Hello and welcome to my channel
Today we're looking at Opinel knives or more specifically this number eight Opinel folding knife
We're going to field test it, and we're going to give it a proper field test
This one has a tree and a quarter inch blade
If you're not familiar with these they're made in France they are quite inexpensive, and they're a pretty damn good knife
They have this locking collar you twist the collar to lock it
It can lock in the open position
And also in the closed position
It's it's a simple, but effective method
This is the carbon steel version they also make stainless steel knives
They come in different sizes, as I said, this is the number eight, they go down to number six with this locking collar
Any size below number six does not have the locking collar
And I would advise you get one with the collar.
Just for size comparison, this is the number twelve.
It has a four and three quarter inch blade
I've tried out this number twelve and I found it too big and awkward for my purposes
Just too big especially as a hunting knife
The smaller knives are much handier in my opinion
I have looked at reviews of these and I've read many of the comments
And there is some confusion about them. Some guys are disappointed that they do not come properly sharpened
They don't come properly sharpened, but it takes very very little to get them sharp
This one came with a burr to one side so I gave it a rub on a butcher's steel
Then I gave it a very light and gentle rub on a sharpening stone for perhaps a minute.
then I stopped it for a minute
And we'll show you how sharp this is.
Okay, I'm using the back of the knife here
You'll see guys demonstrating knives, and they'll scrape away
Until the pop a hair or two
Then they'll announce  it's shaving sharp.
that's not shaving sharp. this is shaving sharp.
Okay, there's no resistance. There's no pinching it just takes it away
Smooth and clean
As I say a very small amount of work will have these shavings sharp, but they need that small amount of work
I've also seen guys said that you use these without the lock, that there's no need to lock it.
This is this is highly inadvisable
These are friction folders
They have no spring to keep them open
so if you cut into a piece of wood
and you do not cut through
and you go to withdraw it
The knife can start to close
you don't want one of these closing anywhere near the backs of your hand
or you will be looking for a surgeon to stitch tendons back together
These are meant to be used with the lock,
Deploy the lock
Now you're safe
These are a very light knife
Probably less than two ounces, and I've seen guys review them and say because they are so light
They are not suitable for heavy work.
I have been using these since I was a child. They're as tough as old boots
With the caveat that they're used as a knife for cutting with
They are not for prying. They're not for twisting
not for stabbing or, God forbid, batoning with
I use these as a cutting knife
They will do a lot of work and heavy cutting and will work for years
They're by no means fragile or weak. They're a good knife
To show you what this knife can do I'm going to build a shelter, so let's get on with it
I know willow is soft, but these are devastating
I don't know of any better knife for cutting wood than a sharp Opinel.
You're telling me these are only good for food prep?
I'll come back and tidy these up later with a saw
And don't worry. They're just willow, they'll regrow in no time at all
Two years time, they'll be taller than ever.
Just a little word of warning lads, if you're cutting powerfully
Make sure your body is not in the way of the stroke
Make sure you're cutting to one side
One of these will open flesh to the bone
So you're telling me you need a quarter inch thick knife to cut a few poles don't think so
Spruce boughs (branches)
A nearby commercial forest was thinned out leaving tons of these on the ground
I tightened up this weak ass tripod lashing. (watch the typos vinnie)
All right boys and girls, it's the next day, I finished the shelter yesterday evening
It was a really bitter day and the rain started to bucket down, so I had to stop, put away the camera,
So I've got it finished. I'll just show you around
As you can see it's a two sided shelter
I have very little faith in these lean to shelters now
After my previous experiences
You need shelter from at least two sides
and if I'm going to use this I'm going to
cover off the back as well
Spruce boughs and pine boughs are a material that I'm a bit skeptical about
as a shelter material as far as I know they need to be almost vertical to shed water
So I'm going to try this out before I use it
This video is not over until I get a decent amount of rain, to see if this sheds water
If it doesn't shed water it's not a shelter
So I'll be working for a few days, and just in case I'm not here
I'm going to put a plastic tub inside and see if it collects water
So this is my tub, it's a half barrel, and it's perfectly dry at the moment
So it's in there now well in from the sides
and we'll see what happens? Hopefully I'd be here to witness
What happens if it rains
but if if this collects water
I'm calling in a fail as well, as I say I see so many shelters on YouTube that are not  shelters at all
They're a joke
and they're being built simply to get views
and I don't believe that's right if you're going to put information out
It should be decent information
I understand the principles of building a roof you start on the bottom, and you overlay each row with the next row
So the rain goes from one level to the next and runs off
And this was built like that, and any spaces I went around and jammed in more spruce boughs
it's a pretty thick cover. If this isn't good enough
Then it's just not practical to use it
So guys we wait and see what happens, okay?
Okay, so it's four days later, and we've had not one drop of rain
We've had kind of cold frosty and sunny weather
No rain at all, so that's a bit frustrating
If you want to know if the shelter is waterproof, don't worry
because so do I
So as soon as we get rain. I'll do an update on that
But for now we're going to wrap up the review of the Opinel  knives
as you can see the knife did very well.
I didn't spare it our molly Coddle it in any way
It worked hard, and it did the job perfectly
Do Opinel knives have drawbacks?
Well yes they do
For instance when I cut the Willows in that small bog some water got on the blade
Bogs are highly acidic so by the time I finished cutting I had quite a bit of rust on it
Unfortunately, I didn't think to show ye and I cleaned it
So here's one I dipped in bog water
Just an hour ago is one little dip and it already has a fair amount of rust forming
That's the problem with carbon steel and every guy on YouTube tells you you need a carbon steel knife for a survival knife
but if you're in a hostile damp or acidic or salt environment your knife is going to rust badly
Now I find they don't usually rust
but this is kind of what happens if you can see that now. This is very mild
When you're cutting wood or cutting branches
It can form a black
Residue or gunk on the knife
And this will increase this is only a very light covering of it, if I left this away
The blackness would spread throughout a knife and and coat the edge
You might have noticed when I showed a number twelve earlier that ,the blade was quite scratched
That's because they used to lay it flat on the stone to remove that black gunk
Nowadays I use metal polish and it gives a more agreeable finish
also back in today this very tip of the knife was very difficult to sharpen
but they seem to have solved that problem now
I don't really think there's any such thing as the perfect knife
but I think Opinel has struck a very good balance between hardness, strength ease of sharpening,and given the knife a blade profile
That really really slices well
and all for nine to ten euros
It's an unbeatable deal guys
For the price of two pints of beer you get a good knife, that will work and last you for years. It's a great deal
I got tired of looking at knife reviews that were only show and tell, or maybe a guy cutting on a twig
On the other extreme. You'd have a guy hammering the knife through a brick
Neither give you good information on how the knife would perform in the field
so that's what I'm trying to do in my videos
Show you what the knife will actually do in the field
So I hope it was useful to you guys. Thanks very much for watching, and bye bye
