Why take the lock collar off of an Opinel

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Jan 7, 2009
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I've been looking at a bunch of Opinel pictures online, and I see that quite a few people seem to like to removed the locking collar. I'm just curious what purpose this serves. I'm not knocking anyone who does it, I'm just wondering if I'm missing something. I'f it's to use the knife as a purely friction folder, wouldn't it be easier to just leave the collar on and not use it?
 
i predict that many answers will boil down to 'because i can'.

i didnt take the collar off my #7 or #8 hawkbill but sometimes i dont use it for quick, simple cutting.
 
Thanks for the replies. I use mine quite a bit without locking it. I actually think they look kinda cool with the collar off, but I figured that there was some reason people were doing it besides just for looks.
 
I've never taken the collar off but I would imagine if cutting something nasty or if food got in there it would be easier to clean
 
I don't do anything at all to my Opis other than cut stuff and sharpen them. There should be a club for us bone-stock Opinel users! :-)

-- Mark
 
I don't do anything at all to my Opis other than cut stuff and sharpen them. There should be a club for us bone-stock Opinel users! :-)

-- Mark

The crazy thing I that it would probably be a pretty small club. There's just something about the Opinel that brings out my inner tinkerer.
 
I did it as anexperiemnt.

For the past few years, I've been leaning more and more toward friction folders out of both curiosity, and arthritis issues. The curiosity part was when I earned that prior to 1955, there was no locking collar on any Opinel. At all. So I anted to see how a zillion French working guys, plus all the other peasant workers all over the world used these things with no lock. What I found out was, it made very little difference in 98% of what you'd use a folding knife for. Slitting open a bag of feed or seed, cutting open a box, slicing some food stuff, sharpening a hot dog stick for the grandkids, no problemo.

Of course, this only fueled my curiosity over terramuni's, resolza's, Svord peasants knife, Michael Morris folders and such. I found that unless you are stabbing the blade into something, the locking ring is not really needed. When I took it off, I snugged up the pivot pin so it was a bit stiffer to pull open. I found that a knife like this is actually a bit safer in general use than a slip joint. If you slip, or the back of the blade hits something, the blade will only fold as far as the pressure on the back of the blade pushes it, vs a slip joint that may well snap all the way closed if there is not half stop. I grew to really like the smooth even pull, or pushing closed of the friction folder. Used with the same caution and practice as a slip joint, the opening and closing of the friction folder is, in my own opinion only, safer and easier than a slip joint. My year of playing with the resolza I got from Fausto was the convincing factor. I may have to get around to trying a Spanish Teramundi.

But…having said all that, having completed my experimenting, I leave the locking ring on my Opinels, just in case Imay have utilize it. Heck, it's free on the knife, why take it off if not doing some kind of experiment.
 
While I took mine off for both legality reasons, and for being easier to clean food off of, the main reason I took off the locking ring was that it got it the way. I don't like taking it out of my pocket and not being sure if the ring has locked closed by itself or not.
 
They are always excellent.

Jacknife - How do you avoid friction folders opening in your pocket?
 
I've been looking at a bunch of Opinel pictures online, and I see that quite a few people seem to like to removed the locking collar. I'm just curious what purpose this serves. I'm not knocking anyone who does it, I'm just wondering if I'm missing something. I'f it's to use the knife as a purely friction folder, wouldn't it be easier to just leave the collar on and not use it?


Beer or ale?
Ford or Chevy?
Bolt or lever?
Bourbon or scotch?

The beautiful thing about the lock ring is that it can be removed, so there's a world of wonderful choice.

The reasons I hear about taking them off include: legal prohibitions against locks, personal preferences against locks or a nod to pre-1955 traditional Opinel.

Personally, I think locking folders are plenty traditional and, in the case of the Opinel, add to the beauty of the lines. When I see an Opinel without its lock, it reminds of John Clease in "A Fish Named Wanda", standing there without his pants on. Not that I'm shocked or offended, mind you. It's just that I would rather look at John Clease with his pants on.

Without the lock ring, the Opinel is a pleasant enough looking peasant knife.

With the lock ring... they become stunning, at least to my eye.

Opinel by Pinnah, on Flickr

Another reason why I keep the lock on is that I think it's a stunning bit of engineering, ranking right up there with the Svea 123, Rottefella Super Telemark 3 pin binding, Trangia alcohol burner, Sugino AT triple crank and Brooks B-17N. These are designs that go beyond good. They're utterly iconic, both in terms of the design aesthetic and their function. They're simple, beautiful and work insanely well.

The Vibrolock won't turn the Opinel into a pry bar and anybody wanting to use it as a pry bar gets what they deserve when it fails. But the lock adds a lot of safety and additional functionality, by resisting any accidental closure from glancing blows. It also maintains this security and functionality when completely fouled with dirt or sand.

I ran a pass-around last year with an old Opinel #8. One user couldn't get the ring to work well when fouled with concrete, which is pretty gritty stuff. Another person finally busted the tip off but only after twisting the blade. The lock didn't fail under the abuse.

A bit later, I'm cracking open a nice cold Harpoon Ale. That's an ale. It's not a beer. Lots of folks like beer and that's super cool. Life is great that way.
 
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It still amazes me that places where the whole noise is about safety outlaw lockblade folders. The whole idea of outlawing carrying and using a safety device in the interest of keeping everyone safe is just mind boggling.

I have a Kershaw copy of an Opinel. The last one I still have from four I bought at the factory sale back in 94, I think, for a buck each. I sure wish I'd bought more. Unfortunately though, since the Kershaw is plastic handled with rubber grip panels, it doesn't have much friction so flops open in the pocket unless you wrap a tiny rubber band around it and doesn't stay open without the locking ring in place.

Now I'll have to get two Opinels when I finally do get what was going to be one. Just so I can pop the ring off of one and keep the other locking. Just to see.
 
They are always excellent.

Jacknife - How do you avoid friction folders opening in your pocket?

Easy, you just snug up the pivot. If you don't have a vise, then two hammer will do. Use one hammer head as an anvil, and rest the head of the pivot pin on the anvil hammer. Then use the other hammer to start tapping the end of the pin until you reach a snug point where you can hold the knife with the closed blade down, and shake it, and the blade does not open. It will not open in your pocket. Take it slow, don't go wanting away on it, just some taps and check it. Tap a little more, try it.

The danger of opening in the pocket is one that is greatly exaggerated. Over the many hundreds of years that the friction folder, or penny knife as they were known, have been in use, I think that if they had the habit of opening in a pocket, they would have been fixed or modified. Friction folders are like anything else that you're new to, once you get used to it, the advantages become so plain that you wonder how you did without it.
 
I've always been a bit paranoid about that and carried Opinels and Svords (both of which I love) in belt pouches.

I'm going through a (small) life change myself myself at the moment. I'm a machinist and work in a metalworking coolant all day. After 20 years with no issues they have changed to a coolant which is eating up my hands. Even wearing rubber gloves all day my fingernails have receded and gotten weak and brittle.

If you have any slipjoint collection at all it hurts to not be able to open your treasures. At least in my case I can hope that someday this will change.

I'm back to playing with frickies for now. I've always kind of liked them.

I'm experimenting a little and carried a Svord upright in my back pocket (rag stuffed next to it) for the last three days with no issues. It's too tight right now. I'll be loosening things and seeing what happens.
 
On my no. 9 the lock failed and dug into the wood, making it develop vertical play because the lock rests on the wood, and with a slice cut in the wood from the failing lock it messes up the mechanics of the lock. It failed because I was doing something completely dumb, and there was definitely a better tool for the job, and I feel like a tool for messing up the lock. It still prevented the blade from closing but the play was irritating so I took the lock off completely and used it as a friction folder.

I used it without a lock for a while, and grew to get used to it, however where it fell short was when I was making bamboo fishing poles, and needed to cut the smaller branches off, and carve the knobs at the base where the smaller branches meet the pole to make it more flush with the pole, the blade would sometimes get stuck, and pulling it out made the blade close, but I was aware of it and never got cut, and I found out if you lift the butt and push the tip down, making a turning motion it would come out ok without closing. Would've liked a lock in that situation though

I can get by with an opinel without a lock, however I prefer to keep the locks on and closed during use. Personal preference. They look better too
 
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