Ten Days in Paris... What knife/knives would you bring?

Lemmy Caution

Lemmy Caution

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Aug 17, 2013
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Im going to be spending 10 days in France in July and I'm thinking about what to bring? I think I want to go minimal and only bring one knife. So right now it's between these :
1. Alox SAK Pioneer (utility)
2. Case CV Medium Punch Stockman (generally a useful knife)
3. Boker 4 Blade Congress (lots of options)
4. Case Yellow CV slimline trapper (pocket steak knife)

I may decide on something else or wind up taking more. Things to consider blade should be under 3 inches and non locking. I figure I can always pick up an opinel or something else while I'm there. anyways, what would y'all bring?
 
Pick up one of these when you get there, my wife brought this back for me last time she was there.

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Nice Laguiole Blink! Are the scales in olive, or am I way off base?
 
I was also thinking he should pick up a Laguiole.

What will you be doing while you're there? If it's just cutting the occasional baguette or cheese I'd suggest an Opinel #6 or so. Personally I wouldn't take anything too nice for fear of either losing it or having it stolen by the TSA.

Have a good trip. I just got back from Paris (as well as London and Edinburgh) about a month ago.
 
Of course Opinel is French, so...when in Rome. Personally, I'd compliment it with a SAK of some sort...I think the Pioneer or a Cadet would be great options.
 
Take the SAK, and leave the others at home. Lots of places in Paris won't let you in with a pocketknife, so you'll wind up leaving it in your hotel room most of the time.
 
Take something you can replace easily like the SAK in case it gets lost or pinched by the TSA. Or better still, buy something from there to add to your collection!
 
addylo said:
I was also thinking he should pick up a Laguiole.

What will you be doing while you're there? If it's just cutting the occasional baguette or cheese I'd suggest an Opinel #6 or so. Personally I wouldn't take anything too nice for fear of either losing it or having it stolen by the TSA.

Have a good trip. I just got back from Paris (as well as London and Edinburgh) about a month ago.
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Well its my partner's birthday (4th of July) and also her Great Aunt who was a career Military nurse passed away this year and left a little money to her parents to take us all on a trip somewhere nice. So they're taking the two of us plus my mom who's never been to Europe. It should be nice. We're spending the first week in the city and then heading down to the South for a few days. So yeah I'll just be cutting food and opening things. I like to have a worry stone though. I usually carry an Opinel 6 and a Pioneer everywhere so maybe I'll just take those and call it a day. Easy Peezy.
 
In Europe I always carry something simple and easily replaceable, with good tools, like a SAK Explorer. Laws vary by country, but you're always safe with a small non-locking folder. Recently I've traveled with a SAK Ambassador, or Leatherman Micra/Style CS. Be aware that some major museums in Paris can check through bags, so the comment above about leaving your knife in the hotel room most of the time is accurate in my experience. I often feel downright naked over there, knife-wise.
 
A few years back the wife and I took a short trip to Paris and I carried an Opinel #8 all over the place. Granted, we didn't go into any of the fancier museums like the Louvre (we had two small kids with us and figured it just wasn't worth the price of admission when they'd get bored in 9 minutes), but I had no problem anywhere with the knife. Going up into the Eiffel tower, we had to go though metal detectors and run our bags through an x-ray machine. My Opi was in my back-pack and it didn't even raise an eyebrow. You'll have a great time, for sure. Stereotypes aside, I found the Parisians to be very friendly and helpful. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

-- Mark
 
They're correct about the security checkpoints. If you go to any of the major tourist sites (i.e. museums, Eiffel, etc) you can expect your bags to be X-rayed. The results are often subject to the mood of the guy behind the machine. When I travel to Europe I don't bother carrying anything but a shillelagh, but then I like to travel light so I never check a bag.

DO expect to do a LOT of walking in Paris. Download a Paris Metro app (the "Zuli" one is good) and use it. The Metro is great but can get very confusing if you don't know what you're doing. For the short time you are going to be there buy a "carnet" (book of 10), not a full Metro pass.

Watch out for scam artists, Gypsies, pick-pockets, etc and NEVER leave a bag unwatched.

And DON'T miss the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. My wife left most of my money there this year. :D

EDIT: Almost forgot to mention... DO visit the Michel Chaudun chocolate shop (149 Rue Université, 75007) for the most amazing chocolate you've ever tasted.

- Neal
 
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The question is-what knives to bring home from there-you will no doubt visit Notre dame cathedral-right near there is the Iles St Louis. There you will find a knife shop like an Aladdins cave for knifey people.
Also good advice about the scammers-I got done for 10 euros by a pretty girl pretending to collect for deaf mutes and she did a great impersonation of one.She even had the clipboard and lanyard ID badge. It was a con of the worst kind.My charitable side dried up after that. Everyone else who approached (and there's lots of em ) got told to go away in Australian:eek:.
Safe trip.
 
meako said:
I got done for 10 euros by a pretty girl pretending to collect for deaf mutes and she did a great impersonation of one.She even had the clipboard and lanyard ID badge. It was a con of the worst kind.My charitable side dried up after that. Everyone else who approached (and there's lots of em ) got told to go away in Australian:eek:.
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They tried that on us last time we were there. I just kept walking. Another common one is the ring scam. They pretend to pick up a dropped ring and sell it to you. Stupid.

The most tragic are the supposed "homeless" people who sit on the corner with their sleeping child waiting for a hand-out. Be aware that most of those children are either drunk or drugged in order to keep them quiet for the eight to ten hours they have to sit there. All too many die of overdoses. When that happens their "watcher" has to sit there with a dead child on their hands until they are picked up at the end of their shift. This is beyond despicable.

I wish I had known about that knife shop on the Ile St Louis. Next time...
 
Opinel makes a nice knife in stainless with a corkscrew for wine drinking.

Opinel # 10 with a corkscrew.

That's what I'd bring or any SAK with a corkscrew.
 
Like Scattershot said, I left my swiss army in the hotel room most of the time to avoid problems with security in all the museums. And I can think of no good reason to take kids too young to appreciate art to Paris. Its a grown up town.
 
I heard great things about the Courty & Fils knife shop (you can Google it), but I never got there. The address I found in my trip notes is 44 rue des Petits Champs.

-- Mark
 
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