Opinel question

average gimp · Oct 16, 2014

I'm trying to come to terms with Opinels but there's a major stumbling block: legality. The only legal blade length I find useful is a #6 in my area. The only handle I find useful for length is a #9, and I don't want a "cheat" lanyard as has been used on other non-traditional knives. My question is: are the pivots compatible enough for me to swap a #6 blade into a #9 handle, or am I asking the impossible?

sitflyer · Oct 16, 2014

They are cheap enough, that it may be worth your while to try to find a smithy to regrind a no9 blade to length to meet your local knife laws, that would be my course of action.
I don't know the corresponding blade thicknesses, but that may be a stumbling block on the blade swap idea, and the tang geometry as well...

Lemmy Caution · Oct 16, 2014

The steel is soft enough you could just file or dremel saw the #9 blade to size and reshape it with files. Could make it a nice spearpoint or even a sheepsfoot at that length. You sure the #6 handle is too small?

mykel m · Oct 16, 2014

I would be worried about pivot pin diameters also.I imagine the 6 is smaller, but I could be wrong.I know the blades of the 9's are thicker so it would make sense the pins are larger also.
That & the wider blade well of the 9 spells excessive rattle in my mind.
If reshaping isn't an option there's also the Oyster Knife to look at, though the Oyster Knife blade would need an edge put on it as they are only sharpened for 1.5cm at the tip.
They have a 2.5 inch spear point blade on the #9 handle so it should fill the bill for your needs if you don't mind the spear point & INOX steel.

Now lets see about getting this thread moved to the maintenance & tinkering forum.
Oh mods......

jackknife · Oct 16, 2014

Is this a city law or state?

quattromori · Oct 16, 2014

Instead of swapping blades, I would try reducing the blade length on your #9 as well

screened porch · Oct 16, 2014

Or dowel on a handle extension to the little one, perhaps.

cchu518 · Oct 16, 2014

Its really easy on a Norton stone. You can take lots off a blade in well under 30 mi uses by hand if needed. I personally like those little key chain Opinel's a lot!

The case sodbuster has a very similar blade btw.

jackknife · Oct 16, 2014

Some of the state parks and places I go here in Maryland have a 3 inch bale limit. I took a large 10 inch mill file to my number 8 Opinel that had a 3 1/4 inch blade and made a dropped/semi spear point out of it. Took about 10 minutes to get it down to 2 7/8th inch blade. Duct taped the edge, put it in a vise and had at it. Now it's Maryland State park legal. Never liked the upswept tip anyways!

Phydeaux · Oct 16, 2014

The simplest thing is to just shorten the blade. I have a No. 8 that ground the blade into a drop point and reshaped the handle a little.

I am in the South SF Bay Area, I could probably shorten a No. 9 for you. Send me an E mail if you are interested.

There are some threads on the forum on mods done to Opinels.

Ric

average gimp · Oct 17, 2014

Lemmy Caution said:
The steel is soft enough you could just file or dremel saw the #9 blade to size and reshape it with files. Could make it a nice spearpoint or even a sheepsfoot at that length. You sure the #6 handle is too small?

I didn't know how soft the stainless models were. I heard about the carbon models, but Carl's posted about the stainless having superior cutting, and I usually prefer stainless anyway. Actually, all the Opinels I've tried below a #9 were too small, but the #6 is ridiculous, especially with the rounded handle. I spend more time dropping them than being able to hold them correctly.

jackknife said:
Is this a city law or state?

One good thing about CA is there's no state law on blade length, but also no pre-emption clause as there is for guns. This is a city (work) and county (residence and work) ordinance.

jackknife said:
Some of the state parks and places I go here in Maryland have a 3 inch bale limit. I took a large 10 inch mill file to my number 8 Opinel that had a 3 1/4 inch blade and made a dropped/semi spear point out of it. Took about 10 minutes to get it down to 2 7/8th inch blade. Duct taped the edge, put it in a vise and had at it. Now it's Maryland State park legal. Never liked the upswept tip anyways!

Excellent--as I said to Lemmy above, I didn't know the inox blades were that easy to modify. I also hate the upswept tips, so this is a double bonus!

Phydeaux said:
The simplest thing is to just shorten the blade. I have a No. 8 that ground the blade into a drop point and reshaped the handle a little.

I am in the South SF Bay Area, I could probably shorten a No. 9 for you. Send me an E mail if you are interested.

Thanks for the offer. From what Carl posted even I should be able to handle this mod, and I was going to have to mod the handle anyway. Time for a Harbor Freight run.

average gimp · Oct 17, 2014

Lemmy Caution said:
The steel is soft enough you could just file or dremel saw the #9 blade to size and reshape it with files. Could make it a nice spearpoint or even a sheepsfoot at that length. You sure the #6 handle is too small?

I didn't know how soft the stainless models were. I read about modding the blades of carbon models, but Carl's posted about the stainless having superior cutting, and I prefer stainless anyway. Actually, all the Opinels I've tried below a #9 were too small, but the #6 is ridiculous, especially with the rounded handle. I spent more time dropping it than being able to hold it correctly.

jackknife said:
Is this a city law or state?

One good thing about CA is there's no state law on blade length, but also no pre-emption clause as there is for guns. This is a city (work) and county (residence and work) ordinance.

jackknife said:
Some of the state parks and places I go here in Maryland have a 3 inch bale limit. I took a large 10 inch mill file to my number 8 Opinel that had a 3 1/4 inch blade and made a dropped/semi spear point out of it. Took about 10 minutes to get it down to 2 7/8th inch blade. Duct taped the edge, put it in a vise and had at it. Now it's Maryland State park legal. Never liked the upswept tip anyways!

Excellent--as I said to Lemmy above, I didn't know the inox blades were that easy to modify. I also hate the upswept tips, so this is a double bonus!

Phydeaux said:
The simplest thing is to just shorten the blade. I have a No. 8 that ground the blade into a drop point and reshaped the handle a little.

I am in the South SF Bay Area, I could probably shorten a No. 9 for you. Send me an E mail if you are interested.

Thanks for the offer. From what Carl posted even I should be able to handle this mod, and I was going to have to mod the handle anyway. Time for a Harbor Freight run.