Opinel knife

China Product


Origins

The Opinel knife was invented by Joseph Opinel in about 1895. By the start of World War II as many as 20 million had been sold. The company is still run by the Opinel family. There is an Opinel Museum (Le Muse de l'Opinel) at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.

Description chenille throws

Materials acrylic blanket

The traditional model has a beechwood handle and a high carbon steel blade, which will take a very good edge but needs sharpening every so often, and must be kept clean to avoid tarnish and rust. However, in recent years a wide range of variations on the basic theme have been introduced, using luxurious or exotic woods such as oak, walnut, olive, rosewood and stained hornbeam, as well as other materials such as cattle horn. Stainless steel blades are available and make the knife nearly maintenance-free. mink blankets

Construction

The locking ring is twisted to secure the blade in position

The same knife with locking ring released in order to close the blade

The construction of the knife is very simple, consisting of only four components: the blade, the wooden handle, a metal band with a rivet on which the blade pivots, and (except in the case of the smaller models) a locking collar that holds the blade in place when the knife is open, to stop the blade accidentally closing on the hand of the user. This feature is necessary because there is no spring to hold the knife open. In recent years it has been modified slightly to lock the blade in the closed position as well, to prevent it opening accidentally. The locking collar was introduced in 1955, and is not present on the smaller models. Before that the Opinel was what is known as a "penny knife"; the locking mechanism makes it into a clasp-knife.

Design

The elegant curve of the blade is a traditional Turkish design known by the term yataan (cf. yatagan sword), while the flare at the base of the handle accommodating the tip of the blade is referred to as a fishtail.

An Opinel billhook

There is now a huge variety of models available. Some are presumably more for novelty value than practical purposes, including a giant version with a 22cm blade, some 50cm long when open. Non-traditional shapes of blade and handle have been added to the range, as well as models that are hardly Opinels at all, such as cook's knives or table cutlery, but still bear the prestigious brand-name.

Logo

Opinel logo

The main couronne ("crowned hand") device was already present on the blade of very early models. Later the words OPINEL and FRANCE were added, as well as INOX ("stainless") in the case of stainless steel blades.

The image of the hand comes from the arms of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and represents the relics of John the Baptist, three of whose finger-bones were supposedly brought back from Alexandria by Saint Tecla in the 5th century. The crown comes from the arms of Savoie.

Sizes

Opinels come in eleven sizes numbered from 2 to 13, numbers 1 and 11 having been discontinued in 1939. Number 8 (an 8.5cm blade) is perhaps the most popular and convenient size for general purpose use, though the larger models are excellent as camping or kitchen knives. There is a considerable difference in size between Number 12 (12 cm blade) and the recently-added novelty Number 13, "Le Gant" ("the Giant") with its 22 cm blade.

Limited edition knives

Opinel has also produced knives, often in limited numbers, for special events, such as the 1998 FIFA World Cup knife in France, or for the Tour de France, and even a special knife, the "Opinel History 2000" to celebrate the year 2000. There is also a commemorative knife for the fiftieth anniversary of opinel from 1993. Limited edition knives are often different woods.

Iconic status

No. 8 Opinel knife with beechwood handle

The Opinel knife has long been a feature of everyday French culture. In fact the word opinel can even be considered to have entered the language, as its inclusion in the Collinsobert Frenchnglish Dictionary implies:

opinel NM (wooden-handled) penknife

In 1985 the Victoria and Albert Museum in London published its ood Design Guide, a collection of the 100 most beautiful products in the world. One of those products is the Opinel knife. It is also exhibited by the New York's Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) as a masterpiece of design, alongside other industrial objects which have defied time. The simple but ingenious design, which has remained virtually unchanged for a century or more, is widely felt to have made the Opinel into something of a design classic.

Opinels are light to carry and not expensive to replace if lost.The models with carbon steel blades do require a certain amount of maintenance (regular sharpening and oiling of the blade to prevent corrosion), but if looked after well they will last a long time, and the steel blade and wooden handle acquire a pleasing patina with age. One of the foremost advantages of this simplicity of design and manufacture is the low price other "classic" knives such as the Laguiole and Nontron knife are very expensive which makes it possible to own several knives, perhaps in different sizes, colours or materials. The Opinel is cheap enough to be marketed in boxed presentation sets or as a corporate gift. Some owners even use their knives as raw materials for their own creative efforts, decorating the wooden handle with pokerwork or carving it into fantastical designs of their own invention. The traditional beech handle takes stains well, and is easily worked to a person's liking with common sandpaper.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Opinel

Official Opinel website (English version)

The Opinel Museum

v  d  e

Knives and daggers

Types of knives

Aircrew Survival Egress Knife  Athame  Balisong  Ballistic  Bayonet  Boline  Bolo  Boning  Boot knife  Bowie  Bread knife  Cane knife  Cheese knife  Chef's knife  Cleaver  Combat knife  Commander (knife)  Corvo  CQC-6   Dagger  Deba bocho  Electric  Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife  Flick knife  Gerber Mark II  Ginsu  Grapefruit knife  Gravity knife  Hunting knife  Jacob's ladder  Karambit  Kirpan  Kitchen knife  Kukri  Laguiole knife  Machete  Mandau  Mezzaluna  Misericorde  Mora knife  Multi-tool  Nakiri bocho  Navaja  Opinel knife  Palette knife  Pantographic knife  Penknife  Penny knife  Phurba  Pocket knife  Putty knife  Puukko  Rampuri  Rondel dagger  Sabatier  Santoku  SARK  Scalpel  Seax  Sgian dubh  Sharpfinger  Sheath knife  Shiv  Sliding knife  SOG Knife  Straight razor  Survival knife  Swiss Army knife  Switchblade  Taping knife  Throwing knife  Tomato knife  Trench knife  Ulu  Utility knife  X-Acto  Yanagi ba

Types of daggers

Anelace  Bagh nakh  Baselard  Bich'hwa  Bollock dagger  Cinquedea  Dirk  Ear dagger  Facn  Hachiwara  Hunting dagger  Jambiya  Kaiken  Kalis  Kard  Katara  Khanjar  Kris  Parrying dagger  Pata  Poignard  Push dagger  Seme  Shobo  Stiletto  Tant  Thracian dagger  Marine Raider Stiletto  V-42 Stiletto  Yoroi tshi

Knife manufacturers

American Tomahawk Company   Benchmade  Brusletto  Buck Knives  Calphalon  Camillus Cutlery Company  Cattaraugus Cutlery Company  Chris Reeve Knives  Cold Steel  Columbia River Knife & Tool  Cuisinart  Cutco  DOVO Solingen  Dexter-Russell  Emerson Knives, Inc.  Ek Commando Knife Co.  F. Dick  Fllkniven  Fritechnics  Gerber Legendary Blades  Global  Glock  Hanwei  Imperial Schrade  J. A. Henckels  Ka-Bar  Kershaw Knives  KitchenAid  Korin Japanese Trading Company  Kyocera  Leatherman  Mad Dog Knives   Microtech Knives  Morseth  Murphy knives  Ontario Knife Company  Rada Manufacturing  Randall Made Knives  Rsle  SOG Specialty Knives  Sabatier An & Perrier  Spyderco  Strider Knives  Thiers Issard  Victorinox  W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co.  Walther arms  Wenger  Western Knife Company  Windlass Steelcrafts  Wsthof

Knifemakers

Bob Loveless  Chris Reeve  Ernest Emerson  Ken Onion  Murray Carter  Phill Hartsfield  William Harsey, Jr.  Daniel Winkler

Categories: Pocketknives