French kitchen knives: Why Opinel belongs in your kitchen

French kitchen knives are one of those subjects people love to overcomplicate. I am not talking about €400 blades that live in a drawer because you are scared to use them. I mean the knives I actually cook with, the ones most French home kitchens have: practical, sharp, and always within reach. I took my Opinel knife to the Chestnut Festival knowing I would need it for opening roasted chestnuts, and it did the job perfectly. The funny thing is, I wasn’t the only one there taking my own knife with me and there was even an Opinel merchant at the festival! That is the thing about these knives, they are not showpieces, but instead they are tools that earn their place in every French kitchen (and pocket).

Opinel has been making knives in the French Alps since 1890. Most people know them for the folding pocket knife with the wooden handle, the one that turns up in every French drawer, camping bag, or coat pocket. But Opinel also makes proper kitchen knives, and if you are cooking French food at home, they are worth knowing about.

Opinel is a company that has been perfecting blades for more than a century, trusted by French cooks, fairly priced, and designed to make everyday cooking feel smoother rather than more stressful.

Why French kitchen knives matter

French cooking assumes you have decent knives. You are slicing shallots very finely for a vinaigrette, trimming green beans, breaking down a tough pumpkin for soup, filleting fish, chopping herbs, or slicing a good “pain de campagne” without shredding it to pieces for a fig and goat cheese toast.

Supermarket knives, those stamped steel blades with plastic handles that go blunt after a week, will do the job, but you definitely feel the difference. Japanese knives are wonderful but can feel a bit precious in my opinion. German knives are tough and reliable but sometimes heavy in the hand.

French kitchen knives sit comfortably in the middle. Sharp enough for fine work. Robust enough for everyday chopping and balanced so your hand does not ache after an hour of prep. And the Opinel range is priced so you actually use them instead of saving them for “best.” Opinel’s kitchen range is simple with an honest design, good steel, comfortable handles, and sensible prices.

The Opinel story (kitchen edition)

Joseph Opinel started making folding knives in Savoie in 1890. The little wooden-handled pocket knife he designed became properly iconic. In 1985 the Victoria and Albert Museum in London picked it as one of the 100 best-designed objects in the world, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York put it in their permanent collection. Design books rank it alongside classic cars and watches.

Pablo Picasso used an Opinel No.8 to carve sculptures. Julia Child kept one in a kitchen drawer. In 1989, “Opinel” entered the Larousse dictionary as a generic term, alongside Bic and Frigidaire. It has become one of those brand names people use for the object itself.

What I love is how little the core design has changed since 1890. The blade shape is the same, the wooden handle still has that familiar curve, and the rotating collar that locks the blade, updated as the Virobloc ring in 1955, works on the same principle. When a design lasts more than a century without needing reinvention, you are looking at something genuinely functional, not a passing trend.

The kitchen knives came later, but you can feel the same approach behind them: good blade geometry, solid stainless steel, and beech or other hardwood handles from French forests. The modern kitchen ranges really took shape in the 2000s, although Opinel had been making kitchen pieces here and there before that. They are not trying to reinvent French cooking. They are simply making kitchen knives that feel familiar and work well.

The French kitchen knives you actually need

French home cooks do not tend to own fifteen specialist knives. You need three or four good ones that you reach for all the time.

The Paring Knife (Couteau d’Office) No.112

This is your workhorse. In French kitchens, the paring knife does about 60% of the work.

Opinel makes several versions with blades around 8–10 cm in stainless steel and either beechwood or polymer handles. They sit well in the hand and are easy to control. I use mine for everything from prepping a salade Niçoise to slicing cornichons for raclette. It basically lives on the counter because I pick it up ten times a day.

If you are starting with one knife, start here. The Essentials kitchen set that includes a paring knife, serrated knife, vegetable knife, and peeler is a very good way to kit out a French-style prep station in one go.

The Chef Knife (Couteau de Chef) No.118

The big knife. 18-20cm blade. For serious chopping, slicing, and general kitchen work.

Opinel’s chef knife has an honest, comfortable weight and balance, and the blade actually cuts cleanly rather than bruising or crushing.

The Santoku Knife No. 119

This is the Japanese-style knife that has become very common in French kitchens. The blade is shorter than a traditional chef’s knife, around 17 cm, with a straighter edge and a squarer tip.

Opinel’s Santoku knife has a 17 cm blade with little “alveoli” dimples that trap air and help stop food sticking to the side of the knife. It is brilliant when you are slicing a lot of vegetables or working with oily fish like salmon.

The Bread Knife (Couteau à Pain) No. 116

If you eat bread daily, which you probably do if you are cooking French, a good bread knife stops you from flattening every “pain de campagne” you touch.

The Opinel bread knife has a long serrated blade that bites into crust without tearing everything to crumbs. The olive-wood-handle version is the one I like most; it has a little more weight and looks lovely sitting out on the counter

The Collections: Which one should you choose?

Opinel divides its kitchen knives into three main collections, which can sound confusing at first but is actually simple once you see how they differ.

Parallèle Collection: Classic French Style

This is the traditional line. Beechwood handles, stainless steel blades, half-tang construction. They look exactly like French kitchen knives “should” look. The handles are comfortable, the blades are sharp and easy to maintain, and prices are very reasonable. You can also find versions with olive-wood handles if you want something more decorative.

The Parallèle Trio set with paring, chef’s, and carving knives is excellent value if you are upgrading from random supermarket knives.

Les Forgés 1890: Professional Quality

This is the premium line. Full-tang knives forged from a single bar of X50CrMoV15 stainless steel, heavier and more substantial. They are designed for serious kitchen use, with impeccable balance and a lot of cutting power. These are the knives you buy if you cook every day and want tools that will easily last a couple of decades. Gorgeous, but a bit much if you only cook a few times a week.

Intempora Collection: Modern and Practical

This is the contemporary option. Polymer handles instead of wood, dishwasher-safe, full-tang construction, slightly lighter weight than Les Forgés. They might not have the romance of wood, but if you have small children, limited time, or just want knives you can safely throw into the dishwasher now and then, these make a lot of sense and personally, I really like the grip on the Intempora collection.

The pocket knife in the kitchen

It might feel odd to think of a pocket knife as a kitchen tool, but my No.8 stainless steel lives in the kitchen drawer and gets used like a paring knife. It is sharp, nimble, and looks right at home on a cheeseboard. In France, the line between “kitchen knife” and “pocket knife” is much blurrier than in many other countries. A good sharp blade is a good sharp blade, folding or not.

Opinel Pocket Knife No. 8

The classic Opinel No.8 pocket knife lives in my kitchen drawer.

The smaller No.6 with an olive-wood handle is perfect for the table: small, pretty, and not at all intimidating.

Specialist French kitchen knives

If you love particular ingredients, a few of the more specialised Opinel knives are genuinely useful.

The Chestnut Knife

If you cook with chestnuts (and you should, because roasted chestnuts are wonderful), the Opinel chestnut knife is cleverly shaped with a curved blade that makes scoring chestnuts before roasting much easier. The same curve makes it great for fiddly jobs like trimming garlic or other small vegetables.

The Oyster Knife

For oysters, a dedicated oyster knife with a short, strong blade and hand guard is far safer than improvising with a butter knife. Opinel’s oyster knife is designed to slip between the shells and twist them open cleanly. If you serve oysters more than once or twice a year, it is worth having your own; otherwise, you can always ask the fishmonger to open them.

One thing to note: these are surprisingly hard to find outside France. If you want one, you’ll either need a friend bringing it back from France, or you’ll need to pick one up yourself next time you visit. Makes them a bit more special when you do get one.

The Mushroom Knife

If you forage or buy whole wild mushrooms regularly, the Opinel mushroom knife, with its curved blade and built-in boar’s hair brush, is a small joy. It lets you cut clean stems and brush away dirt without damaging the mushrooms. It is one of those tools that feels slightly indulgent until you use it, then you wonder how you managed without it.

Like the oyster knife, these are easier to find in France than abroad. Worth picking up if you’re visiting, or having a friend bring one back. The mushroom knife has a bit of a cult following among foragers.

Maintaining your French kitchen knives

French kitchen knives are not high-maintenance, but they do need basic care.

Sharpening: Essential and Simple

A sharp knife is safer and more pleasant to use than a dull one. Opinel knives arrive sharp, but regular use will blunt any edge. You need a proper sharpening stone, not just a honing steel or a pull-through gadget.

Opinel’s natural sharpening stone works well with their steel. Wet the stone, hold the blade at roughly a 15–20° angle, draw it across the stone several times on each side. If you prefer an all-in-one solution, the knife sharpener care set includes a stone, some oil, and a cloth. Sharpen every few months if you cook daily.

Washing: Hand Wash Only (Mostly)

Wooden handles do not like dishwashers or soaking. Rinse and wash by hand, then dry straight away. The Intempora range with polymer handles can go in the dishwasher if you are in a rush, but hand washing will always extend the life of any knife.

The Wooden Handle: A Living Material

Beech and olive-wood handles will slowly darken and pick up a patina from your hands. That is part of their charm. If they start looking dry, rub in a little food-safe mineral oil or beeswax occasionally. It keeps the wood from cracking and makes it feel good in the hand.

Chopping board

Always use wooden or decent plastic boards. Glass and marble are brutal on blade edges and horrible to listen to. Keep at least two boards: one for raw meat and fish, one for everything else. That is just basic food safety.

The real value of French kitchen knives

Opinel’s pricing is surprisingly gentle. A paring knife is often in the €10–15 range, a chef’s knife somewhere around €30–100, a bread knife in a similar bracket, and sets like Parallèle Trio around €60 depending on where you buy. That is noticeably less than many heavily marketed “professional” sets, and far under the price of most Japanese or German knife kits of similar quality.

The knives are cheaper not because they are cutting corners, but because Opinel has been making them in the same region with efficient production for over a century, without pouring money into glossy marketing. You get solid French-made tools with good steel and thoughtful design for prices that still feel realistic.

And once you have lived with them for a while, you tend to slowly add to your collection, not because the first ones wore out, but because they are a pleasure to use. A bread knife to match your chef’s knife. A Santoku for fish prep. A smaller pocket knife for cheese at the table.

The real value is not just the price tag. It is that, with basic care, they last for years. I have Opinel knives that see daily use and are still sharp, comfortable, and doing their job perfectly.

Building your French kitchen knife collection

If you are starting from nothing, go for the Essentials set with paring, serrated, vegetable knife, and peeler, then add a chef’s knife or the Parallèle Trio when you are ready. That gives you everything you need for everyday French cooking.

If you already have decent knives, add pieces that suit how you cook: a bread knife if you bake or buy a lot of bread, a Santoku if you cook lots of fish and vegetables, a No.6 olive-wood pocket knife for cheeseboards, or a chestnut knife if autumn chestnuts are your thing.

Don’t forget maintenance

And do buy the stone or care set at the same time. Sharp knives only stay sharp if you look after them.

Final toughts

I’ve been using Opinel knives for years now, from that chestnut knife at the festival to my daily paring knife that gets more use than anything else in the kitchen. They’re not flashy and they don’t come in fancy boxes, but they’re properly good knives that happen to be affordable.

The real charm of Opinel French kitchen knives, is that they’re designed for actual cooking. Sharp enough for precision work, comfortable enough for extended prep and durable enough to hand down.

Now I’m curious, what’s your experience with French knives? Do you have a favourite Opinel that’s been in your kitchen for years? Or are you thinking about making the switch from whatever you’re currently using? Drop a comment below. I’d love to hear what’s working (or not working) in your kitchen. Now go cook something properly French!

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