Puzzling new Opinel.

Love my traditional Opinels, but whoever is behind the design of the new ones needs help. With the Opinel #8 Outdoor they were criticized for the serrated blade. Then I see the pics for the Opinel #12 Explore and I like the Blade, but what the heck with that guthook? Both of them getting touted as outdoors use folders, yet both have elements that would interfere with wood work - serrations, then a guthook gadget interfering with grip. Someone on the design team needs to stop it.

Back on topic, I guess I could understand wanting to prohibit the possibility of a free spinning collar. The 2nd Opinel Ebauche I worked on had more collar movement than I liked.
 
Henry Beige said:
Getting back to the original post, I think I detect the influence of the product liability lawyers.
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Wow, that would be such a sad commentary on our times if that is true!!

Just to think that from 1890 to 1955, the Opinel had no lock at all and did just fine as a dedicated friction folder. I can't begin to hazard a guess as to how many Opinel's saw hard service in the hands of vineyard workers, construction crews, warehouse men, fishermen, and other hard working people of all kinds that needed a good knife but didn't have a lot of money to spend.

Sometimes I hate change. Especially if it's driven by lawyers. Butthem I often wish I still had my 1966 VW Beatle! If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Heck, I hardly ever use the locking ring on my Opinel. Just keep it snug and pay attention to what I'm doing. Like my resolza.
 
metricmat said:
Unfortunately its a gut hook. Nothing I want more than a gut hook next to my whistle!:D Oh wait... I don't want either of those things on my knife.
It seems to truly have been designed by a committee
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If it has been designed by a comittee, it is not by an Opinel comittee. (maybe the same who designed the blade's shape?) Simply check the official site (both French and US market) you will see that there is no such things on the outdoor 7... I'm curious to know where do these knives come from...
http://www.opinel.com/couteaux-et-outils-de-poche/specialistes/outdoor
 
Jolipapa said:
If it has been designed by a comittee, it is not by an Opinel comittee. (maybe the same who designed the blade's shape?) Simply check the official site (both French and US market) you will see that there is no such things on the outdoor 7... I'm curious to know where do these knives come from...
http://www.opinel.com/couteaux-et-outils-de-poche/specialistes/outdoor
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Here's a link to the no 12 Explore on the Opinel website.

http://www.opinel.com/en/pocket-knives-and-tools/specialists/nature-survie/n12-explore-orange

It's obviously intended to expand their market. It doesn't appeal to me but I'm probably not part of the intended market. As long as they continue making the traditional knives, it's fine with me. Whatever keeps them in business.

It looks like the gut hook isn't opened in the prior photos. Here's a photo with it opened.

ndeg12_explore_orange_ferme.jpg
 
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I fear the Americans are not responsible for this travesty.

The first survival knife imagined by Opinel
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.opinel.com/en/pocket-knives-and-tools/specialists/nature-survie/n12-explore-orange

They don't identify the proposed use for the hook. But I think it looks more like a seat-belt cutter than a gut hook.
 
knarfeng said:
I fear the Americans are not responsible for this travesty.


.opinel.com/en/pocket-knives-and-tools/specialists/nature-survie/n12-explore-orange

They don't identify the proposed use for the hook. But I think it looks more like a seat-belt cutter than a gut hook.
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They do call it a gut hook in the description at their museum store. It also has a fire starter and whistle. Linking for info. I'm not sure if this link is okay. Sorry if it isn't.

http://www.boutique-opinel-musee.co...12-explore/n12-explore-orange?domain#redirect

The gut hook does look like it would work as a seat belt cutter. Put a glass breaker on the end and you'd have an Opinel emergency knife. ;)
 
Keep in mind that there are folks spending serious cash on all sorts of doodads. I've seen pry tools and whistles sell for as much as a basic laptop. I'm not sure if it will appeal to the intended market or not. It's definitely a niche item. But like I said, whatever keeps them in business... as long as they continue the traditional knives as well.
 
OK, my mistake. Sorry if flooding the thread.
This knife is in fact available, but not much advertised in France (i.e. much less than the Tour de France special edition) and as I did not scroll to the bottom of the site page I did not see it. You'll notice that not all has been translated in English! About the hook, where in the English site it is just stated as a gut hook, on the French original, it states gut hook and cuts safety belts....
They have designed two dedicated sites as well , couteau-chasse-opinel.fr and hunting-knife-opinel.com. If this is to expand their market, it is a bizarre idea to say the least... I'm not sure the DIY was a good idea anyway.
 
supratentorial said:
Keep in mind that there are folks spending serious cash on all sorts of doodads. I've seen pry tools and whistles sell for as much as a basic laptop. I'm not sure if it will appeal to the intended market or not. It's definitely a niche item. But like I said, whatever keeps them in business... as long as they continue the traditional knives as well.
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Yeah, I guess that takes in how I feel as well. They gotta do whatever keeps them in business. Since I've been messing with these things since 1982, I hope they stay around, I'd miss them if they went the way of Schrade and Camillus. Such a nice 'bang for the buck' tradition pocket knife.
 
supratentorial said:
The gut hook does look like it would work as a seat belt cutter. Put a glass breaker on the end and you'd have an Opinel emergency knife. ;)
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Jolipapa said:
About the hook, where in the English site it is just stated as a gut hook, on the French original, it states gut hook and cuts safety belts....


I'm not sure the DIY was a good idea anyway.
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gut hook--seat belt hook...Fair enough.

Actually, I have a DIY and rather like it as a utility knife.
 
I would argue that the DIY is traditional. Though it's not traditional for Opinel, the basic idea of that combination knife has been around more than 100 years. One of my personal favorites is the exact opposite design. In the 30s or 40s Stanley made a wooden handle screwdriver with a slipjoint blade nested in the handle. http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u298/supratentorial/IMG_3246_zpsd4h7n4dm.jpg

Opinel's DIY is interesting but I haven't ordered one... at least not yet. I have the Opinel with the corkscrew in the handle and I'm tempted to order the child's knife with the plastic whistle handle and spey blade... I don't need the whistle but the synthetic handle (instead of wood) could be useful for some things. I think that if they replaced the serrated blade on the Outdoor knife with a plain edge blade I might order it as well.
 
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My first thought was that they were redoing the lock to be more like the Antonini. However, after Paul Davidson's posts, it seems to make perfect sense. It looks like it's there to limit the lock ring's movement, but in the axial direction. The lock ring has that angled cut that wedges against the blade when rotated. That angled cut makes for a limited range of rotational movement. I've noticed before on some Opinels that, when locking the blade in the closed position, the ring will occasionally "bottom out" in that angled cutout intended to wedge the blade securely shut. This happens when because the ring moves axially slightly as the ring is turned, which can happen because the ring is intentionally not so tight. However, if it does "bottom out" it's possible that the blade, while not able to open completely, may be able to open partially such that the tip of the blade protrudes from the handle. This, despite the lock ring utilizing its full range of rotation in the locked closed position. The way I've dealt with this issue is to grind the angled cutout so that it allows a larger range of rotational movement, such that the cutout no longer has a stop. It basically stops rotating when the blade is wedged tight, rather than when it reaches the end of the angled cutout.

A tab on the lock ring fitting into the slotted collar looks intended to limit the axial movement of the ring, allowing the ring to tightly wedge the blade shut without sliding axially and "bottoming out" that way I've observed.

I'm not sure why folks are so suspicious about this change. I suspect lawyers are not really an issue here. It may also keep the lock ring from popping off when pulling open a closed and locked blade forcefully, which I've found is a quick and dirty way of removing the lock ring.
 
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shecky said:
My first thought was that they were redoing the lock to be more like the Antonini. However, after Paul Davidson's posts, it seems to make perfect sense. It looks like it's there to limit the lock ring's movement, but in the axial direction. The lock ring has that angled cut that wedges against the blade when rotated. That angled cut makes for a limited range of rotational movement. I've noticed before on some Opinels that, when locking the blade in the closed position, the ring will occasionally "bottom out" in that angled cutout intended to wedge the blade securely shut. This happens when because the ring moves axially slightly as the ring is turned, which can happen because the ring is intentionally not so tight. However, if it does "bottom out" it's possible that the blade, while not able to open completely, may be able to open partially such that the tip of the blade protrudes from the handle. This, despite the lock ring utilizing its full range of rotation in the locked closed position. The way I've dealt with this issue is to grind the angled cutout so that it allows a larger range of rotational movement, such that the cutout no longer has a stop. It basically stops rotating when the blade is wedged tight, rather than when it reaches the end of the angled cutout.

A tab on the lock ring fitting into the slotted collar looks intended to limit the axial movement of the ring, allowing the ring to tightly wedge the blade shut without sliding axially and "bottoming out" that way I've observed.

I'm not sure why folks are so suspicious about this change. I suspect lawyers are not really an issue here. It may also keep the lock ring from popping off when pulling open a closed and locked blade forcefully, which I've found is a quick and dirty way of removing the lock ring.
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Interesting.

My concern, aside from the reduction in strength of the ring (which is prolly not important), was a reduction in rotational movement.

Many of us file or sand the top of the locking ring so it rotates further for better, more secure locking open. I am worried that this change may limit that. The top also wears over time making it rotate further.

If someone gets an Opi with the totally new design it would be interesting to hear how far it limits rotary motion.

I could see how limiting axial motion would be a plus. Presently it is limited by the size of the pivot pin's peening fitting well into the "slot" it rotates in. Sometimes a perfect job is not done on this and you get more axial motion. It is also the reason I usually do not totally disassemble my Opi's anymore. I can't get that peening just right an I get a lot of axial motion (I've been calling it "riding up")
 
shecky said:
My first thought was that they were redoing the lock to be more like the Antonini. However, after Paul Davidson's posts, it seems to make perfect sense. It looks like it's there to limit the lock ring's movement, but in the axial direction. The lock ring has that angled cut that wedges against the blade when rotated. That angled cut makes for a limited range of rotational movement. I've noticed before on some Opinels that, when locking the blade in the closed position, the ring will occasionally "bottom out" in that angled cutout intended to wedge the blade securely shut. This happens when because the ring moves axially slightly as the ring is turned, which can happen because the ring is intentionally not so tight. However, if it does "bottom out" it's possible that the blade, while not able to open completely, may be able to open partially such that the tip of the blade protrudes from the handle. This, despite the lock ring utilizing its full range of rotation in the locked closed position. The way I've dealt with this issue is to grind the angled cutout so that it allows a larger range of rotational movement, such that the cutout no longer has a stop. It basically stops rotating when the blade is wedged tight, rather than when it reaches the end of the angled cutout.

A tab on the lock ring fitting into the slotted collar looks intended to limit the axial movement of the ring, allowing the ring to tightly wedge the blade shut without sliding axially and "bottoming out" that way I've observed.

I'm not sure why folks are so suspicious about this change. I suspect lawyers are not really an issue here. It may also keep the lock ring from popping off when pulling open a closed and locked blade forcefully, which I've found is a quick and dirty way of removing the lock ring.
Click to expand...

It makes most sense as a locking ring retention feature, I accidently sent a locking ring flying off into the woods back when they first changed over to having a locked closed position. I would think that this was happening often enough that it was worthwile to make a fix.
 
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