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Thread: Opinel for GP pocket carry?

  1. #1
    Ready! Fire! Aim! awp_101's Avatar
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    Opinel for GP pocket carry?

    Late last week I lost the Kershaw Blur I’ve been carrying the past 3-4 years. I’m thinking about replacing it with something a little smaller and lighter for general purpose daily use. Opening packages, cutting tags off stuff for my wife, etc.

    I’m thinking about an Opinel in the No 3/4/5 range with a stainless steel blade. I’m not terribly concerned with the ability to lock open or closed and the locking models are larger than I want to pocket carry anyway.

    How do the wood handles hold up to daily carry? I don’t carry much in that pocket but it won’t be alone in there.

    Thanks!
    Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain

    Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

  2. #2
    Site Supporter
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    I won’t use one for that. I don’t trust it to stay closed when it’s supposed to be closed. That opens up all kinds of bad injury potential. On a belt in a pouch, or in a backpack, sure, whatever, but never in a pocket. Ever.

  3. #3
    Site Supporter Maple Syrup Actual's Avatar
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    I've never seen one without the locking ring before but I carried a #8, I think, for years. Eventually the joint loosens up a bit but it took a really long time, and I use knives a lot. I doubt you would find the wear on the handle to be an issue unless you usually keep motorcycle chains or mill files in your pocket. It's a pretty durable hardwood.

    I really like Opinels; they're a really classic little knife and comfortable in the hand.

  4. #4
    This is timely, as I just came into one a week or so back. Mine is a No. 8 Carbon. I'd never had an Opinel before, and this this thing is a cutting machine. I've used it for nearly all my cutting needs over that time (including a lot of food prep), and unhesitatingly recommend it.

    Mine has the pseudo locking ring, that can also keep it closed. If I was worried about the security of it closed, squeeze the ring tighter or put it in a sheath. Or put a rubber band around it.

    Post-Quar, I may well make a minimalist leather or cloth belt sheath for it, and keep it for NYC public friendly use.

  5. #5
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    I have a larger Opinel. I use it around the yard, but would never think to EDC pocket carry one due to the bulk of the round handle.

    I went the opposite direction with the skinny, plastic handled Buck 110. I find it clips in the corner of a front pocket quite comfortably. Lots of blade, not much volume. It's much lighter than the wood-and-brass versions, and since the scales come from tooling rather than Bubba at the polishing wheel, you don't have to go to the store and try to inspect it in person through the packaging to find one that was actually made well. It's not art, but it's not going to disappoint, either. I just sanded some reliefs by the thumb stud to get a better bite on it:
    https://www.amazon.com/Buck-Knives-0...dp/B07H38HX1F/

    When I want to be even slimmer or lower-profile, I go with a Swiss Army 1. Single blade, completely non-intimidating to anybody. If there's a good reason to have a blade out, even someone who would normally go, "OMG, a knife, aaaahh!!!" might just think it's reasonable and civilized.
    https://www.swissarmy.com/us/en/Prod...-1/p/0.8000.26

    I do think Victorinox is missing the boat, though. I see no reason they couldn't make a version of it with the screwdriver/can opener element, basically a slightly larger version of the Bantam. Red plastic handles instead of Alox would be fine. Either way, I would buy and carry it in a heartbeat.
    .
    -----------------------------------------
    Not another dime.

  6. #6
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    I carried one for years and still have it somewhere. I liked it a lot. The only issue I ever had was that in the summer, when it was hot and humid, and I was sweating, the handle sometimes swelled making it harder to open.

  7. #7
    Site Supporter Maple Syrup Actual's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post

    When I want to be even slimmer or lower-profile, I go with a Swiss Army 1. Single blade, completely non-intimidating to anybody. If there's a good reason to have a blade out, even someone who would normally go, "OMG, a knife, aaaahh!!!" might just think it's reasonable and civilized.
    https://www.swissarmy.com/us/en/Prod...-1/p/0.8000.26
    I really like that SAK 1...I often used to carry an alox-handled Farmer which I found really useful. The same blade, plus a saw, bottle opener and can opener. Really handy.

    But as far as innocuous blades go, let me relate this craziness: I had a coworker (sort of - he was another contractor for the same company I was contracting to and he didn't know me at all, as will become clear) that needed to drop by my place one time a number of years ago to hand over some tools, and one of the items he had to drop off was duct-taped to his climbing gear. He was gnawing away at it with his teeth and I said, "I have a knife, hang on" and produced the SAK Farmer.

    He visibly recoiled, no joke.

    "Why are you carrying a weapon???"

    "What, this?"

    "Yeah, what's the knife for?"

    "It's for cutting stuff like the duct tape you're trying to chew through."

    "Yeah but you don't need to carry a knife."

    "Hey, if you want to keep chewing, go nuts. You know you have a two pound hammer on that belt, though, right? I mean it's not like you're not carrying something that could be used as a weapon yourself."

    "Yeah, but I have to have that, you're just packing a knife around in your pocket."

    "Sure coming in handy now, though."

    "Yeah, I guess...is that even legal?"

    "Well, fortunately, I'm in my own home, otherwise who knows...probably be on the wrong end of a SWAT takedown."

    "Yeah, anyway, just take the pouch."

    I did not mention that throughout the discussion, I had a sap in my pocket, a Clinch Pick on my belt, and a 1911 in a 5-Shot SME in my pants. Guy probably would have stroked right out. Bizarre.

  8. #8
    Ready! Fire! Aim! awp_101's Avatar
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    I think I'm going to give this one a spin: Buck Knives 364 Rival I. The blade and OAL are shorter than the Blur and I was starting to see it as overkill (which I normally approve of) for day to day use.

    I'm still going to add a small or medium stainless Opinel to the order because they're inexpensive enough and I can always use another good knife in the garage or around the house.
    Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain

    Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post
    I went the opposite direction with the skinny, plastic handled Buck 110. I find it clips in the corner of a front pocket quite comfortably. Lots of blade, not much volume. It's much lighter than the wood-and-brass versions, and since the scales come from tooling rather than Bubba at the polishing wheel, you don't have to go to the store and try to inspect it in person through the packaging to find one that was actually made well. It's not art, but it's not going to disappoint, either. I just sanded some reliefs by the thumb stud to get a better bite on it:
    https://www.amazon.com/Buck-Knives-0...dp/B07H38HX1F/.
    This has been my cheap/lightweight/no worries if lost default:
    https://www.amazon.com/KA-Bar-Dozier...65&sr=1-1&th=1

    My only real gripe is that the thumb stud is one-sided.

  10. #10
    Member Greg's Avatar
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    Jul 2015
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    Utah
    A Kershaw Blur is a hell of a knife. I have a couple of Spydercos and a Benchmade but if you told me I could only carry my Blur for a couple years I wouldn't care.
    Don’t blame me. I didn’t vote for that dumb bastard.

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