-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Opinel, stainless or tool steel?
- Thread starter gull wing
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 29, 1999
- Messages
- 9,934
No tool steels in Opinels, only carbon (1095-ish?) and probably 12C27 or something like that for stainless. Both will take a very fine edge -- I like my #8 in carbon steel, has a nice patina. If you get either with the beech wood handle, melt in some floor wax to seal the wood and keep it from binding the blade.
Chronovore
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2019
- Messages
- 11,826
Opinel uses a modified version of 12C27 with less carbon. They also run it very soft. While this keeps it very stainless and makes it very easy to sharpen, the edge retention suffers.
I used to like Opinel and hadn't used one in a very long time. (At least, not since they changed the locking ring.) So I ordered a new one last year. Besides some fit and finish issues on the one I got, using it quickly demonstrated how much of that appeal had been romanticized in my mind. The main practical benefit is having a very thin blade. That benefit would be far better realized with a better steel.
I got curious and did a bad thing. I put it blade to blade with a cheap Chinese knife in 440C. The 440C cut into the modified 12C27 without issue.
(This post was edited to fix an error. I mistook the cheap 440C knife for another knife in Chinese D2 from the same company.)
Last edited:
Henry Beige
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2015
- Messages
- 3,760
Carbone for me. I have a few Inox, but I just have not bonded with them. The ones I carry, mostly No.6,, plus an 8 and a 10, are all Carbone. I don’t have any issue with the new lock ring system, but I modify it so it works like an old one. I also trim the handles to make them more pocket-friendly.
Both take a very sharp edge very easily. Stainless one apparently holds an edge a bit longer and I hear is tougher than the carbon steel. The carbon steel builds character with use, but obviously needs more care to prevent pitting. Stainless versions come in a variety of wood options. It's up to you. I'd lean towards the stainless for ease of maintenance
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2019
- Messages
- 14,799
Honestly I’ve found both options to be almost indistinguishably soft. The carbon is something equivalent to a 1080, if I recall correctly. I enjoy carbon steel for its character and dependability, but in the case of an Opinel I think I’d go for the stainless. Of the two I get the impression it’s harder. Also my Opinels usually become knock-around knives, so low maintenance inox.
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2006
- Messages
- 43,750
Opinel run their 12C27Mod at 58HRC, which is not soft.
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2006
- Messages
- 43,750
Most people think that in general carbon steel is somewhat easier to sharpen than stainless, no matter whose it is. It might be, but Opinel's stainless is easy enough to sharpen.
I find Opinel's stainless takes a very fine edge. The 12C27Mod is similar in composition to 420HC and has no carbides.
Opinels are a basic knife and inexpensive. It's a very decent knife for the price. I consider it the folding knife equivalent of a Mora.
I only have the carbon, but it's a great steel for what it is. I don't think you can go wrong either way. If you don't mind the downsides to carbon steel(chance of rusting, patina etc), save a few bucks and get the carbon. For the price though, either option is good value.
Chronovore
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2019
- Messages
- 11,826
This was my only example in over a decade. I didn't have the equipment for a quantitative test but I'd be surprised if that one was 56HRC, let alone 58. I misremembered earlier when I mentioned pressing a cheap D2 blade into the 12C27Mod. It was a Chinese sub-$20 knife in 440C. The cheap 440C blade pressed easily into the 12C27Mod without sustaining visible damage or deformation.
Of course, there were other issues with this particular knife. Fit and finish were lacking and the edge was already slightly rolled when fresh out of the box. It's entirely possible that I got a lemon.
Still, why use 12C27Mod in 2021? Thinking about your Mora comparison, I'm pretty sure they use regular 12C27. I've had or used plenty of stainless Companions over the years and they have been entirely consistent with Mora's reputation for budget excellence. Come to think of it, all of my knives in regular 12C27, from Bestech to African Custom Knives, have held a decent edge.
Why not get both and decide for yourself?
It's not like they will break the bank if you buy two of them.
That's the beauty of knives like Opinel & Mora.
In general, my preference goes to carbon steel - but - if/when food prep is involved, I admit I switch over to using stainless.
Having both is a nice touch.
It's not like they will break the bank if you buy two of them.
That's the beauty of knives like Opinel & Mora.
In general, my preference goes to carbon steel - but - if/when food prep is involved, I admit I switch over to using stainless.
Having both is a nice touch.
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2019
- Messages
- 14,799
Wow, really? Maybe I’m sharpening mine at too acute of an angle. I frequent the strop with either Opinel, so maybe “soft” isn’t the word for it, but the edge retention just isn’t the same as my Camillus 440C or GEC (or even ESEE) 1095. Perhaps I’m ignorantly misattributing hardness to edge retention deficiencies. Our resident steel nerd Larrin might remind me that geometry plays a bigger role than blade steel.
