So my aforementioned girlfriend has just come back from her work leaving do brandishing a massive SAK with a personnal engraving on it, just after i've ordered an opinel to mod. Typical...
Looks like i've got ANOTHER knife.
show your modified Opinel knife
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So my aforementioned girlfriend has just come back from her work leaving do brandishing a massive SAK with a personnal engraving on it, just after i've ordered an opinel to mod. Typical...
Looks like i've got ANOTHER knife.
Quite so, I 'cheated' and used some cheap sanding rolls on my portable drilling machine;
and then some sand paper. Could be done with a round/semi-round file too.
The handle mod took less than 1 hour.
edit: And even if you screw things up, the opinels are so sheap so it's not much money lost
Biker
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I live in a very rural area of Normandy. Just about every fella I know over here his preferred "weapon of choice" is the Opinel, most times it's the small 4" pocket knife. When I whipped out my own Leatherman Multi tool (The Supertool) it got gasps of amazement. They live a very sheltered existance here. 
Having seen the website Dave Budd linked to I think they'd be blown away. I know of at least 3 hunter who would donate their front teeth for a custom Opinel with a boars head carved onto the handle. hmm food for thought as I'm not half bad with a set of carving chisels, it might make some nice birthday and christmas presents too.
I don't have an Opinel but those I have seen in this thread are pretty spectacular examples of making it your own.
people.
Eric Methvan. Man, that must have hurt having to ditch a knife through airport security like that, I feel your pain. At the risk of stating the obvious, you won't be doing that again.
Having seen the website Dave Budd linked to I think they'd be blown away. I know of at least 3 hunter who would donate their front teeth for a custom Opinel with a boars head carved onto the handle. hmm food for thought as I'm not half bad with a set of carving chisels, it might make some nice birthday and christmas presents too.
I don't have an Opinel but those I have seen in this thread are pretty spectacular examples of making it your own.
people.Eric Methvan. Man, that must have hurt having to ditch a knife through airport security like that, I feel your pain. At the risk of stating the obvious, you won't be doing that again.
Eric_Methven
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Yes, it was a silly mistake. I usually check all my pockets for sharps or other prohibited items before I check my hold bag in, then transfer anything into my hold bag for the flight. But this time I was in a rush ( I made the flight by two minutes) so I just threw the hold bag onto the conveyor belt, got my boarding pass and legged it at a fast rate of knots to security. I have an Opinel No10 at the moment, and while it is brilliant for slicing onions and peeling spuds, it's a wee bit too big to keep in my trouser pocket as an EDC. I'll get another No8 next time I'm in Granger Market in Newcastle. Then I'll mod it.
Eric
Biker
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
A shop is always a good start, failing that from a sack of confiscated items at Sofia airport.
Sorry, couldn't resist myself. No idea really, I live in France and they sell them everywhere, but that's not a lot of help for you is it?
I wondered this too, and went round all the outdoor shops in town (Nottingham) but with no luck. After hunting around on t'internet, opinels.co.uk seemed the cheapest with postage (at least for a stainless no.6 which is what I was lookin for. I think there may have been cheaper sites for the more common carbon models.
On a similar note does anyone know somewhere that sells them in bulk for cheap? Maybe would be best to go through a french supplier?
Cheers
I'm looking for a number 8, my MS bushie is carbon. What would be better in a Opinel SS or Carbon?
Carbon will hold a better edge. The reason I was after a stainless one is because it was for my girlfriend whos going to south America. So with the humidity and likelyhood that she wouldn't oil it, stainless has an obvious advantage. Otherwise i'd definately go for carbon
if you want to see some seriously cool Opinel mods, then this guy has got to take the biscuit!
http://michel.montlahuc.free.fr/rob.htm
I met him in at the knife show in Belgium and his carving is brilliant. Mostly he uses the handle that is already attached to the blade from the factory. There are a whole bunch of other customisers on that site, just click on the names
WOW!!! , I'M
Cheers Topknot
if it's going to be humid I think the blade rusting is the least problem. My opinels that live in my damp workshop barely open due to the wooden handle swelling
the swelling of the wooden handles is often bespoken......This is REALLY a problem in wet conditions.
I´ve seen a Opinel with a plastic handle too, so maybe this is an option.
greez
Mike
I´ve seen a Opinel with a plastic handle too, so maybe this is an option.
greez
Mike
if you want to see some seriously cool Opinel mods, then this guy has got to take the biscuit!
http://michel.montlahuc.free.fr/rob.htm
I met him in at the knife show in Belgium and his carving is brilliant. Mostly he uses the handle that is already attached to the blade from the factory. There are a whole bunch of other customisers on that site, just click on the names
There are some works of art there!!
The handle shaped as a finger was freakish, but somehow apt.
Liam
if it's going to be humid I think the blade rusting is the least problem. My opinels that live in my damp workshop barely open due to the wooden handle swelling
Well I guess its a hidden blessing then that her work colleagues beat me to it and bought her a vic SAK...
Cheers
There are some works of art there!!
The handle shaped as a finger was freakish, but somehow apt.
Liam
Not as freakish as the handle shaped like a willy! That could draw some strange looks if you pulled it out your pocket...
Hmm, and mine are all just as they were from the shop, I'd never thought to mod them, I just use them, but now I'm very tempted.
Oh you're so civilised, the hunters round you have teeth?
Oh you're so civilised, the hunters round you have teeth?
If you want to walk in and pick one up, I've always found that sporting gun and tackle shops tend to stock them. I also like the new kiddies opinels, without the point - got one for my daughter this year.
prehaps i should carve my kiddy version into a finger, one of my freinds nearly sliced his off with it when cutting cheese! (i did tell him it was sharper than it looked, but he still pushed so hard he cut right through the block of cheese into his finger in one stroke)
honestly, i find it stupid that the kiddy verison is recommended for ages 7+ in france... but here in the UK its not even a legal EDC
honestly, i find it stupid that the kiddy verison is recommended for ages 7+ in france... but here in the UK its not even a legal EDC
Biker
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Yes and not all their own, hence they'd be less than reluctant to donate them for the the carved opinels. :
While at the market today I made a beeline for the "sharpy" stall. We have a dedicated butchery, cutlery, ironmongery tinopener type stall. Amongst the sharps were the inevitable Opinels.
Prices were about €8 (about £7) for the one with the 90mm handle and slightly less about €7.20 for the as you go down the scale. I didn't clock the prices of the larger ones but I wondered how these prices compare to those in the UK. These are genuine Opinels too.
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