Opinel users .?

[Bob W]

In the hot, sweltering, sweaty, rainy Arkansas climate mine would get quite stiff but never so much that it wouldn't open.
Here in New Mexico I'm just glad they upgraded the design to lock closed.

I prefer mine easy-to-open. :thumbup:

 

[Dale Gribble]

I tend to like the blade fairly snug, and the locking ring a little more on the lighter end of the spectrum. Most of the tinkering I do with a new one is to loosen up the resistance on the locking ring, using some snap ring pliers to open up the ring so that it doesn't hurt my thumb to rotate it. The ones I seem to get take almost a super human level of strength to rotate the locking ring.

As far as blade movement and resistance, most of mine have come pretty tight out of the box, but then break in to a nice and consistent level of resistance.

Carl, just tried the vaseline and blow dryer method last night, and I think that's the way I'll be doing it in the future. I had been using mineral oil, but the vaseline seems like a much better solution to providing some water resistance to the joint. Thanks man.

 

[mr_badexample]

On the smaller knives without the ring I peen the pivot so the knife is rather tight. This was only after one opened up on me in my watch pocket. Having owned a few of these there is certainly some variation in pivot tightness when new.

The ones with the lock ring I just use it as intended with the blade open and closed. It's a clever design that's very effective for my needs. If I did remove the ring I would want to peen those as well.

 

[AreBeeBee]

I have a #6 in carbon from a trip to France in the 1990s; it lacks the lock-shut feature which Opi introduced at some point. I also have two #8s (both stainless, one in bubinga wood, the other with the curved "garden" style handle), and a #9 carbon. All the latter lock shut, a good idea.

Where I live the ambient humidity varies all over the place throughout the year. Currently, it's centrally heated indoors, which means low humidity and the blades all open easily. The same knives, exposed to typical summer humdity, would be stiffer by far, though still fingernail-operable. Indoors, summer, under a/c? Well, somewhere between tight and loose.

Given the variation and the risks to both the blade and me, however, I'll always use them locked open — and carry them locked shut, too. (Except for that #6 which can't be locked, which is probably why gets carried almost never.)

Friction-folders sound like a wonderful, back-to-basics, essence-of-knifeness idea — dare I use the word "artisanal"? But I'll pass. The higonokami I bought on a trip to Japan is a great souvenir, but I'll never use it as an ordinary knife, even after giving the pivot-rivet a tap or two to keep it acceptibly frictiony. Too damn scary a blade, and the handle's uncomfortable anyway.

If I'm carrying a knife, I want the blade protected out of the way, both for its sake and for mine!

 

[davek14]

I don't think there is any sure fire way to keep Opi's right at the same tightness in an environment with varying humidity.

My theory is that there is going to be osmosis, moisture migration though the wood which can affect the pivot while starting elsewhere in the handle. So I dry the knife at least a bit and then throw the whole thing in mineral oil for days or weeks. The goal is to have the soak make it tighter. I've tightened up fairly loose Opi's that way.

I don't know if it works better than Vaseline but it works better (lasts better) than soaking just the pivot.

 

[quattromori]

Snug. No doubt about it.
As someone born with friction folders, there is something else I'd like to add.
The best friction folders that I have had and handled in my life had a different friction along the 180° of the opening (or closing) arch.
I have no idea of how this is achieved (technically), but I know for sure that I love them that way: pretty tight close to the fully open and fully closed position, and relatively loose halfway.

Fausto

 

[SwiftDream]

I have a #6 in carbon from a trip to France in the 1990s; it lacks the lock-shut feature which Opi introduced at some point.

You can fix that with a file very easily.

I think all the woods behave somewhat differently but after doing the one-time 24 hr soak in 50% mineral spirits and 50% boiled linseed oil, I have carried this piece for almost a year non stop though all kinds of weather. I have done a few treatments of Vaseline in the joint but nothing else and it has been months since any treatments at all. The bubinga wood is very hard and stable compared to some of the others so that might help.

The action seems to stay just right, not real stiff but not loose at all either. It just stays put with a little variation when the humidity changes but not all that much. I like it right there in between. It is stiff enough to use without the lockring and I do that for many small things but like that lockring just to keep the blade from closing on my fingers guillotine style if I am clumsy enough to hit the back of the blade while working. That might happen in the garden or woods. For the most part I am careful enough.

I carry it on a leash that hangs the knife vertical in my pocket...the end just barely touches the bottom of my pocket and this makes the knife disappear unlike letting it fall horizontal into the bottom of the pocket, making it bulky. I do lock the blade closed in the pocket.

You get a lot of good blade length for the weight, a very light weight knife overall. The thin, fully convexed grind outperforms many of my much more expensive knives. The handle is very comfortable even under heavy cutting jobs. It has a simple old-world appeal, ingenious really in lines and performance.

 

[AreBeeBee]

You can fix that with a file very easily.

I have thought about adding a small notch on the bottom of the collar to lock the blade shut, as you show. One of these days, I'll probably do it. Meanwhile, however, of my four Opis I've found the #8s to be the best size for ordinary pocket carry — plus I really like the bubinga wood. If had my druthers, I'd put a #8 carbon blade with the bubinga handle, but the stainless #8 blade works fine.

This was taken before getting the bubinga #8 (top to bottom: #9, #8 garden, #6):

I refinished the handles on all three using Rit warm-brown clothing dye and urethane varnish. Interesting differences in how the wood "took" the dye, since they all got exactly the same treatment.

 

[jackknife]

You can fix that with a file very easily.

I think all the woods behave somewhat differently but after doing the one-time 24 hr soak in 50% mineral spirits and 50% boiled linseed oil, I have carried this piece for almost a year non stop though all kinds of weather. I have done a few treatments of Vaseline in the joint but nothing else and it has been months since any treatments at all. The bubinga wood is very hard and stable compared to some of the others so that might help.

I have wondered that many times, about the harder premium woods being more stable than the standard beach. I've toyed with the idea of a Bubinga wood Opinel. Then of course there's the ebony!

 

[EricV]

I have wondered that many times, about the harder premium woods being more stable than the standard beach. I've toyed with the idea of a Bubinga wood Opinel. Then of course there's the ebony!

Bought my father and buddy both Bubinga ones specifically because in my experience they are less likely to swell up with humidity changes. My favorite Opi is fairly tight, but I always use the locking ring when its in my pocket. I had a higonokami open up in pocket and never got to trusting friction alone again.

 

[SwiftDream]

I have thought about adding a small notch on the bottom of the collar to lock the blade shut, as you show. One of these days, I'll probably do it. Meanwhile, however, of my four Opis I've found the #8s to be the best size for ordinary pocket carry — plus I really like the bubinga wood. If had my druthers, I'd put a #8 carbon blade with the bubinga handle, but the stainless #8 blade works fine.

That is a real nice little selection of slicers Arebeebee and a fine dye treatment too. And I agree the #8 is the best all around carrying and using model. However I prefer the Inox over the carbon. I know many like carbon over any kind of stainless but this generation of the Swedish 12c27 seems to be tougher than their carbon and it takes a very fine edge like their carbon. But I like the carbon too. Girlfriend has one of the #8 Garden knives like you have and she uses that thing all the time in her garden and while hiking and camping.

I have wondered that many times, about the harder premium woods being more stable than the standard beach. I've toyed with the idea of a Bubinga wood Opinel. Then of course there's the ebony!

Jackknife the ebony would make a striking material. I have a friend in Florida, a very humid state, who carries and uses an ebony and finds it works well for him. I have often thought about getting one for myself.

The olive wood models are very hard and have good stability too. Even the hard, more stable woods are wood though and I have had a #8 olive wood and a gifted #10 bubinga fillet stick some before I started with the 24 hr 50/50 mineral spirits/BLO soak (in hot weather) with occasional Vaseline treatments. After that I have had zero problems so I'll probably stick to that and see. It also seems to help with the wood shrinking in our super low humidity months, then the blade becoming too loose. I'm no spring chicken either so I don't want the opening too stiff but don't like loose blades either.

Nice simple carving design Eric!

 

[SonnyJim]

If had my druthers, I'd put a #8 carbon blade with the bubinga handle, but the stainless #8 blade works fine.

I'm curious as to how difficult a blade swap would be. Has anyone done one?

~Jim

 

[AreBeeBee]

I'm curious as to how difficult a blade swap would be. Has anyone done one?

~Jim

Not done it myself. But it appears that you need to find a replacement for the pivot pin because to change the blade, you're going to cut off (or file off) one peened end of it and drive it out the other side.

 

[AreBeeBee]

That is a real nice little selection of slicers Arebeebee and a fine dye treatment too. And I agree the #8 is the best all around carrying and using model. However I prefer the Inox over the carbon. I know many like carbon over any kind of stainless but this generation of the Swedish 12c27 seems to be tougher than their carbon and it takes a very fine edge like their carbon. But I like the carbon too. Girlfriend has one of the #8 Garden knives like you have and she uses that thing all the time in her garden and while hiking and camping.

I agree that the Opi stainless works fine. I'm not a steel snob — or maybe "aficionado" is a better term — I'm just fond of the patina that carbon develops with use. But stainless or carbon, the Opis are all great slicers, which is probably why everybody thinks of them as "that clever French picnic knife."

 

[pinnah]

Carl,

I prefer mine to be medium tight. Loose enough I don't need to rap the handle to open it but tight enough that the blade won't swing when it's unlocked.

I don't think of the lock as a lock. Anybody who relies on the lock to prevent it from closing should (and will) have their fingers cut off. Instead, I think of it as manual disengable slip joint spring.

When the knife is open, it provides the same amount of protection from a bump-closing as a sturdy slip joint.

When closed, it keeps the blade from opening and biting my hand when reaching into the pocket (or tossing it up to a bud on a ladder). Both have happened.

Man o man, wish they made the #9s with the nicer woods.

 

[jackknife]

Instead, I think of it as manual disengable slip joint spring.

Let me see ya down three doubles on the rocks and say that fast!

 

[BrotherJim]

I swapped the blades out on 2 No.8s. It was easy. Used split ring pliers to remove the Virobloc safety ring, then it was just a matter of driving the pins out with a small slender flat nosed punch. I reused the pins no problem.

 

[BrotherJim]

Here is an example of why I like and use the Virobloc blade lock ring.
I fell asleep on the sofa one afternoon and this No.8 Slim Bubinga Wood slipped from my pocket.
I awoke to find that my then pup Mason had chewed the handle a bit.
My FIRST thought concerning the modification was, "boy I'm sure glad the lock ring was engaged and the knife didn't come open."
It's very sharp of course. And, he was actually pretty gentle with it I thought.
Thank goD Mason has outgrown chewing on my stuff !!!

Mason was very incredulous when I accused him of it.
Sugar tried, but was unable to care any less.

 

[Rich S]

I like Opinels, but the dogs are a lot cuter

LLAP
Rich

 

[ilmonster]

Love the pups!! Darn cute.