Opinel

IT ALL BEGAN IN 1890.

In 1890, Joseph Opinel turned 18 and worked 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 Opinel No8 was born!

1909

In 1565, King Charles IX of France ordered that every master cutler affix an emblem on their manufactured items to attest for the origin and quality. To follow in this tradition, Joseph Opinel chose the Crowned Hand as his emblem in 1909. The blessing hand is that of Saint John the Baptist, taken from the coat of arms of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, the nearest town in Albiez-le-Vieux, the birthplace of the Opinel family. Joseph Opinel added a crown as a reminder that Savoie was a duchy. All the blades on Opinel knives and tools have been stamped with The Crowned Hand ever since..