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Opinel knives have been made in Savoie, France since Joseph Opinel designed his folding knife in 1890 for local farmers and herders. The French pocket knife works for a simple reason: a thin, sharp blade in a light beechwood handle slices better than most modern folders carrying twice the weight. London's Victoria and Albert Museum put it in its 1985 exhibit of the 100 most beautiful products, alongside the Porsche 911 and the Rolex.
The Opinel No. 8 is the one that started it all, with a 3.28 inch blade that handles real work and still rides easy in a pocket. Sizes run from the tiny No. 2 up to the No. 13. From the No. 6 up, the Virobloc collar Marcel Opinel invented in 1955 locks the blade open and, since 2000, closed. The Neo6 brings the newer Opiflex lock in walnut or olive wood.
Most Opinel knives come in two steels. XC90 carbon steel takes a wicked edge, sharpens fast in the field, and builds a patina, but it wants a wipe and a drop of oil. Sandvik 12C27 stainless shrugs off wet hands, food, and neglect. Our knife steel guide compares 12C27 against the rest of the field. Handles run beech, olive wood, walnut, oak, Colorama colors, and laminated birch.
The Opinel mushroom knife pairs a curved blade with a boar bristle brush for foragers. The No. 12 folding saw weighs 3.6 ounces and cuts branches to 4 inches, and the No. 18 goes bigger. The slim Effilé knives run slightly flexible blades, from the No. 10 at the dinner table to the No. 15 padouk that fillets fish on the bank.
Opinel carries its folder into kitchen knives with Bon Appetit and Table Chic steak sets, the Parallele chef set, and the Essential kitchen set. The Nomad cooking kit packs a serrated No. 12, a corkscrew No. 10, a peeler, and a cutting board for camp, and the picnic cutlery set and collector boxes make easy gifts.
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