Opinel Knife - Hard to Beat for the Price

I like Opinel knives and always have.

They are dirt cheap (cost is about $8), and have fairly large blades that lock with a flip of an odd little collar mechanism unique to Opinel knives.

There is nothing but a single blade -- no screw driver or tooth pick or folding saw or pliars. There is just the one thin blade of fairly soft steel that is easy to sharpen.

This is not a stainless steel blade -- these knives will rust and demand a warm pocket to stay rust-free.

The trick with an Opinel is to set the oven on and to bake the entire knife on low heat for quite a while. The heat should be low enough that the metal is not blued and the wooden handle is not scortched, but merely dried out quite a lot. When this is done the action on the blade loosens up and you can pull the knife with one hand, open it with a flick, and lock the blade with your thumb. Perfect.

And if you lose a knife or break one, you do not worry about it too much as the cost is very low.

Williams and Sonoma carries these knives, as do numerous other stores, and the #8 is the right size for my money.
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