Who carries an Opinel?

I carried one in my toolbox at one time and it was ok but the blade would be sticky if it was wet. Probably could have been easily fixed with a little sealing but being an inexpensive knife i never got around to it so I left it open. Mostly sharpened pencils cut some string and a few odd jobs but was a good knife overall.
 
A few months ago, my wife got into doing some research on wild mushrooms. She bought a book that had an Opinel #4 as a freebee (don't bother asking which book, we live in Quebec, so French is our first language). I'd never seen one of those before. The blade is less than 2 inches and there's no locking mechanism. She just looked at the knife, thought it was cute and tossed it at me ;)

If it wasn't for the fact that I carry more knives than I have pockets for, I'd probably carry it along on a regular basis. It's really a cute small knife.
 
Just wanted to add that if your blade is the carbon and not the stainless ones, the blade is very easy to "Blue"...Wal-Mart should carry what you need, A degreaser/Cleaner & the bottle of gun blue.

Just clean then apply a few coats of blue on and you you end up with a black & protected blade. Ive done all mine this way and love the look & the blueing holds up great.:D
 
This is wierd! I bought one at a flea market last Saturday and was blown away by it but it is a commemorative model so about an hour ago I ordered some 'users' for my father and me. Then I stumbled on this thread. Anyway they are fantastic cutters and the No. 8 models are the preferred size for me. I'm told that no self respecting rural Frenchman is caught dead without one in his pocket. Vive l'Opinel!
 
if I should curse you guys or thank you. After reading this thread I drove down to the local knife shop and picked up a #8. Lucky for me the best store in the area is less than a mile from work:D Nice fit and finish, no wiggle at all, light as a feather. How can they sell this for ten bucks? I guess I'll have to thank you:)

Frank
 
Have an 8 that I carry from time to time. I often carry it at the pool I manage in the summer time. Well, long story short I fell in the pool one day with it in my pocket. Besides soaking the contents of my wallet and frying my cell phone the knife got wet too. Well, those wooden handles are not sealed. They swelled up so much I could not open the knife. By the time they went down so I could open it the blade had some rust marks. Still works fine, and has some more character, but it illustrates how quickly the carbon steel in them will rust. So if you get one wet make sure to dry it quickly. Also, don't do work on the edge of a pool with stuff in your pockets that does not mix well with water.;)
 
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