Opinel No.08 Stainless Steel Folding Knife Review
The Opinel No.08 Stainless weighs 43–45 g, slices like a much pricier knife, and costs about $23. It opens with two hands and dislikes soaking.
Overview
The Opinel No.08 has been made in the French Alps since 1890, when Joseph Opinel designed a simple, sturdy tool for working people. It is now a fixture in museums and kitchen drawers alike. For backpackers, it works best as a dedicated food knife. It weighs 43–45 g, carries an 8.5 cm blade, and costs about $23 at Opinel USA. The trade-off is a wooden handle and a two-handed opening that a modern clip-equipped folder doesn’t have.
Key Specs
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 43–45 g depending on version |
| Blade length | 8.5 cm |
| Overall length (open) | 19.5 cm |
| Blade steel | Sandvik 12C27 modified stainless |
| Handle material | Beech wood |
| Locking mechanism | Virobloc safety ring (locks open and closed) |
| Opening | Two-handed, no thumb stud |
| Clip / lanyard hole | None |
| Origin | France |
| Price | From about $23 |
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Blade and edge. Opinel uses Sandvik 12C27 modified stainless. The company says the chromium content makes it corrosion-resistant with no special upkeep, and that a carbon content of at least 0.40% gives it a good edge that is easy to sharpen. Owners describe the knives as arriving very sharp and coming back to sharp quickly on any basic stone. The blade is thin, and that is the knife’s defining trait. It passes through cheese, salami, tomatoes and bread with almost no pressure. One reviewer who tests knives for a living called it one of the most efficient slicers at any price.
The same thinness limits it. Cutting webbing, cord under tension or anything that needs leverage makes the narrow blade, the friction pivot and the slight give of a wooden handle all feel marginal. It will do the job, but it asks the user to push harder than the design wants. Prying and batoning are out.
Handle and ergonomics. The round beech handle is thicker than most ultralight folders, and hikers who carry it say that thickness is what makes it comfortable through a long meal prep or a bit of whittling. The handle is smooth and there is no finger guard. On a hard push stroke, a hand can slide toward the edge, so grip discipline matters.
The Virobloc lock. Opinel’s rotating collar, developed in 1955, locks the blade open during use and closed for transport. It is simple and secure. It is also a smooth steel ring, and owners report it is awkward to turn with wet or greasy fingers. That includes the end of a salami-and-cheese lunch.
Two-handed opening. This is the most common complaint, and a fair one. The blade sits deep in the handle, so there is a nail nick but no thumb stud, and the knife needs two hands to open and to lock. Some hikers modify the knife for one-handed opening. Out of the box, it is a camp-kitchen tool, not a quick-draw one.
Moisture. Wood moves. In humid weather or after a rinse in a stream, the handle can swell enough to make the blade stick, and a short wait and a wipe usually sorts it out. Soaking is the real hazard. Owners warn that long submersion can swell the handle badly enough to jam the blade, and that forcing it risks damaging the collar and pivot. Keep it out of the dishwater. Many owners rub in linseed or mineral oil to slow moisture uptake, a five-minute job. Opinel’s own padouk-handled No.08 is sold as more resistant to swelling when wet, at a higher price and about 1.7 oz.
Weight and carry. At 43–45 g, it is lighter than almost any knife with a blade this long. Reviewers who carry it note that the round handle takes up more pocket thickness than a flat folder, but it is easy to forget in a hip-belt pocket. With no clip or lanyard hole, it rides loose, so a small pouch or pocket of its own keeps it from rattling against a phone or stove.
Choosing a Version
The two versions differ by 2 g and nothing else in the specs. The Beech weighs 43 g and the Standard weighs 45 g. Both have the same 8.5 cm Sandvik 12C27 blade, the same 19.5 cm open length and the same Virobloc ring. On the trail, neither handles differently. A gram-counter should take the 43 g Beech. Anyone else should buy whichever is in stock, because the real choice is whether a wood-handled stainless Opinel suits the trip, not which of the two to pick.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 43–45 g for an 8.5 cm blade, about half the weight of most knives with a comparable blade
- Very thin blade slices food with little effort
- Stainless 12C27 needs little care and re-sharpens easily
- Virobloc ring locks the blade both open and closed
- Comfortable, full-size handle for extended food prep
- Costs about $23, so owning a spare is no hardship
- Made in France, with a design that has changed little since 1890
Cons
- Two-handed opening only, with no thumb stud or flipper
- No pocket clip or lanyard hole
- Wood handle swells in damp conditions and can bind the blade
- Locking ring is hard to turn with wet or greasy hands
- No finger guard and a smooth handle
- Not suited to prying, batoning or cutting tensioned cord
Who Should Buy This
This knife suits the backpacker who wants a sharp, nearly weightless blade for food: cheese, sausage, fruit, a block of hard salami on a ridge. It also suits the hiker who wants a cheap secondary knife and doesn’t mind the wood. It does not suit anyone who wants one-handed deployment, a weatherproof handle for sustained wet trips, or a knife that can take rough work. Those hikers are better served by a modern clip-equipped folder, and one tester who owns such a knife chose it over the Opinel for the ultralight role.
Verdict
The Opinel No.08 Stainless does one job, cutting food, as well as knives costing several times as much, and it weighs almost nothing. Accept the two-handed opening, keep the handle oiled and dry, and it makes an excellent camp-kitchen knife. Buy it for that, and carry something sturdier if the trip calls for more.