Opinel - use or opinions?

I have the carbon set, large and small fillet stainless ,the gardner in a nifty belt sheath that came with a small sharpening steel and the folding saw.

I EDC the gardner all the time and warn people who use it that it is very sharp.
Almost forgot I have the one with the rounded tip, I call it my PBJ knife.
 
i bought a couple of the cold steel twistmasters when they made them, good carbon 5 blades and a synthetic handle, they are good knives, were not very expensive, they cam in two sizes if i remember.

alex
 
Opinels are great. I have one at the moment. I got my first one when I was like 8 or nine from a kitchen store at the mall.
 
j williams said:
I got my first one when I was like 8 or nine from a kitchen store at the mall.
Click to expand...

I got my first from a kitchen store in NYC called Williams-Sonoma. It wasn't what I went in there looking for but I recognized them right away, a big bin of them, and got one. Looking back, I wonder what my knife life would have been like if they had a bin of Sebenzas instead ...
 
I got my first Opinel in 1982, and I've had a on again-off again love of them since then.

They cut really great, and fresh off the hone nothing short of a light saber is going to slice and dice like one. Over the years, I've treated them with linseed oil, or spar varnish, or even vasoline on a toothpick like a real french guy told me. I can get them pretty warer resistant, but they still will swell if gotten wet enough.

I still have one in the kitchen drawer for odd chores like breaking down a cardboard box for trash, or opening bulk boxes of something from Sam's club. But I don't carry one anymore. Just to unreliable in wet or very humid weather. A sak is weather proof, has more versitility, gets very sharp, and has a few tools to make little repairs easier. I have a mora stashed around for real cutting jobs, so I really don't use the Opinel anymore. Just too much of a PITA to mess with.

I don't bother carrying an Opinel anymore. Just may give mine away. It's like a novelty that's worn off. Too many other better knives around.
 
I have Opinel no.12 and 8. I have tested them on nordic woods both fresh and seasoned. Performance on general carving and making fuzzies is good (considering the nonoptimized grind type) although the blades and the edges flex when used with force. They're that thin.

I noticed no damage during my tests to the edges but removing knots by carving and prying showed a behaviour of the edge with tendency to "jump". This was an indication of lack of bite depth on the hard wood fiber in these cases. Rather than break the wood chip the edge jumped off from the cut. Based on other knives used for similar functions numerous times I'd say it was due to light weight of the blade and edge geometry.

I don't have much to say about their edge retention except that I found it adequate. They're easy to sharpen which is a plus.

The Opinels are pleasing to my eye and I was pleased on their performance on simple woodcrafting while I wouldn't consider them heavy duty, not due to the folding mechanism or general construction or materials but due to the blade and edge geometry. In my opinion for the heavy duty bushcraft users they're too light. For lighter bush chores they seem perfectly suitable.
 
The spine is amazing at throwing sparks from the firesteel, both the carbon and the stainless garden knife. The garden knife has a drop point and a different shaped handle, it's my favourite.
 
As others have said, they aren't a survival knife. I wouldn't really take one of these in the field, but for urban pocket carry they are great and also very tasteful. Keep them dry and the perform extremely well.

They are also a really good benchmark knife for testing sharpness and cutting because they tune up so wonderfully. There aren't too many knives that will outcut a freshly tuned opinel.
 
I wouldn't particularly choose them as my first choice for a dedicated survival knife, but I do EDC a carbon-steeled hawkbill habitually. Opinel makes some fine-quality knives with pretty wood handles, effective ring locks, and good edge geometry for a very economical price.

:thumbup:
 
Leave it in a hot car on a summer day or two till it gets floppy loose. Then submerge the end in a glass with a couple inches of mineral oil for a few weeks or till it absorbs enough oil to tighten up. Won't swell anymore.


siguy said:
i would say folders in general don't get a whole lot of "air time"



the wood swelling is my biggest problem, i put my opinel away last summer because of the swelling and finally gave my buck stockman a chance, and fell in love with the stockman...but that's besides the point.

some mods that i would like to do to an opinel when i get the chance:
remove the blade and sand the channel bigger, so that the blade has a little more wiggle room. when locked, the blade would still be secure due to the cool locking mechanism.
re-heat treat the blade, aiming for a harder edge
Click to expand...
 
Opinels are one of the best kept secrets in the knife world, along with Moras and the might Ka-Bar USMC, as being of exceptional quality at a rock bottom price point.

seriously, i'd rather have a couple of Opinels than a Sebenza.

sure, the opinels lack the cachet of a sebby, but there's nothing a sebenza can cut that an opinel can't.
 
I like Opinel knives. They are simple, inexpensive, and perform well for many tasks.

However, as others have said, I found that the wood would swell when wet making it difficult to open the knife. I also had a blade snap when I was levering with it. I know I shouldn't have been levering, but if you need a lever and your pocketknife is all you have, you tend to use it.

The Opinel, like the red Swiss Army knives, look like they are more in the 'acceptable in a public place' category compared to some others. Great for a picnic in the park or whatever.

For simple slicing or whittling in dry, civilized conditions the Opinel is excellent. But if you are like me and like to keep your knife washed and hygienic... and if 'tough' is a necessary quality when picking a knife, then a wooden Opinel folder might not be at the top of your list of choices.

If I was stuck in the wilderness, I'd still be grateful to have an Opinel. I would just have to remember to work within the limits of the tool.
 
Worked in rural France in the summer of 1980
Every worker and farm hand had a Opinel
They used them for everything, from work to eating.

Still have mine from then and is still going strong
 
Opinel are great knives IMO. They dont get mentioned that much because they are simple designed and effective. They dont have the "latest and greatest" steel/handle/lock, they are not tactical/hard use/folder that is a fixed blade but they have been around for a long time and they work and IMO are one of the best knives out there as a working tool.
 
As a kid I use to love walking into a store that sold them and see the behemoth model that invariably was on display. It looked to be some 18" long in the open position.
 
nothing really wrong with an Opinel, but then there is nothing to really recommend them either.

A good, basic folder.
 
Great idea, poor execution. Every one that I tried wouldn't hold an edge for any time at all. If they would make them with 1095 at about 65 HRC, THEN you would have an ultimate slicer! Their geometry is fantastic, but the steel is so mediocre that I gave up on them.
 
Huh--never had that problem with my Opinel. Sure, edge retention is about that of a common kitchen knife, but that's more than enough for most tasks. And it never takes more than a quick couple of strokes on a fine stone to get it stupid-sharp again. :p

As far as the swelling issue goes, I suggest just sanding an "easy open" notch into the handle so you can pinch it open. I never have any trouble with mine thanks to that. :)
 
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