Opinel

No. 08 folding knife Joseph Opinel invented his folding knife in 1890, and the No. 08 is the size most people picture when they hear the name. It is three parts doing the job of many: a blade, a wooden handle and a metal collar. That collar, the Virobloc added by Marcel Opinel in 1955, twists to lock the blade open, and later versions lock it closed too. For the kitchen the No. 08 is a picnic and cheese-board knife rather than a chef's knife, and the choice between carbon and stainless steel matters: carbon takes a keener edge but stains and rusts if left wet. The Victoria and Albert Museum recognized Opinel in 1985.