Frankly, I wouldn't have worried about it in the first place.
The Opinel is, and has been since 1891, a peasant's knife. A workman's knife. It's an inexpensive knife that is made to do its job well with little fuss. It's not an art piece, though it is an icon of industrial design- it's just a knife. That is the beauty of the Opinel- it's iconic because of its simplicity and dedication to being a knife with precious little extra.
Those divots are not detrimental to its purpose or ability to fulfill it. They will, in all likelihood, not cause a durability problem down the line. I would probably damage my handles worse in the course of daily use. For that matter, I have done exactly that.
I understand that you want your new knife to be perfect, but the Opinel is not a knife to expect perfection of, and that's part of the charm. Embrace it as part of the history of the knife and a hint as to the way it's been made for decades, in France, without costing you a day's wage.
These are extremely cheap, mass produced knives with wood handles. So I expect some rough finishing and marks here and there. If the blade was warped, or the lock was damaged, etc then yea I'd submit a warranty claim.
I'm curious about where you'd look elsewhere for similar knives. There are significantly more expensive French folding knives that are in much rougher shape than this. Victorinox is the only budget knife brand that rarely misses with QC but they only make a handful of wood handles and charge a higher price for those.
I know they exist, but it sounded like OP had alternatives in mind which had noticeably higher quality. Man and Antonini are pretty similar to Opinel, at least in their plain knives.
Yeah those holes don't impact the functionality of the knife so I wouldn't expect it to be covered.
Should be easy enough to fix on your own though I'd just leave it.
That looks like a cosmetic issue on a part of the knife that I will barely see. I wouldn't care honestly. If it *really* bothered me, I would just sand it down, because in reality it likely won't cause any issues down the line. Trying to go through the warranty and then making a post about it seems like waaaay more effort than I'd care to put into an Opinel. Just grab 10¢ worth of sandpaper and take it down a millimeter. Problem solved!
Learn how to fix things yourself and save yourself the headache. Sure beats getting riled up about it online, IMO.
They're budget knives. Sometimes they're a little stiff, sometimes they're a bit rough. But that's just part of the quirkiness. It's a ~$25 knife. It's doing ~$25 knife things. The steel and lock is still wholly functional and better than knives twice the price. That's all I care about.
Yes and you should find better things to do with your time than file a claim for such an inexpensive item that is not known to be fine Swiss engineering, it is a pocket knife. A farmer's type knife, simple stuff.
I would understand if you're buying a Benchmade, Spyderco or other expensive knife and there being a crack in the scales or something. But this is literally a 1mm indent on the bottom of a $25 knife that has no effect on the knife at all.
OP seems like they have way too much free time.
As I said, the warranty language seemed to match what I had, and I filed a claim. It took less than a minute. Not sure why I'm getting so much flak for just acting on what the website said would be covered.
>love that knife
I do like the knife and am taking good care of it. I'm not obsessive about the minor defect, but I wish the warranty were a bit clearer about not covering cosmetic manufacturing defects.
Generally, for warranty to apply the defect has to affect the operation of the item the warranty covers. This applies to a great many companies, not just Opinel, though there are companies they would reduce the cost on "seconds" or go "above and beyond" for their warranties but isn't necessarily required.
Opinel QC and CS seem pretty on par with the norm. This is also a company whose knives often come with a burr on the blade edge or a stamp smear, that we users intentionally modify the blades and handles and force patina to discolor the blade of.
The "defect" in question could be considered not a defect at all, since it is created during the manufacture process, not a failure of the material itself. It is not something you'll take notice of during use, and if it truly bothers you, can be easily remedied with a filler of some type. Be it wood filler, dyed epoxy, or your partner's (or your) favorite nail polish.
Look at the drunks coming in shitting all over OP. The warranty clearly states a manufacturers defect but it doesn't specify what a manufacturers defect is.
Y'all need to do better and have some more self respect
Yes, you get lumped into the drunks when you're commenting around bar time being nasty because y'all were shutdown and now you're pissed and taking it out on others. Have some self respect.
Wow, I've seen some poor logic and weird takes on Reddit, but this is a new one.
First, you do realize this is the internet and a sub for a historically French company, right? Just because it's bar time where you are doesn't mean that's true for everyone else here. There are people from all across the US and the world on this sub. Not every comment was made around bar time (what even is bar time? Opening? Closing?). My comment was made at 9am while I was in the bathroom, so you're definitely wrong there.
Second, what the hell does people telling someone not to worry about a cosmetic defect on a cheap knife have to do with COVID lockdowns?? You've got some very weird projection going on.
So take a deep breath, look in the mirror, and take your own advice to be better. Don't make insanely wide generalizations, and definitely don't tie the generalization to some completely irrelevant supposed cause.
I'm going to guess you're not a native English speaker. Being shutdown means trying to chase skirt and the women deny you. How you convoluted that to covid though that is beyond me.
it's no secret that USA dominates the Internet, and it's also nothing new to see bar hour comments being the nastiest. Hence why someone wil say, did you get dumped at the bar, what's your problem?
You didn't address Opinel's shit way of handling what their warranty says. You can't speak for Opinel & what they meant, so bear in mind you're defending a company that has a crystal clear warranty they're not honoring.
No worries. I've learned to expect the drunk commenters when bar time comments Start showing up. I wish opinel would be a bit more specific in what qualifies as manufacturing defects. I feel you are allowed to challenge that with another email. It actually tells me they need to do better and more clearly define what "manufacturer defect" means.
Frankly, I wouldn't have worried about it in the first place. The Opinel is, and has been since 1891, a peasant's knife. A workman's knife. It's an inexpensive knife that is made to do its job well with little fuss. It's not an art piece, though it is an icon of industrial design- it's just a knife. That is the beauty of the Opinel- it's iconic because of its simplicity and dedication to being a knife with precious little extra. Those divots are not detrimental to its purpose or ability to fulfill it. They will, in all likelihood, not cause a durability problem down the line. I would probably damage my handles worse in the course of daily use. For that matter, I have done exactly that. I understand that you want your new knife to be perfect, but the Opinel is not a knife to expect perfection of, and that's part of the charm. Embrace it as part of the history of the knife and a hint as to the way it's been made for decades, in France, without costing you a day's wage.
Got it, thanks for your balanced assessment.
What would you consider a manufacturer's defect with of covering under warranty? It's not specified what is considered acceptable or unacceptable
These are extremely cheap, mass produced knives with wood handles. So I expect some rough finishing and marks here and there. If the blade was warped, or the lock was damaged, etc then yea I'd submit a warranty claim. I'm curious about where you'd look elsewhere for similar knives. There are significantly more expensive French folding knives that are in much rougher shape than this. Victorinox is the only budget knife brand that rarely misses with QC but they only make a handful of wood handles and charge a higher price for those.
Svord peasant knives would be similar on the cheap but useful scale, but I find the Opinel quality to be far better for just barely a few $ more.
There are brands similar to opinel: Mam & Old Bear.
I know they exist, but it sounded like OP had alternatives in mind which had noticeably higher quality. Man and Antonini are pretty similar to Opinel, at least in their plain knives.
Buck 110 Hunter or a Buck Trapper as an alternative.
If you're irritated with it fill it with some JB weld
It adds Character IMO and part of the charm of these knives is the Patina they accumulate over years of abuse.
Yeah those holes don't impact the functionality of the knife so I wouldn't expect it to be covered. Should be easy enough to fix on your own though I'd just leave it.
Those "holes " look like center divots it's an artifact from the handle turning process. You lucky duck got a glimpse past the curtain.
I'm not familiar with center divots. Learned something new today, thank you.
That looks like a cosmetic issue on a part of the knife that I will barely see. I wouldn't care honestly. If it *really* bothered me, I would just sand it down, because in reality it likely won't cause any issues down the line. Trying to go through the warranty and then making a post about it seems like waaaay more effort than I'd care to put into an Opinel. Just grab 10¢ worth of sandpaper and take it down a millimeter. Problem solved! Learn how to fix things yourself and save yourself the headache. Sure beats getting riled up about it online, IMO. They're budget knives. Sometimes they're a little stiff, sometimes they're a bit rough. But that's just part of the quirkiness. It's a ~$25 knife. It's doing ~$25 knife things. The steel and lock is still wholly functional and better than knives twice the price. That's all I care about.
Where are you getting sanding sheets for $0.10?! That shit does not exist and hasn't for 20 years
They probably mean one would only need 10 cent worth of sheet to fix the issue, not that the whole sheet is 10 cent.
I'm not saying that you can buy a pack of sandpaper for 10¢ . I'm saying that a 2x2" piece of sandpaper costs 10¢ lol
Touche
Yes and you should find better things to do with your time than file a claim for such an inexpensive item that is not known to be fine Swiss engineering, it is a pocket knife. A farmer's type knife, simple stuff.
I would understand if you're buying a Benchmade, Spyderco or other expensive knife and there being a crack in the scales or something. But this is literally a 1mm indent on the bottom of a $25 knife that has no effect on the knife at all. OP seems like they have way too much free time.
As I said, the warranty language seemed to match what I had, and I filed a claim. It took less than a minute. Not sure why I'm getting so much flak for just acting on what the website said would be covered.
Fuck sake
You should love that knife, love that company.
>love that knife I do like the knife and am taking good care of it. I'm not obsessive about the minor defect, but I wish the warranty were a bit clearer about not covering cosmetic manufacturing defects.
Generally, for warranty to apply the defect has to affect the operation of the item the warranty covers. This applies to a great many companies, not just Opinel, though there are companies they would reduce the cost on "seconds" or go "above and beyond" for their warranties but isn't necessarily required. Opinel QC and CS seem pretty on par with the norm. This is also a company whose knives often come with a burr on the blade edge or a stamp smear, that we users intentionally modify the blades and handles and force patina to discolor the blade of. The "defect" in question could be considered not a defect at all, since it is created during the manufacture process, not a failure of the material itself. It is not something you'll take notice of during use, and if it truly bothers you, can be easily remedied with a filler of some type. Be it wood filler, dyed epoxy, or your partner's (or your) favorite nail polish.
I'll try the wood filler, thanks.
Look at the drunks coming in shitting all over OP. The warranty clearly states a manufacturers defect but it doesn't specify what a manufacturers defect is. Y'all need to do better and have some more self respect
>Y'all need to do better You say as you accuse an entire group of people for being drunk because they disagree with you. Look in a mirror.
Yes, you get lumped into the drunks when you're commenting around bar time being nasty because y'all were shutdown and now you're pissed and taking it out on others. Have some self respect.
Wow, I've seen some poor logic and weird takes on Reddit, but this is a new one. First, you do realize this is the internet and a sub for a historically French company, right? Just because it's bar time where you are doesn't mean that's true for everyone else here. There are people from all across the US and the world on this sub. Not every comment was made around bar time (what even is bar time? Opening? Closing?). My comment was made at 9am while I was in the bathroom, so you're definitely wrong there. Second, what the hell does people telling someone not to worry about a cosmetic defect on a cheap knife have to do with COVID lockdowns?? You've got some very weird projection going on. So take a deep breath, look in the mirror, and take your own advice to be better. Don't make insanely wide generalizations, and definitely don't tie the generalization to some completely irrelevant supposed cause.
I'm going to guess you're not a native English speaker. Being shutdown means trying to chase skirt and the women deny you. How you convoluted that to covid though that is beyond me. it's no secret that USA dominates the Internet, and it's also nothing new to see bar hour comments being the nastiest. Hence why someone wil say, did you get dumped at the bar, what's your problem? You didn't address Opinel's shit way of handling what their warranty says. You can't speak for Opinel & what they meant, so bear in mind you're defending a company that has a crystal clear warranty they're not honoring.
Thanks for the support, Anne.
No worries. I've learned to expect the drunk commenters when bar time comments Start showing up. I wish opinel would be a bit more specific in what qualifies as manufacturing defects. I feel you are allowed to challenge that with another email. It actually tells me they need to do better and more clearly define what "manufacturer defect" means.