Why all the Opinel rave?

The same $12 can be spent on much worse performers. I adore my 8 carbon. Kinda unpretentious (just a flimsy lil cutter for quotidian duties). Its not supersteel. Its not modern. Its low speed/high drag. And awesome because of it ;)
 
For all the reasons stated so far, plus one; you just have to try one to see how cool they are. Once you try one, every other knife you have will seem kind of slovenly cutting.
 
Also, they make great gifts for knife nuts and non knife nuts alike. Even somebody who would not necessarily carry a folder can appreciate the craftsmanship, history and beauty of these little knives.
 
So how do you guys sharpen the blade to keep the convex edge. Some version of the mouse pad and sandpaper?

Someone mentioned they can be sharpened in 30 seconds. How do you do it? Thanks.
 
scrape it on a fine stone, strop it on leather charged green. Do it often (and smear the blade back and forth on your dirty mouse pad at your desk while on hold lol)
 
I just imagined an actual Opinel rave. Loud dance music booming inside an abandoned warehouse. Lots of bright flashing lights. And hundreds of people cutting twine, grape vines, and Roquefort with their lil farmer knives. Don't get up- I'll show myself out.
 
pinnah said:
What do consider to be decent steel?

These are users, not pocket jewelry. The steels are choosen to be easy to field sharpen. The carbon is a tough 1086 variant at not too hard 56 Rc which makes it easy to repair after running it through crap. The Inox is Sandvik 12C27 at a harder 58 Rc. It's the best EDC mid grade steel I've used. Better than Bucks 420HC.

I'm trying to get my head around an Opinel with super steel.
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Not necessarily a super steel, just a better one. I would love to see the Opinel with a 1095 blade at 65 HRC or O1 at 62 HRC, or M2 HSS at 66 HRC. These steels are not brittle at all at these levels, especially for a pocket knife. Hopefully, nobody uses this knife as an axe. You could then sharpen this knife quarterly instead of weekly (under constant use).

I have some M2 HSS steel at 65-66 in my garage, I'll see if I can find a knifemaker to grind it down to an Opinel blade. The nice thing about the Opinel's geometry is that it will NEVER be hard to sharpen, no matter what steel is used, because it's thin.

Here you go, we'll see if I get any takers. It's a long shot, because at this hardness, I suspect it will be a lot of work.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1203605-Custom-Grinding-Question
 
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sodak said:
Not necessarily a super steel, just a better one. I would love to see the Opinel with a 1095 blade at 65 HRC or O1 at 62 HRC, or M2 HSS at 66 HRC. These steels are not brittle at all at these levels, especially for a pocket knife. Hopefully, nobody uses this knife as an axe. You could then sharpen this knife quarterly instead of weekly (under constant use).

I have some M2 HSS steel at 65-66 in my garage, I'll see if I can find a knifemaker to grind it down to an Opinel blade. The nice thing about the Opinel's geometry is that it will NEVER be hard to sharpen, no matter what steel is used, because it's thin.
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M4 would be fantastic to see in an Opie, but I also like your idea of 01. VG-10 would also be interesting.
 
kamagong said:
Seriously? I favor US made knives myself, but it is cheap copies that I truly have issue with. The Opinel being a French original, an American version would be no better than a knockoff.
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I'm serious. Thanks but no thanks. :)
 
pjackst said:
I just imagined an actual Opinel rave. Loud dance music booming inside an abandoned warehouse. Lots of bright flashing lights. And hundreds of people cutting twine, grape vines, and Roquefort with their lil farmer knives. Don't get up- I'll show myself out.
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An Opinel rave would probably result in multiple homicides, but it sounds fun otherwise. :)
 
Opinels are fantastic knives. Although they are not the latest and greatest tacticool knife and the steel is not some Unobtanium super steel they cut everything I need to cut they are interesting to look at and are a bargain and a real value for what they cost.

In today's knife age where everyone is making review videos and giving there 2 cents about every new knife that comes out we are still talking about a knife that was made in the late 1800's. I think that in itself should tell any one that is curious about them that it would be worth there while to buy one and see for themselves.

Well fellas (and lady's) I am off to the beach to spend my 14th anniversary with my beautiful wife. Guess what knife is going with me, that's right my new #8 I am going to break it in this weekend with some steak and sea food.
 
To the OP, I would make one suggestion no matter the size you choose. Order it in the olive wood. It's not stained nor lacquered like the regular(beech?), and usually has a distinct and pleasant grain to admire. They run just a few $ more than a regular.

Though I have a tight #5, which is friction-only, I would suggest a 6 as the smallest to go, so that you can use and experience the locking collar.
 
If "cutting things" is what you do with your knives, then an Opinel cannot be beat for any price. If you are one of the folks who use their knives for flicking while sitting on the couch watching TV, or chopping stones and cinder blocks, or whacking trees within 50 yards of your gassed up car filled with beer during "survival," or scaring off bad guys and terrorists, etc., then they are not for you.

But again, if you are among that shrinking minority that actually cuts things with their knives, they, along with slipjojnts, make excellent choices.
 
pinnah said:
What do consider to be decent steel?

These are users, not pocket jewelry. The steels are choosen to be easy to field sharpen. The carbon is a tough 1086 variant at not too hard 56 Rc which makes it easy to repair after running it through crap. The Inox is Sandvik 12C27 at a harder 58 Rc. It's the best EDC mid grade steel I've used. Better than Bucks 420HC.

I'm trying to get my head around an Opinel with super steel.
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I personally would love to see an Opinel with a super steel, now that would make the ultimate box cutter when you need to break down a lot of boxes :D. If they made one I don't think they could take my money fast enough. Funny thing is about the only thing I really like about their knives is the performance you get from them as the rest of the doesn't speak to me I guess you could say.

Though nothing is wrong with their carbon steel which is what I use. I put it through it's paces to say the least having broken down more boxes than you can imagine and having broken down more in one sitting before than I care to count (I spent several hours cutting up boxes that day). Some of which required me cut the box down into such small pieces so the box was unrecognizable so no one going through our recycling bin would learn we just bought some nice tools. I can safely say after do all this their XC90 carbon steel has earned my respect and is one of my favorite steels. I've heard their stainless is just as good but I don't have any experience with it.
 
AlexWitte said:
An Opinel rave would probably result in multiple homicides, but it sounds fun otherwise. :)
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Nawww- I am thinking it would be great. Pastoral charm mixed with dubstep (ew maybe not). Vin ordinaire instead of molly. Overalls and Wellingtons instead of neon tshirts and oversized pacifiers. Ok this is turning into a meatball smoothie (two or more ideas fine on their own, that just don't blend well).
 
wtlj said:
Alright, alright ill order one now. I'd like to start off with the most popular one first. I'm assuming that's the #8 but carbon or stainless?
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That all depends on which one you like more. You can easily patina a carbon blade with an apple or something, but not an inox. But then the inoxs don't rust very easily. Also its fun to drop point the blade. I think they look pretty good that way. Heres one i gave away a little while ago.
P1050007_zps1060057f.jpg
 
jackknife said:
Once you try one, every other knife you have will seem kind of slovenly cutting.
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My 3 don't cut any better than dozens and dozens of other knives I own.

And for that matter, ALL of them had to be sharpened to even be EQUAL to the cutting ability pretty much every Kershaw/ZT, Cold Steel, Buck, and Spyderco I own came with out of the box.
 
wtlj said:
So I'm pretty new to knives and only have a few. Every time I open another thread someone mentions an opinel. I had to know what it was. So I jumped on amazon and looked up the opinel #8, $12.95 what!!! Then the picture popped up and I thought no way is this cheap funky looking thing that popular! So what's all the rave about and what are you guys using this knife for?
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We live in a world where even good companies often put out knives with geometries and edge angles that just don't cut well. The average inclusive edge angle hovers around forty degrees... Which is about twice that of a good axe or hatchet... Why do little pocket knives need to be so obtuse? I'm not sure anyone can say. On top of that, they are often thick behind the edge as well, and have steels which are hard to grind, meaning if you actually want to put a cutting edge on them, you might spend hours on the stones.

Now, every opinel I've seen new basically had no edge from the factory. But you can still spend a few minutes only on a cheap stone and have a twenty degree edge on a thin blade that out cuts all your mid tech and high end production knives.

So, in a world which had forgotten how to cut, the opinel is often someone's first experience with actual cutting geometry. Throw in the fool proof lock, good looks (I've had more compliments on opinel than anything else), and unbeatable price and you've got a winner.
 
Why are flea markets filled with chinese nascar, wolf & john deere knives? Same reason people like opinels...Because people like cheap junk!
Before anyone looses their cool...I will say that I would much rather have an opinel than a chinese nascar knife but, lets not kid ourselves about what an opinel is. It's just a cheaply made knife, with cheap materials that is easy to manufacturer.
 
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Awesome knife-awesome price. It's an inexpensive, good knife and you can afford to have many. One in the tackle box, one in the tool box, one in the glove box, etc.....
 
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