An ode to the Opinel from a "soft handed city dweller"

[hso]

video

 

[dvcrsn]

Are you using the blade pinch technique?

I pinch the blade with thumb and first finger, use the other 3 fingers to open it--it helps that I have big hands, a benefit of being a compact version of cousins that were football linesmen through college, another benefit is being one of the strongest in the grade is not being bullied after the jocks find out that I was very able to defend myself--for some reason the kid that was the primary problem found that being hurled 20 feet and chewed out in a stage voice does end the problem

 

[dvcrsn]

I use the 2nd method shown but don't need to use the Savoy tap

 

[hso]

I don't either, but it took practice to be able to pinch and walk the blade open.

 

[dvcrsn]

I don't either, but it took practice to be able to pinch and walk the blade open.

I did have one advantage--I learned to open a Scout knife with either hand in college in 1985 so Opinels were easy to open with 1 hand

 

[theotherwaldo]

I always pinch the blade near the nail slot with the blade tip pointed down and brush the handle against something - often my pants leg.
A twist of the fingers and a roll of the thumb and it's locked.
I learned this from one of my co-workers who lost his right hand as a child to a sausage grinder.

 

[theotherwaldo]

-I bought him a switchblade, BTW, since it's legal for him to carry, but he prefers to carry his old pocket knife.
Not an Opinel, but something similar out of South America.

 

[Speedo66]

The guy in this video puts a whimsical polka dot pattern on his blade, starting at 17:14. Mustard, vinegar, and lemon juice combined is the medium he uses.