Opinel pruning and curved design...

SamuraiDave

SamuraiDave

Joined
Apr 6, 2001
Messages
2,632
I have been researching a knife for a spicific purpose.
Cutting down irises.

I bought a house, and the previous guy let his irises get out of control. I grew up with some, and you cut them back at least once a year so that you dont have all the dead leaves to take away their appeal. Sure the dead stuff seperates easily for disposal, but that imbetween phase of droopy nasty looking green brown leaves is kind of depressing.

I have a thick bed of irises across the front and into the backyard.

I am torn between a japanese style sickle, Kama, or something more like one of Opinel's harvest knives.

Does anyone have any experience with Opinel's harvest knives?
 
I like the Opinel No 8 over the sickle, mainly do to it being smaller/less specialized. I'd think the sickle may be overkill for the task you'd use it for, though it seems like a cool tool to have. Plus that website you linked to have a lot of other interesting stuff. I have an Opinel No 10 and it rocks. Cheap, really sharp and simple. Just my 2 cents.
 
I like my Opi #8 plenty, as a GP (general purpose)-type of pocketknife, for whittling, and cutting stuff as needed thru the day. Even used it some for gardening stuff, tho I'm thinking that if you think you'll be doing a LOT of pruning with one, you'd probably be better off with the specialized Opi.
 
That Opinel with the point, the Serpette, as they call it.

I love that knife, get it, I would be very hard pressed to imagine that you would not like it.

Marion
 
I've worked with both those Opinels, the 10 and the 8 curved blades. The 10 with the full hook is excellent for pruning. I had taken it to our local woods, put the hook over evergreen branches 1/2" thick and pulled gently. Sliced clean through. Effortlessly. It's really a pocket billhook, designed centuries ago for the exact job you describe.
 
Opinels are good handy tools. Florists I provided them for loved them. Never used one in that pattern but it is a classic gardening shape. I should imagine the Opinel version is as good as any other.

From here it looks like your choice simply boils down to - do you want to make controlled cuts or do you want to hack.
 
not to diss the opinels but ive always used those $2 ace sickles. sure theyre serrated but they dont leave nasty teeth marks....what sort of iris is it? also i think its safer for your hands when youre ripping through the bed

im a landscaper by trade and i use a serrated sickle on iris exclusively...ive tried a few moras and they never work out. speed safety and performance all go to the sickle.

i dont know the sq ft of this iris bed but you might want to remove all the iris then clean them and replant the ones you keep....they are much easier to clean and come out looking nicer when you can handle them...they are also a hardy plant so if you throw some in a trash bag with some water and leave them in a shady spot they wont die.

anyhow good luck with the project!!
 
We are the 3rd owners of this house.

I spoke with my neighbors and the 1st owner was an engineer. If it was mechanical he fixed it. If it was strictly cosmedic, he left it. He was not into updating. He lived in this place for 25 years. Then he retired and moved to his "lake house" up in Wisconsin, from what my neighbors tell me.

The second owner owned this place for about 5 years. He was almost the opposite. Pure cosmedics, and he had very bad taste.
The yard was brown and pretty much dead when we got here. I went to turn on the valve that turned on the water faucets outside, only to find that the valve was buried under about 8" of compacted clay sediment.
I dont think he turned on the water to the outside faucets in the 5 years he was here.
(The house is built on piers, done by the 1st guy, and the foundation guys said it looks great)

The 2nd guy obviously did some yard work, but not much. He just let the irises get out of control. I have transplanted them before. They are very hardy and they do well here in the Texas heat.
I probably have over 100 sq. ft. of very thick iris bed. The one on the north-east side of my house could easily fill a 10'x10' room. Then he has a few on the south-east side, and some in the back yard.
They dont look terrible. But I would like less of them.

Which serrated sickel do you like the best?
Do you have a link?

I may go over to a local hardware place during lunch and take a look. I've never really gone shopping for something like this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top