This is a bit of international knife news from earlier this year that we missed covering at the time, but want to highlight now: Opinel released the Néo6, a fresh take on their classic folder format sporting an all-new blade-retaining mechanism called Opiflex.
Opinel is the most famous knife brand in France, and in its way could be seen as its country’s equivalent to MoraKniv: rooted in a tradition that goes back more than a hundred years, and committed to carrying that tradition forward, but also interested in offering modern spins on its time-tested, historical greats. In the past we’ve seen Opinel branch into kitchen cutlery, horticultural tools, even a line of safety-first blades designed to train kids in responsible knife use and ownership.
It is this adventurous, experimental side of Opinel that the Néo6 descends from. At its core, it doesn’t deviate from the original Opinel folding knife design – a design so beloved that it has persisted more or less unchanged for more than a century, been exhibited all over the world, and was even named one of the 100 most beautiful objects in the world by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. There is the classic, almost fish-like handle profile, the metal collar (with a difference), and the drop point blade (also with a difference).
The collar, instead of Opinel’s Virobloc mechanism, is built with the new, patent-pending Opiflex instead. Instead of twisting a collar ring underneath the blade a la the Viroblock, the Opiflex secures the blade with a spring-loaded peg that snaps into place without the need for manipulation. The Néo6 is, obviously, modeled after the Opinel No. 6, which means a knife law friendly blade length of 2.75 inches – although you’ll notice that the tip has been rounded in an effort to make the Néo6 as people-friendly as possible.
These are available now – Opinel news doesn’t come around often so we wanted to make sure the Néo6 got a highlight.
Knife in Featured Image: Opinel Néo6
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