Opinel No9 knife

[crimsonred]

i had an opinel when i was 14, used it for fishing, making dens etc.. only cost me a fiver back then. i was so impressed i showed my mate how good the locking system was by locking it then pushing down on the blade. the lock ring slipped and i damned near cut my thumb off. a and e for 4 hours whilst they stitched it back up again. regardless of that, it was my first real knife and it did my proud until that point. by the way, my friend fainted like a bachelor finding out he had 5 kids.i used that knife to make yew tree branch bows, arrows, everything, never sharpened it once, it held its edge well. apart from almost ruining my recorder playing, it was a good general purpose knife for a kid to have.

 

[Siberianfury]

try convexing the edge and reprofiling the point, makes a great improvment.

 

[Brown Bear]

I've made a few alterations to my No 9 that make it much better in my opinion:

1. Filed the back of the blade to remove the sharp edges.
2. Re profiled the blade tip to get rid of the fragile sharp point.
3. Hammered the hing pin to make a tighter friction action.
4. Squeezed the lock ring to stop it slipping so easily.
5. Sanded the handle to get rid of the pointed butt that pokes in the palm of the hand.

This was all a bit of good fun in the shed and now I have a bespoke Opinel. Perhaps this is the attraction...you couldn't do so much with a SAK. Then again...you wouldn't need to.

 

[Gill]

I have a no. 8 and 9 and they lock in and out very well i,ve never had them slip either way,in fact they are quite stiff . i think you might have been unlucky and got one that was slack at the lock , but i agree the blades came sharp but ragged ,5 mins sorts it out ,i think they are value for money were talking maybe just over the price of a pack of cigs .........

 

[Highbinder]

I have a no6 which I keep with my vango folding spork in it's pouch. I've had it for years and it's never let me down. I'm considering buying another and removing the lock so I can use it for EDC.

 

[Ph34r]

The opinels were invented because they were (at the time) a good idea. I have personally only ever owned one opinel knife - and I can't really see the appeal - but now they are outdated and more or less obselete. They are fun to mod and are probably what i would give a child as one of their first knives, but I am planning to stay away from those things for a long long time.

 

[JonathanD]

This thread is lacking pictures.

 

[mayfly]

I like Opinels and have several. I particularly like the Efile in Bubinga in the largest size which is excellent cheap filleting knife. We use the standard paring knifes around the house a lot. I also like the saw. My point is, Opinels are never really meant to be your one and only knife. They make an extremely useful and cost effective range.

I must say however that overall I prefer Nontrons. Similar design.

Chris

 

[Robbi]

some of mine....can't find them all tonight !