Opinel as a Bushcraft Knife? (some Pics)
Mods Please move if out of place. First of all i would like to say thank you to this forum, Ive been traveling for the past year starting in Greece Mainland moving to Colorado,USA and then moving threw Nepal,India,China and a few more smaller countries in the east. I have been climbing,trekking,relaxing and learning about the world-it has been an amazing experience. Now coming closer to the end i feel i need to thank you guys for great threads to read on the down days and in between Climbing/Trekking. Ive seen the Question come up allot here and i would like to share some thoughts if i may. IMPO opinel knives are wonderful little things, setting off on my journey it was very hard to decide which and what kind of knife to bring, on the one hand i wanted a steady full tang knife that i can rely on and feel like it will never fail me, on the other hand my Rucksack filled with a full trekking kit, climbing gear, alpine clothing and cooking gear did not have room for a sturdy bushy or anything similar.I chose two opinels, my favorite being the cherry special edition number 8 and a number 7 as back up. these two knives proved sturdy enough over the past 9 months doing kitchen work, carving tasks and doubled as a screwdriver when one was needed . I am a big advocate for light weight traveling and the Opinels seemed like a classy solution.
I made a small pot holder, i enjoy making these and find them very useful not only for hanging pots over a fire, just to check how much weight this
thing could hold i hung on it my rucksack weighing in at 19 killos, The hanger showed no strain.
I have to say that keeping them sharp has not been a hard task and their maintenance was not difficult at all, however they are delicate knives and need to be treated delicately. a small piece of the tip has chipped off when carving, and there are a few small chips on the blade itself. The angle of the grind is not great for carving and one needs to get used to it over time, Feather stick making is a easy and when the blade is nice and sharp it is an enjoyable task. wood preparation for a fire is not recommended with the opinel, we did not need since everywhere we arrived had small enough tinder to get the fire going without needing to split any wood. Here are a few cords i made from the Agava Plant back in Nepal, i have used them so many time now i cant even count.
The handle is nice and comfy and the lock works nicely(notice small mod on the special edition since it comes without the lock), I feel that the only thing missing would be a thicker blade so that the knife can be a little abused at times. Please share your thoughts, i am now in Sichuan near the Tibetan border trekking on a route called the southern Sichuan- Tibetan Highway, Ive come across some amazing Nomads who still live the life of the nature and practice bushcraft on a daily basis as a necessity. Here is an example of a fire lighting kit that i have already seen in the past, just these are more of use and not so much for show.
Thank you for reading
Mikey Elefant
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