Opinel mods

I hope this is the right place to post this. I don't know if I should start a new thread or what. Let me know if I'm wrong.

Does anyone have an extra locking ring for an Opinel #8 they could send me? Nominal fee, postage, trade, what have you.

I have an old, modded #8 which I got without a ring. I made something to lock it myself but I would like to improve on that. All this Opinel talk has me wanting one in my pocket.
 
Finally pulled the trigger, went to lee valley to get a Mora and found out that everything was either discontinued or out of stock, settled on a No 10 Carbone Opinel. I haven't decided if this is the first of many or the first and last. Everything I have read about these was true enough, thin blade, precisely ground, easily sharpened, sharper than hell but ive never been so cut up in my whole life. The combination of it being beyond razor sharp and the hinge being like a bear trap has led me to cut most of my finger tips, half my knuckles and the meaty parts of both my trigger fingers, ive had to start leaving it at home because my hands hurt so much I cant open any of my knives that aren't waved. Carbon folders are not super common so I wasn't wasting an opportunity to do a forced patina, a combination of apples, mustard and vinegar. I also stripped the finish off the handle and tried dyeing it dark brown, which failed, so I settled for a linseed oil finish, which went so so. Searching for modified Opinels brought me across pics of models with cut down handles and tanto blades which has me thinking, we will see if I survive this one first. What do you think? $22 (I know, I paid to much) and about 2 liters of blood, this is what I get.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=20345849&l=86511b1878&id=841095720
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=20345861&l=47d056c313&id=841095720
 
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CtA,

That looks darn good! You've sanded it, oiled & finished it, patina'd it and, mostly importantly, you've shed your own blood on it. That definitively makes it your own. :thumbup:

I've noticed the pivot on my 'carbone' No. 8 is also quite stiff, more so after I used it for slicing some fruit. I bought it along with a stainless, Walnut-handled No. 8. Strangely, the Walnut version's pivot has never varied in smoothness or ease of opening/closing, although I've used it quite a bit more at mealtime (slicing apples, especially). The beech handle on the carbone model seems to react a lot more to changes in humidity. It's been a bit rainy here, and the pivot gets all-the-more stiff on days like this. All this, in spite of the fact that Opinel varnishes the beech handles on the carbon models (I'd think it'd resist the moisture more; but I'm not seeing evidence of that yet). And the Walnut handle comes completely raw, no finish or sealer on it (go figure).

I've since sanded down my Walnut version, and sealed it with some Watco Danish Oil (mixed formula of linseed oil, varnish and mineral spirits). Worked at least a bit better than I expected. It's got a nice 'almost glossy' satin sheen to it now, after some additional buffing.

I'll probably do the same with the beech handle on the other one & see if that makes a difference in moisture absorption.

BF member Jackknife has recommended using Vaseline in the pivot to stave off the moisture & such (ETA: Opinel even recommends this). I've heard it works pretty well, but haven't tried it with mine yet. I'd hope it might help lube & loosen the pivot a bit, too.
 
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OK, you folks got me with this thread. I'm thinking of mod'ing one of mine now :)
How does one remove the ring and then replace without distorting/mangling the ring?
 
just lock it close and force the blade open, the ring will pop out very easily. putting it back is even more obvious and easier, just .... put it back. lol
 
pwet said:
just lock it close and force the blade open, the ring will pop out very easily. putting it back is even more obvious and easier, just .... put it back. lol
Click to expand...
But mine don't lock closed... They are 10-15 years old... THAT is one of the mods I wanted to do is grind an angle on
one side at the bottom of the slot to allow closed locking!
 
Put a wide blade screwdriver in the notch and twist. It will spread the ring and you will be able to slide it up and off. The trick is to find one with just the right width. It will want to slip out so be careful. A slim metal bar will work too.
 
sitflyer said:
OK, you folks got me with this thread. I'm thinking of mod'ing one of mine now :)
How does one remove the ring and then replace without distorting/mangling the ring?
Click to expand...

Here's a video on the 'takedown' of an Opinel. Another BF member (aznpos531) linked this in a very useful post a while back (link is below):

[video=youtube;PMI9MKuygIE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMI9MKuygIE&feature=player_embedded[/video]


More takedown videos linked in this thread --->: Knife disassembly/assembly resource directory
 
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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Wow, these are gorgeous. Could you break down how you went about adding the antler scales to the one and the silver to the other? I'd be interested in trying that myself

Again, beautiful mods
 
davek14 said:
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?
Click to expand...

Dark brown gives a very deep brown like you get on a linseed-oiled gunstock over time. Not quite black, but close.

Mix it a bit heavy- about half the water, and submerge the handle only.
 
Obsessed, I missed your post before I started so I just used a pair of bent needle nose pliers in reverse and lifted the ring. I started this morning at about 10:00 and carved the handles flat on each side. Sanded smooth and then used 400 grit wet/dry paper and sanded the wood WITH the blue stain. then wrapped the handle with a rag full of the oil stain and placed it in the finger of a vinyl glove...put that in a sealed can and let her cook in my car for about 2 hours. then I worked on the ring to make it lock while closed.
This week I will be putting 3 or 4 coats of spar varnish on it and I think then it will really pop !
Thanx to ALL who contributed to this thread so far...very inspirational...:)


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Hey sitflyer,

That's an interesting look on that handle, reminds me of some blue-ish mammoth/mastadon scales I've seen on customs before, in both color and grain/texture. Pretty cool! :thumbup:

I've considered using needle-nose pliers, or snap-ring pliers (they 'open' when you squeeze the handles; but I don't currently have a pair of those). I had previously removed the locking ring on mine, using the technique shown in the video link. Took some getting used to, to get it right, but it does work.
 
Thanx David,
The needle nose worked pretty good but next time will be easyer as I plan to grind small slots on the tips to aid in
gripping the ring
 
sitflyer said:
Thanx David,
The needle nose worked pretty good but next time will be easyer as I plan to grind small slots on the tips to aid in
gripping the ring
Click to expand...

That's a thoughtful mod to the pliers. That's why I held off in using mine, because they were a bit tough to get a good 'bite' on the ring, without slipping. The notches ought to help with that. :thumbup:
 
sitflyer said:
...and sanded the wood WITH the blue stain. then wrapped the handle with a rag full of the oil stain and placed it in the finger of a vinyl glove...put that in a sealed can and let her cook in my car for about 2 hours. then I worked on the ring to make it lock while closed.
This week I will be putting 3 or 4 coats of spar varnish on it and I think then it will really pop !
Click to expand...

Hi, if you are experienced with that combination of stain/oil/varnish please ingnor this.

Before the protective finish is applied (varnish, wax etc.) stain or oil should be completley dry. If the oil is not dry the finish won't dry properly. I live in SW Michigan where it can be pretty humid. I use Watco Danish Oil on alot of my projects. I like to give it (the oil) three weeks to dry before putting anything on top of it. After milling the wood, cutting, assembly, and sanding a project I don't want to rush the top coat and have to redo it.
 
rjdankert, it's pretty humid here in NC as well... Oil on oil I don't usually wait more than a day. Top coat sits under a fan for a day, then cures for 2-3 weeks before too much handling.
 
I don't have any plans to topcoat with a different finish (at least not yet). But with mine, the Watco Danish Oil dried real quick. Felt completely dry to the touch in 5-10 minutes, after each of 3 or 4 initial applications, spaced about 30 minutes apart. It was buffing up very nicely within about 3 days. That seems consistent with the instructions on the can, recommending a 72-hour wait before adding another finish. Having said that, I am in the D-R-Y desert southwest (NM). And I'm sure the small size of the project allows for quicker drying, too. :)
 
Menace said:
Wow, these are gorgeous. Could you break down how you went about adding the antler scales to the one and the silver to the other? I'd be interested in trying that myself

Again, beautiful mods
Click to expand...

Well, on the antler scales I just filed a flat on either side of the handle, starting with a bastard file and going to a somewhat finer file as I got close to my goal so as to keep it even and square. Doing a good job on this is the key.

Took some Elk antler I had and ground the face flat. Elk is best to get a somewhat flat-ish piece for scales as it can be huge. My girlfriend got this piece fairly cheaply at a now defunct Elk ranch in Minnesota. It was cheap because it was a big broken up piece, still good for scales.

I epoxied the pieces into the flats I had filed and clamped it up to dry. I did not try to fit the scales anywhere but against the flats I had filed, the main flat and the small flat area at right angles to that up near the lock. Everywhere else was sticking out hugely. Once it had dried I then belt sanded the whole mess (and it did look a mess) into shape.

Hand sanding with finer sandpaper, some stain (with a small paintbrush), and many coats of tung oil and I was done.

On the "silver" piece, well, that's actually aluminum.

With that, it helps that I'm a machinist. I milled a groove in a piece of aluminum and then just ground and filed the Opinel to fit in it. The Opinel didn't have a bunch of wood left and it was pretty fragile when I glued it in. Once the epoxy set, it's all pretty sturdy and I've put it through some fairly tough use.

Once it was all glued in I ground the aluminum to shape and buffed and polished it. In this case, since aluminum conducts heat so well I had to do a little at a time so as to not make it all too hot. I work on this stuff a little each morning before work anyway so it was all good.

Again with the stain and tung oil and paintbrush.

Hope this made sense. Ask me any questions.

I haven't worked on Opi's in years, you're giving me the itch.
 
To anyone interested, I picked up some snap-ring pliers at Lowe's a few days ago. They're perfect for removing and reinstalling the locking ring on Opinels. I know some have mentioned these before, but just wanted to pass along my thoughts as to how impressively they work for this task. Couldn't ask for a better tool for this purpose.
 
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