RE: Sanding Down Opinel

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unbrokenchain33

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Jul 26, 2012
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I have a Opinel No 8 in Oak coming this afternoon. Going through the threads, I think I want to pick up sand paper and sand down the handle. I would like to smooth out the handle and possibly sand away the Opinel logo on the handle as well.

What is the best way to do this? Just pick up 400 grit sand paper and go at the handle, and put some sort of olive oil on the handle afterwards?

Is there a proper way to use sand paper?

Sorry for sounding like a newb, and thank you for your time!
 
I did this on my #8. You will want to disassemble the knife to refinish the handle. Pretty simple process. I think I used 200 then 400 grit. Sanding with the grain produces the best results. I used a walnut color stain because I wanted something darker. Stain to your own preference. Good luck and have fun with it.
 
arrowhd said:
I did this on my #8. You will want to disassemble the knife to refinish the handle. Pretty simple process. I think I used 200 then 400 grit. Sanding with the grain produces the best results. I used a walnut color stain because I wanted something darker. Stain to your own preference. Good luck and have fun with it.
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is it necessary to disassemble the knife just to use sand paper on the handle? How come? I'd prefer to not take it apart since I would be worried I wasn't putting it back together well!
 
No you don't have to. However, it might be hard to sand around the bolster area without scratching it up. Could just tape the metal area though. I wanted to disassemble so that I could work on the entire handle. Don't be too concerned about putting it back together. It is pretty straight forward. Here is a video to show you how. Wrong language but you get the idea.

http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=/#/watch?v=pO57Iw-VUMM
 
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28597626/tuning-opinels.txt

IMO, it's not needed to remove the blade. Only remove the lockring to avoid scratching it.

In terms of sanding, how fine you go depends on how hard the wood is and if you want to stain it. With the beech handles, I use 80 grit paper, which is quite course. Anything finer tends to close the grain and inhibits stain absorbtion.

Once shape and staining are achieved, getting it smooth is a matter of several layers of a top coat (varnish, oil, polyurethane) and sanding that the coats of top coat with progressively finer grits.


Opinel by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
I'd suggest finishing it with a couple coats of polyurethane. It will give it a nice smooth texture, and will protect the wood from water and stains etc. I have oiled a couple of handles in the last, but you have to maintain them and re-oil frequently.
 
I now prefer to not disassemble. When you take them apart you have to sand the peening off one end of the pivot pin. That peening is done just so (usually:rolleyes:) at the factory to fit the groove in the locking ring well. Every time I've disassembled the locking ring has then "ridden up" when I locked the knife closed.

Of course you can do a better job sealing the wood inside and out if you take it apart and it's easier to sand, etc.

Anymore though, I just take off the locking ring, tape right up close to the wood and go. When I'm done sanding I'll *dip* in stain, which usually has some linseed oil and will seal the inside a bit. A few coats of tung oil and then a mineral oil soak.
 
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I did mine (carbon #9) basically by following Pinnah's directions. You sand the factory finish off the handle with 80-grit. (No reshaping of the handle for me.) I folded the sandpaper in two with an index card in the center and ran it through the blade slot to deal with any varnish in there.

After sanding, I made up a load of Rit Warm Brown cloth dye, dunked the handle (which coated it thickly), let it dry, then washed off the excess in cold water. Don't forget to wash out the slot interior too. Then it was thin semi-gloss urethane coats, 5 in all. Let them dry very well between coats.

I'll post an image when I get a chance.
 
tumblr_muvhfdniZi1r4zf5xo1_500.jpg


Here are three Opinels (#9 carbon, #8 Garden in stainless, #6 carbon) done at the same time in the same batch of dye (Rit Warm Brown) a couple months ago. After the excess stain was washed off in cold water and the handles were dry, I applied General Finishes' Arm-R-Seal (oil & urethane topcoat) in satin. Five coats wiped on with a rag.

As best I can tell, I sanded and dyed them all equally, but I've had the #6 since the mid-1990s and it saw use off and on since then. The #9 was also used and handled a fair bit between buying it last summer and the refinishing project.

Clearly you can see differences in tone among them. What I take away from this is that if a piece of wood gets handled significantly, it will probably absorb oils and dirt from your hands. This accumulation needs to be sanded away if you want an even coloring, but it may not be possible if the contamination has really sunk into the wood. Second, I assume that while all handles are beechwood, the wood's grain and probably porosity varied according to the piece of wood used, how it was seasoned, and where it came from in the tree. These factors will obviously affect the stain's depth and color.

In the end, I don't care about the variations. I'm a knife owner, not a manufacturer looking to produce a perfect and unvarying product. And in any case, an Opi simply invites user modifications, both to the handle and the blade.

And just for inspiration, here are two French sites I picked up from earlier threads here:
http://michel.montlahuc.free.fr/opinel4.htm
http://forum.neoczen.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4780&sid=ece4de96ae21e666dfb47f138856b028

Bonne chance, mon ami!
 
Those look great. I've thought of using dye instead of stain since beech is hard to get to take stain.

If you ever feel like reshaping IMO it's best to not do a bunch. Take down the "knob" closest to your palm but leave the other one. Then put in an "easy open" cutout near the nail knick. Round the edges and that's about it. I might kind of flatten the sides if I feel like it.

I'd never seen the second link. Sweet, more knife porn.

 
davek14 said:
Those look great. I've thought of using dye instead of stain since beech is hard to get to take stain.

If you ever feel like reshaping IMO it's best to not do a bunch. Take down the "knob" closest to your palm but leave the other one. Then put in an "easy open" cutout near the nail knick. Round the edges and that's about it. I might kind of flatten the sides if I feel like it.

I'd never seen the second link. Sweet, more knife porn.
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The dye is cheap and easy to use — watch those splashes! — but from comments by others, be sure to sand the handle thoroughly. Beechwood apparently varies somewhat in its ability to take on dye.

I'm thinking of reshaping the #9's handle, but the other two are fine. Good advice about the upper knob. Thanks.
 
AreBeeBee said:
The dye is cheap and easy to use — watch those splashes! — but from comments by others, be sure to sand the handle thoroughly. Beechwood apparently varies somewhat in its ability to take on dye.

I'm thinking of reshaping the #9's handle, but the other two are fine. Good advice about the upper knob. Thanks.
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Agreed. Sand thoroughly! Spots that you have sanded harder will absorb the dye faster and in a larger quantity, resulting in a darker shade. This might result in different shades of darkness as in this example of mine, where the butt of the handle was sanded a lot more than the rest. If you've bought a carbon blade, the handle is already treated and that might be inside the wood quite deep.

ga8c.jpg
 
ga8c.jpg
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Nice chrysanthemum (?) emblem on the Opi handle. Gives the (French) knife a vaguely Japanese look.
 
davek14 said:
Those look great. I've thought of using dye instead of stain since beech is hard to get to take stain.

If you ever feel like reshaping IMO it's best to not do a bunch. Take down the "knob" closest to your palm but leave the other one. Then put in an "easy open" cutout near the nail knick. Round the edges and that's about it. I might kind of flatten the sides if I feel like it.

I'd never seen the second link. Sweet, more knife porn.

Click to expand...

can you elaborate on what the easy open cutout is? Just sand down extra where the nail knick is? Sorry for sounding like a noob, thanks!
 
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