Hats off................to Opinel

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Just Tom. said:
If I wasn’t so attached to my current EDC, I could probably just carry and use an Opinel #8 for everything. Granted, most of my knife use is discretionary - hobbies, outdoor activities, etc., but I’m pretty sure it would do 99% of what I need.

Maybe we should start an “Opinel No. 8 carbone only, for a month” challenge, and see who makes it. Or is that too dangerous? It might expose how little we actually use our knives, or maybe reveal how many of them are superfluous…
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I've easily gone over thirty days carrying only a N°8 Carbone working on a horse farm part time and as a teacher and grad student. No problem. Then on my own farm here in Colorado with a N°9 and later a N°10, both carbon. Months and months with only one of them at a time.

Zieg
 
The Zieg said:
I've easily gone over thirty days carrying only a N°8 Carbone working on a horse farm part time and as a teacher and grad student. No problem. Then on my own farm here in Colorado with a N°9 and later a N°10, both carbon. Months and months with only one of them at a time.

Zieg
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I think an Opinel is perfectly capable of being a sole EDC for extended periods. I've used a number 5 and a number 6 for long periods, with no problems. Of course I live in the greater American suburbia, so no farm duties. But since 1890, zillions of French and other nationality working guys who were not knife nuts, and had no idea they were under knifed, got by very well with Opinel's of various sizes.

For real world pocket knife use, baring taking on invading paratroopers while yelling "WOVERINES!" an Opinel is a fine cutting tool.
 
While my Opinel will never replace my EDC because of the significant meaning that one has to me, I have no doubt it's a capable knife that would hold up to anything I'd throw at it these days.
 
The Zieg said:
I've easily gone over thirty days carrying only a N°8 Carbone
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jackknife said:
I think an Opinel is perfectly capable of being a sole EDC for extended periods.
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My first one certainly did what it needed to, for maybe 3 months of mostly outdoor use. The one I have now has made huge piles of wood shavings, but hasn’t been carried all that much. If I manage to get out camping on my bike again this fall, I may have to bring it along for old times’ sake.
 
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jackknife said:
I think an Opinel is perfectly capable of being a sole EDC for extended periods. I've used a number 5 and a number 6 for long periods, with no problems. Of course I live in the greater American suburbia, so no farm duties. But since 1890, zillions of French and other nationality working guys who were not knife nuts, and had no idea they were under knifed, got by very well with Opinel's of various sizes.

For real world pocket knife use, baring taking on invading paratroopers while yelling "WOVERINES!" an Opinel is a fine cutting tool.
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- absodamnlutely, my friend

Would guess there’s a reluctance in many knife users not to buy/use an Opinel based upon fears they’re not up to the job just from what they’ve seen in pictures alone.

Our laws here in UK don’t allow us to freely use/carry one because of their locking mechanism, otherwise I’d have an Opinel on my belt far more often - when I’m away in France, there’s one in horizontal-carry with me all the time…
 
I used to see Opinels in the backpacking world back in the late 60's and into the 70's (the years I was backpacking) and always sort of laughed them off compared to one of my Bucks. Then, in the early to mid-2000's, I bought a birch No.8 inox. I bought it mostly as a picnic knife to use instead of my Buck 501 which I'd used for some years. Worked well and I ended up buying a secong No. 8 in olive wood/inox. Equally good as the first. Both are kept in a daypack we use as our picnic "basket". A week or so ago, I ordered a No.9 in olive wood from Amazon. It is so hard to open and close that, in spite of trying to dry it out some and using a couple drops of mineral oil, it's simply is unsafe so it went back. I'll just keep the two I've had for years. I've read about and seen a few vids having to do with some of the knives being difficult to open and close (and no, the knock feature didn't help). Cool knives if you get one that's properly seasoned and opens/closes easily. I think of them strictly as slicers.
 
Ironbut said:
Thanks for the responses, but I tried most that before, and the blade was still very stiff opening & closing. Then I did a search, and found this thread from 2014. Pretty much all the same responses, except for post #11. The screwdriver trick in post #11 was what mine needed. My Opinel #7 is now a user.

How do you loosen up a sticky Opinel

I've got a couple of my Opinels that the blade is very tough to fold in and out. I am wondering what the recommended method for loosening them up is? There are versions in the plain (regular) wood and also a sticky one that is Bubinga. Thanks for any advice, previous experiences.
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
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CSG said:
I used to see Opinels in the backpacking world back in the late 60's and into the 70's (the years I was backpacking) and always sort of laughed them off compared to one of my Bucks. Then, in the early to mid-2000's, I bought a birch No.8 inox. I bought it mostly as a picnic knife to use instead of my Buck 501 which I'd used for some years. Worked well and I ended up buying a secong No. 8 in olive wood/inox. Equally good as the first. Both are kept in a daypack we use as our picnic "basket". A week or so ago, I ordered a No.9 in olive wood from Amazon. It is so hard to open and close that, in spite of trying to dry it out some and using a couple drops of mineral oil, it's simply is unsafe so it went back. I'll just keep the two I've had for years. I've read about and seen a few vids having to do with some of the knives being difficult to open and close (and no, the knock feature didn't help). Cool knives if you get one that's properly seasoned and opens/closes easily. I think of them strictly as slicers.
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CSG,
I found this old post on how to loosen the actions up on the Opinels. The screwdriver trick from the link that I posted worked for me.
 
CSG said:
I used to see Opinels in the backpacking world back in the late 60's and into the 70's (the years I was backpacking) and always sort of laughed them off compared to one of my Bucks. Then, in the early to mid-2000's, I bought a birch No.8 inox. I bought it mostly as a picnic knife to use instead of my Buck 501 which I'd used for some years. Worked well and I ended up buying a secong No. 8 in olive wood/inox. Equally good as the first. Both are kept in a daypack we use as our picnic "basket". A week or so ago, I ordered a No.9 in olive wood from Amazon. It is so hard to open and close that, in spite of trying to dry it out some and using a couple drops of mineral oil, it's simply is unsafe so it went back. I'll just keep the two I've had for years. I've read about and seen a few vids having to do with some of the knives being difficult to open and close (and no, the knock feature didn't help). Cool knives if you get one that's properly seasoned and opens/closes easily. I think of them strictly as slicers.
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- sorry you had to send your No9 back. Have one in Oak and it’s been excellent - sure, all very good at slicing for obvious reasons, but my No9 has worked a bit harder than that and shows no signs of giving up
 
CSG said:
I think of them strictly as slicers
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Opinel has been a "heavy use" knife since "day 1" ("day 1" was also when the first was sold.) by French farmers, and others.
Over the last century plus they have seen "heavy" use around the world without failing. (A lot heavier than the average person in the US would use any production folder for, including a Buck 110/112.)
The are not a "light use only" or "food prep only" knife, whether using the lock ring or not. 😇👍

In some parts of the world they are used to skin and butcher large and small game, and "domesticated" food critters like the various bovines, camel, gators, sheep/goat/swine, and fowls.
They are also quite capable of cutting things like nylon reinforced automotive hoses, and fanbelts, strip electrical wire, (and cut 8 gauge and under multi strand or single strand electrical wire), scrape gaskets, whittle a spoon/fork/spatula/bowl/plate/cup ...
Pretty much everything you would use any other production folder for. As with any folding knife (or non-folding, come to that) I wouldn't baton one. But other than that ....
(custom folders can (allegedly) be as "strong" as a non-folding sheath knife, according to some ... I can't "buy that" ... a joint isn't as "strong" as solid steel ... but whutever...)
 
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In the days when I didn’t know anything about knives I thought Opinels were wonderful tools, and bought lots of them so that I could stash them on most of my motorbikes. I loved the simple elegance of the Virobloc ring. More than that, I loved the price. I couldn’t see why a guy would need more knife than that. I bought Swiss Army knives because I needed the tools, but the Opinels offered just about all the knife I ever needed.
Now I have a lot of knives, some inexpensive, some expensive. I don’t really need any of them. I carry a No.6 and an SAK.
 
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