THE OPINEL TRICK

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Clayze

Tenderfoot
Dec 28, 2018
77
27
West Sussex
I really can't see the point of tinkering with Opinel knives.
Basic, affordable and in my opinion a pleasure to use.
I took my son out to shave some silver birch (felled) in Tilgate last year, he was taking his Duke of Edinburgh Award at the time.
He was methodical and sensible when it came to opening, locking and using it. Closing the blade was a little different, he was concerned that he'd cut his hand and passed it back to me. I was impressed, much better to do that than be overly confident.
 
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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
The only improvement I see they would benefit from is if the locking ring was less polished, and was knurly.
I can see people slipping and cutting themselves if the ring is extra slippery from food, fish blood and such.
 

Stew

Bushcrafter through and through
Nov 29, 2003
6,436
1,274
Aylesbury
stewartjlight-knives.com
I really can't see the point of tinkering with Opinel knives.
Basic, affordable and in my opinion a pleasure to use.
I took my son out to shave some silver birch (felled) in Tilgate last year, he was taking his Duke of Edinburgh Award at the time.
He was methodical and sensible when it came to opening, locking and using it. Closing the blade was a little different, he was concerned that he'd cut his hand and passed it back to me. I was impressed, much better to do that than be overly confident.

They are a great choice and I've seen them used in a number of different forest schools groups.
 
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GuestD

Need to contact Admin...
Feb 10, 2019
1,445
700
The Opinel with the locking ring has to be one of the best value all round knives ever. I replaced my decades old, worn and abused one with a non locker, and found it dangerous, it closed on me several times while in use, and slashed the back of my fingers, so I literally scrapped it. Bought one of these, so far so good.
01ob023.jpg
 
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Feurio

Member
Jul 15, 2019
21
7
36
Bavarian Alps
Hey folks,

Did any of you ever experience the blade jamming in locked position ?

I have this problem frequently both with my Carbone and 2 INOX Versions. It is sometimes jammed so tightly that I cannot open it by hand and have to use my leatherman.

Because of that, I treated the handle of one of my Opinels with boiling lineseed oil, making it water repellent an therefore hopefully easier to open. Unfortunately it jams just as before.

No Idea why that is, I never even use them in wet environments...
Did any of you experience the same and did you find a cure for that?
 

GuestD

Need to contact Admin...
Feb 10, 2019
1,445
700
Did any of you experience the same and did you find a cure for that?

If you google "stiff opinel" there are quite a few tips. I cured mine by gently managing to splay the metal ring retainer that the blade rivet passes through, it didn't require much.
 
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brancho

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 20, 2007
3,787
710
56
Whitehaven Cumbria
I have allways hard to understand why scouts of today is so focused on the less safe folding knives insteed of using a fixed knife. A small victorinox or multitool i can understand but with anything for carving, ropework, food prep etc my first pick is a fixed blade knife. For those with smaller hand a Mora carving knife junior is perfect as a starter knife. For somewhat older kids they can learn to oil a handle and/or stain it as part of the knife training.

I do not think that is accurate

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/index.php?threads/scouts-knife-making.152976/
 

Keith_Beef

Native
Sep 9, 2003
1,366
268
55
Yvelines, north-west of Paris, France.
Hey folks,

Did any of you ever experience the blade jamming in locked position ?

I have this problem frequently both with my Carbone and 2 INOX Versions. It is sometimes jammed so tightly that I cannot open it by hand and have to use my leatherman.

This is not very clear...

Is the blade stuck in the closed position, or in the open position?

Is the locking ring jammed, or can you turn it without using a tool?

I have easily a dozen Opinels of various sizes, and the only problem similar that I have encountered is when the knife is new and the wood absorbs some damp from the air, making the handle swell and grip on the blade at the pivot.

The cure for this is to work the pivot by opening and closing the knife repeatedly while the handle is still swollen, then allow it to dry completely.
 

Feurio

Member
Jul 15, 2019
21
7
36
Bavarian Alps
This is not very clear...

Is the blade stuck in the closed position, or in the open position?

Is the locking ring jammed, or can you turn it without using a tool?

I have easily a dozen Opinels of various sizes, and the only problem similar that I have encountered is when the knife is new and the wood absorbs some damp from the air, making the handle swell and grip on the blade at the pivot.

The cure for this is to work the pivot by opening and closing the knife repeatedly while the handle is still swollen, then allow it to dry completely.
Thanks for your advice! To be more precise:
The blade is stuck in the closed position, the locking ring has nothing to do with it, and opening and closing are not helping either. Nor did oiling it help anything...
 

Laurentius

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 13, 2009
2,421
613
Knowhere
Opinels, very sharp. I damn near severed my index finger a couple of weeks back with my No12, needed an emergency operation to repair the tendon, be careful folks.
 
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SimonL

Full Member
Oct 13, 2010
123
50
Farnborough, Hants
I had a similar problem with an Opinel (can't recall which one - sorry) ended up springing the lock ring off, removing the blade and carefully enlarging the gap for the blade (sandpaper wrapped around a Visa card) in the wood.
Patience, and lots of careful cleaning to ensure no grits were left inside.
Once I had a "good fit". oiled up the wood, reinstalled the blade and it's been good ever since
Cheers
Simon

EDIT: I do now recall the problem was that I had to use a pair of pliers to actually open the blade - a real pain !
 
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Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
1,766
Berlin
If that knife is relatively new, I would give it back. That is a production fault, if you didn't get sand in it.

If it's older, rust could be the reason. In this case I would open and close it with pliers until it's ok.
 
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Feurio

Member
Jul 15, 2019
21
7
36
Bavarian Alps
Thanks for your advice, it is much appreciated! And it really solved my problem: the savoy knock does the job for me!
Funny that I didn’t think of that myself.
 
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