Ankerson
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European Gas Station Knives....
Bottom line is they are cheap....... And anything cheap will sell....
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Why all the Opinel rave?
- Thread starter wtlj
- Start date
European Gas Station Knives....
Bottom line is they are cheap....... And anything cheap will sell....
made me lol. And although there are works of art that are far from cheaply made, lets put this to rest for ever and say that some people are attracted to the allure of a farmer/peasant/cheapy blade, and some prefer... you know... karambits (jkjkjk - I just tried to think of an example of an extremely "modern" trend in cutlery, and those things came to mind)
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Opinels are regarded a bit like boxcutters, kind of disposable. But they demonstrate a very crucial fact that knife nuts sometimes overlook when endlessly considering the world of modern knife design: Good knife design is not rocket science. In fact, it's among the oldest technologies humanity has ever perfected. The knowledge of what makes a good, solid performing knife is what makes the Opinel not only a serious performer, but also inexpensive. Knifemaking is very mature technology. What modern makers and factories do is add sparkle and shine, materials described with exotic strings of letters and numbers, and even to some degree of personal identity ( which is why so many knife nuts are so concerned with things like country of origin, or what kind of statement the knife in their pocket makes to the world).
But for all the technological virtues of modern manufacturing, they don't surpass the fact that geometry for the optimal knife was long ago figured out, and requires the humblest of materials to implement. Plain old carbon steel, is in many circumstances, the ideal material for a metal blade. And wood is basically nature's building block, durable, easy to shape, literally grows out on trees.
The wonder to me isn't why the Opinel is successful. It's why so many modern knife makers/manufacturers insist on reinventing that wheel, and end up with a (sometimes much) more expensive product that will never perform as well... unless it's modified to mimic the Opinel.
But for all the technological virtues of modern manufacturing, they don't surpass the fact that geometry for the optimal knife was long ago figured out, and requires the humblest of materials to implement. Plain old carbon steel, is in many circumstances, the ideal material for a metal blade. And wood is basically nature's building block, durable, easy to shape, literally grows out on trees.
The wonder to me isn't why the Opinel is successful. It's why so many modern knife makers/manufacturers insist on reinventing that wheel, and end up with a (sometimes much) more expensive product that will never perform as well... unless it's modified to mimic the Opinel.
Love it
halzucati
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I've never been a fan, but my dad loves these things.
I've always thought they were popular because of many of the reasons stated here, cheap, sharp, easy to work with. Kinda like Mora's knives.
You're not going to pry anything with one, or chop wood, or really likely impress anyone tactically. But they are simple and they do cut.
- Hal Zucati
I've always thought they were popular because of many of the reasons stated here, cheap, sharp, easy to work with. Kinda like Mora's knives.
You're not going to pry anything with one, or chop wood, or really likely impress anyone tactically. But they are simple and they do cut.
- Hal Zucati
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I guess you either get it or you don't. I don't get it but I respect those who do.
when i worked for a short time in product management/marketing in an engineering type company, we called this "the geeks fallacy". The geeks fallacy is the belief that customers want technical solutions to problems. They don't.
People buy dreams or hopes. They buy a story, or a ticket to participate in a story.
With consumer goods, one of the most compelling stories is that new is improved and closely related to that, you get what you pay for. The thing that the Opinel cuts the deepest on is this sort of belief. Very few people want to pull something out of their pocket that says, in a nutshell, that they have settled for 150 year old technology. Only hair shirt Luddites and hippies do that.
chiral.grolim
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I bought my wife an Opinel #6 (INOX) as she favors the old-fashion design.
Out of the box, it was flat dull - glinting along the entire edge, completely unsharpened at the heel. No big deal, didn't expect much anyway, and it sharpened-up easily being so thin, 15-dps microbevel.
I like that the knife locks closed. But the blade-pivot was so tight, it was difficult for my wife to open. I read online, took a heat-gun to dry it out and the pivot was nice and loose, so loose that if it is NOT locked closed, it falls open freely, which my wife did not like.
It doesn't open easily and safely with one-hand like most modern folders.
It's a manual lock, no springs but able to be operated one-handed, but it's less convenient than most lock-designs, another thing my wife recognized.
As a traditional, it has no pocket-clip so must be carried in a pocket/pouch/sheath of some type, something that both my wife and i found annoying.
Finally in use, the edge geometry is great but the edge-retention is very poor, requires touching-up OFTEN to straighten or restore the apex, unlike many of my other knives. As a box-cutter, it works as well as most utility blades in that it is very thin but goes dull quite quickly, stops cutting clean and requires more force, but at least there is minimal wedging. Still, my thicker knives are better cardboard cutters (i.e. less force required, cut more cardboard before requiring a touch-up)
If any wedging DOES occur, the blade is narrow and the handle so round that it tends to twist on cuts unless a very firm grip is maintained - again something that my wife did NOT like and another reason i stopped using it for cardboard.
Finally, carving wood :thumbdn::thumbdn: When carving/whittling, holding the knife close to the cutting edge allows for a better transfer of force for clean, controlled cuts. Wood tends to bind and put lateral stress on a blade. The opinel is very thin so it cuts deep... and binds. Prying/twisting (part of carving) easily deform the apex and, holding from the handle of the knife, the blade often bends rather than proceeding with the task. In order to put more force behind the cutting edge, one must apply pressure to the spine of the knife where you are trying to make the cut, and the thin opinel blade-spine is quite uncomfortable in this.
In summary, this inexpensive thin cutting tool is great for cutting materials which are NOT likely to twist the blade, bind it (and so require a lot of careful force behind the blade), or quickly wear it down, in other words very soft materials. Cardboard, wood, rope, etc. not so much. It isn't very convenient to carry, open, or close. Cutting paper, fabric, and soft fruits&veggies or meat :thumbup: But those things do not account for the majority of my cutting needs, and even if they did, the inferiority of this knife for other common uses compromises its utility. I'd rather pay 4-5X more for a knife that can do EVERYthing I need it to do, do it well, and be safer and more convenient as well, and apparently my wife feels that way as well. The Opinel will wait in a drawer until my girls are old enough to use it responsibly.
That's my $0.02 No hate, just realism.
Out of the box, it was flat dull - glinting along the entire edge, completely unsharpened at the heel. No big deal, didn't expect much anyway, and it sharpened-up easily being so thin, 15-dps microbevel.
I like that the knife locks closed. But the blade-pivot was so tight, it was difficult for my wife to open. I read online, took a heat-gun to dry it out and the pivot was nice and loose, so loose that if it is NOT locked closed, it falls open freely, which my wife did not like.
It doesn't open easily and safely with one-hand like most modern folders.
It's a manual lock, no springs but able to be operated one-handed, but it's less convenient than most lock-designs, another thing my wife recognized.
As a traditional, it has no pocket-clip so must be carried in a pocket/pouch/sheath of some type, something that both my wife and i found annoying.
Finally in use, the edge geometry is great but the edge-retention is very poor, requires touching-up OFTEN to straighten or restore the apex, unlike many of my other knives. As a box-cutter, it works as well as most utility blades in that it is very thin but goes dull quite quickly, stops cutting clean and requires more force, but at least there is minimal wedging. Still, my thicker knives are better cardboard cutters (i.e. less force required, cut more cardboard before requiring a touch-up)
If any wedging DOES occur, the blade is narrow and the handle so round that it tends to twist on cuts unless a very firm grip is maintained - again something that my wife did NOT like and another reason i stopped using it for cardboard.
Finally, carving wood :thumbdn::thumbdn: When carving/whittling, holding the knife close to the cutting edge allows for a better transfer of force for clean, controlled cuts. Wood tends to bind and put lateral stress on a blade. The opinel is very thin so it cuts deep... and binds. Prying/twisting (part of carving) easily deform the apex and, holding from the handle of the knife, the blade often bends rather than proceeding with the task. In order to put more force behind the cutting edge, one must apply pressure to the spine of the knife where you are trying to make the cut, and the thin opinel blade-spine is quite uncomfortable in this.
In summary, this inexpensive thin cutting tool is great for cutting materials which are NOT likely to twist the blade, bind it (and so require a lot of careful force behind the blade), or quickly wear it down, in other words very soft materials. Cardboard, wood, rope, etc. not so much. It isn't very convenient to carry, open, or close. Cutting paper, fabric, and soft fruits&veggies or meat :thumbup: But those things do not account for the majority of my cutting needs, and even if they did, the inferiority of this knife for other common uses compromises its utility. I'd rather pay 4-5X more for a knife that can do EVERYthing I need it to do, do it well, and be safer and more convenient as well, and apparently my wife feels that way as well. The Opinel will wait in a drawer until my girls are old enough to use it responsibly.
That's my $0.02 No hate, just realism.
Ankerson
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All they are is gas station knives really, European gas station knives/flea market knives so as you said don't expect much.
Basically throw away knives for the masses over in Europe.
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This thread again! This same theme seems to pop up every once in a while, sometimes even quite often.
In short: just get one and see for yourself. If you don't like it, not a lot was lost. If you do: prepare for more
.
I've got plenty, all get used. It's what others have said already
Many sizes, many woods, ss or carbon. They develop a lot of character. They're easy to mod and make your own. Easily one of the best cutters out there, even when dull because of the thin profile. Classic. The looks, the rustique it just breathes. The atmosphere around them... It's some of the things that come to mind.
In short: just get one and see for yourself. If you don't like it, not a lot was lost. If you do: prepare for more
.I've got plenty, all get used. It's what others have said already
Many sizes, many woods, ss or carbon. They develop a lot of character. They're easy to mod and make your own. Easily one of the best cutters out there, even when dull because of the thin profile. Classic. The looks, the rustique it just breathes. The atmosphere around them... It's some of the things that come to mind.
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Well, I'm sorry but I completely disagree. They're inexpensive workman knives. As is the Mercator Katzmesser, or a Sodbuster, or a Stockman pattern, or a Higonokami, or a Douk-Douk. Timeless designs, proven by time that still work well today. To dismiss them as gas station knives just makes me shiver.
halzucati
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Know that I think about it, my father always talks about how he's cutting sheet and rolled foam with his, either that or how he's been hacking at some form of rope, drywall, or just cleaning his fingernails....
I've bought into the "happy with 150 year old tech" thing... mostly because my dad asked for them, and he's really hard to buy for:
I guess my experience with the one I owned was not what I hoped for. (it got wet, swelled up, popped the collar off and then split.)
But I do like their simplicity, if not their choice in materials or implantation.
I've bought into the "happy with 150 year old tech" thing... mostly because my dad asked for them, and he's really hard to buy for:
I guess my experience with the one I owned was not what I hoped for. (it got wet, swelled up, popped the collar off and then split.)
But I do like their simplicity, if not their choice in materials or implantation.
Ankerson
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That's what they are.....
You can disagree all you want, in reality they are gas station knives.... They just aren't made in Pakistan or someplace odd .....
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Wow. Seriously, just wow. This has got to be one of the most on-point posts I've read concerning knives in a long time. Thanks much for posting. :thumbup:
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That's what they are.....
You can disagree all you want, in reality they are gas station knives.... They just aren't made in Pakistan or someplace odd .....
Well, they're European. I live in Europe. I've never seen them in gas stations.
They were around even before there were gas stations. Disagree all you want
.
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Wholeheartedly agree
Ankerson
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Well, they're European. I live in Europe. I've never seen them in gas stations.
They were around even before there were gas stations. Disagree all you want
Equal to the typical gas station knife here in the US...
Stamped steel
Low Cost materials
Very low price
= Gas Station Knife/Flea Market knife
The reason they are thin is to keep the cost down in manufacturing.... Easier and cheaper to stamp out the blades....
People can spin it how ever they want, they are what they are....
If they didn't have a European name stamped in them then people would see it more clearly....
Doesn't matter were they are made Europe or Pakistan, they are the same....
Well sure it is. But in your post you even said you would much rather have an Opinel. So, in other words, the Opinel version of the cheap knife has had the emphasis placed on cutting ability instead of bad boy apearance or pop culture icon endorsements.
It's just a cheap knife for sure, but it cuts like a more expensive one. Add to that the lightness, the ease of modding, and the old world charm and its a winner. Lots of much more expensive knives are even better I suppose.
A loaf of bread, a jug of wine....
