the hardened spring from it's initial point. This was 1095 in the oven for one hour. A lot of it all depends on what steel it is and what hardness it was to start. I'm not sure where the table is on Sandvik products, but I'll bet that 350 degrees for a whole 90 minutes is going to draw down that blade headiness. To put a finished knife blade in an oven at that temp is insane. Why not just toss it in the trash and be done with it?:eek:

I sure wouldn't do it with any knife of mine, even a low cost Opinel.
 
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Here are mine, I love to mod them because you can do so much to make it yours. I did bake both of them in an oven @ 350 degrees but not for 90 minutes. I sanded the handles with 220 grit first, then saturated the handles with olive oil, make sure the metal does not have oil on it. I also took the twist locks off. The darker one was for almost an hour and the bottom one was for a half hour. I let them completely cool, then finished them with a couple coats of bees wax. I have not noticed anything wrong with them, they still function fine. I use them a lot on picnics/camping trips.

Custom_Opinels_02.jpg


Custom_Opinels_01.jpg


Custom_Opinels_00.jpg
 
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