For over 130 years Opinel has been crafting knives and tools in the heart of the French Alps. Much like Joseph Opinel did from his workshop in 1890, today Opinel products are still manufactured from their factory in Chambery, France.
When he turned 18, Joseph Opinel started working in the family workshop. With a passion for new machines and innovative technologies, he built his own camera and soon became the photographer for weddings and special events in his area. Led by his passion for machinery and the manufacturing process, he decided to invent an object which he could manufacture using modern technology. Against his father's wishes, he spent most of his free time refining the shape and manufacturing of a small pocket knife: the original Opinel No.08!
When Joseph Opinel designed his first pocket knife, the French blacksmith created a tool that was robust, simple, and beautiful. Crafted in the Alps from local materials, that knife would go on to become a design icon, passed down by generations of artists, explorers, farmers, and adventurers.
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