Opinel pocket knifes are very nice knifes made by Opinel in France. It
is a old family business and the famous Opinel folding knifes with hardwood
handle
were first made by Joseph Opinel in 1897. These pocket knifes are light
weight, handy and have very good blades. They are extremely sharp.
The traditional Opinel pocket knifes come in 2 types of blades: Surgical stainless
steel (Sandvik 12C27M stell, acier inox) or traditional high carbon steel (acier au carbone). The high carbon steel can rust
but makes an extremely sharp blade.
Blond blades can easily be sharpened again with a fine sharpening stone.
The below photo shows an Opinel number 8 knife with a stainless
steel blade. Stainless steel knifes are perfect for cutting food items.
All Opinel pocket knifes are locking knifes and you lock the blade
by turning a little steel ring.
Opinel No.8, acier inox. Every No.8 opinel has a 8.5cm (3 1/4inch) blade.
I love these Opinel knifes and I have usually one in my pocket. When you
have them just like that in a pocket of your pants then sand might
accumulate in the folding and locking mechanism. There is as well
the problem that the pocket lining wears out faster. Therefore I made
a small sheath out of unbleached cotton canvas. This is a very strong
cotton material and it fits nicely with the natural look of the Opinel
wooden knife.
Making the knife sheath
First you cut a log stipe out of the cotton canvas and it has to be
wide enough to accommodate the full length of the knife when folded
together.
Next you select a decorative fabric of your choice and you sew it
along the long side of the cotton canvas. You fold a little bit of
the cotton canvas and a bit of the decorative fabric to the inside
in order to hide the edge of the fabric and this way you prevent
the sheath from unsewing itself.
Next you wrap the decorated fabric around the knife in order to
cut off the right length from the decorated cotton stripe.
You sew it together with the inside out and then you turn it over
such that the seam will be inside the sheath.
