Opinel No.7 Carbone ~ Maybe the best $10.00 Knife on the Planet ~ You Decide....

Great review! I have several Opinels from No. 7 to 12. Each one as you go up in number is more robust than the last. My Lucky No. 7 is a frequent pocket flyer with me to work and is great for the light duty stuff I usually need a knife for at work. My 10 and 12 are awesome whittling knives. I carve a lot of very hard, dry hickory them and they retain their edges very well. My 8 and 9 are great for cutting up small game and cleaning fish. I treat the handle and pivot with Howard's Butcher Block Conditioner and have had zero trouble with moisture binding the blade in the handle. Of course, they all make great companions in the kitchen. If you like a patina, slicing up a hot steak leaves a beautiful red and blue tone on the carbon steel blades.
 
Nice review, I have a 6 and 8, but not a 7...they out slice just about everything I own, the only thing better (?) Is my BRK Mini Kephart....an Opi in 3v would awesome
 
There is a ritual called the 'Opinel tap' when the handle binds up. Tapping the extended bottom of the but will pop the blade out enough to open. Some folks do dessicant rituals or the previous mentioned treatments. I just do the tap in keeping with the everyman nature of these 'penny knives' as first known. More Opinels are manufactured and sold than any other knife. I've seen a few knives with claimed French Foreign Legion use. The knives carried have been the Douk Douk, a multi purpose folder much like a SAK and presently --Opinels.
 
I really need to get one of these. I've wanted one for quite a while but end up getting something more expensive. Could have had the Opinel and a douk douk several times over with my last fixed knife purchase....
 
When you buy remember the 3 smallest sizes lack the locking ring and are just slipjoints. It becomes a matter of matching size and need to hand. Most people settle on the 8 as the most popular or go big for tasks you might use IE an Old Hickory for. YOUBOOB is full of Opinel projects from pickling the blade to embellishing the handles. There is an Italian knockoff claiming superior workmanship (and price) I highly question.
There is a DIPLOMATIC place for Opinels, Moras and SAKS we often overlook. I was in a doctor's office for a job mandated drug test ( gee, give me a raise and I can afford the drugs the supervisors are on.) I had to empty my pockets and the receptionist's eyes bugged out ' uh,www-hat is the knife for?' It was my old Sheffield army navy rigging knife. I said ' I cut things with it.' I walked out with my urine sample to see her stabbing a box entombed in shipping tape with CAR KEYS. I loaned her my knife and returned later with an inexpensive pink lady's SAK as a gift.
 
If you like Opinel, then check out the Antonini Old Bear. Similar but I like it a little better. Another similar knife is the MAM which is Portuguese.
 
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