Opinel No. 8 Garden Knife

Dornblaser

Dornblaser

BANNED
Joined
Sep 5, 2010
Messages
456
I have been over-thinking my garden knife requirements, I am an avid gardener. I want to use a traditional knife in the garden and I enjoy how nicely one of my trappers will cut flowers, herbs, veggies, etc. I just picked up an AG Russell Rancher as my first Sodbuster, Jr. style knife. It's nice but a little small to divide plants, etc. (I know that there is the full sized Sodbuster and the AGR Cowboy). I have also been looking traditional hawkbills, but I am likely to reach for the Felco's for serious pruning and I think other knives would be more versatile. I was looking at Opinel's and the No. 8 Garden Knife, with it's unique handle, appealed to me so I ordered one. It looks "earthy" and "practical". Does anyone have one that they use? If so, what are your thoughts? I wish it came in carbon. I thought that I would give one a try before ordering a full sized Sodbuster or AGR Cowboy.
 
Opinels are outstanding cutters. I've had some along the way, and they never disappointed in their ability to get it done. Not to mention being in production since 1890, it certainly is a traditional knife. The thin convex blade right off the stone is scary sharp, and stays that way for a decent amount of time. Just keep the joint oiled with mineral oil, or like my French friends;lube with Vasoline jelly at night and wipe out the excess in the morning with a paper towel, and you have a pretty water resistant Opinel. :thumbup:

Carl.
 
I'm a huge fan of Opinel knives, been carrying one for years, and I've just recently purchased the "Garden Knife."

Although I question it's suitability for actual garden digging, the drop point seems like it would make an excellent everyday carry knife.

One thing you should know about the Garden Knife before making a purchase decision: In the "old days", like in the 1990s, the Opinel knives did not lock closed, only open. A few years ago Opinel decided to add a notch to allow the knife to lock closed and open. For some reason the Garden Knife does not contain this new notch. Unfortunate.

Nope. Mine locks closed too.
 
Last edited:
I have already ordered the knife and this one is supposed to lock in both the closed and open position.
 
I have a Garden knife but just use it for general use. I find the handle slightly more comfortable than the standard handle except for the standard handles on the larger knives (No 9 or above). I also have one with a pruner blade that I like to use around the house. The pruning blade is a little complicated for my sharpening skills but I just use the edges of my sharpmaker stones. Both the Garden & Pruner knives take a good edge. And both knives cost about the price of a movie at the theater --wait for it to come out on DVD and buy the Opinel ;)
 
Dornblaser said:
I have already ordered the knife and this one is supposed to lock in both the closed and open position.
Click to expand...

Let me know whether it locks closed, after you receive it. I'd order another if I knew it had that feature.
 
The Opinel efile knives have the same handle as the Garden Knife, just longer and thinner. The one I have has new closed lock.
 
I have one and it locks both open and closed. It's a great lightweight knife. I just never seem to use it for gardening. It's a little small for splitting perennials. I'm sure you'll like it though.
Unfortunately, now you will have to pick out another gardening knife :)
Doc
 
The capability to lock the blade closed was added in 2000 and I think all of the current production knives with the virobloc have the feature now.
 
I must have gotten some old stock or something, since mine came only two weeks ago. :)

-------------

Just went upstairs to double-check and mine does have the lock-closed feature. Wheh.
 
Dornblaser said:
I have been over-thinking my garden knife requirements, I am an avid gardener. I want to use a traditional knife in the garden and I enjoy how nicely one of my trappers will cut flowers, herbs, veggies, etc. I just picked up an AG Russell Rancher as my first Sodbuster, Jr. style knife. It's nice but a little small to divide plants, etc. (I know that there is the full sized Sodbuster and the AGR Cowboy). I have also been looking traditional hawkbills, but I am likely to reach for the Felco's for serious pruning and I think other knives would be more versatile. I was looking at Opinel's and the No. 8 Garden Knife, with it's unique handle, appealed to me so I ordered one. It looks "earthy" and "practical". Does anyone have one that they use? If so, what are your thoughts? I wish it came in carbon. I thought that I would give one a try before ordering a full sized Sodbuster or AGR Cowboy.
Click to expand...

If you like how your trappers perform in the garden, I don't think you'll have any issues with the Opinel. I've been carrying a 'classic' No. 8, in stainless, and I'm quickly learning to love it. Three things that make these knives fantastic slicers: 1.) Nice thin blade, and 2.) A fully convexed grind, albeit gently so. Maybe a little micro-bevel at the edge. And 3.) the stainless is very good, too. The Sandvik 12C27 MOD they use, is known for very fine grain structure, which means it can be sharpened to a very fine edge. I just spent yesterday afternoon sanding & polishing my blade, to a true 'zero' edge. No microbevel now, and it's crazy sharp. Works great for kitchen use too.

Edit:
I don't even lock mine in the closed position. It's comfortably snug in the handle when closed, as I assume a good 'friction folder' would be. I did lock it, initially, when it was new. But, I found myself tugging (forgetfully) on the locked blade when attempting to open it, and didn't really like that I was exerting that kind of stress on it. So, I just leave it unlocked when closed.
 
Last edited:
While I love my Opinels, my gardening knife always has been the Mercator K55K in carbon.
 
I don't have a "garden knife" Opinel, but my no 8 is my garden knife. Opening bags of seeds/fertilizer/peat moss etc. Going to use it to pick veggies in the coming months. The blade is a great slicer, after some work with a ceramic stick, I have a hair popping sharp blade. It has been rode hard and put away wet, and the carbon steel blade shows it. However, a little bit of Sentry Solution, and everything smooths out.
 
I love my Opinel, but I don't use it in the garden. I'm a very messy gardener, my knives are all old steak knives with straight edges for digging, pruning, stuff that doesn't require a specialized tool. If I have to open a bag of something, it'll get opened with whatever knife is in my pocket. The Opinel can easily get dirt and muck in the twist ring, and it's a bit of a pain to clean. I like to use it on veggies that are already out of the ground.
 
I love my Opi garden knife. Not much of a garden to use it in but it does the trick. Mine locks open and closed although it doesn't need it in either position. Very light to bum around in my pocket and if I get it wet I just dry it out as best I can, oil it with vegetable oil (drown the lock ring), and leave it open on a paper townl until morning. In the morning wipe it down again very well and then open and close the blade and the ring several times continuing to wipe off excess oil. Then back into the pocket until its needed again.
 
Instead of starting a separate thread I thought that I would ask this question here: what are the lengths of the number 6, 7 & 8 knives? I have seen videos of the knives but the dimensions are escaping me.

Thanks,
David
 
Are friction folders "traditional?" I use a homemade hawkbill friction folder for gardening.
 
Dornblaser said:
Instead of starting a separate thread I thought that I would ask this question here: what are the lengths of the number 6, 7 & 8 knives? I have seen videos of the knives but the dimensions are escaping me.

Thanks,
David
Click to expand...

Got these numbers from a vendor site (data for the No. 8 matches mine; I can't confirm the data for Nos. 6 & 7, don't have those):

No. 6:
Open: 6-1/2"
Blade: 3-1/8"

No. 7:
Open: 7-1/16"
Blade: 3-3/16"

No. 8:
Open: 7-5/8"
Blade: 3-1/4"
 
gomipile said:
Are friction folders "traditional?" I use a homemade hawkbill friction folder for gardening.
Click to expand...

Yes, they are.

I use whatever I'm carrying that day for trimming. A forked weeder for digging.
 
Those numbers do not make sense to me as I have seen the no. 6 listed as being 3 5/8" closed and the no. 8 garden knife as 4 1/4" closed. That's a lot of closed length for very little blade length change.


- David


Obsessed with Edges said:
Got these numbers from a vendor site (data for the No. 8 matches mine; I can't confirm the data for Nos. 6 & 7, don't have those):

No. 6:
Open: 6-1/2"
Blade: 3-1/8"

No. 7:
Open: 7-1/16"
Blade: 3-3/16"

No. 8:
Open: 7-5/8"
Blade: 3-1/4"
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top