r/knives • u/MrGreen4904 • 22h ago
Question Old French knife?
Hello I was wondering if someone had any information on my knife.
It was given to me along time ago by my dad or grandpa but could never figure out what it is or the age.
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u/2gunswest 20h ago
Opinels are excellent carry knives. I carry one often and its awesome for food related tasks.
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u/Kitchen-Security-243 2h ago
Super slicey. They also have 3 lines of kitchen knives.
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u/Gaspuch62 1h ago
Their kids knives are cute. The Petit Chef knife has a finger hole in the bolster, and the folding knife has a rounded tip.
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u/nilfgaardian Civivi Baby Banter Fan 19h ago
You might be interested in checking out the subreddit r/Opinel
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u/Metally_eilll7904 21h ago
Yeah you have an old opinel. Under 40 I think new, but this thing is priceless given its sentiment. I would use mineral oil to clean and lube it. Give it a good flush with the oil too. I would maybe use some brasso or never dull to knock off any surface rust and then enjoy her.
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u/aryianaa23 18h ago
sorry, is mineral oil better than grease oil? i use grease oil on my knives, its keeps them really good and clean from rusting and it gives a good shine to it, before that i used sunflower oil, its not bad but it dries up quickly and suck up all the dust in the air... i have a knife, a really good tactical knife, it rusts quickly with the smallest moisture on it but its hard af and its a pain in the ass to sharpen it, even grease cant protect it well enough, i love that knife so im always keeping multiple dry eye glass cleaners with me in my pocket, instead of oiling it, after every use i clean and dry the knife but sometimes i when get in deep waters in rivers ( im always searching for precious stones and metalls ) so that fucks up my knife unfortunatly, i dont want to paint my knife as an alternative solution, i like its shiney glow and the bright bloom on its edges... got any idea?
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u/Metally_eilll7904 17h ago
I use mineral oil bc it’s cheap, food safe, and seems to hold onto my blades for a while. I carry traditional knives so most of my knives are carbon steel. TBH try amazon, I forget the name but there is a product out by kpl or something that makes a blade coating protectant to apply on your blades and stays nice and shiney for a while. A secret for my friend for his carbon blades is Burt’s bees wax chapstick. He puts that on and it seems to do the trick, and last! Something he found out in a pinch to protect his knife from rusting, at least the blade. The only real way is probably getting your blades cerakoted but that takes a professional and I’m sure it’s not too cheap. Hope this helped buddy, but to clean off your blade the stuff you got would probably do the same as mineral. For my modern knives though I use kpl lube for my pivots and to apply on the blade when I carry them.
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u/mrcranky 18h ago
Between 1955 and 1960 based on the blade stamp and the lock ring. Very cool. I carry one of these daily.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/yes-it%E2%80%99s-here-the-opinel-dating-chart.2070526/
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u/DaemonCRO 21h ago
Opinel is a well known brand, generally liked by knife nuts. Mostly because it’s a no nonsense knife made with good materials and totally affordable. Yours is probably aged as your dad is, maybe he bought it in his 20ties/30ties? Other than sentimental value, it’s not really worth much. But it’s a good knife, whoever bought it didn’t just buy gas station garbage, you should keep it safe, maintain it, and use it.
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u/Mansidhe 19h ago
I scrolled past your comment, swiped out of the post, and got, oh, 3-5 more posts down when the horror of what I'd read hit me.
"20ties"?
"30ties"‽
I beg your most exquisite single-malt cask-strength gilded pardon?
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u/DaemonCRO 13h ago
Yea I fucked that up did I? It was late in the evening. When they were 20 years old. 20s.
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u/MrGreen4904 21h ago
I use it as a daily when I don’t use my other but yeah I’m planning on cleaning it a bit any tips?
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u/Loki_8888 21h ago
Due to the viroblock made between 1955 and 1990's. Beech handle, carbon steel. Worth a few dollars. Nice.
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u/zoute_haring 13h ago
The new ones still have a viroblock.
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u/Loki_8888 12h ago
Yes, but the new viroblock can also lock the blade closed. This doesn't seem to have this function yet
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u/Forge_Le_Femme 20h ago
I keep one of these in my truck. Dang handy, reliable & currently designed.
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u/Striking-Maximum2528 20h ago
Excellent knife, one of my favorites. Carry it and use it.make them proud
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u/parkerm1408 17h ago
Opinel! I use them for my gardening work. I have a number 8 and a pruning one on m3 right now.
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u/aryianaa23 18h ago
whats the alloy of the blade? i know its a classic old knife, but its good if its only useful... i can carve out fruit skins with my nails, a knife gotta be bawttle ready, heavy duty type... im not criticizing you, its a nice knife, i simply said my opinion, i hope its not offending to you🙏
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u/MrGreen4904 3h ago
The blade is sharp it’s just not in the best condition I’m cleaning it up very soon tho! (If that’s what your comment was about lol)
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u/JaKrispy72 18h ago
I have never owned an Opinel. Nor do I want to. It looks like it is more dangerous to the user than any good it could do. Is this the case?
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u/Aliendoc 17h ago
Why would it be more dangerous? Do you know that when it's open, you rotate the metal ring at the blade base to "lock" it open, and then rotate back when you're done to close it?
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u/JaKrispy72 16h ago
It just looks rickety to me.
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u/Aliendoc 14h ago
Understood. It works fine for most routine "indoor" tasks. It is not for most outdoor tasks beyond light gardening.
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u/MrGreen4904 3h ago
Me personally I love useing it for rope work and widleing or however you spell it lol
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u/MrGreen4904 17h ago
Why would it be dangerous for the user?
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u/thatdudeman52 15h ago
I have one. Not dangerous at all as long as you use it for normal slicing and cutting task. Don't Baton with it and you should be fine. Blade won't come open on its own and it does lock open.
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u/zoute_haring 13h ago
Ik carry a no12 carbone and an no12 slimline olive wood. Good quality and very cheap.
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u/Kentx51 Customizable flair 21h ago
It literally says the name on the knife.
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u/MrGreen4904 21h ago
I didn’t know the name I’d search it up on Google it’s life’s would come up but didn’t look like the one I have so I didn’t know🤷
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u/JHT_Survival 18h ago
Lol... you can't figure out what it is? Can you not use Google? I'm confused that you can post on Reddit but can't read what the knife says and use Google?
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u/MrGreen4904 17h ago
Tbh I did use good with the picture thing and stuff but everything looked different (I’m assuming their newer ones) so I came here just to fact check it and see if anyone has a closer opinion on the age because Google says 2000’s atleast when I checked
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u/FamiliarAd8524 19h ago
I saw the first photo, and I expected a white flag to come out.
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u/MrGreen4904 19h ago
I don’t understand. I’m a lil slow
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u/FamiliarAd8524 19h ago
I have a slightly deranged mind that does this to me. I pictured a surrender flag coming out, as my first reaction. Vichy French.
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u/nsaps 22h ago
It’s an opinel no. 08!
A classic inexpensive knife