THE OPINEL TRICK

[Clayze]

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.

 

[Janne]

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]

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.

 

[GuestD]

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.

 

[Janne]

That is beautiful.
The lock is made by somebody with intelligence.
Being made in Italy, is the quality good?

 

[Robbi]

I've got one of these, a Coldsteel Twistmaster clip point..... think heavy duty Opinel.

 

[Feurio]

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?

 

[uncleboob]

I've got one of these, a Coldsteel Twistmaster clip point..... think heavy duty Opinel.

Nice!...hard to get hold of now I think though....looks useful

 

[GuestD]

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.

 

[brancho]

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]

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]

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...

 

[Keith_Beef]

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...

Savoy Knock, then.

 

[Billy-o]

 

[snappingturtle]

Why not buy the non-locking version and just wrap cord around the ferrule? or just get a better knife.......

 

[Laurentius]

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.

 

[Billy-o]

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

Try the Savoyard Tap ... there are a bunch of OHO methods for the Opi

 

[SimonL]

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 !

 

[Erbswurst]

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.

 

[Feurio]

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.