One of the oldest knife manufacturers in Europe is the company "Opinel". The knives of this factory are unique in their own way. Their concept has been almost unchanged for almost a hundred years, and the demand for French products has not fallen. The history of the company began in 1890, when Joseph Opinel assembled his first folding knife at the family factory . As it turned out, the eighteen-year-old founder of the company possessed an extraordinary talent of the armourer, and his products began to enjoy unprecedented success. By 1897, a collection of twelve knives appeared that differed only in size and were respectively marked from one to twelve. In 1909, Joseph registered the trademark "Opinel". Knives of this brand now decorated the emblem in the form of a crown crowned with a blessing hand.
1955 significantly changed the folding knives of this company. A protective locking ring was mounted on the blades. This new product is called "Virobloc". Of course, to call the installation of a blocking part significant changes in most cases is somewhat strange. But when it comes to such a conservative company as "Opinel", whose knives are executed according to classical canons, this speech turnover is completely justified.
The traditional line of knives is still produced by the company, today it is only 10 knives. Of course, besides her, the French produce a lot of other blades, for example, kitchen knives "Opinel" enjoy a well-deserved authority around the world. But the most popular was and still is the traditional line, which is called "Original" or "Traditional line".
Overview of the blades "Opinel". Knives of the traditional ruler
Let's take a closer look at the company's products, having considered one of its legendary knives. The hero of our review today is "Opinel Original №02 Key-ring". This knife, though marked with a deuce, but, in fact, it is he who has been the smallest in the traditional line for 80 years.
The design of the blade is very simple: a handy wooden handle, in which the blade slot is cut, the blade itself, the shaft and the metal insert, which protects the moving elements from splashing. This design was invented long before Joseph Opinel, but it was he who brought this concept to perfection.
The blade of the scimitar type is made of improved Swedish stainless steel. This alloy is characterized by a lower content of carbon and an increased content of chromium. The cutting edge of the blade is barely noticeable, the angle of sharpening is 20 degrees. With such characteristics, the knife should be sharp as a razor, but no - the stock sharpening uses, to put it mildly, not all the steel potential. But the reviews of the handy guys are impressive. For example, one of the participants in the Russian forum about knives boasted that he managed to sharpen the folding knives of "Opinel" so that they cut the newspaper on the fly.
The handle of the knife is made exclusively from beech. This is a classic option for knives, because the beech is hard and light, and beautiful in addition. But there is one but. The wood of this breed is very sensitive to moisture - it does not like not only water in its pure form, but also high humidity of air.