Opinel Modification

[Humakt]

My knife needs aren't that great.
All I ever need a knife for is opening a pack of Super Noodles, or cutting up a pepparami, or a bit of carving.
That kind of thing.
Trying to be responsible I normally carry a simple non-locking folder (one by Joker Knives - a lovely looking thing it is. And dead sharp). But it has folded and cut me on more than one occasion, and a couple of weeks ago it did it again and this time it was quite a serious wound.
At that point I decided I'd had enough.
I don't need a big fixed blade, so I thought I'd get a simple locking folder.
And because that tanto-blade, combat, death, survival knife (in tactical matt black) isn't really my kind of thing, I thought I'd keep it simple and buy myself an Opinel.

And that's what I did.

I really wanted a No6, but the shop I bought it from was out of them, so I got a No7 instead.
I wasn't so keen on the shape of the blade, mainly because the point looked like it was just waiting to snap. So I decided that I was going to re-shape the blade and also decided to shorten it a little - by about 1/2".
Then to the handle.
I've seen people do all kinds of clever things with the handles, but most of that is beyond me. I found the shape of the handle to be quite comfy so I decided against doing anything too elaborate. A sanding to remove the varnish, then cut in some grooves to aid grip, then more sanding to smooth out the angled edges, then a dark stain, and finish off with a bit of oil.
Here's the result:


Next thing was to make a pouch for it. I decided that I want it in a neck pouch rather than a hip pouch. Out with the 3mm veg tan leather hide and off to work. And then to make a cord for it out of three strands of leather thong braided together:


And I suppose the last thing is to try it out. Over the Easter weekend I was out for a stroll and whilst sitting beneath a tree having a mug of earl grey I did a bit of whittling to see how the knife performs. More than adequate. It's lovely sharp. I carved myself this little bird, which I then secreted in the gatehouse of a local church, high up in one of the corners where only the curious would see it...


As I said, my knife cutting needs are slight. If I'm going to have a fire then it's usually in a firebox so only need to cut small pieces. For that I use another Opinel - one of their saws! I did this knife in the same style as I did the saw (which I've had a few years now) and here's the pair of Opinels together:


I'm really impressed with the Opinel stuff. Great tools at great prices. They do all I need to do - what more can you ask, eh?