All About Pocket Knives

My Opinel #8 won't be tossed out but I'm really, really darn close.

While I credit that knife for getting back in the EDC habit, I'm thoroughly and totally disgusted with the locking ring.

I've been rotating my EDC knives through kitchen duties whenever I get a chance to get a better feel for my taste in blades. Tonight it was the Opinel #8 up against 3 rather skinny zuchinnis - not a big challenge, right?

I twisted that lock ring into the locked position just as hard as I could. Cut a zuke, put the knife down, clear the cutting board, repeat. Before the 3rd zuke was cut, the lock ring was totally undone and the blade was swinging to and fro like a busted slip joint.

I'd say I blame my lock backs but, honestly, at this point, I trust a working slip joint more than I trust this Opinel.

Any Opinel fans out there with the magic French hand shake to get this lock ring to stay put? I'm just about ready to pour a bit of epoxy on the joint and dropping it in the kitchen drawer where it can live out it's live as a paring knife.

Grrrrr.....

I wish I could help but I never owned one???

I had one for a short time and hated it. I couldn't stand messing with that lock ring.

I have an older #13 carbon that got rusty and during the cleaning process the bolster under the locking ring didn't get cleaned all that good. Silver lining is that the lock ring stays put.

I had a #6 that did that; as I recall I carefully applied pressure to gently force the ring to assume a shape that was ever-so-slightly out of round, thus reducing the tendency for it to self-release.

Which is a nice way to say I swore profusely and smacked it with a hammer, just enough to bend the ring and tighten it. But it sounds nicer the first way!

Jim

ive got a lot of opinels and love them, ive not yet had a issue with the sleeve lock as of yet, but too be honest i mainly carry a non locking #4-5 due to uk lock laws, as far as im concerned these knives are not made to do hard work , they are slicing knives good for cutting food and plants etc, the blades are thin and flexy so good also for gutting fish, i dont compare these locks to the likes of the locks on say my 110-112 as not as solid, but for £5-10 these are fantastic slicers in the non heavy duty way, i use the 110 -112 for harder jobs, so sorry its a thumbs up for me, i like them a lot,

opinels are part of my edc

if anyone was going to be in the corner for opinels, i knew that it would be zed. good long lasting partnership.
personally, i have never even picked up an opinel. had a chance to buy the entire line as a set once. but i didn't. i never would use em, i do a lot of construction and i harvest my own trees for wood burning in the winter. so they don"t exactly fit into my life style or collection. still it would have filled a vacantcy of sorts.

I have 2 or 3 of them that I use form time to time. The problem I have seen has been more that they tend to get rusty if not oiled regularly. They are hard to get the lock in place when that happens.
I actually like them for cutting and slicing. I have one of their paring knives, which is not a folder. It sure takes an edge, but it rusts pretty easily.

I would say, Jim probably has the solution: smack it with a hammer & see if that doesn’t work.

Bike mechanics have a term for the right tool for some jobs - a BFH. Stands for bigger f*$#ing hammer. Oh, and it's not "bending". It's called "cold-setting" and no, we won't wreck your beautiful I-talian race bike, trust us.

I posted my lament in another forum in a galaxy far away (I feel like I'm cheating on this crowd) and got two useful suggestions (not that hammers aren't).

The first was to pop off the ring and use pliers to tighten it up a bit. I did that this morning and it is more secure.

The second, which I'll attempt tonight (I hope and with some liquid hops I hope too) is to file the ramp on the top of one side of the lock ring so that the ring spins between 90 and 180 degrees to the locking position.

Oh... a third suggestion was to look at the Bucklite 422 which is on clearance at Buck site right now for cheap. I'm doing that too. Looks like plastic handled 112. Not wood handled goodness nor carbon blade maintenance-fun but full lock back at under 3 oz and no annoying clip.

Dave, get yourself an Okapi ratchet lock. I'd be willing to bet it won't fold up on you unless you want it to and maybe not even then.

Even though I may not be a huge Opinel fan, I did pick up a similar style knife at an antique/flea market over the weekend. It's a Durol from Thiers France (I believe Opinel is too). This has stainless and INOX stamped on the blade. It also has the word BREVETE stamped on the bolster - not sure what that means. But the one thing this knife has is a push button lock, which is used to open & close the blade. Now, I wouldn't bet the house on this lock (the button is plastic) & it has a tiny bit of play. Overall, it has been a very good slicing knife with some type of plastic/resin handle. With a closed handle lenght of 4 1/2" - it's definetly a backpocket carry. I also have a Marjacq brand (French too) and very similar to Opinel but I feel the Marjacq had a better ring lock. The little metal thing under the first knife is just a paper clip & not part of the knife construction.

pinnah wrote: I've been rotating my EDC knives through kitchen duties whenever I get a chance to get a better feel for my taste in blades.
Tonight it was the Opinel #8 up against 3 rather skinny zuchinnis - not a big challenge, right?
I twisted that lock ring into the locked position just as hard as I could. Cut a zuke, put the knife down, clear the cutting board, repeat. Before the 3rd zuke was cut, the lock ring was totally undone and the blade was swinging to and fro like a busted slip joint. At this point, I trust a working slip joint more than I trust
this Opinel. Grrrrrrrr

Well I been figuring out how to best assist Pinnah with his dilemma.
Explanations show a tendency to run long which makes it hard
for viewers to hang in there til the end.
So to make a long story only 45% as long I'll skip to the summation.
Even though it might resemble a T or F Quiz it ain't.

1. Using any knife that is in need of repair seldom
has a satisfactory outcome.
2. If your pants keep falling down don't tighten your belt,
throw away the pants & cuss the manufacturer.

Hope this helps

So, I spent some time this evening working on the top edge of the lock ring with a file. Took about 6 rounds and I got real good at taking the ring off. If the bottom of the blade is at 6 o clock, the slot now sits at 10 when it's locked, instead of the stock 7 o clock position. The shallower ramp combined with a much larger sheer distance is much more confidence inspiring.

Wosey, if you want to hear me cuss, get me going on old French bikes. Quirky would be kind.

BTW, I think brevete in this context means patented. In cycling, brevet is a kind of qualification ride

In any event, a state of peace of mind has been restored. Thanks for the suggestions and moral support!

Wosey, if you want to hear me cuss, get me going on old French bikes. Quirky would be kind.

No naughty words for Brit stuff and WHITWORTH?

I can cuss a HD with NO problems. Ain't about to try learn cussing a Fwench bike.

chetr1200c wrote:if anyone was going to be in the corner for opinels, i knew that it would be zed. good long lasting partnership.
personally, i have never even picked up an opinel. had a chance to buy the entire line as a set once. but i didn't. i never would use em, i do a lot of construction and i harvest my own trees for wood burning in the winter. so they don"t exactly fit into my life style or collection. still it would have filled a vacantcy of sorts.

i love em, basic yes but old world charm, and amazing slicers they have there problems i know, for example if the handle gets wet they swell and courses problems getting the blade in and out, i have read many ways to solve this but ive not bothered as of yet, the blades also need regular oiling etc but they do get a nice patina fast lol, these are inexpensive basic knives but lots of charm, ive not had a issue with the virobloc as seems pretty solid for this kind of knife but i guess the odd dodgy one gets through ,

Is that a newer one?..I have a buddy that carried one for years and never had a problem.
I have a few myself but honestly never use them much.

Got an Opinel for the first time a few weeks ago. Am enjoying using it on lite tasks e.g. opening mail, slicing cheese.
So far so good. Mine is a #8 with stainless steel.

These are great knives, but require a bit of care and feeding due to their very 'basic' design. If the locking ring is too tight, you can take if off with a split-ring pliers and 'stretch' it a little. If too loose, take if off and squeeze it gently with a pair of channel-locks and slip it back on. A little trial and error, a little mineral oil, and you're home.

I also find that it makes a difference which way I spin the locking ring when I've got the knife open. One direction, and your grip kinda works against it; the other way, and it's less likely to open accidentally.

Hope this helps!