Stainless Opinel Question...

[Getahl]

I picked up my first Opinel, a carbon No. 8, approximately a year ago. It inevitably swelled, so I sanded and stained the handle. It turned out nice, although I'm not fond of the color, but I love the knife. The No. 8 has turned into one of my most carried knives.

I picked up two more about a week ago, a No. 4 and a No. 9, both stainless. I want to give them both the same treatment, but with different colors. I read that the handles on the stainless knives are a natural finish, and carbon have some kind of light stain. I can't truthfully recall how my No. 8 came; I figured they were finished identically.

Anyhow, given the "natural" finish of the handles on stainless knives, can I apply stain and sealant to good effect without sanding? I would like to keep the Opinel logo on the handle intact, and this would seem to be the easiest method. I suppose another method may be to sand around the logo, or put some painter's tape over it during sanding. Any and all input will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Keith

 

[Will Power]

Not sure, the stainless Opinels I have are all in Bubinga wood, a reddish colour that appears to have stain. They also come in other woods too.

 

[banksy]

The standard handles on both stainless and carbon knives is varnished beech.
There is also the 'chic' range of other woods (olive, oak, walnut) available with stainless blades in limited sizes.
None of them are stained.

http://www.opinel.com/uk/les-collections-opinel

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

This is from the FAQ page from Opinel's USA distributor ( http://www.opinel-usa.com/opinel_faq.asp ):

"12. I noticed that the beechwood handle of the Opinel Carbon and Stainless steel models look different, is it the same wood?
Yes, Opinel use the same wood, the difference is that the carbon models have a varnished handle and the Stainless steel models are left untreated / natural"

Pics of the beech-handled stainless knives on their site would seem to confirm that. The varnished ones (on the 'carbone' models) have that definite orange varnish tint to them, but the stainless ones in beech don't.

The other stainless knives with 'premium wood' handles (walnut, oak, etc.) don't seem to be varnished either. My walnut No. 08 came with no finish.

I've used Watco Danish Oil to seal my walnut No. 08, after sanding & re-shaping the handle; it was as easy as can be, and looks good too. :thumbup:

BTW, if you want to keep the logo on the handle, definitely cover it during sanding. If yours was like my 'carbone' model, the logo is applied rather thinly on top of the varnished finish. Takes almost nothing to rub it off (I used a Scotch-Brite pad to rub it off mine; took maybe a minute or so of light rubbing).

All that aside, I've heard even thoroughly-sanded or unfinished beech can sometimes be challenging to get stains or other finishes to penetrate deeply into the wood. I think this has come up in the various different 'Opinel Mods' threads on the site, from members posting about how they went about staining them. I'll see if I can find some links...(Edit: Here's one good example, quoted below):

Thanks!

Short answer: MinWax PolyShades, Bombay Mahogany Satin-- "Stain and Polyurethane in 1 Step."

Long answer: for my first pretend attempt, I lightly sanded the handle and colored it with a brown sharpie (bottom knife below):

Which of course rubbed off (not a bad thing-- heh):

Next, I sanded the handle again, removed the locking ring, and applied MinWax Wood Finish (yellow can), Red Mahogany. However, the finish used on the handles of the Opinel Carbon knives goes deep-- altogether a good thing, given that most people will leave them as-is. It's nice to know the original finish is good and deep. I thought I'd sanded it sufficiently for the stain to take, and the handle color looked nice and dark, but after allowing the handle to dry and buffing it with 0000 steel wool, I had this:

I then sanded the handle more deeply. I didn't go any deeeper than this because, while I wanted to remove the orangey-finished parts I did not want to alter the shape of the handle. You can see the original finish, plus the places the new stain actually soaked in(!). I intended to apply two more coats of Red Mahogany stain then finish up with Helmsman's Spar Urethane:

After the two coats of stain, buffed with 0000 steel wool, I had this:

At the store to purchase the Spar Urethane, I discovered three things:
1) The Spar Urethane didn't come in the small(est) can, and I didn't want to buy more than 8oz
2) The label on the Red Mahogany Stain sported a recommendation for the above urethane, but warned against using Polycrylic, leaving me with "regular" PolyUrethane
3) I spied the PolyShades on the shelf, stain plus PolyUrethane all in one. Ta da!

The PolyShades went on well enough that I'm confident it would have worked from the get-go, saving me many steps and frustration. The resulting finish is smooth and non-tacky. It feels a little more plastic-y than I would prefer, and I can see how/where I would apply the finish more consistently if I had a do-over, but I intend to simply Use the knife from here on out, and anticipate the finish breaking in well.

The handles on the stainless Opinels seem to have less of a coating, which I suppose I will confirm if and when I decide to PolyShade my No.8 Gardener's knife, seen above. I'm thinking of doing that one in a slightly lighter shade, perhaps American Chestnut or one of the Maples.

Hope this helps!

~~~~~~~

Toting today: Chestnut SBJ, Boker Small Congress (finishing up a Ball and Cage whittle project).

~ P.

David

 

[pertinux]

(Edit: Here's one good example, quoted below)

Thanks!

Short answer: MinWax PolyShades, Bombay Mahogany Satin-- "Stain and Polyurethane in 1 Step."

Long answer: for my first pretend attempt, I lightly sanded the handle and colored it with a brown sharpie (middle knife below):

Which of course rubbed off (not a bad thing-- heh):

Next, I sanded the handle again, removed the locking ring, and applied MinWax Wood Finish (yellow can), Red Mahogany. However, the finish used on the handles of the Opinel Carbon knives goes deep-- altogether a good thing, given that most people will leave them as-is. It's nice to know the original finish is good and deep. I thought I'd sanded it sufficiently for the stain to take, and the handle color looked nice and dark, but after allowing the handle to dry and buffing it with 0000 steel wool, I had this:

I then sanded the handle more deeply. I didn't go any deeeper than this because, while I wanted to remove the orangey-finished parts I did not want to alter the shape of the handle. You can see the original finish, plus the places the new stain actually soaked in(!). I intended to apply two more coats of Red Mahogany stain then finish up with Helmsman's Spar Urethane:

After the two coats of stain, buffed with 0000 steel wool, I had this:

At the store to purchase the Spar Urethane, I discovered three things:
1) The Spar Urethane didn't come in the small(est) can, and I didn't want to buy more than 8oz
2) The label on the Red Mahogany Stain sported a recommendation for the above urethane, but warned against using Polycrylic, leaving me with "regular" PolyUrethane
3) I spied the PolyShades on the shelf, stain plus PolyUrethane all in one. Ta da!

The PolyShades went on well enough that I'm confident it would have worked from the get-go, saving me many steps and frustration. The resulting finish is smooth and non-tacky. It feels a little more plastic-y than I would prefer, and I can see how/where I would apply the finish more consistently if I had a do-over, but I intend to simply Use the knife from here on out, and anticipate the finish breaking in well.

The handles on the stainless Opinels seem to have less of a coating, which I suppose I will confirm if and when I decide to PolyShade my No.8 Gardener's knife, seen above. I'm thinking of doing that one in a slightly lighter shade, perhaps American Chestnut or one of the Maples.

Hope this helps!

Re-quoted because I fixed the broken image link, but the changes can't take effect in David's original quoting of the post.

~ P.

 

[wouldestous]

...I would like to keep the Opinel logo on the handle intact,...
Keith

in my experience, carrying an opinel knife (which you absolutely should, they are fantastic and eminently useful knives) will eventually cause the logo to wear off the handle.
depending on your lifestyle, the relative 'sweatiness' of your climate, other objects that may or may not inhabit your pocket with the opinel and the uses to which you will put the knife this may take less or more time. i regard it as part and parcel of the evolution of a product produced in great numbers for a worldwide market into *your* knife. although none of the above actually answers your question lol.
my answer to your question is; i dont know. try staining without sanding and see what happens. probably the worst that could happen is that you wind up with a fantastically useful ugly knife.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Re-quoted because I fixed the broken image link, but the changes can't take effect in David's original quoting of the post.

~ P.

Thank you, Sarah. :thumbup:


David

 

[richstag]

The logo comes off without even trying.

 

[Getahl]

The logo on my carbon No. 8 came off by giving it a dirty look. It suppose I'll save myself some time and be done with the logo altogether. I don't think Opies can be ugly; I find them very easy on the eye. Even ones with an ugly paint job have great curves and pleasing symmetry.

 

[pinnah]

I just refinished 2 stainless 8s.

Sanding was needed to get Minwax stain to penetrate. I've been told and have found that sticking with 80 grit is needed to "open up" the grain enough to accept the stain. Dye is another option.

Rely on your top coat of varnish or poly to get it smooth. Multiple coats.

Post pics!!