Opinel No. 12 EXPLORE

Once in a while we come across a really unique product, and the Opinel No. 12 EXPLORE is one of those.

According to Wikipedia "The Opinel company has manufactured and marketed a line of eponymous wooden-handled knives since 1890 from its headquarters in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Savoie, France where the family-run company also operates a museum dedicated to its knives. The company sells approximately 15 million knives annually."

If you are not familiar with Opinel, you should do your homework. Their basic design has only five parts, and the Virobloc or safety twistlock mechanism is its heart and soul. In 1985 the Victoria and Albert Museum in London selected the Opinel knife as part of an exhibit celebrating the “100 most beautiful products in the world”.

But let's get back to the EXPLORE! The EXPLORE is built around the massive No. 12 knife with a four inch stainless steel, but instead of the traditional one piece wood grip, it has a high impact polyamide handle with soft rubber insert for a more comfortable and anti-slip grip. Built in the grip we have a very loud (110 dB) safety whistle, and in the rear of the handle we have a hooked blade that could be very well be used as a gut hook with an opening for a strap or lanyard. And what keeps the removable hooked blade in place is a plastic tick-remover. I almost feel like taking my dog or my grandchildren to woods just to have the opportunity to use the tick-remover!

In the front of the well made cardboard box there are two words under the product name, NATURE BUSHCRAFT, and the back you will find the EXPLORE described in nine languages (French, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Danish, Polish and Russian) and in every language three words follow No. 12 EXPLORE: Nature / Survival / Hunting. After I craft a paracord lanyard for my EXPLORE I don't think that I will ever "leave home without it!"

For most things hunting and shooting, come see us at HAMPEL'S GUN CO.