Opinel?

JediKnight86

JediKnight86

Joined
Jul 9, 2003
Messages
1,702
OK, I had an Opinel No.8 carbon blade and it was my favorite outdoors/robust type folder. You have to admit they are incredible knives for the price. I'm thinking about getting an INOX version because the carbon was too difficult to stop from rusting. Is it a huge loss in edge quality switching to a stainless steel? Also, are there any similar style knives that one might recommend over an Opinel? The only other in my mind is Laguiole and I don't know if those are better or worse. Any imput would be much appreciated. Thanks :D
 
I have Opinels both carbon and stainless, I do feel there is a difference in edge holding but I am happy with the stainless since I don´t use it much on hard materials and I find it just easy to sharpen as the carbon.

I would say that for the price you could buy a stainless and try it out.

I think Laguiole is very different, not being a trade mark but a place, a Laguiole is simply a knife made in a certain region of France, they vary widely in quality and price and are not like Opinel at all, no lock, steel is usually 440A or 12C37 tempered a bit on the soft side, some are rather crappy with poor edges and the blade may touch the springs when closed, on the other hand some are beautiful art pieces and very well made.

There are knives similar to Opinel like the two bladed Boker shown here:

http://www.equipped.org/shot_show_2004_knives.htm

or the old twistmaster from Cold Steel (not stainless) mentioned in this (also old) thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=175216
 
Sorry, I didn't mean that they were similar in construction. I know they differ greatly there, but they are for one both French. Secondly, they are both simple and robust knives made with natural materials. They have similar blade shapes and handles (being that there are two dominant Opinel styles and one is more slender). Yes, one is ringlock and the other a slipjoint, but I like them equally. I have handled some shotty Leguioles, but the opinels are always nice. Although, I am curious as to what you mean about Leguioles not being trademarked. Are they made by many different makers all following a common style or something?
 
Laguiole is not a brand. As far as I know Laguiole is a town in France and there are many makers of Laguiole knives, some very good, some not so good. I believe there is also a cheese from the same place known as Laguiole.

I´ll try to get you some related links tomorrow, since I have to go now.
 
Stick with the Opinels.

I have both the carbon and INOX steel Opinel #8.

My personal preference is for the stainless steel - mainly because they are rust resistant.
For my usage there is not a significant difference in edge holding -
but then I have not done any quantitative testing either.

Opinels cut well because they have zero-bevel edges - if one can maintain that, then there's probably going to be less difference between the plain carbon and Inox versions.

Laguioles are indeed French and they are "eccentric" - the well made ones can be gorgeous, the poorly made ones can be PoS - price is not always an indication of quality - however good ones are expensive, and poor one are not necessarily always cheap though.......
so I would only consider buying one if I can see, examine and handle it first.

--
Vincent

http://UnknownVincent.cjb.net/
http://UnknownVT.cjb.net/
 
Dude ~ Just keep yer No 8 well lubed! It'll last ya a lifetime! ;)

Sam
 
There is nothing like an Opinel for a cheap beater, ie. good steel. simple handles. Laguioles IMO are now made with more emphasis on appearance as compared to Opinel, ie. horn, exotic wood handles, mirror polished blade, file work on spine, back of blade. As such, Laguioles are also much more expensive than Opinels.

Despite the origins of the Laguioles, IMO they are now made more like a gentlemen's folder and not a cheap hard use knife.

I have a Forge de Laguiole (horn handle) and a Laguiole Elite (olive wood handle), love them both but would not use them like I would an Opinel.
 
You can try the Douk-Douk, or the Nontron. But if you want to buy an (semi)industrial Laguiole, I advice you the “Les forges de Laguiole” brand.

Here is mine :

Laguiole%20a.jpg


Laguiole%20b.jpg


Laguiole%20c.jpg


Have a nice day ! ;)
 
Louky, you really beat me to it on this one! I was reading through everything to recommend he try the Douk-Douk, also. And I have a very similar Laguiole to the one you pictured, except mine has blonde horn with a brass bolster and no end cap, with a 3.125" blade (about 8 cm).

I find I have to be careful with the Douk-Douk because it is very sharp.
 
I agree with you, the Douk-Douk knives are very sharp (at least as the high-carbon Opinel are). For me, the major advantage is the handle thickness. The knife is very thin and it doesn’t deform the pocket. :)

I also own a horn Laguiole with brass bolsters, I really like its design, fine and elegant. The one on the picture has a 10cm (~4”) blade, the bolsters are made of brush stainless steel and the scales are in boxwood (?).
 
Another advantage to the Douk-Douks is the strong bail and the stiffness of blade retention in the handle, so it makes a good keychain knife because it won't open up or fall off. I have a small L'Ecureuil model with the spearpoint which is great for this.
 
Since you mentioned Laguioles, have you looked at Okapis? These are South Aftrican made, very similar in design to a Laguiole. Priced with Opinels, however, at least from Ragweed Forge. I have the medium folder (about the same blade size as the Opinel No. 8). What it lacks in f&f it more than makes up for in functionality. It is actually more comfortable in my hand--and pocket--than my Opinel No. 8.
 
Hi guys
Okapis are very cool, had a South African workmate bring me back a full card of them. Only problem was none of them had an edge!!. Had to take them and have the profile put on. ( Now have an Edge-Pro). Blades are not as thin as the opinel and so not as sharp, but the blade does lock on opening, at least on the larger ones.
Regards
Phil
 
I think Opinels are great, I like carbon and think that the extra care required is compensated by the character that it develops over time. In fact, IMHO any knife with a narrow thin blade will be a good cutter. I think that's why many of us prefer SAKs, Opinels and slipjoints over one handed tacticals. Having said that, I do have quite a few one handed openers ...
 
Opinel is one of the best values in the knife world.

I have a No. 8 with inox blade and olive wood handle. It's the prettiest Opinel I've seen.

Their carbon and inox appear to perform equally but I do prefer the standard carbon models, mostly because they develop a very cool patina that looks better with use.

Collecter
 
I've used quite a few Opinel knives and agree that they really represent a good value - but more troubling for me is "shrinkage" in the pivot as the wood dries or expansion as moisture makes it swell - take a look at the #7 for a bit smaller a knife - I like it as well as the #8 - so did my son which is where the #7 got to - so did my father-in-law - which is where number 2 #7 got to so now I use a #8 carbon steel is the only one I've used - I cold blue mine and this seems to help retard the rust but you still need to wipe, dry and oil the blade. I also soak the hinge end in boiled linseed oil in an attempt to "seal" off that end grain - that seems to be a good idea too. Again, for the 9 bucks Opinel's are hard to beat, even if Airport Security does not like them.

Revvie -
Don't wrestle with hogs - they enjoy it and you get dirty!
 
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