I found this old Opinel

P

pfranze78

Joined
Aug 31, 2016
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100
I found this old Opinel in a thrift shop and cost me only 0.50 euro cents. I'm happy!

I deducted that it's at least pre 2000's because of the virobloc, but are there any other things that indicate a date?

Some pics:

Yxczd4U.jpg

eS5LsRT.jpg

SskU5PL.jpg

Jsw4acS.jpg


I noticed an indent for the nail nick. That could be a mod of the previous owner, but the blade sits rather low. I couldn't imagine opening the blade without the indent. Very strange, I think.
 
It looks like it doesn't lock in the closed position, which makes it older than if it did. (pre 2000, per wikipedia)
Good old knife at a great price.
 
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I cleaned it a bit today, because there was a lot of rust on the collar onder de lock ring. Now the blade is very loose, which is a negativ because there is no locking in closed position. A well I wasn't really going to use it. It just a nice to have.
 
Nice #8. A great score and price. :)
You might be able to tighten the blade up a wee bit by soaking the pivot end in food grade mineral oil.
As an alternative, you can pop the ring off and hit it with a Dremel or file and make a "lock when closed" notch. :)

The indent to reach the nail nick is from a previous owner.
I did the same modification to mine.
 
pfranze78 said:
I cleaned it a bit today, because there was a lot of rust on the collar onder de lock ring. Now the blade is very loose, which is a negativ because there is no locking in closed position. A well I wasn't really going to use it. It just a nice to have.
Click to expand...
Soak the whole thing in oil. It may swell the wood and tighten it up.
 
Pop the lock ring off with a small screwdriver or needle nose pliers, and then tap the pivot pin a bit, check, tap some more if necessary until the wobble is gone. Pop the ring back on and it is good as new!
 
.50? That is quite a deal...
I agree with above post about take the ring off and tightening the pivot up. Then it will be ready to be put to work!
 
Because it doesn’t lock closed, it is one of the good ones. Carry it tip down and don’t worry about it opening up in your pocket. Because it has a carbon steel ring and bolster, it is probably no newer than the late ‘70s. I’m gonna say the stainless lock ring and bolster came some time in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s. I have seen a chart, probably in this forum, that details the various changes and their dates, but I base my guesses on my best recollection of when I bought mine.

What I would do with your knife is start with the handle, to try to moisturize it and close up the grain. An oil soak, as suggested, is not a bad idea. You could also try simply soaking the handle in water to see if that closed the grain somewhat. It would also quite likely tighten up the action.

If none of that works, then you could peen the pivot to snug it up. If it were mine, I would then slim the handle to make it comfortable to carry, then put it to use.
 
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Henry Beige said:
Because it doesn’t lock closed, it is one of the good ones. Carry it tip down and don’t worry about it opening up in your pocket. Because it has a carbon steel ring and bolster, it is probably no newer than the late ‘70s. I’m gonna say the stainless lock ring and bolster came some time in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s. I have seen a chart, probably in this forum, that details the various changes and their dates, but I base my guesses on my best recollection of when I bought mine.

What I would do with your knife is start with the handle, to try to moisturize it and close up the grain. An oil soak, as suggested, is not a bad idea. You could also try simply soaking the handle in water to see if that closed the grain somewhat. It would also quite likely tighten up the action.

If none of that works, then you could peen the pivot to snug it up. If it were mine, I would then slim the handle to make it comfortable to carry, then put it to use.
Click to expand...
The water will leave and the wood will dry, shrink, and crack, but nourishing the wood with oil is definitely a good idea.
 
The wood is oak so something that would add some moisture to it like a wax. I have used floor paste wax in the past.

I am one of the people that has the chart mentioned above and it dates your knife to 1967 to 1980.

Nice find for the price.
 
Mr. Chips said:
Pop the lock ring off with a small screwdriver or needle nose pliers, and then tap the pivot pin a bit, check, tap some more if necessary until the wobble is gone. Pop the ring back on and it is good as new!
Click to expand...
Did that, but it didn't do much. Maybe it needs some more persuasion ;-)
 
Henry Beige said:
Because it doesn’t lock closed, it is one of the good ones. Carry it tip down and don’t worry about it opening up in your pocket. Because it has a carbon steel ring and bolster, it is probably no newer than the late ‘70s. I’m gonna say the stainless lock ring and bolster came some time in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s. I have seen a chart, probably in this forum, that details the various changes and their dates, but I base my guesses on my best recollection of when I bought mine.

What I would do with your knife is start with the handle, to try to moisturize it and close up the grain. An oil soak, as suggested, is not a bad idea. You could also try simply soaking the handle in water to see if that closed the grain somewhat. It would also quite likely tighten up the action.

If none of that works, then you could peen the pivot to snug it up. If it were mine, I would then slim the handle to make it comfortable to carry, then put it to use.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot. I never occured to me that the lock ring and bolter aren't stainless. Great way to date the knife. I'll try and find the chart you mentioned.

Update: I e-mailed the Opinel Museum if they could date it.

I'll also try soaking the wood a bit.
 
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