Opinel knife
Encyclopedia
The Opinel knife, or simply Opinel, is a simple, wooden-handled pocket-knife manufactured since 1890 in the town of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
in the Savoie
region of France
.
. It proved popular with the local farmers, herdsmen, and paysans-vignerons (peasant winemakers) of the area. In 1897, a series of twelve sizes, numbered 1 to 12, was developed. From 1901-1903, Joseph Opinel built his first factory in Pont de Gévoudaz and produced a machine for mass production of the knife's wooden handles.
To distribute his new range of knives, Opinel utilized the time-honored method of hiring peddlers to sell the knife, installing a small shop near the Chambéry railway junction, where the knives became popular with PLM
railroad workers, who in the course of their work spread word of the new knife all over France. By 1909, Opinel had registered his first trademark for the Opinel knife, choosing the main couronnée ('crowned hand") as his emblem. A few years later Opinel annual sales were in the hundreds of thousands, and by the start of World War II
as many as 20 million knives had been sold.
The Opinel Virobloc or safety twistlock mechanism was invented by Marcel Opinel in 1955, greatly increasing the safety and versatility of the knife by allowing the blade to be locked in the open position. In 2000, the Virobloc locking mechanism was improved to allow locking the blade in either the open or closed position.
The company is still run by the Opinel family, and Opinel sells around 15 million knives annually. A museum dedicated to the Opinel knife (Le Musée de l'Opinel) is located at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
wood handle and a high carbon XC90 steel (acier au carbon) blade. Opinel also offers most of its models with a Sandvik
12C27M
stainless steel (acier inox) blade. Custom Opinel models are available using luxurious or exotic handle woods such as oak
, walnut
, olive
, rosewood
and stained hornbeam
, as well as other materials such as cowhorn.
The Opinel Slim Effile series uses a tapered handle with a slender clip point blade made of Sandvik stainless steel, and the handle may be obtained in a variety of different materials, including bubinga wood, olive wood, and cowhorn.
The construction of the current production Opinel knife is very simple, consisting of only five components: a blade, wooden handle, stainless steel metal clamping band, stainless pivot pin (axle), and (except in the case of the smaller models) a stainless steel Virobloc locking collar, which locks the blade open or closed.
Smaller Opinel models (Nos. 2 through 5) have no locking blade mechanism, and use only the friction of the clamping band against the compressed handle and knife tang to hold the blade open, much the same as all Opinel knives sold before 1955. This simple design was sometimes known as a "penny knife
" or "peasant's knife".
The locking collar(Virobloc) was patented in 1955 by Marcel Opinel, and is only found on the larger Opinel models (#6 and up). While simple, the locking mechanism is quite sturdy, and converts the folding Opinel knife into nearly the equivalent of a fixed-blade knife for all practical purposes. In 2000 the locking collar was modified slightly to allow the blade to be locked in the closed as well as the open position. This feature prevents the blade from opening by accident when carried in a pocket.
Eighty percent of all Opinel knives use traditional beechwood for the handle. The company's large demand for beechwood not infrequently results in a shortage of precut handle blanks, forcing the use of rectangular (bulk) sheets, which generate considerable wood waste. However, the excess wood waste and sawdust generated is then recycled, saving some 200,000 liters of fuel.
sword), while the flared butt at the base of the wood handle is referred to as a fishtail. The No. 8 Couteau du Jardin or Garden Knife uses a folding drop-point blade in concert with a slim, tapered wood handle, while the Opinel No. 8 and No. 10 Pruning Knives, designed for pruning shrubs and vines, feature a large folding hawkbill blade fitted to an elegantly curved wooden handle. The Opinel Slim Effile series use a thinner-profile stainless steel blade fitted to a tapered wood handle. Available in several sizes and handle materials, the Slim Effile series knives are intended for tasks such as cleaning and fileting fish and thinly slicing meats and cheeses.
The traditional Opinel is designed to be opened with two hands, and a nail nick is provided on the blade. It is possible to adjust the fitting of the safety locking collar in the event that the latter is either too tight or too loose. Those practiced in the art often utilize the coup du savoyard - tap the heel of the handle hard on the table once and the blade should open slightly from the handle, allowing it to be rotated into position with the thumb.
The main couronnée ("crowned hand") device was already present on the blade of very early models. Later the words OPINEL and FRANCE were added, as well as INOX ("stainless", from "INOXidable", meaning "non-oxidizable) in the case of stainless steel blades.
The image of the hand comes from the arms
of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and represents the relic
s of John the Baptist
, three of whose finger-bones were supposedly brought back from Alexandria
by Saint Tecla
in the 5th century. The crown comes from the arms of Savoie
.
With its 8.5 cm blade, the No. 8 Opinel is perhaps the most widely-used size, though Nos. 4, 6, and 10 are consistent sellers. There is a considerable difference in size between No. 12 (12 cm blade) and the recently-added novelty No. 13, Le Géant ("the Giant") with its 22 cm blade.
A variety of different Opinels have been offered over the years. A few are sold more for their novelty value than for practical purposes, such as Le Géant, a giant Opinel with a 22 cm (8.66-inch) blade. Besides the Slim Effile series and the Couteau du Jardin, Opinel also offers a hawkbill-bladed pruning knife designed for use in the garden or vineyard, and a large folding wood saw with locking blade using the same Virobloc mechanism as found on large Opinel knives. For the kitchen, the company sells vegetable peelers, chefs knives, paring knives, knives with corkscrews (couteau tire-bouchon), and prep knives for the kitchen, including a mushroom knife (couteau à champignon), with an integral boar's hair cleaning brush.
knife in France
, or for the Tour de France
, and even a special knife, the "Opinel History 2000" to celebrate the year 2000. There is also a commemorative knife for the fiftieth anniversary of opinel from 1993. Recent limited models are "Opinel 1890" and "Opinel Checkmate". Limited edition knives are often made from different woods.
Originally sold as a simple working man's knife, the Opinel has since become an iconic symbol of French culture and lifestyle. Pablo Picasso
used an Opinel to carve his sculptures, while Roger Frison-Roche, the Savoyard alpine guide and mountaineer, never made an ascent without carrying an Opinel along. Éric Tabarly
, the long-distance solo sailor and yachtsman, swore by the Opinel, which he always carried aboard his sailing yacht, the Pen Duick.
The Larousse dictionary entered the word Opinel as a registered trademark in 1989, and is known as the French knife in the United States. The word Opinel has come to mean any wood handled pocket or penknife, as its inclusion in the Collins–Robert French–English Dictionary implies:
In 1985 the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London selected the Opinel as part of an exhibit celebrating the “100 most beautiful products in the world”, featuring the Opinel alongside the Porsche 911
sports car and the Rolex
watch. The Opinel was also selected as one of the 999 best designs in Phaidon Design Classics, and has been exhibited by the New York's Museum of Modern Art
(MOMA) as a design masterpiece.
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department....
in the Savoie
Savoie
Savoie is a French department located in the Rhône-Alpes region in the French Alps.Together with the Haute-Savoie, Savoie is one of the two departments of the historic region of Savoy that was annexed by France on June 14, 1860, following the signature of the Treaty of Turin on March 24, 1860...
region of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
History
The Opinel knife was invented by Joseph Opinel in 1890 in Savoie as a simple working man's or peasant's knifePenny knife
The penny knife dates from the 18th century and was an extremely basic utility knife, originally with a fixed blade. It received the name penny knife for what it reportedly cost in England and America during the late 18th century...
. It proved popular with the local farmers, herdsmen, and paysans-vignerons (peasant winemakers) of the area. In 1897, a series of twelve sizes, numbered 1 to 12, was developed. From 1901-1903, Joseph Opinel built his first factory in Pont de Gévoudaz and produced a machine for mass production of the knife's wooden handles.
To distribute his new range of knives, Opinel utilized the time-honored method of hiring peddlers to sell the knife, installing a small shop near the Chambéry railway junction, where the knives became popular with PLM
Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée
The Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée was a French railway company ....
railroad workers, who in the course of their work spread word of the new knife all over France. By 1909, Opinel had registered his first trademark for the Opinel knife, choosing the main couronnée ('crowned hand") as his emblem. A few years later Opinel annual sales were in the hundreds of thousands, and by the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as many as 20 million knives had been sold.
The Opinel Virobloc or safety twistlock mechanism was invented by Marcel Opinel in 1955, greatly increasing the safety and versatility of the knife by allowing the blade to be locked in the open position. In 2000, the Virobloc locking mechanism was improved to allow locking the blade in either the open or closed position.
The company is still run by the Opinel family, and Opinel sells around 15 million knives annually. A museum dedicated to the Opinel knife (Le Musée de l'Opinel) is located at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
Materials
The traditional Opinel knife has a beechBeech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
wood handle and a high carbon XC90 steel (acier au carbon) blade. Opinel also offers most of its models with a Sandvik
Sandvik
Sandvik is a Swedish company founded in 1862 by Göran Fredrik Göransson in Sandviken. It is a high-technology engineering group and a world-leader in tooling, stainless steel alloys and materials technology, mining and construction...
12C27M
Knife metal
A knife metal is a metal, usually consisting of steel or stainless steel, that is used to construct a knife blade. Below is a list of various steel types for knives and their characteristics.-References:*http://sogknives.com/...
stainless steel (acier inox) blade. Custom Opinel models are available using luxurious or exotic handle woods such as oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
, olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
, rosewood
Rosewood
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...
and stained hornbeam
Hornbeam
Hornbeams are relatively small hardwood trees in the genus Carpinus . Though some botanists grouped them with the hazels and hop-hornbeams in a segregate family, Corylaceae, modern botanists place the hornbeams in the birch subfamily Coryloideae...
, as well as other materials such as cowhorn.
The Opinel Slim Effile series uses a tapered handle with a slender clip point blade made of Sandvik stainless steel, and the handle may be obtained in a variety of different materials, including bubinga wood, olive wood, and cowhorn.
Construction
Smaller Opinel models (Nos. 2 through 5) have no locking blade mechanism, and use only the friction of the clamping band against the compressed handle and knife tang to hold the blade open, much the same as all Opinel knives sold before 1955. This simple design was sometimes known as a "penny knife
Penny knife
The penny knife dates from the 18th century and was an extremely basic utility knife, originally with a fixed blade. It received the name penny knife for what it reportedly cost in England and America during the late 18th century...
" or "peasant's knife".
The locking collar(Virobloc) was patented in 1955 by Marcel Opinel, and is only found on the larger Opinel models (#6 and up). While simple, the locking mechanism is quite sturdy, and converts the folding Opinel knife into nearly the equivalent of a fixed-blade knife for all practical purposes. In 2000 the locking collar was modified slightly to allow the blade to be locked in the closed as well as the open position. This feature prevents the blade from opening by accident when carried in a pocket.
Eighty percent of all Opinel knives use traditional beechwood for the handle. The company's large demand for beechwood not infrequently results in a shortage of precut handle blanks, forcing the use of rectangular (bulk) sheets, which generate considerable wood waste. However, the excess wood waste and sawdust generated is then recycled, saving some 200,000 liters of fuel.
Design and operation
The curve of the original Opinel blade is a traditional Turkish design known by the term yatağan (cf. yataganYatagan
The yatagan or yataghan is a type of Ottomanknife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th centuries....
sword), while the flared butt at the base of the wood handle is referred to as a fishtail. The No. 8 Couteau du Jardin or Garden Knife uses a folding drop-point blade in concert with a slim, tapered wood handle, while the Opinel No. 8 and No. 10 Pruning Knives, designed for pruning shrubs and vines, feature a large folding hawkbill blade fitted to an elegantly curved wooden handle. The Opinel Slim Effile series use a thinner-profile stainless steel blade fitted to a tapered wood handle. Available in several sizes and handle materials, the Slim Effile series knives are intended for tasks such as cleaning and fileting fish and thinly slicing meats and cheeses.
The traditional Opinel is designed to be opened with two hands, and a nail nick is provided on the blade. It is possible to adjust the fitting of the safety locking collar in the event that the latter is either too tight or too loose. Those practiced in the art often utilize the coup du savoyard - tap the heel of the handle hard on the table once and the blade should open slightly from the handle, allowing it to be rotated into position with the thumb.
Logo
The image of the hand comes from the arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and represents the relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s of John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
, three of whose finger-bones were supposedly brought back from Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
by Saint Tecla
Thecla
Thecla was a saint of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul the Apostle. The only known record of her comes from the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, probably composed in the 2nd century.-Biography:...
in the 5th century. The crown comes from the arms of Savoie
Savoie
Savoie is a French department located in the Rhône-Alpes region in the French Alps.Together with the Haute-Savoie, Savoie is one of the two departments of the historic region of Savoy that was annexed by France on June 14, 1860, following the signature of the Treaty of Turin on March 24, 1860...
.
Sizes and variations
Opinel knives are currently offered in eleven numbered sizes: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13. The No. 1 Opinel was discontinued in 1932. With its tiny 2 cm (0.787-inch) blade and boxwood handle, it was meant to be attached to a key fob or watch chain and used as a tobacco pipe cleaner or nail cleaner, but was judged to be too small. The No. 11 Opinel was discontinued in 1935, its size being considered too similar to Opinels Nos. 10 and 12.With its 8.5 cm blade, the No. 8 Opinel is perhaps the most widely-used size, though Nos. 4, 6, and 10 are consistent sellers. There is a considerable difference in size between No. 12 (12 cm blade) and the recently-added novelty No. 13, Le Géant ("the Giant") with its 22 cm blade.
A variety of different Opinels have been offered over the years. A few are sold more for their novelty value than for practical purposes, such as Le Géant, a giant Opinel with a 22 cm (8.66-inch) blade. Besides the Slim Effile series and the Couteau du Jardin, Opinel also offers a hawkbill-bladed pruning knife designed for use in the garden or vineyard, and a large folding wood saw with locking blade using the same Virobloc mechanism as found on large Opinel knives. For the kitchen, the company sells vegetable peelers, chefs knives, paring knives, knives with corkscrews (couteau tire-bouchon), and prep knives for the kitchen, including a mushroom knife (couteau à champignon), with an integral boar's hair cleaning brush.
Limited edition knives
Opinel has also produced knives, often in limited numbers, for special events, such as the 1998 FIFA World Cup1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
knife in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, or for the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, and even a special knife, the "Opinel History 2000" to celebrate the year 2000. There is also a commemorative knife for the fiftieth anniversary of opinel from 1993. Recent limited models are "Opinel 1890" and "Opinel Checkmate". Limited edition knives are often made from different woods.
Iconic status
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
used an Opinel to carve his sculptures, while Roger Frison-Roche, the Savoyard alpine guide and mountaineer, never made an ascent without carrying an Opinel along. Éric Tabarly
Éric Tabarly
Éric Tabarly was a notable French yachtsman.A former officer in the French navy who is often considered the father of French yachting....
, the long-distance solo sailor and yachtsman, swore by the Opinel, which he always carried aboard his sailing yacht, the Pen Duick.
The Larousse dictionary entered the word Opinel as a registered trademark in 1989, and is known as the French knife in the United States. The word Opinel has come to mean any wood handled pocket or penknife, as its inclusion in the Collins–Robert French–English Dictionary implies:
- opinel NM (wooden-handled) penknife
In 1985 the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
in London selected the Opinel as part of an exhibit celebrating the “100 most beautiful products in the world”, featuring the Opinel alongside the Porsche 911
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is a luxury 2-door sports coupe made by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a distinctive design, rear-engined and with independent rear suspension, an evolution of the swing axle on the Porsche 356. The engine was also air-cooled until the introduction of the Type 996 in 1998...
sports car and the Rolex
Rolex
Rolex SA is a Swiss watchmaking manufacturer of high-quality, luxury wristwatches. Rolex watches are popularly regarded as status symbols and BusinessWeek magazine ranks Rolex No.71 on its 2007 annual list of the 100 most valuable global brands...
watch. The Opinel was also selected as one of the 999 best designs in Phaidon Design Classics, and has been exhibited by the New York's Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(MOMA) as a design masterpiece.