Opinel

Why r/BuyItForLife recommends Opinel

30 mentions from real owners

• #1Dec 28, 2025

  Recommendations on bread knives and opinions on Wusthof double serrated

  I don’t think it is necessary to shell out big bucks for a bread knife. Save that money and put it towards a better chef knife / paring knife etc. You can still get good ones for sensible money, I have an Opinel bread knife which I like very much and didn’t cost very much. Victorinox would be another one I would look at. Serrated knives are a massive pain in the arse to sharpen so unlikely to be buy it for life anyway unless you are very strict with only using it as a BREAD knife (maybe tomatoes as well but victorinox handily do i small serrated tomato knife for that which only costs a few quid)

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• #2Dec 6, 2025

  What’s a purchase that’s not fun, not flashy but now you swear by it?

  Titan vegetable peeler. Had for about 15 years. Through several professional kitchens. Still use it at home regularly. Cast irons and carbon steel pans. Also metal and wooden utensils. Wool inserts for snow shoes. Game changer! Opinal pocket knife. I’ve modified it slightly. And sharpened with an Arkansas stone to a razor edge. Titanium key keeper. I was tired of old fashioned key rings and keys stabbing my leg. Now I can find the right key without looking.

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• #3Dec 4, 2025

  What’s the BIFL item that you love but everyone around you thinks is ridiculous?

  Get an Opinel pocket knife, with carbon steel blade .. inexpensive, super sharp, and very much bifl. They come in a full range of blade sizes from tiny to huge, and are so nice to use.

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• #4Dec 4, 2025

  BIFL Table Knives? Something that isn’t huge (looking at you Benchmade table knives) and holds an edge (good steel).

  Opinel makes some nice steak knives imo.

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• #5Nov 5, 2025

  Flatware recommendations

  Opinel: https://www.opinel.com/en/couteaux-de-table/couteaux-de-table-manche-acier-inox/perpetue-cutlery-set

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• #6Nov 1, 2025

  FYI: you can sharpen the opinel vegetable peeler on a flat stone.

  Look at where it’s ground and grind there. All mine have been sharpenable with the thin side of a whetstone. Deburring is a bitch to do on some with a central pin and it’s a pain either way to deburr an inner diameter, so don’t grind so much that a big burr is formed. My mom has an old one with a carbon steel blade and it sharpens up so nicely that it can comfortably shave my thin arm hairs.

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• #7Jul 4, 2025

  What are some European BIFL items (mainly clothing)

  Opinel knives is an easy one..

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• #8Jul 3, 2025

  BIFL Quality Knives that Last

  Victorinox or Opinel. They're staples for a reason!

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• #9Jul 2, 2025

  Whats the best knife to invest on?

  ETA I re-read this and I think you're talking kitchen knives. Same bit, Opinel makes great ones. Victorinox as well, even cheap ones last a long time. Hone them instead of sharpening them and they should last a long time.

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• #10Jul 2, 2025

  Whats the best knife to invest on?

  Why would you need to sharpen them weekly? Get a carbon steel Opinel. Dead simple and holds an edge for a looooong time and costs maybe $20

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• #11Jul 2, 2025

  Name your top 5 BIFL items

  > Opinel No. 8 knife (8 years) – Simple, sharp, and has helped me open more boxes than I care to admit. Not entirely BIFL - but almost. Have one in use that's by now 30+y old. I should probably get a new-one since so much of the blade is gone through resharpening that the edge is becoming too thick.

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• #12Jul 1, 2025

  Name your top 5 BIFL items

  Here’s my little BIFL hall of fame: 1. Stanley thermos (12 years) – Still holding coffee hotter than the surface of the sun. It’s basically a weapon if needed. 2. Darn Tough socks (6 years) – They look exactly like the day I bought them. Witchcraft? Possibly. 3. Vitamix blender (9 years) – This thing could puree a brick if I asked nicely. 4. Bazaar Anatolia Turkish beach towel (4 years) – Packs up small, dries fast, doesn’t smell like wet dog—honestly the unsung hero of my gym bag. 5. Opinel No. 8 knife (8 years) – Simple, sharp, and has helped me open more boxes than I care to admit. Funny how these few things outlast the mountains of “meh” purchases.

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• #13Jun 11, 2025

  What are your “keep it for life” hacks?

  Slightly off topic, but cardboard is great for touching up the edge of utility knife blades, or keeping sharp knives sharp. My father always insisted that a dull knife is a dangerous knife because it encourages you to use too much force. Of course that started a bit of competition between us when I got older. My go to trick has been to sharpen a knife as best I can normally then strop it in cardboard. If you really want to show off, put a bit of metal polish on the carboard and strop it again. At work a decade back the subject of pocket knives came up and of course everyone had their own favorite brand. I carry a cheap carbon steel knife with a basic wood handle that was all of $15 at the time (Opinel for those curious) so of course they discounted it immediately. I just smiled and waited. That year for Christmas I bought a bunch of the same knife I carry. I gave them all my best sharpening treatment. Then I gift wrapped them along with a few bandaids and gave them to my coworkers as gifts. Not long after I got a picture from one of them of their finger bandaged up and the knife in the background with blood still on it. The arguments about which g-whiz tactical pocket knife was the best dried all but dried up after that.

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• #14Jun 7, 2025

  What’s your BIFL that a dog chewed on and you still use it?

  This Opinel knife that I bought in Paris in 2002. Filled in the teeth marks with a little epoxy, sanded it smooth. Good as new.

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• #15Jun 5, 2025

  What’s one item you bought that way outperformed its price?

  Yes to Opinel. They were like 15 bucks before the dumbfuck tariffs and now they’re 20 which is still incredible for what’s pretty much the best pocket knife ever made.

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• #16Jun 5, 2025

  What’s one item you bought that way outperformed its price?

  Victorinox and Opinel knives. Decathlon clothes and trekking gear. Sennheiser HD series headphones.

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• #17Jun 5, 2025

  What brand name is SUPERIOR to the knock-off?

  I've got three Opinels, one in my bag, one in my car center console, and one in my kitchen drawer. Just a nice, reliable, comfortable single use object.

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• #18May 11, 2025

  Experts in niche specialties- Are there any products you feel strongly about, for or against?

  Love my opinel. And I probably use it more than most people who spend 100+ on a tacticool knife. Don't get me wrong I love my spyderco and boker but my opinel is my daily driver for a reason

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• #19May 10, 2025

  How are the mighty fallen

  Yeah there are tons of great knife brands if you want a BIFL pocket knife. If you have the budget, I will always and forever recommend a Chris Reeve Sebenza, they are truly excellent knives and will last your entire life. CRK has a program to refresh your knives for a nominal fee including lock bar and blade replacements, replacement thumbstuds, re-finishing, whatever you need. Sebenzas are around $550ish. I especially recommend the ones with inlays, as they feel even more premium than the standard titanium frames. If you want something that's really fancy, Rockstead or Shirogorov. Shiro is made in Russia, Rockstead in Japan. Rockstead does some of the best blade work in the world, with ZDP-189 and true DLC over mirror finishing... truly impressive stuff. Shirogorov has amazing flippers that will last forever and are so incredibly beautiful, but you're going to pay at least $800 for a Shiro or $1200+ for Rockstead. You're in custom territory at that point. Not everyone has that budget, so the next wrung down would be Microtech, I'd take a look at a SOCOM. I carry a SOCOM all the time, and it's a great GADA type knife. They do everything well, and you can get the Rike made versions around $300ish, those are really impressive for that money. Zero Tolerance, which is the higher end brand of Kershaw makes great knives between $200-$300. Occasionally you can find blowout old stock ZTs and they always make great buys. My last ZT that I bought a few years ago was a ZT 308, which is a titanium framelock, and it ran me around $220. Absolutely awesome knife for that money. Then you have the perennial favorite, which I always recommend to my friends as a best "first good knife" - the Spyderco Paramilitary 2. Seriously, if all you want is a great everyday user and you don't need something that's built like an absolute tank and you pinky promise not to use it as a prybar, just get a PM2. The S30V versions are awesome, but they come in so many colors and steels that it'll make your eyes water. I don't recommend anything with a super high vanadium content on the steel, just stick with something reasonable. If you like crossbar style locks, The Manix 2 from Spyderco is also an awesome bet. All of the same commentary applies, it just has a really wonderful locking mechanism thats maybe a bit better for lefties. Avoid all assisted opening knives like the plague. I know a lot of people are tempted by Kershaw's Speedsafe assisted opening knives but in my experience they're junk. They have a torsion bar inside the scale that breaks all the time. CRKT is also famous for putting out trash-tier AO knives... IMO I'd just avoid all AO knives. The only good AO mechanism is Benchmade's old Nitrous system which they no longer make anymore, which is a shame bc it's really good. Under $100, you're primarily in import territory now. People really like Civivi in that price range but I have no experience with them. They're the el cheapo cost reduced brand of WE I think, and they seem okay. I also recommend Victorinox Swiss Army Knives all the time. The aluminum handle SAKs are kinda great EDCs. I carry one everywhere I go as a spare knife, just because theyre thin and light, and they have scissors which I find infinitely useful. Nothing wrong with a SAK. If you have less than $70, try a Kershaw Iridium. That's a solid knife with a solid lock for that money. I don't love Kershaw as a brand but that's a solid knife for that money. Less than $40, you're really pushing the BIFL thing, but maybe an Opinel might be in that category. These are simple traditional folding knives from France and they're pretty well made for the money. They might not be BIFL but they DO last a long time and they're really cost effective.

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• #20May 10, 2025

  Experts in niche specialties- Are there any products you feel strongly about, for or against?

  love my opinels, and mora for fixed blades. both cheap af and used for over a decade now. like $10

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• #21Apr 12, 2025

  Buying my first knife, need recommendations

  Love an opinel

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• #22Apr 12, 2025

  Buying my first knife, need recommendations

  Opinel. Your intended use case is very vague though, even in the comments

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• #23Feb 6, 2025

  I just got a 30usd gift card, open to suggestions

  Opinel folding knife. Will last forever. So light you don’t feel it in your pocket. Doesn’t look like a weapon. You won’t realize how handy it is until you forget it one day. Unique and great conversation piece.

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• #24Feb 5, 2025

  A list of BIFL not made in the USA

  Knives (and tools): Victorinox, Opinel Socks (as BIFL as socks can be): Falke, Monnet Many real luxury goods (many of those products count as BIFL) are made in Europe: Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Armani, etc.

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• #25Feb 3, 2025

  A list of BIFL not made in the USA

  I'm following this. For headphones/audio stuff, one of the few categories where tech is BIFL, Sennheiser, Germany is not only BIFL but also way better sound than the alternatives! Meze, Romania are also built like pieces of art and their new models sound like a dream! and Beyerdynamics, Germany are the choice for indestructibility for a reason. For tools, PB Swiss and Knippex, Germany, dominate for a reason. For knives, Victorinox, Switzerland and Opinel, France are not only top notch but also super affordable, and plenty of small French manufacturers if you want something fancier. For clothes, Fjallraven, Sweden deserves the reputation it has, and I'm very happy with my stuff from Seagale, France. If price is an issue, do not understimate the higher end of the Decathlon, France catalogue, it may not be as fancy as the alternatives, but durability is not compromised! For shoes, Carmina in Spain deserves a shootout. Same as Scarpa from Italy for more practical shoes. I know tech is not BIFL but Fairphone, Netherlands makes a repairable phone, and Nokia/HMD, Finland has done some nice repairability upgrades too. Tuxedo, Germany and Slimbook, Spain also sell computers based mostly on Clevo, Taiwan designs that tend to be more repairable and upgradeable than the alternatives.

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• #26Feb 3, 2025

  What’s one product you bought that has lasted forever and was totally worth it?

  Opinel no8 pocket knife. In fact they look better with age especially if the Carbone variant. Timeless knife for a lot of daily activities.

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• #27Jan 9, 2025

  Good affordable knives

  Take a look at Opinel. Handcrafted in France but affordable.

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• #28Jan 8, 2025

  List your 3 favorite BIFL items and at least 1 regret or fail

  Opinel knife => cheap and resistant Kef speakers => still going hard and no sign of breaking Wesco waste bin => it's for garbage and it IS garbage, cheap, expensive, full of chrome-plated plastics. Don't buy any of their new shit.

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• #29Dec 3, 2015

  BIFL: tactical knife under $50?

  Opinels are great, but I'm not sure how well they would be suited for somone who might be in wet environments frequently. Although For 15ish bucks you cant go wrong. Also I think you can get plastic handles for not a lot more , although I've never had one to check it out. Edit: fat fingers on mobile.

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• #30Dec 2, 2015

  BIFL: tactical knife under $50?

  Mora and opinel knives are my go suggestions for EDC and camping type uses. I don't know how the navy seals would be using them differently. Both are top quality and are well within your budget. Most top f the range knives will be a good bit over $50

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