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Keith

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Age
75
Do any of you ever personalise your equipment?

My Father used to paint all his tools blue, except for certain tools like his 17th century lathing hatchet & his 19th century fascine knives/billhooks. When he gave me my first felling axe he painted the head red! My Mother wouldn't let me take it to bed with me so I had to put it under the bed. Tools have always been very precious to me.

Recently one of my sons bought me a No 10 Opinel clasp knife. I have always wanted one of these & came close to buying myself one for Xmas, god job I waited! Anyway, these knives are very similar in construction & looks to original 18th century clasp knives & as I wanted to add this one to my period equipment I decided to alter it a little. Partly so it would look more authentic to the period, & secondly because I felt I needed to "Make it mine".

Opinel_Folding_Knife_1_Reduced.jpg
The Opinel in its original form.
Opinel_folding_knife_2_REDUCED.jpg
The altered Opinel soaked in neetsfoot oil.
8th_century_austrian_penny_knife_signed_at_REDUCED.jpg
A "Penny knife" made in Austria with the same bolster design but without the added locking bolster on the No 10 Opinel. These were produced from about 1650 ad.
1650_pocket_knife_REDUCED.jpg
An English made "Penny knife" probably made in Sheffield.

Opinel_Knife_No3_REDUCED.jpg
The Opinel No 3 "Penny Knife" with the exact same bolster & pin attachment as the originals.

I could have removed the locking bolster, shortened & peened the pin, but I decided to leave it as is. To remove the locking bolster would not make a lot of difference aesthetically, & the locking bolster makes this knife much safer to use.
Keith.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I bought the wife one of these for Christmas along with a pouch for it and she was well pleased, i'm thinking of getting one for myself, I have one an old second hand one I use for letter opening but I will probably wait and see if one turns up in a car boot sale later in the spring.
 
I bought the wife one of these for Christmas along with a pouch for it and she was well pleased, i'm thinking of getting one for myself, I have one an old second hand one I use for letter opening but I will probably wait and see if one turns up in a car boot sale later in the spring.
Excellent, your wife sounds to be very much like mine in that regard. Good luck with finding one for yourself.
Keith.
 
My father always inscribed his initials on hs tools (from his days as a draughtsman when if it wasn't labelled someone pinched it) which came in handy when his shed was stolen from and the police advised him to go to the local second hand shops to retrieve what was his. (This was pre charity shops and car boot sales)
 
My father always inscribed his initials on hs tools (from his days as a draughtsman when if it wasn't labelled someone pinched it) which came in handy when his shed was stolen from and the police advised him to go to the local second hand shops to retrieve what was his. (This was pre charity shops and car boot sales)
My Father the same Barbara, in fact I still have his set of stamps.
Keith.
 
Do any of you ever personalise your equipment?

My Father used to paint all his tools blue, except for certain tools like his 17th century lathing hatchet & his 19th century fascine knives/billhooks. When he gave me my first felling axe he painted the head red! My Mother wouldn't let me take it to bad with me so I had to put it under the bed. Tools have always been very precious to me.

Recently one of my sons bought me a No 10 Opinel clasp knife. I have always wanted one of these & came close to buying myself one for Xmas, god job I waited! Anyway, these knives are very similar in construction & looks to original 18th century clasp knives & as I wanted to add this one to my period equipment I decided to alter it a little. Partly so it would look more authentic to the period, & secondly because I felt I needed to "Make it mine".

Opinel_Folding_Knife_1_Reduced.jpg
The Opinel in its original form.
Opinel_folding_knife_2_REDUCED.jpg
The altered Opinel soaked in neetsfoot oil.
8th_century_austrian_penny_knife_signed_at_REDUCED.jpg
A "Penny knife" made in Austria with the same bolster design but without the added locking bolster on the No 10 Opinel. These were produced from about 1650 ad.
1650_pocket_knife_REDUCED.jpg
An English made "Penny knife" probably made in Sheffield.

Opinel_Knife_No3_REDUCED.jpg
The Opinel No 3 "Penny Knife" with the exact same bolster & pin attachment as the originals.

I could have removed the locking bolster, shortened & peened the pin, but I decided to leave it as is. To remove the locking bolster would not make a lot of difference aesthetically, & the locking bolster makes this knife much safer to use.
Keith.

But--but--but IT'S FRENCH
 
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