Opinels: what do YOU do with 'em?

FortyTwoBlades said:
Just try actually carrying around a No.8 in your pocket for a week and you stop noticing it. :)
Click to expand...

There's just something about the Opinel, some kind of magnetic Old World charm perhaps, that I really enjoy. Fantastic to use! I took your advice and have been carrying my #6 today. It doesn't carry that bad actually and it is such a refreshing change from my modern folders...

Looking forward to picking up a few more! :thumbup:
 
I originally picked up an Opinel because they were such a good value, but never used it out of fear of it being too bulky in the pocket. Then I just forced myself to try carrying it around and it was like "you know what? This isn't bad at all!" And it hasn't left my pocket since. :D:thumbup:
 
opinels.jpg


I have slimmed down the handle of a stainless No.8 to make it a bit more pocket sized (the one on the right). This is now my travel-edc, use it for the lighter/cleaner jobs and for fruit and other foods. Keeps a reasonable edge and is easy to sharpen on a loaded strop. I did not invest sufficient time or money in it to worry about theft from my luggage or confiscation.

Today it helped dividing a honey melon in NW-China.
 
[video=youtube;KNELKUpH10k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNELKUpH10k[/video]


1234,,,:)
 
I have an interesting Opinel story.
My answer to "what do you do with an Opinel" wouldn't be complete to just say what I do with mine.
How I found it and how it led me here is the better part of the answer.
I found it in Germany on Easter Sunday just as I was finishing a long after brunch walk with extended family.
We had just passed this small town and headed back to the remote Inn where we were enjoying a weekend family reunion.

DSC00940.JPG


The Inn is an old Mill from the 1500's that is now owned by Burkhardt.
I asked him if the knife was his and if not perhaps I could keep it.
He said he uses them a lot and loses a lot of them too, but that this one was not his.

DSC00847.JPG


The one I found is a No. 9 and was sitting in the wet leaves but not for too long since the varnish was still in decent condition and though the blade was tarnished the edge was shiny and very sharp.

DSC00985.jpg


DSC00986.jpg


It is too big to be an EDC for me but I use it around my work room mostly to open packages and cut cord.
It led me on a new found interest in knives. I visited a cutlery shop in Dusseldorf and I ended up ordering an EKA Swede knife from a hardware shop this summer. It was sort of a group buy thing from a tool forum I am quite fond of. We had all decided to place an order with Harry Epstein on the 4th of July to support an independent store. I found this and bought it along with several USA items, Heritage scissors and other things.

DSC01056.jpg


I really like the EKA but one thing led to another and we were discussing knives on the tool forum, Garage Journal. I was exposed to Benchmade and Chris Reeve Sebenzas through that thread a few days ago and I ended up here. I love higher end things, tools and such, this seemed like a good compliment to my tool hobby.
 
Thank you. Well, there have been several finishes up to this point...when one wears off I redo it. This time around I soaked the handle in beet juice for a few hrs, then used minwax red mahogany, and rubbed butchers wax into it after it dried.

I was hoping the beet juice would give it a very red tint, but it didn't take as much as I hoped...maybe because of the past finishes and wax...I plan on trying the beet juice again with a fresh #10.
 
My favourite is the carbon steel #8. I've used Opinels for anything that a folding knife should be used for and I've got no complaints.

I solved the handle swelling problem with a few coats of lineseed oil (I live in a very humid area).
 
Mine sits in my deskdrawer, opens mail for me. Too big for pocket carry, edge holding is marginal. It's too bad, they are a great design, if they would just use a decent steel, they'd be fantastic.
 
sodak said:
Mine sits in my deskdrawer, opens mail for me. Too big for pocket carry, edge holding is marginal. It's too bad, they are a great design, if they would just use a decent steel, they'd be fantastic.
Click to expand...

1095 and 12C26 aren't decent steels? :confused:
 
sodak said:
Mine sits in my deskdrawer, opens mail for me. Too big for pocket carry, edge holding is marginal. It's too bad, they are a great design, if they would just use a decent steel, they'd be fantastic.
Click to expand...
What??!! Decent steel?! For the money, you can't get better steel. Great design, cheap, real good steel (especially for the money), and in my opinion one of the most visually attractive and useful blade shapes. No wonder it's one of the oldest knife companies on earth, if not THE oldest.
 
Last edited:
While I love mine Opinels are a kind of an acquired taste of sorts. The blade steels while simple are nothing to sneeze at IMO. I find that while they aren't super steels by any stretch given their very thin blade profiles a more wear resistant blade steel would be more prone to breakage. Also I find that a razor strop can greatly increase the time between sharpening sessions and help me maintain a scary sharp edge. They are intended as work knives and for good reason have blade steel that is easy to sharpen with minimal equipment.
 
im no steel expert and im not great at sharpening but i can get my #7 plenty sharp for my needs using the bottom of a coffee cup. i did smooth out the toothy factory edge on a stone recently and that helped a lot.

i got that #7 a few weeks or maybe a month ago and have been carrying it ever since. cuts great, i like the lock ring setup they use and its just a styley knife. its light so it is pretty easy to carry in the pocket of my work pants. a smaller handle would be less obtrusive but im not sure it would fit in the hand as well. the phone my company makes me carry is way more of a burden lol.
 
medicevans said:
Take the pivot, pack it full of Vaseline while it's dry. Then open and close it a few times. Wipe the excess out with the corner of a paper towel. That's the real French way to do it.
Click to expand...

+1 . I just received a carbon steel #7 this past Friday and have put it thru normal edc tasks (cutting everything from cardboard to food) and I admit that I did underestimate it..it is much more knife than I paid for ! So now my Becker bk11 has company.
 
When I first got mine, the first thing I did with it was sharpen it and then shave with it.

Now I hardly use it at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top