Has Opinel messed up ???

Doc4570 said:
Imagine the ego of someone who, after 100+ years says,
"I've finally figured out what's wrong with this thing."
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Hmmm. Not sure. Was it ego that created the motor car after thousands of years of using the horse? Or ego which discovered monumental advances in medicine? The advances in knife design and metallurgy over the past century is incredible also and cannot be denied regardless of our own traditional preferences on this forum.

I'd assume that the opposite to your statement in fact (knife regardless). The ego which holds back progress, by refusing to believe that improvements are necessary or even possible, by demanding unthinking obedience to the party line of whichever discipline or 'what everyone knows to be true', or the mindset that cannot see outside it's own specific requirements - that is the most dangerous ego of all.

I haven't seen the new Opinel design and can't have an opinion over it but the theory that is is 'perfect' and cannot be improved on principle, just because it's been made a certain way for decades, is rather short sighted methinks. Personally I would like a slight knurling on the locking ring for better rotational grip with wet hands for example.
 
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It looks like in the interest of appeasing lawyers, they have made the knife unsafe. I purchased a few of these at the end of last summer, all would not lock. Hopefully they will recognize the error of thier ways quickly.
 
Looks dismal. I just wonder WHY they changed this?? Time to contact them.....
 
Wow. J jackknife 's description and the video D davek14 posted are quite disconcerting.

I have a relatively new No. 7 that I put away in a drawer when I received it and hasn't seen any use yet. I just checked it and, sure enough, it has the new feature. But, try as I might, I wasn't able to get it to close when locked.

Looking closely, I think the indentation may be a little smaller than the one shown in the video, allowing it to turn further. With the collar in the locked position, I can see nearly all of the pivot pin:

KqjE0kLh.jpg


It's hard to say from the video, but it doesn't look like his is able to turn as far. I wonder if they have either changed the design slightly or have inconsistent manufacturing.

Out of curiosity, J jackknife do you remember whether your neighbor's lock collar was able to turn that far?
 
WhittlinAway said:
Wow. J jackknife 's description and the video D davek14 posted are quite disconcerting.

I have a relatively new No. 7 that I put away in a drawer when I received it and hasn't seen any use yet. I just checked it and, sure enough, it has the new feature. But, try as I might, I wasn't able to get it to close when locked.

Looking closely, I think the indentation may be a little smaller than the one shown in the video, allowing it to turn further. With the collar in the locked position, I can see nearly all of the pivot pin:

KqjE0kLh.jpg


It's hard to say from the video, but it doesn't look like his is able to turn as far. I wonder if they have either changed the design slightly or have inconsistent manufacturing.

Out of curiosity, J jackknife do you remember whether your neighbor's lock collar was able to turn that far?
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No, Morris's locking ring turned to a point that the blade end was just at the top of the slant on the locking ring, and moderate pressure moved it down the slant. I fixed it for him by filing down the nub so it was non existent, and then I did some file work on the top edge of the ring so it rotated further around so it was a secure lock.
 
Perhaps they're trying to get around European 'no lock carry' laws while providing a slight pressure against closing like a slipjoint does? That would make sense given France's current knife laws as I understand them. Perhaps they saw a drop in sales in France due to heightened security in the current terrorist alert? I understand that France is still their largest market.
 
Interesting video. That engineering practically nullifies the lock, making it rather pointless. Which makes me wonder if that has something to do with Pomsbz Pomsbz 's point regarding European knife laws. Still, why re-engineer a lock to "not lock at all", when they could simply offer a collarless version?
 
The only purpose it seems to serve is to prevent the removal of the locking ring by opening the blade with the locking ring in the closed position.
 
Yes, Opinel has messed this up. I have two. The first, a #7, I didn't know it had changed. The ring was rattling loose and did not lock in the closed or the open position. I filed it down a bit as usual but the nub limited the ring and it would not move to the new filed position either. When I filed the nub off the pin is not quite as long as normal and the ring was not stable. It is friction only now and I don't find that satisfactory for a laser cutter.

_MG_1426acr750.jpg


Then I got a slim #8 in olive, the most slicey blade ever, much more slicey than a regular #8. I use it for serious food prep only while backpacking (with a normal #8 for the tough stuff). Well it has that same new feature and again, that ring was loose and did not lock in the closed position or in the open either. I adjusted this one very carefully, tightened it to perfection and filed gently this time up top and carefully ramped the locked position over a bit. Now it locks up very tight and it locked closed securely too. But you have to be very careful or you run out of limits.

_MG_1640_DxO750CC.jpg


I really value this knife but I am baffled at why they turned out such a poor quality controlled version of the viroblock. Mine works like a swiss watch now but it was just horrible on receiving it.

I can't do without my Opinels, they perform so well above other options for normal work type purposes. And they are very light weight which is so important for travel afoot. I hope they get this issue resolved. In the meantime I'll keep using the tested Opinels that have worked so well for my use.

_MG_1667_DxO750bc_1.jpg
 
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Wow. This is really unfortunate.

For those who have the new version, what do you think we need to do to make it work properly? Should you file the nub off, make the slot longer?

By looking at it, I think I would file the nub off, and then also file the top of the ring on the opposite side, so I could lock it the other way also - like I usually do. But then swiftdream above suggests that the pivot pin in now shorter so it's not stable?
 
SwiftDream said:
Yes, Opinel has messed this up. I have two. The first, a #7, I didn't know it had changed. The ring was rattling loose and did not lock in the closed or the open position. I filed it down a bit as usual but the nub limited the ring and it would not move to the new filed position either. When I filed the nub off the pin is not quite as long as normal and the ring was not stable. It is friction only now and I don't find that satisfactory for a laser cutter.

_MG_1426acr750.jpg


watch now but it was just horrible on receiving it.
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Hmmm, looking at that pivot pin has me thinking. That one is shorter with less peening than I'm used to. Seems the same on other pics of new design knives.

The peening on Opinel pivot pins riding in the groove formed in the locking collar is what stops the collar from riding up and down when locking open and closed. I wonder if this new feature is to stop the collar from riding up and down so that the peening does not have to be perfect. Maybe it's for ease of manufacture.

Does anyone have a Cold Steel Twistmaster? It has a groove in the locking ring. Wonder if it is a similar function.

Either way, we hates it precious.
 
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After one I gave as a gift suddenly slipped and caused injury to someone under mild pressure, I have switched for my own cheap and cheerful use and gifting from the Opinel #7 to an Okapi Biltong knife. Carbon steel, sheep foot blade (so using the pointy bit pushes the blade open), resin impregnated handle (about the same length as the #7), very traditional 1902 design. Made in South Africa, adding a bit of the exotic. Would never have looked away from the #7 Opinel had they not changed it so that the lock became unsafe.
 
davek14 said:
Hmmm, looking at that pivot pin has me thinking. That one is shorter with less peening than I'm used to. Seems the same on other pics of new design knives.

The peening on Opinel pivot pins riding in the groove formed in the locking collar is what stops the collar from riding up and down when locking open and closed. I wonder if this new feature is to stop the collar from riding up and down so that the peening does not have to be perfect. Maybe it's for ease of manufacture.
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You are right on all of that. The pin you see in my top image is the best side too. The other side hardly protrudes at all. What happened when I filed off the nub is the collar now lifts when I lock the blade closed. It is not stable and secure like the older models. If I very carefully close it with just enough pressure to contact the tang and secure it, then it might work okay but too much pressure lifts that ring right up.

Now when locking it open, the collar is forced downward so it works okay but still not perfect.

I think we need to be very careful when filing down the collar so the nub/slot does not run out of range. That worked well on my slim #8 but I had to be aware and very careful, going slow until I got the desired result. Even so my guess is that collar is close to the limits so there is not much leeway. It is best to keep the nub with this design.

I am bewildered at why they released such an ill fitting and preforming new lock ring. A little more research and development is absolutely in order. It was so bad that I really thought I bought a Chinese knockoff with that first #7.
 
I bought The ten peice set a couple years ago for my dad. I noticed the #5 and lower do not have a locking ring.

Anyone know of a mod to secure these blades in the open mode?
 
4thpoint said:
I bought The ten peice set a couple years ago for my dad. I noticed the #5 and lower do not have a locking ring.

Anyone know of a mod to secure these blades in the open mode?
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if the joint is too loose you can take a ball pen hammer to the pivot pin. That will tighten it. But I like my blades securely locked closed if I'm going to put it in my pocket. I value my femoral artery too much to take even a small chance with razor sharp blades like these.
 
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