Which Opinel ?

[Paullyfuzz]

Ive been thinking about getting one for a while, but havent clue which one to get. I know they come numbered, but have no idea what the difference is between the numbers. Ive got about £20 and want to get the best for that money. Not bothered about a massive blade, but would like the best quality and thickest steel.
Any ideas ?

Cheers,

Paul

 

[littlebiglane]

Ive been thinking about getting one for a while, but havent clue which one to get. I know they come numbered, but have no idea what the difference is between the numbers. Ive got about £20 and want to get the best for that money. Not bothered about a massive blade, but would like the best quality and thickest steel.
Any ideas ?

Cheers,

Paul

No 8 every time

 

[Paullyfuzz]

Do the numbers relate to the length of the blade, and is then the only choice between carbon or stainless ?

Cheers,

Paul

 

[Earlyturtle]

Numbers refer to different sizes.
2-5 Don't have locking rings.
6-12 All have locking rings.

I have a 7, which has a blade just over 3 inches I think, however I removed my locking ring and ground the blade down, which took some length off (doing both these things made it legal EDC).
I recommend a 6 personally, I gave one to my brother to take on his travels.
http://www.opinel-musee.com/uk/idx_magasin-uk.htm
That may give you an idea of sizes (ring number doesn't quite correspond to length in cm), go to tradition and then select either carbon or stainless (sizes same for both).
Mike

 

[British Red]

Eff 8 if you can get one as opposed to a regular 8. I have an eff12 too but thats a pretty specialed bit if kit.

Red

 

[fast but dim]

my opi 8 is prob the best knife i own, bought in france, snapped and re shaped, easy to keep razor sharp, and brill for slicing tomatoes.Cheap enough to use without fear

 

[Paullyfuzz]

Eff 8 if you can get one as opposed to a regular 8. I have an eff12 too but thats a pretty specialed bit if kit.

Red

Whats the Eff mean ?

 

[robin wood]

.Cheap enough to use without fear

I like that bit the best! Opinels, Clippers, Frost's sloyds I love them all. Its one of the great things about our times to be able to afford such fantastic blades for the cost of a couple of hours work.

To answer the question, I don't know the numbers but it depends a bit what you want to do with it, a 3"-4" blade is perfect for most pocket knife type jobs, cutting packing, bailer twine, food prep etc, and the locking ring is useful.

 

[British Red]

The eff refers to a slimmer blade. They also have a slightly curved handle which I like. Mine are shown below

My 8 is a great bunny knife. The 12 makes a folding boning / fileting knife.

Red

 

[Zammo]

I have an Opinel No7, if I were to remove the lock would it be a legal?

 

[Earlyturtle]

No, the blade is just over 3 inches long. I ground mine down to make a spear tip, and that took some length off. After taking the collar off I then tightened the blade a bit (quote here from Opinel website).

"If the blade opens too freely, it should be tightened back again. In order to do this, remove the safety ring (see step 2) then place the head of the rivet on a metal surface and rivet the other end by gently hitting it with a hammer until the right amount of tightening has been achieved."

Mike

 

[JohnL]

I love opinels, my no. 9 is probably my most used knife, closly followed by my no.6. They both have lots of cutting power for there size. I also have a slimline eff no. 8, which is a lovely knife. If I only had one I would have a stadered 8 or 9 with a carbon blade. (though the stainless is very good, will still go razor sharp.)

 

[Barak]

Whilst the blade sizes do get bigger as the model numbers increase, the most significant practical difference is in the handle size. I have model numbers 6,8 and 10, all in carbon steel.

The number 6 (the smallest locking Opinel) is very small and light and it tends to sit more in the fingers than the palm when using it. The blade is 73mm long (ie. under three inches) and about 1.5mm thick at the spine. Its essentially unnoticeable when carried in a pocket but I find its a little small for my liking and generally only carry it when use around non-knife people is a serious consideration.

The number 8 blade is 83mm long and about 2mm thick at the spine. The handle sits in the palm better than the 6, but certainly doesn't fill it up. Its probably the best all-round Opinel, in that it is relatively unnoticeable in the pocket and is large enough to give a pretty secure grip.

The number 10 blade is 100mm long and about 2.5mm thick at the spine. This is what the Americans call a "full size" folder, and the handle sits comfortably in my medium sized palm. The 10 has a bit of weight to it and is definitely noticeable, though not uncomfortable, when carried in the pocket. I tend not to carry the 10 around much, but I find it a lovely knife to use for food prep and whitling / wood carving around camp.

I've also handled a number 12, but it felt too big and unwieldy for a folder to me. I'd only recommend the 12 to a bloke with really big hands who absolutely needed a folder rather than a fixed knife.

For 20 quid you could probably get all three, but if you only get two I'd go for the 8 and the 10.

Cheers,

B.

 

[mayfly]

Agree with Red, the éffile (slim line) Opinels are a really good choice, to me a much nicer blade profile.

One word of caution on the sizes though, they aren't numbered in the same way, though there is very little difference in the smaller sizes. They are described by the length of blade: 8, 10, 12 and 15 cm.

Personally, I much prefer the feel of Nontron to Opinel though these are a little dearer.

Chris

 

[addo]

I like the No.8 as it fits my hand just right. I would like to carry it around as my day to day knife at work ect, so might remove the collar and shorten after reading this, as opposed to buying a smaller handled 6/7.
I paid about £6.50 at Decathalon for mine.

 

[law]

i bought the no8 a few weeks ago for £6 i reprofiled the blade with a file and reshaped the handle it took about 15 minutes in all great little knife i can't put it down.

 

[sparkplug]

I've used a number of these over the last ten years as general purpose / camping knives.

I bought a no 2 just because it was so cute, but it's positively useless! I was also given a no 12 which has a good thick blade, but I find the handle is just far too big to make this my first choice knife for the blade length.

I think the vast majority of people buy the no 8 and it's also the size that suits me best ergonomically. The no 7 is still very useable for me and it suits a slightly smaller hand very well.

There's a surprisingly good description of them on wikipedia

I'd suggest trying to find a shop that will let you handle the different sizes to see what suits best.