Opinel, new ring, with problems, so better buy a few of the old ones, if you can still find them.

[Henry Beige]

Agreed, Opinel should have left it alone. But they still cut like the dickens.

I think of it like the Ruger Mark III. The Mark II was better before the “improvements”, but the Mark III is still pretty darn good, and it is not too hard to undo the damage and make it work like the Mark II.

 

[knarfeng]

There have been a few theories as to why the heck Opinel made this change.

Hard to know for sure, Opinel has spun this change as an enhancement, but has not told us what's better about it.

To quote Carl

What Opinel has done is actually sabotaging the lock, making slippage of the locking ring a real problem.

So, my theory for the reason of the change is that because knives with locking blades are illegal in several European countries (including France), Opinel has lessened the locking mechanism to make them essentially non-locking.

 

[Bartleby]

So, my theory for the reason of the change is that because knives with locking blades are illegal in several European countries (including France), Opinel has lessened the locking mechanism to make them essentially non-locking.

LOL!

 

[Prester John]

Hard to know for sure, Opinel has spun this change as an enhancement, but has not told us what's better about it.

To quote Carl


So, my theory for the reason of the change is that because knives with locking blades are illegal in several European countries (including France), Opinel has lessened the locking mechanism to make them essentially non-locking.

Won't be buying any new ones.

 

[Pomsbz]

Hard to know for sure, Opinel has spun this change as an enhancement, but has not told us what's better about it.

To quote Carl


So, my theory for the reason of the change is that because knives with locking blades are illegal in several European countries (including France), Opinel has lessened the locking mechanism to make them essentially non-locking.

I never thought of that. In the UK for example the law says that a locking knife is defined by "have blades that can be locked and refolded only by pressing a button". The Opinel is then technically ok because it's not a button. But I wouldn't want to try that argument in court! If you then add the fact that it isn't actually fully locking as well, it might be enough to make it legal carry. I would have to check the law again over here but I believe it's similar, a knife lock is defined (weirdly) by the mechanism used to deactivate it (button or spring) rather than the locking mechanism itself.

I'd hate to be able to carry an Opinel as EDC legally though. I'm not sure I could justify anything more expensive again. My EDC uses are mainly packaging and food and that Opinel blade is all you could ever need for either purpose.

 

[rogatsby]

I think some of the criticism of the "new" lock ring is an overreaction. I have some new Opinels with the new lock rings. I have not modified any of them. And they are all very secure and solid. No blade play in any direction, and extremely solid lock up both closed and open. Here is a pic of a #6 and its lock ring. Would I trust this lock with my fingers' lives? No. But that would be true for any folder. BTW, the larger knives in the set in the background (the 9, 10, and 12) have the old lock ring. And I don't perceive any noticeable difference in security. Whatever the case, the Opinel lock ring, both new and old, seem fine to me, and are probably more secure than a lot of the frame and liner locks on really expensive modern "tactical" folders (e.g., ZT )

 

[Bob W]

Wow! I'm a huge fan of Opinel, with about 15 of them in the collection. Yet I did not know about a new-new version, nor any controversy.
I was happy with the last design change, the one that finally prevented their knives from opening in my pocket.

 

[Bartleby]

I think some of the criticism of the "new" lock ring is an overreaction. I have some new Opinels with the new lock rings. I have not modified any of them. And they are all very secure and solid. No blade play in any direction, and extremely solid lock up both closed and open. Here is a pic of a #6 and its lock ring.

The ones you show in the photo do not include the change made that people are reacting to in this discussion. This is the lock ring before its most recent change.

 

[Henry Beige]

The ones you show in the photo do not include the change made that people are reacting to in this discussion. This is the lock ring before its most recent change.

Nope, that’s the new one. Only one ramp on the top of the collar. Not shown is the dimple on the back side, but the new ones are the only ones That limit you to one direction on an open blade.

 

[lonestar1979]

I have couple new ones and bunch of the old ones,and do not have any problem with new style of collar,solid lockup,but you can still find old style versions.

 

[rogatsby]

The ones you show in the photo do not include the change made that people are reacting to in this discussion. This is the lock ring before its most recent change.

That is most definitely the new ring. Look again.

 

[Bartleby]

The newest version has this square indent in the outer locking collar, which rides in a slot cut into the inner collar limiting the rotation of the ring:

The new version can also be recognize by this little indent in the locking collar:

It is visible just to the left of the Made in France stamping, blending in a bit with zolthar's reflection in the photo. This is the source of the problem.

 

[Bartleby]

That is most definitely the new ring. Look again.

Sorry, I didn't see the square indent in the photo you posted. It looks to be one from the penultimate version, without the square indent which limits the rotation of the lock ring (see photo above).

 

[rogatsby]

Yes, and my new Opinels with that new ring have no problems. They lock up fine. See my photo above.

 

[Bartleby]

Not shown is the dimple on the back side, but the new ones are the only ones That limit you to one direction on an open blade.

Perhaps that's why I missed it, thanks!

 

[rogatsby]

Sorry, I didn't see the square indent in the photo you posted. It looks to be one from the penultimate version, without the square indent which limits the rotation of the lock ring (see photo above).

It's not the "penultimate" version. It's the new version. And lock up is great.

 

[Bartleby]

It's not the "penultimate" version. It's the new version. And lock up is great.

Good! Perhaps they have tweaked it now, and only the initial run was not right. I may just give them another try at some point.

 

[Henry Beige]

Good! Perhaps they have tweaked it now, and only the initial run was not right. I may just give them another try at some point.

My guess is that a few are ill-fitted from new, while the majority lock up just fine. But because the new design limits the rotation of the ring, it is unable to compensate for wear, which might never become an issue if your Opinel sees only light use.

 

[davek14]

^^^^^
This

 

[The Zieg]

Fortunately I own too many Opinels so I won't have to deal with this issue (if it even is one).

Zieg