Opinel No.06 Stainless Steel Folding Knife with Beechwood Handle

Ever since I was a young guy, I've carried practical pocketknives on a daily basis. I prefer flat, small knives that don't take up a lot of pocket space, and that have one or two blades at most. I kept hearing good things about these French knives, but they always looked too big for my taste, so I never got one. When I lost my longtime carry knife, I came across this No.8 Opinel, and despite the width increase from my usual carried knives, I decided to give this one a try - for under $20, it's a no-brainer.When I received my knife, I was impressed with the quality and look of it, and it fit in my pocket pretty well too. It wasn't the sharpest knife I've ever owned, but out of the box it was plenty sharp, and after giving it a good cleaning and some lubricant, it opens/closes and the lock engages and disengages quite easily.After about a week of carrying this, I decided that I wanted to get a small belt sheath to carry this in. Here's the only area of disappointment for me with this knife - it's difficult to find a sheath that fits these for less than 2-3 times what the knife itself cost. I eventually found a handcrafted sheath on eBay, but it was $18, so roughly the cost of my knife, but it fit quite well.So to summarize - the knife is great. It's snazzy looking, people always ask me where I got it, where it's from, etc. And it's so much more polished and refined than those silly looking tactical knives that are out there. Sure, it's not for everyone - from what I hear, you shouldn't get the handle wet, or it could swell up. And the carbon steel requires a measure of care and maintenance that normal stainless knives dont, but then again, if that bothers you, buy a stainless steel knife. For the price point and practical usability, this Opinel can't be beat. Just be advised - if you carry your knife in a sheath, there aren't a ton of low cost options out there, so keep that in mind. Otherwise, buy one. Or 3-4. they're cheap, durable and a neat conversation piece.

I own all kinds of knives. Benchmade, Bark River, Spyderco, Kabar, Cold Steel etc in steels ranging from 1095 to magnacut and s90v. Lately I’ve developed a taste for traditional slip joints by Buck, Case, Rough Rider, Old Timer, Marbles. There is something to be said about carrying a knife that millions of Americans have carried for over a century. Before their were knife nerds and knife steel nerds and modern tactical folders with fancy super steels, this is what the working man carried. They are inexpensive, pretty to look at, easy to sharpen and they cut things. The Opinel No. 8 is one of these. Cheap, simple, classic. I deliberately got the most basic version of their most popular knife for this very reason, and it is a beautiful knife, and much like a Buck or Case I can feel the history in the design. That’s not to say it’s perfect. Opinels are known to be… finicky. Being an all wood handle with no metal liners, they have a tendency to swell up and cause the blade to stick when exposed to water or humid conditions. I live in New York, not overly dry and not overly humid. Not long after taking it out of the package it started to stiffen. It would still open, but at about the halfway point the action got very tight. There are many reports of people not being able to open it at all when the blade gets trapped by the swelled wood handle. Not ideal for a blade that is ideal for food prep, since simply washing it off could inhibit the basic function of opening and closing. I saw a trick on YouTube where a guy baked it for about an hour at 180 degrees Fahrenheit on a piece of parchment paper and it worked like a charm. It now opens smoothly and easily, though I suppose it could just swell up again next time it gets wet or the weather gets humid. Using stabilized wood would eliminate this issue, but since Opinel sells literally millions of these knives every year I don’t see them changing it anytime soon. People go to great lengths modding and optimizing these cheapies, sanding finger grooves, sanding the pivot area, DIY wood stabilizing, soaking the whole thing in paraffin wax, filing a groove into the inner metal ring so that the blade opens completely straight (typically the blade is angled a couple of degrees downward when fully open as it comes into contact with this ring. Does not affect its cutting ability). I don’t suppose Opinel would have sold hundreds of millions of these knives over the last century if they didn’t work, and I don’t suppose people would go through so much trouble trying to make them perfect if they didn’t love them. Modern super knives are cool, and collecting them can be fun, but knives like this are a throwback to a simpler time when a man had one trusted knife because that was all he needed. The Opinel No. 8 makes a great Old Trusty.

it is wildly unique in our neck of the woods. And if you're tired of people cringing away or looking askance at you when you employ your pocket knife for any of the many daily tasks for which it is so well suited, get one of these unique tools. Your OPINEL knife will change other people's skeptical looks into admiration. Pleasant conversations might even ensue. Available in a wide range of sizes, I find the Number 6 the best fit in my daily pockets, a Number 5 in dress pants. Apart from its' unique design/construction, it is a well made knife and suitable for any pocket knife task. The carbon and stainless steel versions seem to retain their edge sharpness equally well. I promise you won't regret this purchase and it's also a terrific gift.DOUG out