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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.
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Opinels -- How good are they?
- Thread starter huh
- Start date
Eric_Draven
Banned
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2002
- Messages
- 206
The cutting ability is very high, especially compared to modern, thick edged "tactical" knives.
I use an Opinel on a regular basis, both the stainless and carbon steel. Both hold an edge fairly well, not like my Sebenza or BM 710HSSR or 705 in M2, but very respectable.
The thin blade stock is the key to their high performance. For slicing cardboard a few swipes on a bastard mill file will put on a very aggressive slicing edge
A few minutes of stropping on a piece of saddle leather charged with lee valley green polishing compound gives it a very nice high polish edge, very well suited for push cuts, used mainly in food prep and wood work.
As to the issue of lock strength, I am probably not the best judge, as I often work with a slipjoint SAK, stockman or canoe (Queen D2), and have never felt disadvataged by a total lack of a lock. My instinct is that while the ultimate lock strength of the twist lock is not very high, like an axis or lock back, frame lock, or even a well made liner lock, it is very resistant to accidental disengagement.
There are also several other attractive features of Opinels, they are low priced, high performance, public friendly, feel good in the hand, and a good all around blade shape. They are available in a variety of sizes, and are very versatile. When I need a "SHARP" folder, it is often a simple Opinel I reach for.
There are many forumites, myself included, who view the Opinel in the same light as the Swedish Mora knives: Very High performance at a very reasonable cost.
These simple knives put many high end customs to shame in terms of pure cutting performance. While I love my custom knives, you'd be hard pressed to find a custom at any price that will out-perform these simple knives (propery sharpened of course) in terms of pure cutting performance.
I use an Opinel on a regular basis, both the stainless and carbon steel. Both hold an edge fairly well, not like my Sebenza or BM 710HSSR or 705 in M2, but very respectable.
The thin blade stock is the key to their high performance. For slicing cardboard a few swipes on a bastard mill file will put on a very aggressive slicing edge
A few minutes of stropping on a piece of saddle leather charged with lee valley green polishing compound gives it a very nice high polish edge, very well suited for push cuts, used mainly in food prep and wood work.
As to the issue of lock strength, I am probably not the best judge, as I often work with a slipjoint SAK, stockman or canoe (Queen D2), and have never felt disadvataged by a total lack of a lock. My instinct is that while the ultimate lock strength of the twist lock is not very high, like an axis or lock back, frame lock, or even a well made liner lock, it is very resistant to accidental disengagement.
There are also several other attractive features of Opinels, they are low priced, high performance, public friendly, feel good in the hand, and a good all around blade shape. They are available in a variety of sizes, and are very versatile. When I need a "SHARP" folder, it is often a simple Opinel I reach for.
There are many forumites, myself included, who view the Opinel in the same light as the Swedish Mora knives: Very High performance at a very reasonable cost.
These simple knives put many high end customs to shame in terms of pure cutting performance. While I love my custom knives, you'd be hard pressed to find a custom at any price that will out-perform these simple knives (propery sharpened of course) in terms of pure cutting performance.
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2002
- Messages
- 3,179
featherweight, elegant, affordable and sharp. What's not to like? A prybar it isn't, but that thin flat grind is a great slicer. Give one a try. At ten bucks, give or take, you can't go wrong.
Frank
Frank
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2000
- Messages
- 860
Can't match Eric_Draven's excellent review, but.. here's what I have to add.
Easy to sharpen. Lock is strong enough. I like that it locks closed.
The wooden handles are decent quality. If they get wet, it's supposed to be very difficult to close. This can be resolved with linseed oil, I've heard.
The steel is decent. But, it is very thin. It holds an edge fairly well, considering. Not very good for chopping, but hey, who really chops with such a small knife.
With the carbon steel ones - be careful. The blade stains and rusts fairly easily.
Other than that, its an outstanding value. Everyone should have at least one. You can lose/break/mangle it, and not feel too bad.
-- Rob
Easy to sharpen. Lock is strong enough. I like that it locks closed.
The wooden handles are decent quality. If they get wet, it's supposed to be very difficult to close. This can be resolved with linseed oil, I've heard.
The steel is decent. But, it is very thin. It holds an edge fairly well, considering. Not very good for chopping, but hey, who really chops with such a small knife.
With the carbon steel ones - be careful. The blade stains and rusts fairly easily.
Other than that, its an outstanding value. Everyone should have at least one. You can lose/break/mangle it, and not feel too bad.
-- Rob
Eric_Draven
Banned
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2002
- Messages
- 206
The handle issue is true, the wood will swell if soaked in water. Not a huge issue for me.
As for the corrosion resistance:
I find the Opinel steel is fairly rust resistant, relative to other (higher carbon) steels.
For example, I was adding a light patina to some knives recently, as I find this greatly helps in preserving the blade. Patina is just a form of oxidation, but it helps stop the formation of "red" rust.
I stuck three knives (an Opinel, a Sharp Finger and a CS Twistmaster) in a potato overnight, then switched to an apple, and let them sit in that overnight.
The results were disparate. The Opinel, which has a lower carbon content than the others (.70% for the Opinel, .95% for the Sharpfinger and 1.0-1.05% for the Carbon V) showed the least amount of oxidation.
All had been washed with hot water and soap to remove any oil, as I was trying to patina the blades. Other factors that influence corrosion resistance are blade finish and heat treat. More highly polished steels are more corrosion resistant, and harder steels are usually more corrision resistant than softer ones. Despite this the Opinel resisted oxidation much more strongly than the others, and it had the roughest finish and softest steel.
If rust is a real issue for you, Opinel make several stainless steel models which are highly corrion resistant.
Of course, this is not a "scientific" experiment, and I am not a claiming that a sample size of one has any statistical significance. I am just an average user type guy.
Stay Sharp
I keep a #8 carbon Opinel beside the computer to cut up cheese, jerky, etc...and it works great. The thin blade/flat grind combo is easy to sharpen to 'scary sharp', I used an India stone initially, just a compound-loaded strop now that's it's 'shaped sharp'.
For $8 or so, you'll have a hard time beating a midsize Opinel.
For $8 or so, you'll have a hard time beating a midsize Opinel.
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2001
- Messages
- 32,359
I remember getting one as a gift for being in a wedding, It had a carbon steel blade and was wicked sharp, I cut myself with it at the reception, lost it, and never thought twice about it. Fast forward 17 years, and I'm in Holland for work when I see one in the airport in Amsterdam,(isn't that funny
). So I pick it up to take home for a souvenir,(I rememeber noticing it seemed shinier) put it in my pocket and boarded the plane for home.
The next morning I pulled it out of my pocket, remembering how sharp the other one was, I opened it in anticipation. Slowly I dragged the fleshy part of my thumb across the blade, and pulled it away to stare in utter disbelief, it was the dullest friggin' piece of steel I've ever seen. Granted I only paid $10 or $12 US for it, but my memory was shattered.
Since then, I've learned that they changed the steel from what I remember, and being used to the super steels available on todays production knives, I've had to adjust my sharpening methods to incorperate more traditional methods when putting an edge on the Opinel.
All in all, for a cheap knife it's well worth the money, a knife pattern, and Mnfgr. don't get to stick around that without doing something right.
). So I pick it up to take home for a souvenir,(I rememeber noticing it seemed shinier) put it in my pocket and boarded the plane for home.The next morning I pulled it out of my pocket, remembering how sharp the other one was, I opened it in anticipation. Slowly I dragged the fleshy part of my thumb across the blade, and pulled it away to stare in utter disbelief, it was the dullest friggin' piece of steel I've ever seen. Granted I only paid $10 or $12 US for it, but my memory was shattered.
Since then, I've learned that they changed the steel from what I remember, and being used to the super steels available on todays production knives, I've had to adjust my sharpening methods to incorperate more traditional methods when putting an edge on the Opinel.
All in all, for a cheap knife it's well worth the money, a knife pattern, and Mnfgr. don't get to stick around that without doing something right.
- Joined
- May 9, 2000
- Messages
- 29,205
These knives are way better than they should be considering their price. I have owned quite a few over the years and have never been anything but amazed by the value they offer.
Cliff Stamp
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 5, 1998
- Messages
- 17,562
As Eric noted, the lock isn't that strong, you can damage it quite easily, it would not be usable for baton work for example, but again as Eric noted it is *very* stable, probably the most of any folding knife. It is near impossible to disengage it accidently.
In regard to the handle swelling, it can happen without soaking it, mine swelled that much that I could not open the knife simple because it was very humid for a couple of weeks here, we were getting rain constantly. Of course you can just dry it out with a slow application of heat, you can also prevent this to a significant extent by using a sealer on the wood.
One of the best modifications was described by a forum member awhile ago who carved out a notch in the handle to make access to the nail nick, this greatly improves ease of opening.
A very high performance cutting knife, it makes a great EDC combined with something like a Supertool to handle the rougher knife use plus general utility, so you can avoid wire cutting and such.
-Cliff
In regard to the handle swelling, it can happen without soaking it, mine swelled that much that I could not open the knife simple because it was very humid for a couple of weeks here, we were getting rain constantly. Of course you can just dry it out with a slow application of heat, you can also prevent this to a significant extent by using a sealer on the wood.
One of the best modifications was described by a forum member awhile ago who carved out a notch in the handle to make access to the nail nick, this greatly improves ease of opening.
A very high performance cutting knife, it makes a great EDC combined with something like a Supertool to handle the rougher knife use plus general utility, so you can avoid wire cutting and such.
-Cliff
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2002
- Messages
- 813
Snapped the tip off of mine, easily ground back to a point with a Dremel. Still one of my favorites. Nothing else can compare at $5.99. I'll take the French cheapies over the China cheapies anyday.
Baton work? Youd have to be crazy to try that on an Opinel. It cut's good though.
Baton work? Youd have to be crazy to try that on an Opinel. It cut's good though.
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2002
- Messages
- 721
I love my #8.
It's an incredible cutter. The company has no pretenses: this is a small folding knife; it's not made for digging holes and punching through garbage cans. I wish more modern one-handed pocket-clipped folders would use the thin, flat-ground, carbon steel formula that the Opinels do.
It's easy to customize for comfort and aesthetics. I took the "back corner" off the butt of mine (fits my hand more naturally), stripped off the finish and cut a diamond pattern into the sides (for a better grip), and filed the spine down to take off the slight sweep of the point (I like the finer point, and it looks better to my eye--I did the same thing to my tiny Schrade Old Timer). I'm considering picking up a few more and experimenting with handle carving. A nice celtic knot motif might look nice...
On the downside... It's slow, complex, and difficult to open one-handed. I'm spoiled by my Spydies.
There's no unsharpened base on the blade to stop it when closing, so the edge presses into the handle when closed. As a result, I end up with a slightly dull patch on the edge whether or not I actually <i>use</i> it.
The blade does tighten up dramatically when the handle gets wet.
It will stain with ordinary use and rust with neglect. I consider this a useful lesson in taking good care of my tools.
For less than ten dollars, it's an extraordinarily good knife, and for people who're used to thich-stocked, sabre-ground stainless prybars, it's a great way to learn about a totally different knifemaking philosophy.
Definitely in my I'm-glad-it-exists category.
It's an incredible cutter. The company has no pretenses: this is a small folding knife; it's not made for digging holes and punching through garbage cans. I wish more modern one-handed pocket-clipped folders would use the thin, flat-ground, carbon steel formula that the Opinels do.
It's easy to customize for comfort and aesthetics. I took the "back corner" off the butt of mine (fits my hand more naturally), stripped off the finish and cut a diamond pattern into the sides (for a better grip), and filed the spine down to take off the slight sweep of the point (I like the finer point, and it looks better to my eye--I did the same thing to my tiny Schrade Old Timer). I'm considering picking up a few more and experimenting with handle carving. A nice celtic knot motif might look nice...
On the downside... It's slow, complex, and difficult to open one-handed. I'm spoiled by my Spydies.
There's no unsharpened base on the blade to stop it when closing, so the edge presses into the handle when closed. As a result, I end up with a slightly dull patch on the edge whether or not I actually <i>use</i> it.
The blade does tighten up dramatically when the handle gets wet.
It will stain with ordinary use and rust with neglect. I consider this a useful lesson in taking good care of my tools.
For less than ten dollars, it's an extraordinarily good knife, and for people who're used to thich-stocked, sabre-ground stainless prybars, it's a great way to learn about a totally different knifemaking philosophy.
Definitely in my I'm-glad-it-exists category.
hello all of you!
though I live in Europe, I still own only one opinel, a #8 in carbon steel. There is hardly any other blade that useful in that price section doing what it is designed for. Just two things to take care of: Don't let your wife put it into the washing machine by accident - so did mine - it took three or four days before I could open it again. And the locking ring is fairly slippery, it cut my finger when whittling- but only once, then I was more careful.
though I live in Europe, I still own only one opinel, a #8 in carbon steel. There is hardly any other blade that useful in that price section doing what it is designed for. Just two things to take care of: Don't let your wife put it into the washing machine by accident - so did mine - it took three or four days before I could open it again. And the locking ring is fairly slippery, it cut my finger when whittling- but only once, then I was more careful.
