Kiko Pen Knife- Opinel Modification

Model Number 7. Lime Patina. Some funky file work and blade mod.
Schmucktelli Co Kiko paracord bead.

 

Copper Pencil Cup

Continuing my obsession with copper craft.  I made this pencil cup for my son on his 12th birthday.  Hand hammered, soldered, forced patina.  Exotic wood bottom. I then sanded it to show the raw copper and  sealed the patina with 3 coats of Everbrite.

I Love Copper!

I have been working with copper more and more.  Sometimes I need to take a break from the Opinels and try something different. I started heating and hammering and drilling beads and little pry bars. I call these Apocalyptic Dog tags.

Forced Patina on a Mora Knife

New carbon steel Mora Blade.  I gave it a 3 hour white vinegar soak.

Old Hickory Modification Part 3

This one is nearly finished.  The mosaic pins look great.  It has inspired me to try to make my own mosaic pins.  I’m sure I’ll have a blog post on that.  I haven’t quite gotten it razor sharp on my Lansky yet.  I will have to give a few more rounds.

Old Hickory Knife Modification

I love my Opinels, but I was feeling a bit guilty ignoring any USA made blades.Old Hickory Knives by Ontario Knife Company are a great way to start knife modding.They are inexpensive- buy a 2 pack on Amazon for under $25.

The Boxer | Opinel Modification No.7

The Boxer:  A No.7 Carbone.  It went through quite a transformation.  The hammered texture came as I tried to save a bad metallic silver paint job.  I carved the paint off with a Flexcut Mini Pelican knife.  Then I refined the texture with the Dremel.

Ebony wood stain and a coat of semi matt polyurethane.  Black paracord with a diamond knot.  One off Apocalyptic Dog tag copper bead.

Originally the tip wasn’t going to be so square.  I tried a few patina patterns.  The handle shrunk along the way.  I do use it everyday to open boxes. Instagram gave it some love.

I eventually changed the lanyard bead to a smaller, more squared shape.    I also wanted to show the little curve in the back of the handle,  so I went with the single strand instead of the full loop through.

Opinel Modification Holding Platform | 7 Mods on Deck

So I usually don’t have more than 5-7 OpinelMods going at once. Some just seem to hang around a little longer until I fully commit to something. From left to right ( I am going to give them all names).

1. The Persain Dagger: Opinel No. 9 that I put these scales on. I got them at the only knife show I ever went to, about 14 years ago. They were black when I started, and now they are green after sanding. I am not really sure if they are supposed to be black or green. I am pretty sure this was a mediocre save of a botched job.

2. Onion Breath: Opinel No. 10 In my kitchen. It is now black handled and full black- out patina on the blade. My wife is allergic to onions. This is the only blade that I cut onions with when there is an onion emergency.

3. Evolving: Opinel No. 8 Ebauche. It has a mosaic pin and the shape is getting refined with hand sanding.

4. Opi-Opal: Opinel No.10. My sister has this in her kitchen on her yacht in Florida. It has a turquoise inlay that surrounds a real white opal that I ground into a mystical triangle shape.

5. Caroline: Opinel No.8 Olivewood Ebauche. This one has changed a lot. That back cutout gets another piece of exotic hardwood (don’t know what it is). I will probably give this to a mother at my son’s school. She is the only person at the Shabbat service that showed any interest in fine cutting utensils.

6. The Opi-Defender: Opinel No. 10. The defender is the evolution of the Opi-fighter after the back of it broke off. It is a nice size one handed work knife. Fits nice in pocket of my Knife & Flag apron.

7. Untitled for now. Not quite done with it. As of now it needs some minor refinements. Polished up the blade. I have used this around the studio. The size is really comfortable. Not a hard use knife, but very light.

Forced Patina on a Higonokami Knife

This was my first try at this.  I added nice patina to this brass Higonokami knife. Trying to figure out what to do with the lanyard hole. I really like the blue green that came out in the ammonia chamber.

“Opi-Defender” is born : Opinel Modification

The back of the “Opi-Fighter” broke off.  Good to know that now.  All I did was drop it on some concrete.  Re-worked it into the “Opi-Defender.” I like this tip better.  It’s like a little kubaton.

Stingray Opinel Modification with Mustard Patina

Opinel No. 8 ebauche. Mustard drops patina.  Stingray skin handle accent. Thumb post added for one hand opening.

“The Gardener” Opinel Modification

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The Reaper | Opinel Modification with a Bad-Ass Attitude.

 

“Opi-Fighter” Mod- Custom 1 Hand opening Opinel

The “OpiFighter”

  

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