opinel knives

One of my favorite suppliers of new stuff for old, old-looking, or old-feeling bikes, Velo-Orange, posted in their blog that, "We've decided to start stocking a few items that are not directly bike related, but that we've used and really like."  The first of these is a selection of Opinel pocket knives.

From the Wikipedia page about Opinel knives: "Originally sold as a simple working man's knife, the Opinel has since become an iconic symbol of French culture and lifestyle." I've got two of them: one my father gave to me years ago, and one I found in his house after he died. Mine are stainless steel. Knife purists say that the carbon steel (above) takes a better edge and holds it longer, but I've used my stainless ones for everything from cutting vegetables to shaping molding to cutting sheetrock, and I've never had a problem with the edge. One of mine, in fact, has lost about 1/8" of the blade from repeated sharpening.

These are great knives. In an age when gentlemen carried a knife and a handkerchief, for Gallic men, these would have been the knives of choice.

I'd call these "cool tools", but Kevin Kelly has a de-facto trademark on that phrase.