Opinel

T

TrueTemper

Joined
Jun 28, 2019
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When refinishing an opinel, do you just knock off the gloss from the old finish, or do you sand until the orange-ish stain fades to a plain wood color? Couldn't quite tell from past threads.
 
While you are refinishing it, why not reshape the handle. If you thin the flared pommel, it will pocket better. Look around at some of the many Opinel threads.

I know this does not answer your question squarely, but it is something for you to coonsider.
 
Henry Beige said:
While you are refinishing it, why not reshape the handle. If you thin the flared pommel, it will pocket better. Look around at some of the many Opinel threads.

I know this does not answer your question squarely, but it is something for you to coonsider.
Click to expand...
I appreciate the response, I'll likely reshape the end a bit now that you mention it. I've sanded it out enough that it's faded to a plain wood shade, now just to get the pivot pin removed and finish up before staining.
 
Better to not mess with the pivot pin. It can be done, but not worth the trouble. Tape it off, reshape, refinish, pop the collar back on and be done.
 
Kind of depends on the finish used. If you want to use polyurethane or a laquer you can just use something like 220 grit. But if you want to use an oil finish, or if you want to change the color by staining it, you'll need to go to bare wood.
 
My approach.

Remove lockring (or tape it to protect it).

Sand with 80 grit to remove stock finish. Stick with 80 grit to keep the tight beech grain as open as possible. Otherwise, the beech will reject the stain.

Sand to shape as desired.

Apply several coats of stain. I think Minwax English Walnut brings out the grain nicely but choose to suit taste.

Apply several coats of top coat. Lightly sand between final coats.

Liberally apply Johnson's Floor Wax paste (or similar flooring wax) to joint and melt wax in with a heat gun. This last step helps minimize binding from moisture/humidity.
 
If you want a dark color, I have been using a propane torch to scorch/ char the wood. After removing any finish, of course.
I saw this technique on a home remodeling show used on wood siding. It has some Japanese name. I have used it on walking sticks, tomahawk handles and Opinels. It seals the wood and after charring just use a paper towel or rag to remove the surface charring. Rub thoroughly to a semi-gloss. I've tried putting teak oil on afterwards, but it is so sealed it doesn't take up hardly any of the oil.
It's not hard to get the idea. Keep the flame moving and don't linger along the edges of the blade slot. The sharp corners will ignite, but quickly extinguish if it happens. You end up with nicely rounded edges once you rub it afterwards. Sounds crazy, but it works.
 
palmerdl said:
If you want a dark color, I have been using a propane torch to scorch/ char the wood. After removing any finish, of course.
I saw this technique on a home remodeling show used on wood siding. It has some Japanese name. I have used it on walking sticks, tomahawk handles and Opinels. It seals the wood and after charring just use a paper towel or rag to remove the surface charring. Rub thoroughly to a semi-gloss. I've tried putting teak oil on afterwards, but it is so sealed it doesn't take up hardly any of the oil.
It's not hard to get the idea. Keep the flame moving and don't linger along the edges of the blade slot. The sharp corners will ignite, but quickly extinguish if it happens. You end up with nicely rounded edges once you rub it afterwards. Sounds crazy, but it works.
Click to expand...


Shou Sugi Ban. A lot of my wood handles get it.
 
A variant of the charring technique would be to use a torch to flame in pine tar.

If I love knives, I am wholly committed to XC skiing and with old wooden XC skis, you need to prep the wooden bases with torched pine tar. SWIX, the XC wax maker, used to sell cans of pine tar just for this job.

You coat the wood with pine tar as best possible and then torch the pine tar till it bubbles, smokes and occasionally burns and as you do this, you use a rag or stiff brush to work the molten pine tar into the wood.

Done correctly the result isn't sticky, or at least not as sticky as you might imagine. More like a railroad tie. It does smell. Anyway, putting a top coat on it might help with the feel.

I've not done it but every time I see a charred Opinel, I think of it.

Pro tip: do this long out of nose shot from your wife or expect to be sleeping outside for the next week. Don't ask me how I know this and I honestly thought the windows on the house were closed.
 
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We’ve inadvertently gone for the “rat” look. TBH I can’t be bothered to sort it; it’s sharp and works. Just looks about 100 years old rather than two.
 
pinnah said:
A variant of the charring technique would be to use a torch to flame in pine tar.

If I love knives, I am wholly committed to XC skiing and with old wooden XC skis, you need to prep the wooden bases with torched pine tar. SWIX, the XC wax maker, used to sell cans of pine tar just for this job.

You coat the wood with pine tar as best possible and then torch the pine tar till it bubbles, smokes and occasionally burns and as you do this, you use a rag or stiff brush to work the molten pine tar into the wood.

Done correctly the result isn't sticky, or at least not as sticky as you might imagine. More like a railroad tie. It does smell. Anyway, putting a top coat on it might help with the feel.

I've not done it but every time I see a charred Opinel, I think of it.

Pro tip: do this long out of nose shot from your wife or expect to be sleeping outside for the next week. Don't ask me how I know this and I honestly thought the windows on the house were closed.
Click to expand...

Pine tar hadn’t occurred to me, probably since it has been over forty years since I skiied. My box with the pine tar and waxes got left behind a few moves ago, but I still have my woodies with Lignostone edges.
 
Thanks guys, I plan to stain with Minwax Special walnut and finish with poly which I'm also using on a project to refinish a recurve from the 70s.

I'll add a picture when I'm all finished up, whenever that is. I have to remove the pin because the area around the pivot on the blade is rusty and I don't think I'll be able to properly clean everything up without disassembling unfortunately.
 
Fair warning. I’ve never performed a successful blade removal, even after grinding the peens flat. Each time I’ve tried it (twice) it appeared that the peening process thickened the pivot pin enough inside of the collar to prevent the pin from moving even after the heads were removed. Others have reported success so perhaps I just suck at it.

If it were me, I would leave the blade in place for the clean up. But please keep us posted. Very interested in how it turns out now. Perhaps you’ll have better success than me (not hard)
 
Removing the pin is actually pretty easy if you have a punch. Just a few whacks with a hammer and it's out! I bought a cheap set of roll pin punches off amazon a couple of years ago for around $10 and they sure come in handy a lot more than I thought they would!
 
TrueTemper said:
When refinishing an opinel, do you just knock off the gloss from the old finish, or do you sand until the orange-ish stain fades to a plain wood color? Couldn't quite tell from past threads.
Click to expand...

pinnah said:
Fair warning. I’ve never performed a successful blade removal, even after grinding the peens flat. Each time I’ve tried it (twice) it appeared that the peening process thickened the pivot pin enough inside of the collar to prevent the pin from moving even after the heads were removed. Others have reported success so perhaps I just suck at it.

If it were me, I would leave the blade in place for the clean up. But please keep us posted. Very interested in how it turns out now. Perhaps you’ll have better success than me (not hard)
Click to expand...

I would sand it off. It's not very thick, although it penetrates a ways into the grain where it's cross-cut, like the butt. If you want to leave it yellow colored, by all means leave it, rough the surface slightly, and then poly. But then I don't know quite what the point of that would be other than to protect it.
Removing the pivot is good because it allows you to also remove the yellow from tiny little areas where it will show but can't be accessed with the collar and blade in place, like the small edges where the metal doesn't quite cover the wood, the circular end above the collar, under the locking ring, etc. I'm working on my first. Reshaping the handle is good as well, you can flush the handle down smooth with the locking ring where it shoulders above it, and smooth the butt. Just sand it if carving isn't your thing. Use 80 grit to remove bulk, then smoother to remove the scratches.
Taking the pin out is not easy on modern knives. I've read various things, but they seem to have started peening the end so it can't easily be removed. I finally got it out, but the hard part is holding the knife. I have a vise, but I couldn't clamp it hard enough to firmly hold it without crushing the collar or the handle, even with wooden pads in the jaws. I finally filed off the end of the pin flush with the collar to remove as much of the bulging head as possible. I would recommend instead trying to make sure to file it off level with the rest of the pin; the surface of the collar is not 90deg, and the angle caused the pin to slightly bend when I was hammering on it. It still works, but I had to file off the widened.bent area to get it to fit back it. I then with difficultly held it with one hand and the punch (you will need one, or a blunted nail, or something) with my fingers in place, and held the collar at an angle against the solid corner of the anvil on back of my bench vise. I then gave it some good, smart raps with a full size framing hammer. This pin is NOT going to just tap out, it must be DRIVEN out, at least the first little bit. My first blow made me loose grip, of course, and the punch fell on the floor, but it DID finally move it. Before I couldn't make it stay put against a solid enough surface to resist the blow. I then re-set the punch, and drove it out the rest of the way, bulged and bent. But it does come out, and with the filed and beveled head will come out much easier in the future. Even if it's slightly loose now (not enough to wiggle), it won't work out and disappear with the locking ring in place, so I don't mind that.
Older knives are supposed to be much easier to remove. No idea why they changed it, unless it was cheaper or because of liability. Or the professionals lobbied them because they were sick of people working on their own knives?

pinnah said:
My approach.

Remove lockring (or tape it to protect it).

Sand with 80 grit to remove stock finish. Stick with 80 grit to keep the tight beech grain as open as possible. Otherwise, the beech will reject the stain.
Click to expand...
You mean *180* grit, right? 80 grit is very coarse and will scratch the hell out of the wood. Those scratches will show up dark when you stain it. Even 180 grit is quite rough for a stained surface. Beech isn't very hard or dense wood, and I can't imagine it "rejecting" the stain with any normal sandpaper.

palmerdl said:
If you want a dark color, I have been using a propane torch to scorch/ char the wood. After removing any finish, of course.
I saw this technique on a home remodeling show used on wood siding. It has some Japanese name. I have used it on walking sticks, tomahawk handles and Opinels. It seals the wood and after charring just use a paper towel or rag to remove the surface charring. Rub thoroughly to a semi-gloss. I've tried putting teak oil on afterwards, but it is so sealed it doesn't take up hardly any of the oil.
It's not hard to get the idea. Keep the flame moving and don't linger along the edges of the blade slot. The sharp corners will ignite, but quickly extinguish if it happens. You end up with nicely rounded edges once you rub it afterwards. Sounds crazy, but it works.
Click to expand...
I am going to try that next time! What I plan for the one I am working on now is to coat it with olive oil and bake it in the oven at 375deg-400deg for a half hour. I've done that with the kitchen implements I've been carving, and it turns them dark brown, almost black (the hotter it is the darker; 350 will make nice rich brown, 325 red brown, etc). But to get a good baked on season coat it seems to require hotter temps. Even without the coating it creates a water-resistant surface that water beads off of, and even more so if you get a good external clear coat baked on. I am still developing it; sometimes it's too think and sticky, sometimes it all just soaks into the wood, which doesn't work as well. And I've never tried beech, so it may be an utter failure. But if it does work, it will be very interesting. I also ground the clip point off and turned it into a sort of drop-point, so I could carve the heel down more without exposing the tip.
 
Just reading all these posts, I'll finish getting that pivot out tomorrow, and it'll be stained shortly after. I'm nearly done with the handle sanding already. I did make a bit of a flat around where the locking ring goes when filing the pin head. The ring still fits well enough. I wonder if I could squeeze it a bit before I put the ring on to make it a bit tighter if needed?

As far as scratching wood with 80 grit goes, would sanding up to 220 after using 80 for the harder work remove those scratches? Wondering mainly because of a recurve I'm refinishing. Most of the work has been with 100 grit, and I plan to smooth everything out now up to 220 to prep for staining and tru oil finish.
 
Top knife is the modded one (Shou Sugi Ban... new word) handle, bottom is untouched. I don't like the upswept blade of the Opinel and change all of mine to a drop point. Got a little carried away on this one and actually shortened it a bit more than intended. No filing, 1 x 42 Kalmazoo belt sander.
 
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