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Opinel carbon vs Victorinox stainless

L

lonestar1979

Joined
Mar 2, 2014
Messages
2,584
Which one holds edge better,which one is easier to get to scary sharp edge and which you prefer?I like Victorinox better,maybe im wrong but seems their stainless holds edge same or little better than Opinels carbon and is also little easier to sharpen.Correct me if im wrong,i like both Opinel and Victorinox,but thats just my experience.
 
Between those two, I also favor the Victorinox stainless over the Opinel 'carbone'. I specifically like it because it responds beautifully to most any edge finish, with most any type of stone (natural, AlOx, diamond, etc). I also believe it holds up a little bit better than the 'carbone' from Opinel, which is somewhat soft and vulnerable to edge damage (rolling, denting) from light impacts on something hard. It gets very delicate at edge angles at/below 25° inclusive or so.

Opinel's stainless blades (Sandvik 12C27Mod) are top-notch, and likely harder than Victorinox. But both will take impressive edges.
 
It bacem a moot punt with me after I stopped folding with Opinels. A few factors went into my choice, but for the price of an Opinel number 8, I can buy a Victorinox recruit at the local big box sperts store, that gives me two blades, flat and Philips screw capability, and can and bottle opening tools that have a lot more uses than can and bottle opening.

I lost patience with Opinels, and now buy a knife that will serve right tout of the box. I had one Opinel crack on my right where the pivot pin went through the two skinny little fingers of wood that supports the whole works. Opinels can't stand up to any twisting or torque if there is a flaw in the grain of that wood.

If you want a knife that is more compact to carry and slices like an Opinel, get a Victorinox florist knife. The edge on that sucker is THIN, and slices and dices like the dickens. The Victorinox stainless is better than the Opinel carbon, but a little behind the Opinel stainless. But it makes up for it with the ability to resharpen anywhere on anything from a coffee mug to the top of a car window, to a smooth stone from a creek. Victorinox takes a razor edge very fast with little effort, and you'll have a few basic tools on hand.

In day to day real would use, I didn't see much difference between my Opinel number 8 and the Vic recruit, so I ditched the Opinel.
 
I don't have much to say on the edge holding of either. I find both to be appallingly inadequate for my use though I have developed an M4 habit and may not be in my right mind . . . though the place my mind is now in is very desirable and I don't want to return to "The Real World".

That said I will say I had the occasion to do an impromptu fail test on an Opinel #12 and used in a prying motion the blade was almost or practically INDESTRUCTIBLE.
I'm not exaggerating !
Here is what I did :
I cut a slot across the blade with an abrasive cut off wheel on a power grinder. The notch was half way deep in to the blade about two inches from the pivot. I wanted to snap off the rest of the blade at that point to make a heavy duty sort of box cutter knife out of the #12. I put the handle in a padded vise across the pivot and took huge channel lock pliers to grip the blade to break it off.
I couldn't do it ! ! ! ! Here is a link to the final mod LINK > > >
Even with the stress riser in the blade at a very vulnerable point the blade just bowed way, way, way over and came right back to its original position. It didn't even get bent ! ! !

Finally after like six tries of bowing the blade way further than I would have ever thought I would in a million years I finally broke the blade off.

That is one killer good example of a durable knife blade.
The trade off is you have to touch up the edge more often than the high HRC super steel knives which snap right off if one were to try that.

Edge holding on a SAK or Opinel ?
Nah dude, nah.
Both are just too soft to be much of a topic for discussion.

PS: I carry and use SAKs every single day and I am in the midst of another Opinel #12 project / mod.
Not saying they aren't fun knives.
Just keep that Spyderco M4 with you for cutting the challenging materials.
Like traditionals instead ? I just bought a Cold Steel Ranch Boss in S35VN
Now we can discuss edge holding.
 
I can't say either stands out above the other for edge retention just my opinion ... but I will second that if you throw in the Opinel's Sandvik 12C27 it tips the scales in steel performance ... but I still find my SAK Farmer my choice.



I think for a bit larger blade and a beater the Opinel has an edge ... for carry the SAK has an edge ... both are easy to sharpen ... both are thin and perform nearly the same really good slicers ...

now I only have a couple old Opinels that just get used around home ... but I carry an Alox SAK Farmer almost everyday paired with a modern folder ... I just find it more useful ... and I know many prefer other models but the awl on the Farmer and the saw blade get used more often then I could count ...

guess it as many times just comes down to personal preference ... my choice the SAK.
 
Alox saks are excellent,victorinox steel takes any kind of edge well in any finish,polished or toothy,and really easy to keep sharp.
 
I am a big fan of Vic alox because of its utility, and I am a big fan of Opinel carbon because it is just a cool knife. This being said, neither holds an edge to my standard, as compared to most any other knife I own. I can get either shaving sharp, but I do not expect either to stay that way very long.

If edge retention is high on my list, neither of these make the cut.
 
There's probably a good reason why both Opinel and Victorinox make and sell a mini-steel (about three inches long). :D Victorinox also sells versions of their Zermatt pouch that come with an included steel. I don't have any experience with Opinel knives, but I've found that you can keep a Vic SAK working longer by steeling the edge when it begins to dull. I've also found -- at least for Case SS and CV -- that steeling the edge after sharpening on diamond will improve the performance. Even after finishing on a DMT 8000 grit, steeling the edge a few times will make a difference. (I test on very flimsy paper, probably lighter than "phone book" paper. Slicing with the grain is easy to achieve, but steeling the edge is often needed to achieve effortless cross grain slicing, as well as the ability to pop off a single arm hair. I assume the steel is just removing any last vestiges of a burr that I'm otherwise failing to remove.)

Somehow I've ended up with four of the things, two Opinel and two Victorinox (in Zermatt pouches). They're pretty handy. Also, Victorinox makes a pen-sized pocket ceramic stick that is convenient for a quick touch-up.
 
How is this mini steel,have seen it online,looks handy for travel kit lol,ranch boss is excellent traditional knife,just little expensive for what it is,12c27 on Opinels is very good,ill be switching between my alox pioneer and opinel garden knife in 12c27 that cuts like straight razor,its my sharpest folding knife along with my Helle fixed blade in laminated stainless where the cutting edge is AEBL or something similar,this thing just cuts like crazy and keep cutting.
 
lonestar1979 said:
How is this mini steel,have seen it online,looks handy for travel kit
Click to expand...

From my experience and what I've seen online both the Vic and Opinel are very good. I have seen comments that there are some cheap ones around that are not good at all and are too soft.
 
I've got one of those mini steels on my key ring, and several others that came with some Victorinox SAKs I bought years ago. Near the handle, in very small type, it's stamped 'Sheffield'. It works very well on the same sort of stainless as used on Victorinox knives; that would be in a similar ballpark as typical stainless kitchen-grade cutlery steel like 420HC (works well on Case's stainless, for example) and the 12C27Mod used in Opinels. It has the same basic limitations as expected of any grooved honing steel, in that the edge on the blade can't be too far gone. But if just a little honing and/or realignment is needed, then this little mini steel can do a good job with a very light touch. Too heavy with it will raise a BIG burr very quickly.
 
Maybe will get one to use it as field sharpener.Bottom of coffee m7g or plate works well to touch it up,even when theyre very dull,because theyre thin blades and steel is pretty soft,but works for any task.
 
Opinel 12c27 would be perfect on Victorinox knives,also their grinds are superb,and made for pure cutting.Overall even with the steel as is,Victorinox is probably best and most useful knife regardless of price and quality for money is amazing,and the tools are very useful too.Opinel also excells at cutting food and most edc tasks,inexpensive and made to cut.
 
I prefer the Opinel carbon over the Vic stainless. Not sure which one gets sharper, stays sharp longer, is easier to sharpen, etc. I just love that natural patina that has developed on my Opinel #9 over the years:)
 
I like the Opinel steel better for easy sharpening. I also like the Opinel stainless better than the carbon, and better than the Victorinox steel.
 
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