Any Opinel fans here?

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AAARRGH-Bob,

Them be some fine whittled pieces. Must ha' been a lot of doldrums on them sailings without much ado aloft.

AARGH! Thank-ee fer showing those'un about.

-kBob
 
I have a no 8, or 9? Can't recall. It has a stainless blade. Great for cutting. I ended up soaking it in mineral oil for a day to try and seal the wood. I took a round file and filed a groove in the handle where you'd grab the nail nick on the blade to make getting the blade out easier.
 
Even Bill Moran had an Opinel, which he gave the Moran treatment of silver-wire inlay and walnut stain - - it's in one of the Knives annuals edited by Ken Warner back in the 1980's.
 
Yes, big fan of the Opinels. Really just started to get into knives the past couple months and besides Cold Steel and Taylor Brands, I like the Opinels. Part of it is the price, part of it is how long they've been around, but the big part of it is the Opinel knives have such a classic look to them. If there's one mental picture I've had all my life of what a folding knife looks like, it's the Opinel.

Don't own any Opinels yet, but that will change soon when I buy a #13. That's right it's not a typo, a #13 with a 9 inch blade. I'm interested in extremely large folding knives and Opinel's #13 is an affordable and usable blade unlike the Timber Rattler lockback made in Pakistan that's so loose it sounds like a baby rattle.
 
I am going to be the difficult one here and say I don't particularly care for them. Since I own three I am certainly not saying that they are the worst thing in the world, but they just have not grown on me. They are good picnic knives and its worth having an example around, but past that they don't do anything that a whole list of other knives will do more comfortably and with less fussing around. They are inexpensive and obviously the potential to pretty them up is there, but overall.... just not my bag.

Its just a personal opinion, I wouldn't tell anyone who digs them not to buy one, but after giving them a fair shake they aren't for me. I would rather carry a fixed blade Mora than a folding Opinel, and often do. For a better comparison, I would rather carry a Svord Peasant knife than a Opinel. I actually use a Svord as a shop and yard knife all the time, and it seems sturdier and better suited to those tasks than does a Opinel.

Edit to add: Opinels do actually make for a pretty good garden knife, and they are just about the best cheese and sausage slicers around when it comes to pocket knives, so I will give them credit there.
 
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I own several and I love 'em.
I prefer the carbon steel version and blacken the new blades using yellow mustard!
Good knives that hold an edge, easy to sharpen, AND the price is RIGHT!
 
Moras and Opinels never really appealed to me. But I can see they have their uses and if you want something inexpensive and cut, they work. I have lots of knives for cutting. BUT, I have broken down and now own three Mora's. They're okay, but feel a bit too much like a kitchen knife to me and I have a good selection of kitchen knives for using. The No. 8 is the one that I would buy to try out, but always seem to be sold out when I think of looking for one at a knife store that carries them.
 
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The first time I really noticed them was back in the mid-80s. I was having lunch with Bill Moran and he whipped one out to cut pizza. He said they were good steel and easy to keep sharp so I started keeping one around. Not flashy but very functional and easy to sharpen and if you loose one it's not the end of the world. They also work well for paring and cooking too.

Cheers
 
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RC, you always bring life to the party. :)


I don't have have one. The 1st to I saw one was at Crate and Barrel or some cooking store with wife about 10-12 years ago.

It was cheap... like $10-$12 if I remember right. Probably a #8.


I didn't buy it because I thought it a novelty item :eek:




I never had much interest in knives until I started looking at this section of THR. :banghead:


Not meaning to thread drift but... I still admire this knife by Sam1911 from 3 yrs ago.

Maybe one day Sam will quit slack'n off and make some like he said he might.

I'd even like a little cheaper version with a slightly taller blade.
 
danez71 said:
I never had much interest in knives until I started looking at this section of THR. :banghead:
Click to expand...

I never knew anything about some of the well-made but inexpensive knives until I read about them here. You'd better stay away from Blade Forums, by the way.
 
danez71 said:
RC, you always bring life to the party. :)


I don't have have one. The 1st to I saw one was at Crate and Barrel or some cooking store with wife about 10-12 years ago.

It was cheap... like $10-$12 if I remember right. Probably a #8.


I didn't buy it because I thought it a novelty item :eek:




I never had much interest in knives until I started looking at this section of THR. :banghead:
Click to expand...

An Opinel, like Mora, is a must-have! If nothing else, they are great to play with and learn from. One thing I really love about both brands is that they are great knives to use to practice sharpening and repairing blade damage. A lot of the cheapies are not good for this because the steel is so crappy and the geometry is awful, so the blade can't really hold much of an edge even with the best of sharpening. With an Opinel, I think it is a much better approximation to sharpening a good carbon steel blade, and Mora has many stainless knives I think are great practice for sharpening high-performance stainless folders and fixed blades. I've used knives from both of these names to practice free-hand sharpening on a benchstone, and sharpening & reprofiling using the Edge Pro. It took me a little while to perfect setting a microbevel, and I did not want to set it on my pricier blades until I had mastered it. Thanks to Opinel and Mora, I learned it, mastered it, and can now enjoy the performance benefits and reduced upkeep. :)

With the Opinels, they are also fun to use to master the forced patina, which can then be used with other carbon blades (especially with kitchen knives given the patina will help protect rust-prone steels.) My favorite method thus far is using bubble wrap and something like mustard or grapefruit juice.
 
Deltaboy said:
I'm hoping to score some used one's off the Bay.
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Heck yeah! :cool:

Some of my favorite knives have come from Bay sellers offering those 'grab bag' lots of a box full of used knives advertised as TSA seizures!!
 
I is Opineled. I read about them and ordered a Raw Handle as a gift to a wood carver, I will be excited to see what he turns it into. I got myself a No 8 Carbon and a No 8 Slim.
The Slim is much smaller than the regular model, in spite of being the same series number.

I need to dope the hinge with something to keep the friction from coming and going with the humidity, and I need to drill for a lanyard and clip, I am awful subject to losing pocket knives.
 
If it's a knife that is well made and made of good materials, I like it.

I have two Opinel knives and plan on getting more.
I prefer carbon steel blades for most knives.

Also a fan of Mora and Douk-Douk knives.
I have two different Douk-Douk knives that I got from Garrett Wade.
 
I have two Opies in carbon steel. Both #8s, one for pocket carry, one for kitchen duty.
Very good value and great slicers. I maintain a razor edge with stropping only. Plan to acquire more.
 
Zeke/PA said:
I use'em on a daily basis!
Easy to sharpen, good edge holding, best thing? CHEAP!!
Click to expand...

And it's a good thing they are cheap. They're very thin, which makes them very sharp for slicing, but they're also very, very, VERY susceptible to breaking. I wouldn't plan on using one for anything more difficult that masking tape or marshmallows. I know I'm one of the only opponents of Opies here (and I dare say I'm the most ARDENT anti-Opinel by far) but I've had four of them in my life and none of them lasted more that a week without breaking.

I'm a big fan of good, inexpensive knives, but only when they have a quality build. I love Moras, and I couldn't easily tell you how many Moras I have around the farm, but it's well into double digits. I like several of the new Schrade and Gerber knives, as long as the gerber doesn't include the letters "BG" on it somewhere. However, I've broken two Opies cutting cardboard and two cutting wood. For my money, an Opinel is only to be trusted if you're buying it ONLY to cut soft flesh (without tendons) and maybe tape (packing tape only, not duct tape.)
 
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