Opinel No. 10

The Opinel No. 10 is a folding pocket knife with a blade approximately 8 centimetres long, designed for general outdoor work and everyday cutting tasks. opinel.com It is one of twelve sizes in a system conceived by Joseph Opinel in 1897, each numbered to indicate its scale and intended use. The knife's handle is made from beech wood, sourced from eco-managed forests in the Jura and Vercors regions of France and finished with protective varnish. opinel.com The blade is cut and stamped from flat steel stock and ground to a distinctive Yatagan profile—inspired by a traditional Turkish saber—which provides both strength and the ability to be resharpened. opinel.com The knife is available in carbon steel, which achieves a hardness of 57 HRC and offers superior edge retention, or stainless steel at 55–57 HRC, which requires no maintenance under normal conditions. opinel.com

The No. 10 is fitted with the Virobloc safety ring, a mechanism invented by Marcel Opinel in 1955 that locks the blade both open and closed, preventing accidental closure during use and securing the knife during transport. opinel.com Since its introduction, the knife has become embedded in French and Savoyard cultural life, referenced in literature and music, and entered the Larousse dictionary in 1989. opinel.com The design has been recognised internationally as a benchmark of industrial simplicity: it was selected by the V&A Museum as one of the 100 most beautiful objects in the world and acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. opinel.com The knife's endurance reflects both the soundness of its original conception and the continuity of manufacture in Savoie, where four generations of the Opinel family and their collaborators have preserved the brand's methods while adapting to changing markets and materials.