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.