Sunday, June 04, 2006

gear: the #8 opinel knife

Il-y-avait une fois it was not uncommon for young men to carry a penknife around with them - not to reenact scenes from West Side Story - but because you never knew when you might need to cut something, anything.

For me, that knife was (and still is) an Opinel #8.

With a design that dates back to 1895 the Opinel knife is simple but super-functional with a beechwood handle, a ring-locked blade to secure it in both the opened and shut position, and a stainless-steel blade.

And if you find yourself getting ready to walk through security at the airport and you remember that you've got one in your bag, you can surrender it without feeling too bad - since you can buy one at Sur La Table stores anywhere for about $10.

2 comments:

the Source of the James said...

I too am a fan of Opinel, though I like the carbon steel #7 to the stainless #8 for EDC.
It's interesting in this high tech world, how this simple knife has been able to maintain such a large follwoing world-wide.
It's truly timeless.

Unknown said...

I am another who is a fan of the Opinel knives. I was bought this one for my birthday by my wife. http://www.aboveandbeyond.co.uk/.opinel-8-5cm-bubinga-handle-knife-with-card-gift-box_3123842260863.htm I absolutely love it. I love the fact that hardly anything has changed about the design in over 100 years.