All About Pocket Knives

I have loved my Opinel's. They are light in the pocket, and cut exceedingly well. For the past few years they have been what I've carried most, along with my love of SAK's. But yesterday, I had a huge fail with my Opinel.

I have experiments with linseed oil, vasoline, mineral oil, all trying to give the Opinel some water resistance. The vasoline smeared in the joint seemed to be best, then hit with a hair drier to melt the stuff into the wood. That helps, but not cures. Well yesterday we went kayaking, and I took some water in my lap, and my shorts got wet. Not biggie I thought. We paddled another hour or so downriver until it was time to stop for lunch. By that time, the Opinel sitting in the wet pocket could not be opened. I tried the 'Savoy knock, tapping it, rapping it, and no luck. The darn thing was locked shut on me. I ended up using my little Victorinox bantam at lunch.

Of course, now I am rethinking my love of Opinel's if it can swell shut, even after linseed oil and gasoline on the wood around the joint. On the other hand, I've never had a Victorinox fail on me. If it's just a kitchen knife, I have them at home. I guess Victorinox has moved into first place on my pocket knife carry. At least I can open it when it gets wet, and it comes with a few tools.

Live and learn.

The wooden handle is their one true failing. This is probably the only time I will say a plastic handle would be better. I've had the same problem with one. It got some oil on it and swelled up but never went back down. Tight as a duck's ass.

Yeah, aside from water, it's a great knife. I really have spent too much time trying to water proof them. Sanding the blade slot, soaking in linseed oil, everything. I wanted to love them, but this is not the first time I've had this happen. Lucky fo rme, I always had a SAK around. Always worked. Besides, I can't count the times I had an Opnel. or other knife, and needed a screw driver, or a bottle opener, or awl or something. I figure I may as well just carry one of my SAK's and be done with it. No problemo.

I can't stand the new plastic handle outdoor Opinel's. Just too zoowie with the weird colors and whistle and saw teeth on the blade. If I want saw teeth, I have a great saw on my Vic farmer. And I can leave the Vic on the bottomof a lake for a month and it will still be fine.

cb51 wrote: And I can leave the Vic on the bottomof a lake for a month and it will still be fine.

Oh, I'm just gonna get killed for this.
I've always wanted to say it, and cb gave me the perfect segue.

THAT'S WHERE THEY ALL BELONG!!!!!

FRJ wrote:

cb51 wrote: And I can leave the Vic on the bottomof a lake for a month and it will still be fine.

Oh, I'm just gonna get killed for this.
I've always wanted to say it, and cb gave me the perfect segue.

THAT'S WHERE THEY ALL BELONG!!!!!

Cheap, disposable and not made in China. They fill a very important niche in the knife world.

An Opinel makes a great companion to a victorinox.

The trick to waterproofing the Opinel is to remove the finish wrap in foil and leave it next to a light bulb for a few hours(rotate). The moisture will be sucked out and the wood will easily drink the oil you soak it in overnight. Submerged in minerial oil

People try to apply oil to a sealed knife with high moisture content. The oil wont soak

Then apply vaseline to the joint wrap in foil and put back next to a light bulb for 15 minutes.

Buff, clean , dry, sand and apply a light-thin coat of poly. Dry overnight, sand, thin coat, dry overnight 5 times

The knife will easily withstand water on the lap

Would throwing it on the dashboard for a sunny day bring it back to opening status?

I think the foil-lightbulb method is a faster process to get the knife useable. It might be better for the wood to dry slow but I have had no problems doing this to more than a few Opinels.

All knives need some maintenence. One time I bought a Victorinox Tinker Deluxe that was gummed shut. I had to take off the scales and spray with gun scrubber a few times till I got it open.

Pretty soon it was oiled and ready for use. All ten dollar knives need maintenence I should say

Man, I sanded, waxed, oiled, vasolined, and everything. I got them to be a bit more water resistant, but it was always a problem of it sticking or at the least being hard to open. And that Savoy knock or whatever it's called does not work after the knife has gotten a good wetting a few times during the day. I can continue to screw around with it, but I can never trust them around water. Being that from spring until late fall I'm on small boats a great deal, that does not go well. I guess after years of messing with them, doing all the water proofing with vasoline, Minwax urethane, and the rest of the stuff, I reached a point where I don't feel like messing with them anymore. A SAK, Case sodbuster, Henkels sodbuster, or the Kissing Krane sodbusters just stand up better around boating, which is a huge part of my life. Besides, the SAK does so much more than just cut.

I gave away my last Opinel. I'm done. Now it's just SAK's and sodbusters from now on.

For me it was just sweat during deer season so I put the # 7 in with the camp utensiles GREAT knife for the camp utensile box but a lot of my buddies won't use a knife with a heavy pantina on the blade so I find they like the SS sodies better.