Why I like peasent knives

SirJames · Jan 17, 2015

peasent not Peasent, aka european workingman knives.

I just bought a Douk Douk today, have owned several Opinels, plan on getting a Mercator, and was given an Otter knife.

The reason why I enjoy slipjoints and older lockbacks is because they take me to a time where things were slower (hey, you had to open the knife with two hands!) and craftsman ship more hands on. With the modern invention of Youtube you can search the name of a knife company adding "factory tour" and see just how your knife was made. Companies/knives like Mercator, Douk Douk, Otter are still to this day made in small European factories of stone much the same way they were made 100 years ago; only large companies like Victorinox have gone fully computerized.

It is because of this continued old world style of making knives pretty much by hand on ageing equipment that I love the old peasent design. I still enjoy my modern OHO folders as well as polished Case etc., but I really cherish a knife if it is made in a small 3 store stone factory like an Otter or a Douk Douk knife.

edbeau · Jan 17, 2015

Last year I started to buy Opinels and I now have over 30. I have had a couple people at work buy Opinels because of looking at mine. I like the simple way that they are made and enjoy the different woods.

dogstar · Jan 17, 2015

SirJames said:
peasent not Peasent,

You mean, you don't like these?

:grumpy:

MasTer_swoRd · Jan 18, 2015

What about Lagioule style knives I have one and I love it

BigBiscuit · Jan 18, 2015

How about this one? I haven't been able to date it yet, but I know for a fact that it's probably at least 100 years old. I recently cleaned the blade and sharpened it. I found it in the attic of the house I grew up in 50 years ago. My family has owned that house since the 1930's, so it's the first new edge in at least 80 years. It took an edge very nicely too.

stickwhistler · Jan 18, 2015

I bought a Svord peasant mini a few months back, just to try it and see what it was like.
I have to say I fell in love with it. I know, I'm a sad person!
I also have Douk Douks, and Opinels (2 up to 10), and Higonokame style knives,
all carbon steel, all ancient designs.
Simple, easy to keep hair shaving sharp, cheap (and easy to make you own version too, from old thin files and saw blades)!

I have various Spyderco, Cold Steel, Ontario etcs, some in the (at the time) latest super steels,
but I EDC the Svords and Higo's always, everywhere, and use them every day in preference to 'new arrival designs'

QJerry · Jan 18, 2015

Well OP, then you should look for European sodbuster type knives as well.

Whatever they are called, Hippekniep, Navaja Campaña, these are the real work knives of our continent (And you can go absolutely crazy collecting French regional knives).

jackknife · Jan 18, 2015

Peasant knives are good, and if they happen to be a friction folder, better still!

I haven't got around to trying a Svord yet, but any day now I'll pull the trigger on a mini one. I've had a love/hate relationship with Opinel's since 1982, and the older I got, the more I liked friction folder actions. The Sardinian resolza is a peasant knife by technical standards I guess. Although I think some bandits in the hills may take offense, and as sharp a point the resolza has, that is not a good thing.

The Higonokami is a recent addition to the friction folder collection, but it grows on you the more you use it. It's all about the blade.

So, I can understand very well your love of the humble peasant knife. The working laborer had very little money to spend on frills, so his working day knife was a no frill affair. It was a cutting tool. And is that not what a knife is all about anyway?

It's always all about the blade.

ericnpeterson · Jan 23, 2015

I really love these knives as well. I have an Opinel, always sharpens easy and like a razor... I use it mostly for food prep.
I have 2 Resolza knives, use those a lot for food prep too.
I've got a Laquiole and a Le Thier Chambriard that I love to use for cheese and sausage.
The real hard workers are the Douk Douk and Mercator, and Otter Messer bone knife, those can handle ANY tough cutting job.
The Aitor Castor is a cool looking knife, I want to like it more, but it is the one knife that gives me problems.
It takes forever to get an edge, and when it does, it gets dull extremely fast. I'm glad I didn't pay a lot of money for it.
Two other friction knives I have are Italian, very cool with honey-horn handles.
I also can't forget my Okapi, very cool knife.