Do you think that an opinel folding knife would be suitable for use in a backpack size survival kit?
thanks

that depends on how you use a knife, a opinel is a good knife, but not that world most strongest one. i personally use mine opinel as back-up folding knife, some wood cutting and the light but dirty jobs (opinels are cheap ).
a S&W would be more suitable i think, i bought mine a S&W cutting horse 4.6 inch tanto blade for €20. they are one hand openialbe, has a nice beltclip and a lanyard holl. great stuff for the price.

Opinels easily hone to a razor edge. The Achilles heal is the locking ring. Moisture can get in there and make them virtually impossible to open. With care you can dissasemble one, sand the wood judiciously, seal and reassemble. As to suitability? It's a good, inexpensive light use knife.The question therefore is :What will your survival needs be in your adventures?

i've been using an opinel as my primary knife now for about 10 years i.e. pretty much as long as i've been carrying a knife, and i've always found it be a great knife. it's the knife i use for nearly everything round camp, i've used it for skinning and cleaning small game, it's quite often the knife i use for fishing, it even gets pressed into service as a kitchen knife at home on accasion!! as for whgether it's as strong as some other knifes i really don't know, all i can say is that it's always been plenty strong enough for anything i've wanted to use it for. all in all i'd recommend it to anyone.
just my opinion of course.

take it easy.
stuart.

What model is your Opinel?
Large or small?

Cold Steel SRK

Although I think the Opinel is a great knife for the price, I have two gripes concerning use in a survival kit.
1) I've found, as Chris K. indicates, that the knife can very easily bind in a closed position. In my case, the wood was too vulnerable to moisture and swelled around the tang and hinge of the knife.
2) There are plenty of knives which give you the same blade size, but with grips which are more flat and therefore more easily packed.

Chris: What is the best knife (for the money) that you can have in your survival kit?

Also: What clip knife do you carry?

It all depends on your budget, local conditions and that ephemeral quality of personal appeal. Knives seem to be heading in two popular directions; the robust, thicker knives ( choppers and splitters) such as Beckers, Cold Steel SRKs and the Fallknivens, and thinner blades such as traditional scandinavian blades for slicing. People really need to think about what their knife will actually be called upon to do. Sometimes the thing just sits in it's sheath while a sleeping bag and whistle become glamour items. Stainless steel is obviously superior around salt water, but sailors somehow sailed the seven seas with carbon blades for a very long time. I personally carry a fallkniven as my core blade, several scandinavians, a marine knife,machete,ulu and spyderco sheepsfoot in various combinations: yet never together. A man could die of exaustion lugging this stuff around. <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

SRK and Leatherman wave on the fanny pack kit.
Ontario issue Machete strapped to the BOB
SAK in the pant pocket always

Covers all chores and has some redundancy.
Total blade weight 3 lbs. If you can't carry 3 more lbs, you got bigger fitness issues.

Like the old trapper bushman said "you can tell a dummy in the bush by the low volume of blades he carries"

For what its worth

Mike

Chris: What kind of fallkniven do you carry, a S1 forrest?

dont know what chris uses, but i use the S1....

i carry a #10 opinel but the blade is a little shorter than it should be because the point got damaged a long time ago and i had to re-grind it.

take it easy,
stuart

S1, bright finish with leather sheath. I like things I can find and the dangler sheath works on horseback.

Opinels offer incredible cutting performance.
They will easily outslice virtually every other knife made. I think they are ideal for pocket carry.




If you take the ring off and treat the wood underneath it will resist swelling much better.



I consider the Opinel to be an essential part of a well balanced EDC package <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Stay Sharp,
Chad

Chad,

Nice pictures, Thanks.

In the last picture in your post you have a multi tool connected to a lanyard. Would you say what this connector piece is and can they be purchased somewhere?

Thanks

Neal

The LM Micra is in a neck rig by On/Scene Tactical. eric will make sheaths for any tool, the quality is excellent and the price good.

It has a Photon II attached as well.

Here is another shot of the Micra sheath with another EDC combo:


Along with a BM EMT tool sheath:


Close Up:



HE is making these for the new LM Squirt too, very cool.


Here is a link:
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel/

Hope this helps.
Chad

Very nice Chad, thanks for posting. From the first picure, I thought it was a rubber sheath of some sort but now I can see that its not.

Thanks

Neal

Chris:

Are the blades on the scandinavian knives (Mora, etc) similar to that of the Opinel? I realize one is a folder and the other is fixed. The reason I ask is that I love the ease in which I can sharpen the Opinel but I just experienced the lock up you described after dropping it in the snow <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Opinels and Moras both use the ancient'scandinavian' grind, a single wide bevel as opposed to hollowground, Moran or secondary beveled edges.This, and the thin material of Opinels and Moras make for very sharp, very easy to sharpen blades. Canadian instructor Mors Kochanski goes so far as to use a dime to determine if a blade is thin enough! The tradeoff is an edge that 'rolls' under hard use. This is why a stout blade for heavy billet splitting,digging or hammering is a wise choice for a primary blade when axes,shovels,saws etc. are not carried, hence the Beckers,Fallknivens,Cold Steels et al.

what's that red/white stuff you put you knife in to ?
how do you treat the wood under the ring ?
and ofcorse is there anyway of removing that ring without buying those special pliers ? i have tried to remove that ring with 3 different pliers and the ring is still there...

and uhm.. some guy told me that the ring is made of nikkel, is it ? or is that only on the staninless ones ?

I've been using an opinel since i was about 13, its only a #6, but has a razor edge, nice bit of carbon steel. I also just bought an S1 forest, but looks like i got lucky, got mine from heinnie hayes in wales, has a laminated blade, should be quite useful. all the best steve

If you like the Opinel, check into Cold Steel's Twistmaster line; they're a product-improved Opinel. Zytel handle, Carbon V blade, steel locking ring, & lanyard hole. I have 2 of the original designs (medium-3.5" blade & large-approx 5" blade), & they're great.

I've had the large one in a grab kit for years, & have used the medium as a pocket carry knife at times. Holds an edge well, resharpens easily. A good, strong, simple design, at a fair price.

Newer versions have powder coated blades. I think CS has discontinued it (again), but they're apparently still available if you check the Internet. I think I bought 3 for $30 (medium), & paid less than $20 for the large (several years ago...)

David

I was thinking about ordering from hennie hayes, whats the service like?

I look forward to the day when I can afford a Chris Reeves Sebenza

I've used them once, the knife was posted the next day. Next time I'm spending some cash on a knife it'll be from Heinnie again. He's well recommended on other forums (?fora) too.

Justin

"what's that red/white stuff you put you knife in to ?"

That's cheese with the wax wrapping in place. Now the question is what kind is it and how well aged is it <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

White vermont extra sharp cheddar, aged 2 years. Intense. Great sliced with granny smith apples.

yeah, same with mine, got it in at most two days after ordering.

For those who may find some difficulty in finding a source of a opinel where you live may want to look for some Coghlan's gear.
Their camp knife is an Opinel (Manufactured for coghlan's)