The gentleman's pocketknife (Opinel vs. Douk-Douk)

Agree a gentleman's knife shouldn't put a lump in a guy's pocket.

Douk-douks rock. They can be a real finger guillotine though.
 
statesevens said:
Elitism based on what my definition of "gentleman" is compared to the apparent knife industry definition.
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You are still not getting the core concept here, chief.

A "gentleman's knife" describes a certain type of knife. A complete and utter cad can carry one. And, if you happen to be a perfect gentleman, and you carry an Opinel, it doesn't make the Opinel a gentleman's knife.

It's not elitism, its not subjective...its what the term means.
 
JakeMakes said:
I don't own the DD, but I do the Opinel #8. It is a great knife, and probably the best I own for slicing because of the full (or is it flat?) grind, and it gets very sharp. Here are a couple things I don't like about it that you might want to consider.

#1 It is hard to open. A lot of other people say this, and it is true. I have found it impossible to open with one hand, which means you have to set down whatever you are working on to just get it open. It is equally hard to close. And no, it doesn't get much better with use.

#2 It is uncomfortable in your pocket. To tell the truth, this is the worse of the two problems in my opinion. The handle of the opinel is rather thick, compared to just about any other pocket knife. Because it is lacking a pocket clip, it settles to the bottom of your pocket, and is simply uncomfortable. And I am not one to complain about stuff in my pockets. Don't get me wrong, the thicker handle fills your hand really nice, but in my mind it is just too thick for an EDC. At the end of the day the Leatherman ends up in my pocket.

So, would I buy it again, yes. But it won't be in my pocket every day. I haven't tried the Douk-Douk, but its thinner profile sounds really nice.
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You can loosen the pivot of the Opinel by putting a large screwdriver in the slot and twisting the inner ring apart. Go slow.

You can prevent the wood from swelling tight when wet by melting beeswax in the joint.

You can join the deep French tradition of modifying your Opinel handle. Use a sanding block to flatten the sides and carry it pivot up for better pocket carry. Will end up carrying as well or better than a Sodbuster, IMO.

If this sounds like a lot work, it is. An Opinel is a starter kit for a great knife. Without the work, they are much less great.
 
I just looked up the urban dictionary definition, and it says " a knife that is appropriate to wear with bussines attire in an urban environment that is functional and classy, without being tactical " so if your comfortable with it in a suit pocket and think it looks classy then absolutely a douk douk, opinel, or even a vic soldier in alox would absolutely be considered gentleman's knifes :thumbup: if someone could comfortably carry a buck 110 ( that was legal in their area and wouldn't freak out coworkers ) in their suit pocket and think it's a classy knife , then it would absolutely be considered a gentleman's knife.
Regardless of what anyone tries to tell you, " gentleman's knife" is a non specific term and as long as a the knife is legal and office friendly it's up to you to decide if it's a gentleman's knife.
 
I should have mentioned that I don't consider the Douk Douk a gentleman's knife at all. It's a slipjoint that manages to be as offensive-looking as one can possibly be without being tacky. If you want a gentleman's knife, Opinel is the better option.

Still love the Douk Douk. It Douks and it Douks and it keeps on Douking.
 
pinnah said:
You can loosen the pivot of the Opinel by putting a large screwdriver in the slot and twisting the inner ring apart. Go slow.

You can prevent the wood from swelling tight when wet by melting beeswax in the joint.

You can join the deep French tradition of modifying your Opinel handle. Use a sanding block to flatten the sides and carry it pivot up for better pocket carry. Will end up carrying as well or better than a Sodbuster, IMO.

If this sounds like a lot work, it is. An Opinel is a starter kit for a great knife. Without the work, they are much less great.
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Yea, i know you can modify it. I just haven't felt like putting the work into it. The handle on mine hasn't swollen, it is the same as it was when I got it. I hadn't heard of the screwdriver trick, I might have to try that.

Also, does someone good with leather could probably make a nice pouch for it to go on a belt, like a Swiss army knife. That sounds like a much better way to carry it. I am NOT good with leather so I havnet tried. Maybe duct tape? :-D
 
Nap said:
His second paragraph of substance was literally "… money is very tight at present and I cannot buy both …"
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They're both roughly $25 knives, + shipping

If one is in a position where the absolutely can't spent $55, but can spend $35 on one knife, my suggestion is wait one paycheck, find $20 more, be it one less beer every day till payday, or leftovers instead of pizza on Friday, and buy both.
 
strategy9 said:
They're both roughly $25 knives, + shipping

If one is in a position where the absolutely can't spent $55, but can spend $35 on one knife, my suggestion is wait one paycheck, find $20 more, be it one less beer every day till payday, or leftovers instead of pizza on Friday, and buy both.
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You assume (incorrectly) that I'm American and my lifestyle is similar to yours.

Regardless, I didn't post this thread to start an argument over semantics. I received the answer I sought and I'm happy with that. Good day to you all!
 
JakeMakes said:
Yea, i know you can modify it. I just haven't felt like putting the work into it. The handle on mine hasn't swollen, it is the same as it was when I got it. I hadn't heard of the screwdriver trick, I might have to try that.

Also, does someone good with leather could probably make a nice pouch for it to go on a belt, like a Swiss army knife. That sounds like a much better way to carry it. I am NOT good with leather so I havnet tried. Maybe duct tape? :-D
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Jake, while New England isn't as humid as your neck of the woods, it's pretty wet. When an untreated Opinel get's wet, I can't tell by the size of the handle in my hand. Rather, the inner surface of the joint in the well swells, causing the joint to get even tighter, making it very hard to get the blade out. The traditional French method is to wack the butt end of the knife on a hard surface to pop the tip of the blade out - the term is the "coup de Savoyard"

I personally don't adjust the pivot tightness (screw driver to loosen) until I'm very sure the wood is bone dry. A day in the windshield of a warm car usually does it for me. Melting beeswax into the joint is the best way I've found to keep the wood of the joint sealed against moisture and humidity. If you lived in Arizona, I would suspect your Opinel's inner ring is tight. In Mississippi, I would suspect humidity.

By the way, Opinel sells a variety of belt holsters. Check out the Opinel USA web site.
 
statesevens said:
You assume (incorrectly) that I'm American and my lifestyle is similar to yours.

Regardless, I didn't post this thread to start an argument over semantics. I received the answer I sought and I'm happy with that. Good day to you all!
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Statestevens, stick to your guns. As somebody who works with semantics on a daily basis, I've found that people who argue about semantics on forums generally don't undertand semantics, particularly the maelability of terms. Your original post was crystal clear. But if you removed all posts over disagreements on terms, the post count on this site (and most sites) would be cut by 50%.

Let us know what you end up with and how you like it.
 
statesevens said:
You assume (incorrectly) that I'm American and my lifestyle is similar to yours.

Regardless, I didn't post this thread to start an argument over semantics. I received the answer I sought and I'm happy with that. Good day to you all!
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Helps us out if you fill out the part of your profile that tells us where you are located... Then I would not assume at all... And "beer and pizza" was just a metaphor to cutting a small portion of your expenses, whatever your lifestyle, to save up for both, since neither one is an expensive knife, (by American standards).. But true, maybe in your place of residence it is a different story. I don't know, but I was wrong to assume...

My apologies if I offended, I didn't mean to, nor to start an argument, but simply as a knife lover, on a knife site, suggested both, since having two knives is better then one knife.

A lot of great tradional patterns available too in that price range, from Colt, Rough Rider, and Buck...

Best of luck to you.
 
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sideways said:
Both are squarely in the realm of working class knives.

The douk douk has the darker backstory. The knife still has a stigma in some circles due to the ignoble use it saw in the french algerian war.
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Can you devellop? Never heard of that... :eek:
 
Murder. Mutilation. Torture. All the stuff that goes along with a brutal civil war.

The douk douk was affordable, available, would hold a razor edge, and easily concealable.

One tactic was to hammer the handle scales together to create a field expedient fixed blade.

The use was wide spread enough that it became symbolic of the conflict. Comparable to the machetes of the rwandan genocide.
 
sideways said:
Murder. Mutilation. Torture. All the stuff that goes along with a brutal civil war.

The douk douk was affordable, available, would hold a razor edge, and easily concealable.

One tactic was to hammer the handle scales together to create a field expedient fixed blade.

The use was wide spread enough that it became symbolic of the conflict. Comparable to the machetes of the rwandan genocide.
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Seems an amazing urban legend, I'm afraid... I crossed this period and was a bit concerned but never heard of that...Such assertions should always come with solid proof.
 
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