How To Yes, it’s here: The Opinel dating chart

[Falcata]

I'm sharing this classic chart from fpanda for those trying to date their knives. Like many of you, I check it from time to time, but I always forget where to find it...

Une Collection d'Opinel

Une collection de couteaux Opinel : historiques et customs

fpanda.free.fr

This chart is essential for identifying tang stamps, Virobloc variations, and dating vintage Opinels from the early 1900s to the 2000s.

Quick tip for dating your Opinel: Check the Virobloc (Safety Ring).

• Pre-1955: No safety ring at all.
• 1955 - 2000: The Virobloc was invented in 1955 by Marcel Opinel, but it only locked the blade in the open position.
• Post-2000: The ring was modified to lock the blade in both the open and closed positions.

If your knife has a safety ring but won't lock while closed, you know it's a 'vintage' piece from that 45-year window between 1955 and 1999.


A quick breakdown of the fpanda website:

The museum (highly recommended)

Musée

Standard models

Courants

The Different Series

Séries

The clones

Clones

OTHER RESOURCES... ​

Sizes and weights

Price guide to Opinel knives made of natural wood

Cote / Value Opinel

Cotes des couteaux Opinel en bois naturel / Price guide to Opinel knives made of natural wood

coteopinel.pages-perso.free.fr

Prices are for guidance only (check current prices)

 

[Mens Abdita]

Thanks for this - all of my Opinels are from this century, but the chart will come in handy depending on what I encounter.

 

[Falcata]

Thanks for this - all of my Opinels are from this century, but the chart will come in handy depending on what I encounter.

Seek and you shall find

 

[Franciscomv]

Cheers for the info!

My folding Opinels were all made after 1990 or so, but I do have some older fixed blades.

 

[jfk1110]

Very cool thanx for sharing this...

 

[Alex.Y.]

Wow, thank you for sharing! I especially love the ole html-construction website.

One thing. I think traditional Austrian knife - Trattenbacher - is an independent creation, not an intended Opinel "clone". Am I wrong?

 

[Falcata]

Wow, thank you for sharing! I especially love the ole html-construction website.

One thing. I think traditional Austrian knife - Trattenbacher - is an independent creation, not an intended Opinel "clone". Am I wrong?
View attachment 3154309

I like it. They don't think so but I think so. That type of ferrule dates back to the 19th century, and who knows where it actually originated (it's a simple friction mechanism).This is a French clone from Thiers...

I think yours only has the ferrule in common. Does giving this type of ferrule a conical shape make it a clone?". Mine took advantage of Opinel's Virobloc change and patent issues to be manufactured. In Europe, they have always copied each other.
I have a traditional Italian knife with this ferrule, but it isn't a clone. The original design is from the 19th century:

And this same brand has a blatant copy in the photo on the French website (the last one in the bottom photo). What Opinel purists think is another story... That's how they consider it on the fpanda website. If someone shows me a 19th-century patent, I'll shut my mouth.