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 Display presented at the international exhibition of Turin in 1911 |
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| In the United States, it
is known as the "French Knife" ; and Paul Bocuse, as well known in this
country as he is in France, never misses the opportunity to remind the Americans
that this was his first childhood knife and he always uses it when at work... |
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 Gold medal awarded to Joseph OPINEL, at Turin in 1911. |
It has even become a museum piece, and
not only in Savoie. Of course at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, it has its own
temple : "the Opinel Museum",
but it is also exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New-York. In 1985,
the Victoria and Albert Museum organized an exhibition of some one hundred
products presenting the best "design" : there, next to the Porsche 911,
the Rolex watch and Ray-Ban sunglasses… an Opinel knife! A knife born in
the mountains, the Opinel has climbed many summits, and taken part in various
expeditions. Light and robust, simple, reasonably inexpensive, it is the preferred tool of mountaineers. In the pocket of guides or hardened travellers, it can be found in Makalu, Dhaulagiri, Jannu, Huascaran, Chopicalqui, as well as in Amazonia, in Greenland, in Madagascar or in Africa. Is it not only to a sherpa that a mountaineer would like to offer an Opinel from his pocket? |
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| All things considered, a century after its creation, the little knife from Gevoudaz is in a very healthy state. It continues to conquer markets. Its name has almost become commonplace, so much so that it is often forgotten that it is a family name. However, the name Opinel is a family name. After Joseph, after Marcel, Maurice entered the company in 1950, and then became its head. Under his management, the new Revériaz factory joined the one at Cognin. |
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For the prestige that the success of
its products has had upon the whole Savoie region, it has also received
a number of distinctions, one particularly close to Savoyard hearts being
le Prix des Neiges (the Snow Prize). Lastly, one of his three children is the managing director of the cutlery department. So, in three generations, the Opinel knife has managed to see through its first hundred years. Continuation is guaranteed and the second century has started promisingly well! |
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