u/litoritooo

Hi everyone!

For a friend's birthday, I thought of gifting him the Opinel picnic kit since he loves traveling in his camper, and I think he'll get a lot of use out of it.

To make it more special, I just had to mod it. So, the spoon, the fork, the blade, and the Virobloc went through a ferric chloride bath and a stonewash to match the look.

I modified the blade shape, etched his name using electrolysis, and the handle was carved, stained in a rustic style, and finished with tung oil so it wouldn't lose that natural wood feel.

Here are a few more photos of the opinel:

https://imgur.com/a/L2tdOEq

I hope my friend likes it, and you guys too!

Hi!

​I recently discovered this sub; I had no idea there was such a devotion to Opinels. In fact, I’d completely forgotten these knives existed until a coworker showed me theirs recently.

​I’ve been into whetstone sharpening for a while now, and I’ve gradually been into modifications—mostly with kitchen knives. But when I rediscovered Opinels and saw how many people were modding them, I knew I had to try it myself.

​This is the second Opinel I’ve modified, and my first one in carbon steel. I carved the handle using a Dremel, then sanded and stained it. Once the stain was set, I applied about 20 layers of cyanoacrylate, sanding it from 400 grit up to 10k. I did 400, 600, and 800 dry, then moved to wet sanding with 1.2k, 2.5k, 4k, 5k, 7k, 8k, and 10k to achieve that high-polish look.

​For the blade, I did a vinegar patina followed by an immersion in concentrated coffee for a few hours (with the bevel protected by nail polish), finishing it off with a light stonewash. It’s still missing the paracord for the lanyard hole I drilled, but it’s basically finished.

​I’m really happy with how it turned out and just wanted to share it with the world.

​Cheers!