The first time Jordi brought me an Opinel knife to look at I loved it. A simple, sober design, with a good grip and exceptional cutting quality. Later, I discovered that behind the Opinel brand there is a century-old tradition (Opinel is the family name of those who created and have been making them), and that there are many particularities that make these pocket knives a unique and highly respected item. For all these reasons, I want to share some curiosities about this brand, which I think are quite interesting, that make me like it even more.
Traditionally they were work and all-purpose knives, notable for their good edge and shape, and they were even a help to Pablo Picasso, who was seen using one to carve a sculpture. They were so popular and the brand has grown so much throughout this century that many French people today use the name Opinel to commonly refer to wooden-handled pocket knives.
Opinel registered its well-known logo, "the crowned hand" ("the crow hand") in 1909, and some time later began mass production. But a production that has always stood out for one thing: quality and respect for the environment and materials. Opinel cares a lot about the origin of the wood and charcoal it uses to make its knives, something that as you can imagine we at Claudia&Julia really like!
Around 1955 they designed a safety ring, which represented a significant improvement to the knives. This system remained for half a century, and it wasn't until 2000 that the Virobloc safety system was modified to ensure safety during transport (while in the closed position).
A surprise for me was discovering that in1985 Opinel was recognized as one of the best designed objects in the world at the " Victoria and Albert Museum ", along with the Porsche 911 and the Rolex watch! And in 2006 the international designers of “Phaidon Design Classics” note that Opinel's design is among the most successful of all time.
But Opinel didn't want to remain only in the pockets of the French, so they export much of their production to more than 70 countries. And for the same reason, and being clear that they have an excellent edge, they thought it made a lot of sense to extend their range to kitchen knives. Very logical, right? That's what they did, and thanks to that we can offer Opinel knives in the shop.
In the shop you will find bread, chef's, meat and ham knife. Then there are the pocket knives, so appreciated by some of us and which I would like to detail a little more (why I love them, why I think many of you might like them, and why they are also great gift ideas!).
There is the oyster and shellfish knife, manufactured in bubinga wood to resist humidity, it has a 6.5cm stainless steel blade sharpened only at the tip to easily open oysters and any kind of shellfish.
Next comes one of my favorites: the mushroom knife! It has a thin, curved blade with a serrated back to remove the mushroom skin, and its oak wood handle includes a boar-bristle brush to clean the mushroom of dirt and herbs.
And you also have the classic: the knife with corkscrew, ideal for picnics or to always carry with you.
And there are a couple more Opinel products worth keeping in mind. The first is the Opinel knife Set with peeler. They are beautiful, useful, come in several colors, and are presented in a box that invites making it a gift.
The second is the Le Petit Chef kit, so that children learn to use knives correctly and safely, and enjoy the kitchen.EThis Set consists of a knife with a beech handle and a 10cm blade with a training ring (to teach proper finger placement, preventing fingers from sliding toward the blade); it also includes a finger guard to hold food like great chefs while cutting safely; and a peeler for vegetables and produce.
