The Colonial knife was born in 1873 from specifications from the French war ministry. It was an attempt to provide a utility knife to the troops.
It was the very first folding knife officially adopted by the French armed forces.
French colonial troops
The term “colonial” comes from the fact that it was first adopted by the colonial troops, before the Navy.
The description was pretty simple:
– A 9cm (3.55in) blade in the sheepfoot style for a total length of 20.5cm (8in) when open
– A steel spring for the slip joint mechanism, with a hole at the bottom to fix a lanyard.
– 2 wooden sides riveted to the steel liners.
The pins were often mounted on rosettes, to avoid breaking the handle.
The description added a rounded tip blade in 1939, the last year of the knife being distributed to the troops.
Late example with rounded tip. Each dent on the handle represents a month of service.
The knife is like a sailor knife, with its typical sheepfoot blade, supposedly to avoid stabbing in case of a fight between two soldiers.
Knife belonging to a soldier form the Marine artillery, service number H.1711
Pradel-Chomette was the first and most prolific manufacturer, but many others provided the knife.
Its official distribution to the troops stopped in 1939, but the type was simple, cheap, sturdy and popular and its fabrication lasted until the late 1960’s for the civilian market.
A modern re-edition by C. Esteves
A good example of a simple yet sturdy sailor knife!
Soanen Mondanel was a big name in knife making in Thiers, the French capital, if not European, of knife making. It was famous in the 18th and 19th century for its brass handled motif knives representing artists or political figures
One of those knives was embossed with Napoleon, standing with, as usual, his hand in his waistcoat, with his seal and the French Imperial eagle, probably to celebrate his coronation as emperor in 1804.
After Napoleon was deposed and exiled to Saint Helena in 1815, the Bourbons were reinstated as royal family and Louis XVIII declared king. One of his acts to gain back control and erase Napoleon’s influence was to ban all the Napoleonic symbols.
Soanen Mondanel had to stop manufacturing their Napoleon knives but didn’t want to destroy the molds, maybe hoping that the emperor would be back. After all, he already came back from his first exile in Elba. The molds were buried next to the shop.
But Saint-Helena was probably remote enough and Napoleon never came back, the molds were forgotten.
In 1902, Antoine Cognet purchased the manufacture and gave it his name.
Today it is Pierre Cognet, his grand-son, who is running the factory. In 2005 the factory underwent renovations and the molds were discovered. After restoration, the molds were ready for a knife re-edition.
It is where enters a second knife maker, Couperier-Coursolle, who is still today the specialist of the brass handles and figurative knives.
Figurative brass handled navette by Coursolle
The knife is an alliance of those two manufacturers, Couperier-Coursolle making the handle and Cognet the XC75 carbon steel blade.
To symbolize this collaboration, the blade is marked with the two emblems, Cognet’s hare and Coursolle’s adjustable wrench.
Last reference to the past, the production was limited to 1815 pieces, in reference to the year when Napoleon was, for the second time and definitely, deposed, and all his symbols banned.
When you have to abdicate and you know that your knife re-edition will be limited to 1815 pieces
Everything started at the beginning of the 19th century when Victor-Amédée Opinel decided to install a forge in the little town of Gevoudaz, Savoie, in the French Alps.
He is an edge-tool maker and makes nails, axes, plow blades and various types of blades thanks to the Arvan, the rapid stream running there and that provides the energy for the forge tools.
Joseph Opinel, Victor-Amédée’s grandson, continues in the family business with his father but he has the idea to make folding knives for the local farmers and workers.
The city of Thiers was already very famous for its knives at the time and Joseph decided to go there and learn about knife making.
Some 130 years ago, in 1890, and against his father’s will, Joseph Opinel creates his first folding knife, with a wooden handle that would “fit perfectly in hand” and a steel blade “efficient, precise and elegant”. The famous folding knife was born.
One of the technical issue was the handle, cutting the handle in half all the way to the end would have make it weak, Joseph created a circular saw that was removing just enough material.
In 1896, 3 workers work in the factory and make 60 knives per day.
In 1897 Joseph creates the range of Opinel from No1 to No13. The No1 is used to clean the smoking pipe, the No13 is used to cut large pieces of meat, but the most famous, until today, are the No7 and No8
Each knife has a wood handle made of beechwood or cherrywood and a carbon steel blade in the yatagán style (a slight clip-point).
The crowned hand was stamped on the blades from the first models, as, since King Charles IX, every master knife maker had to put his mark as a guarantee of origin and quality. The three fingers representing the relics of Saint Jean-Baptiste that are part of the coat of arms of the city of Saint-Jean-De-Maurienne. The crown was a reference to the duchy of Savoy that was independent from France until 1860.
In 1901, Joseph creates the first Opinel factory, nearby his first workshop and install the 1st machine to manufacture the handles. 15 cutlers are working at the factory.
Joseph Opinel
In 1911, Opinel receives the gold medal at the Alpine International Show in Turin, The first international recognition for the pocketknife.
In 1915, Joseph moves the factory to a new facility in Cognin, next to Chambery and close to roads and railroads, the town of Gevoudaz didn’t even have a paved way.
Joseph relied on the train engineers to sell his products throughout France, taking advantage of the Railroads’ strong territorial coverage.
In 1939, the Opinel No1 and No11 are discontinued.
In 1955, Marcel, Joseph’s son, invents the ring lock, called virobloc, allowing to lock the blade open. This locking ring will be modified again a bit before 2000 to lock the blade closed.
In 1973, the factory moves again, to Chambery
In 1985 is another recognition for the Opinel. It is nominated by the London Arts and Science Museum as one of the 100 best designs of the world, along with the Porsche 911 or the Rolex watch.
In 1986 are introduced Stainless steel blades.
In 2006, the Opinel is nominated by Phaidon Design classic as part of the 999 most perfect designs.
An Opinel is made of only 5 parts
The brand is still alive because it has always been heavily protected with patents on the name, the logo, the virobloc system… This protected it from the Chinese and Pakistani’s competition that hit the industry pretty hard, starting in the 80’s. The famous Laguiole, that was lacking those kind of protection, was heavily copied.
Copy by Pradel
Copy by Fleur de Savoie
Opinel is now a common noun in the French dictionary, Pablo Picasso used it to sculpt, the explorer Jean-Louis Etienne and navigators Eric Tabarly and Ellen McArthur took it in their adventures and the famous chef Paul Bocuse always kept it in his pocket.
Paul Bocuse was selling Opinels at his name in his restaurant.
Today, 130 years after the first design, the Opinel is still faithful to its legacy and really appreciated for its quality, ruggedness, style… and cheap price.
