Love it or hate it, the Opinel knife is an iconic item that speaks of France, cheese slicing and the pleasures of the countryside. Alternatively, it speaks of a laborious and inefficient locking mechanism combined with a certain pretension among its users.
The #8 Opinel is, at least according to Wikipedia, the most popular size, with a blade about 3-1/4″ (8.5 cm) long, shown above. They are certainly available inexpensively, between about $10.98 for a rebranded camping style to $11.95 from Amazon [What’s This?]. The blade is carbon steel (although they do offer stainless blades) and has all the benefits and drawbacks that material brings to a knife. They have updated the locking mechanism so that the blade does weakly lock without the collar being rotated, but secure use dictates the turning of the collar. The “Yatagan” type of blade is slightly curved upwards at the tip.
So what do you think, Toolmongers, Hot or Not?
Opinel [Manufacturer Site]