As you might imagine, knives are extremely important tools on our homestead. In the past, I’ve sung the praises of my trusty pocket knife (see Constant Companion) and our kitchen knives (see High Carbon Steel Kitchen Knives). Somewhere between the two fall Opinel® knives (paid link).
Opinels in various sizes: Top to Bottom: No. 10 (high carbon stainless) No. 8, and No. 7. I carry the latter constantly. (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).
Opinel knives, made in France, have been around for more than 100 years. They are often described as a “peasant knife,” after which they were designed. As I’ve pointed out in the past, we have much in common with the peasant lifestyle (see Work Like a Peasant, Live Like a King). Appropriately, “peasant” knives would prove particularly useful to us.
In our family, Opinels are exclusively food knives. We oil them with edible mineral oil, the same we use for kitchen knives, rather than the gun oil we use to treat our other knives and tools. We habitually carry them in the summer and autumn for cleaning and harvesting mushrooms (see Mushroom Hunting: Tools of the “Trade”). However, I chipped my front tooth hitting my head on a door frame last spring. After the dentist rebuilt the tooth with resin, she warned me against biting into certain foods—I can no longer bite into an apple, or eat corn on the cob, for instance. Since then, I’ve carried an Opinel year ’round, to cut up food when necessary.
Beyond their usefulness, I admire the design and simplicity of the Opinel knife. Most of them have high carbon steel blades, which are easier to sharpen, and hold a keen edge longer. The company also offers knives with stainless steel blades, but even these are higher carbon content, enough to attract a magnet. They now come in a variety of more exotic wood handles, or plastic ones, but, traditionalist that I am, I stick with the original models, varying only sizes for the job at hand. They’re not fancy, or high tech. They’re simple, they’re reliable, they’re time-proven, and they work.
Note: This is not a paid endorsement (unfortunately!) However, this post includes an affiliate link to Amazon.com.
A No 8 in carbon steel is my constant pocket fodder, except when I fly or visit government offices. In addition to the usual food and utility uses, I’ve found that opening it to a “V” allows me to prune small vines and branches by hooking and squeezing closed. I have mini kiwi and hops on my small city lot and both of those encroach rapidly.
Dick, that’s a great technique! Michelle’s going to like that in the garden. Thanks!
I like your term, “pocket fodder”–creates an appropriate image of them as all consuming containers.