Opinel mods

supratentorial said:
No mods yet but here's a photo of a few of my Opinels:
opinels.jpg
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Whoa, is that a 13 hiding down there? How about a little review of that if you would, I've toyed with the idea of getting one of those more than once.
 
Blue Sky said:
Whoa, is that a 13 hiding down there? How about a little review of that if you would, I've toyed with the idea of getting one of those more than once.
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Here are some photos for you. The no. 13 is a monster with a 22cm blade. I thought it was just a display knife but the blade is actually surprisingly sharp. The viro bloc is also functional. Out of curiosity I cut kiln dried soft wood kindling with it on one occasion but mostly it just sits on a bookshelf. A no. 10 (the size of the corkscrew Opinel in my previous photo) is more practical for my needs but the no. 13 is fun to have around.

Photos of no. 13, no. 8 and no. 2 Opinels:
opinel_blades.jpg


opinel.jpg
 
These are some great images and ideas, gents. I had no idea one could have such a good time modifying simple knives.

My first Opinel is currently en route via the post, so I'm looking forwad to playing with patina and sandpaper.
 
Great mods guys! I've got an old Opinel laying around collecting dust that I'll have to try a thing or two on.
 
@ blue sky

the first one, sheepfoot blade looks awesome! now I wish they made one like it!
Maxx
 
Here's one I did a while ago. It turned out to be a very pocket friendly knife.

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For the Opi swelling problem, leave it in a hot car in the summer for a day or three until it gets floppy loose then soak in mineral oil until it tightens up.

What stain has anyone found to stain them darkly. That's always been a problem for me.


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Sorry, no pics of mine, as the details are too small to see anyway. I took a file to the heel of the blade, it seemed like it was going to bite me, I also rounded the top corners of the lock ring slot just to save the pocket a bit. beyond that, polished the blade smooth, and let the patina form during many a lunch break!
 
If I wanted to wood stain an opinel, would I just sand it down, and then put the stain on it?
 
Don't laugh, but my Opinel 8 is the only knife I use in the garden. Got a razor sharp edge on it with a ceramic stick. For the money, one of the best little knives out there.
 
davek14 said:
For the Opi swelling problem, leave it in a hot car in the summer for a day or three until it gets floppy loose then soak in mineral oil until it tightens up.

What stain has anyone found to stain them darkly. That's always been a problem for me.
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I've found Rit clothing dye to work very well.
 
davek14 said:
Aha! Mix it thickly, I suppose? Use brown or black?



I've had a lot of trouble getting the beech dark at all with normal stains. I stained numerous time on the ones in the pics.
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The current generation beech-handled Opinels (with the 'carbone' blades) are varnished. I assume, because of the increased vulnerability of the blades to rusting, varnishing minimizes moisture absorption into the wood. Don't know about older versions. But, if you've had trouble staining one of the newer variety, you might need to sand/strip the varnish off first. That might be getting in the way. If the varnish is very deeply soaked into the wood, it may still be a problem, even after sanding. Opinels with the stainless blades are left with the handles untreated.

Here's a quote from the 'FAQs' page of an Opinel dealer site:

"12. I noticed that the beechwood handle of the Opinel Carbon and Stainless steel models look different, is it the same wood?
Yes, Opinel use the same wood, the difference is that the carbon models have a varnished handle and the Stainless steel models are left untreated / natural."
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Well, I've sanded pretty deep making a kind of cutout near the fingernail nick to facilitate opening. A lot of mods I've seen seem pretty light colored. I just assumed beech didn't stain easily. Any woodworkers out there that can tell us?

Obsessed with Edges said:
The current generation beech-handled Opinels (with the 'carbone' blades) are varnished. I assume, because of the increased vulnerability of the blades to rusting, varnishing minimizes moisture absorption into the wood. Don't know about older versions. But, if you've had trouble staining one of the newer variety, you might need to sand/strip the varnish off first. That might be getting in the way. If the varnish is very deeply soaked into the wood, it may still be a problem, even after sanding. Opinels with the stainless blades are left with the handles untreated.

Here's a quote from the 'FAQs' page of an Opinel dealer site:
Click to expand...
 
davek14 said:
Well, I've sanded pretty deep making a kind of cutout near the fingernail nick to facilitate opening. A lot of mods I've seen seem pretty light colored. I just assumed beech didn't stain easily. Any woodworkers out there that can tell us?
Click to expand...

I did some hunting around on the web, after replying earlier. I was curious about this, as I've recently bought three Opinels, one of which is the carbon blade & beech handle. I have seen some posts in woodworking forums, regarding some more 'challenging' issues in staining beech. Many of them having to do with 'blotchy' results. So, there might be an issue with the wood too. I didn't know if you'd already done some deep sanding on yours, and the carbon-bladed version of the Opinel is the only one they've varnished from the start, so I thought it might be contributing to the problem.

Edited to add:
Opinel's stainless-bladed knife with the beech handle is unvarnished. It'd be interesting to see how much differently that one behaves (or IF it's different), when staining.
 
I ended up staining multiple times and only got it dark at all after vigorously "rubbing in" the stain with my fingers. I think that dirt from my hands along with the stain finally got down in the grain :). Hey, whatever works, right? The walnut stained darkly easily but is a bit more expensive and the beech ended up fine.

The rit dye trick sounds good. I liked walnut stained almost black, so's black rit dye, right?

Obsessed with Edges said:
I did some hunting around on the web, after replying earlier. I was curious about this, as I've recently bought three Opinels, one of which is the carbon blade & beech handle. I have seen some posts in woodworking forums, regarding some more 'challenging' issues in staining beech. Many of them having to do with 'blotchy' results. So, there might be an issue with the wood too. I didn't know if you'd already done some deep sanding on yours, and the carbon-bladed version of the Opinel is the only one they've varnished from the start, so I thought it might be contributing to the problem.

Edited to add:
Opinel's stainless-bladed knife with the beech handle is unvarnished. It'd be interesting to see how much differently that one behaves (or IF it's different), when staining.
Click to expand...
 
Since the thread is getting a bit more into the "how to" as opposed to just a "gallery", it is properly being moved to the "Maintenance, Tinkering & Embellishment" area so other DIY inclined folks can follow along and participate. (Permanent link left behind in "Traditional")
 
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