Recommendation for knife similar to Opinel?

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Puppadore

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Hello, I'm looking to buy a knife that has a blade grind similar to Opinel.
It has NO secondary bevel. The blade is also very thin.

My budget is upto $125, lower the better.

Basically I'm looking for a regular folding knife with a common lock (liner, backlock, etc..) with Opinel-like blade grind.

Knives I am NOT looking for, is stuff like Spyderco Manix 2 as it has a secondary bevel.

Thanks.
 
The Spyderco Nilakka had a zero-grind blade. It was discontinued in 2016.
You're probably not going to find much, so you might want to consider reprofiling a flat ground knife to remove the secondary bevel.
 
Mercator K55 made by Otter. Nice flat knife, thin flat ground blade, all metal construction, and has been made for over 100 years now so it has a great track record. Cost; under 50 dollars.
 
If you like that blade grind, you might like a convex ground knife. Bark River Knives and Fällkniven Knives make them, they mostly use that grind for fixed blades though, finding a folding one might be hard.
 
jackknife said:
Mercator K55 made by Otter. Nice flat knife, thin flat ground blade, all metal construction, and has been made for over 100 years now so it has a great track record. Cost; under 50 dollars.
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This was my first thought too.
 
With some looking NOS Cold Steel Twistmasters show up. They were basically high end Opinels in Zytel and Carbon V.
 
Take a look at MAM knives from Portugal.If you are in for a few more $$, look into Brisa/Enzo with a full Scandi grind (liner lock in D2). I have two, no secondary bevel and come shaving sharp (although I don't know why anyone would shave with a knife).
Rich
 
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Most knives have a secondary bevel of some sort, be it large or small, to protect the edge from damage, especially if the blade is very thin to start with. Its pretty easy to go from micro bevel to convex though.
The closest I have seen is the Spyderco Dyad, if you can find one. They haven't made that one for years but they come up for sale sometimes. The straight edge blade is .095 at the spine, full distal taper down to .019 at the tip, flat ground, cutting edge 2.77", 3.5" blade length.

zYMRmoG.jpg


Manly has a couple flat ground models you might want to check out also.
 
Twist
tltt said:
With some looking NOS Cold Steel Twistmasters show up. They were basically high end Opinels in Zytel and Carbon V.
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Twistmasters are excellent knives, Carbon V, but the small one has a fairly thick blade. The large Twistmaster with its wider blade seems a bit thinner but that huge handle is, well, huge. Great for skinning large game though.
 
You might also consider getting a Douk-Douk. I think the blade grind might be closer to what you are looking for than the Mercator K55K (though I think the Mercator is a better all-round knife). They are inexpensive, easy to find, durable, and very sharp.
 
the spydy chaparral has a thickness of only 0.079" which is among the best you'll find in modern folders
the mercator mentioned is 0.09"
the kershaw leek is near them...

it's honestly sad that there are really no blades except opinel around the 0.06" mark

I own the leek and some opi's - all amazing slicers
 
Just Tom. said:
These are inexpensive but might be hard to find. No secondary bevel at all when new.
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Unless you live in Spain and then you can buy easily. And if you live in Catalonia, the better. As you will find them locally by the dozen. They are also very cheap.

But don't be fooled. Those are slipjoint work tradicional knives (no lock). Cut like crazy as they are veeeeery thin. But do not expect perfect fit and finish or Sebenza-like tolerances. I own one (gifted from a friend whose wife is from Catalonia) and it the plastic handle has burrs, the spring protrudes from the handles and the rivets are not ground/polished smooth). While I use it once in a while and does what is meant to do, is not a knife I would recommend if you have a budget of 125€.

Here is a link to the Pallares manufacturer website --> http://www.pallaressolsona.com/es/catalogo/ Seems like besides the basic model pictured above (plastic handle in several colors), they have recently introducen higher end models with stag, ebony and micarta handles. They still lack any kind of lock. I checked in a spanish cutlery website and plastic models are about 10€, wood handle 30€, micarta handle 45€ and stag 62€.


Mikel

PD: I live in Bilbao, which is about 6h drive from Solsona.
 
Mikel_24 said:
Unless you live in Spain and then you can buy easily. And if you live in Catalonia, the better. As you will find them locally by the dozen. They are also very cheap.

But don't be fooled. Those are slipjoint work tradicional knives (no lock). Cut like crazy as they are veeeeery thin. But do not expect perfect fit and finish or Sebenza-like tolerances. I own one (gifted from a friend whose wife is from Catalonia) and it the plastic handle has burrs, the spring protrudes from the handles and the rivets are not ground/polished smooth). While I use it once in a while and does what is meant to do, is not a knife I would recommend if you have a budget of 125€.

Here is a link to the Pallares manufacturer website --> http://www.pallaressolsona.com/es/catalogo/ Seems like besides the basic model pictured above (plastic handle in several colors), they have recently introducen higher end models with stag, ebony and micarta handles. They still lack any kind of lock. I checked in a spanish cutlery website and plastic models are about 10€, wood handle 30€, micarta handle 45€ and stag 62€.


Mikel

PD: I live in Bilbao, which is about 6h drive from Solsona.
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:thumbsup:
I should have said they are hard to find outside of Spain without paying more in shipping costs than the value of the knife. The 3rd one down in the picture is actually a friction folder - the others are indeed slipjoints.

In general I agree with your review, but I am not at all put off by the fit-and-finish issues or the lack of a lock. Mine actually see a fair amount of use. Because the blades are so thin, I have seen a couple of very small nicks develop in the edges (probably from very hard knots in wood) - you would never even notice them unless you are cutting tissue paper or something.

I am also happy to hear they are common and cheap in Catalonia. Regional differences can easily get obliterated in today’s global world, and speaking of that - I see they are manufacturing knock-offs of these in Asia.
 
MqNfNd7.jpg

I do like the Old Bear knives, they are similar to Opinel with a rotating collar lock.
 
Yes Opinels have a very thin, convex factory edge.

So are Pallares folders.

I have no experience with the Old Bear, but the blade steel is 420, so supposedly not as good?

Douk-douks (and derivative models) have a small secondary bevel.
 
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