An American Opinel, Cold Steel's Twistmaster

[MultiMat]

Last year I was given 2 Opinel's a No.7 Carbon blade & a No.8 Inox blade(thanks again Tony & Neil).One of the things I REALLY like about Opinel's is their blade locks. In 1955 Marcel Opinel designed the 'twist lock' called the Virobloc & it has been used with minor improvements since 1955. The Virobloc lock is simplicity personified & enables a drum tight blade lock up  .
I found out about the Cold Steel's Twistmasters here at MTO, Benner is a fan  . Once I got my 2 Opies my interest was sparked in the Twistmaster. Twistmasters were made in 3 sizes small , medium & LARGE.I recently got my medium sized (just under 10cm long) , made in the USA, Twistmaster, I like it  .



Twistmaster at top , No.8 Opie in the middle & No.7 Opie at the bottom. The Twistmaster is very similar in construction to the Opinels even sharing the high carbon steel blades that many Opies have. Cold Steel call the blade metal Carbon V & go to extreme lengths to warn owners of the risk of the blades getting rusty should you get them wet & store them without drying them


The big differences between the French & American knives are their handle material & the locking ring. The Twistmaster's handle is very solid & gripey, it is made of Zytel , I find it really odd that Opinel has not made a non wooden handled version of these knives,to my knowledge , they have made millions of these knives & will make millions more. I hope they explore different types of materials for their handles at some stage  . Especially so given Cold Steel has not made the Twistmaster range for some time now.




The Twistmaster's lock works in the same way as the Opinel's it's just not quite as refined or smooth as the Opies. Opinel's Virobloc locks in both directions ; clockwise & anticlockwise when twisted.The Twistmaster's only locks in a anticlockwise direction , the Opies lock will also lock the blade in the closed position , the Twistmaster only locks with the blade deployed , not really a issue given the Twistmster's blade is a little stiff to open & highly unlikely to inadvertently open.


I like the bumps on the Cold Steel's lock , they act as a thumb stop/grips when using the knife & are not nearly as slippery as the Opinel's. The not so good aspects of the lock is it seems to be a bit cruder in it's construction compared to the highly refined Virobloc lock & is a LOT harder to twist into the lock position. Note the ridges in the Cold Steel's locking ring at 12 o'clock & 6 o'clock. The Twistmaster's lock does not engage as far as the Opinel's does , I do not think it is a big issue as the lock up is tight & not likely to become unlocked accidentally  . I could file the lock's ramp down a bit more so the lock engages a little further if it becomes a concern.


The Twistmaster has a small raised tab that sits in the lock's groove , I think this tab helps to hold the lock in place on the handle.
.

I really like this knife & I am looking forward to using it. I gave the edge a strop out of the box & it's now very SHARP  .
The large version must be a beast  . It is a shame Cold Steel no longer makes these , hopefully Opinel does some plastic handled versions in the future.

 

[Zed]

I just know tony is going to be like this      very nice mat 

[Sparky415]

I just know tony is going to be like this      very nice mat 

Oh yes 

Nice score Mat 

[dks]

Passaround ?     I had to ask, again... 
I must get one one day....

Opinel did make handles with Horn; not just wood..
Nobody checks the Opinel thread? 

[Sparky415]

Passaround ?     I had to ask, again... 
I must get one one day....

Opinel did make handles with Horn; not just wood..
Nobody checks the Opinel thread? 

   http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,30307.0.html

[Styerman]

I regret not grabbing a twistmaster .

Chris

[trey]

They made a small Twistmaster?  I've only seen two sizes.  The medium is a little large for me.
A small would be perfect.

[J-sews]

The bumps on the Twistmaster's locking ring seem like a worthwhile improvement over the smooth Opinels. But it seems like the ring could be made even better/more grippy, with some deep knurling for instance.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I was never a huge fan of the Twistmasters, but then I never really gave them a real chance.  I suppose it was one of the few knives I disagreed with CS over- that one and the Grohmann copy really rankle me, although I do like CS products in general.

Usually Cold Steel's Carbon V steel is coated in black epoxy to increase it's resistance to rust and corrosion- I suppose copying the lock mechanism wasn't enough, they also wanted to copy the weakness of the Opinels too?   

I'm interested to see what you think after putting that one to work.

Def

[trey]

I actually like mine quite a bit, it's just a little large to carry.  I really like the steel.

[captain spaulding]

Thank you for the great comparison between the Opinel and the Cold Steel. I have to ask...... Does everyone say anticlockwise when referring to a movement in the opposite direction of clockwise.  Around my parts we all say counterclockwise. 

[MultiMat]

Passaround ?     I had to ask, again... 
I must get one one day....

Opinel did make handles with Horn; not just wood..
Nobody checks the Opinel thread? 

AHHH NO  .
Those horn/bone handle ones do not count they are more pieces of art than users  . Opinel needs to try making some modern handled knives  .

They made a small Twistmaster?  I've only seen two sizes.  The medium is a little large for me.
A small would be perfect.

Funny you say that I just assumed that by having a medium & a large they must of made a small  . Maybe my one should be called a large & the big brute could be called Super large  .

But look what I just found a small Twistmaster for sale on US Ebay 

See the blade shape I am almost sure it is a small version  .The listing does not detail a blade length 
Yep I would like a small & a HUGE Twistmaster as well as my medium version

The bumps on the Twistmaster's locking ring seem like a worthwhile improvement over the smooth Opinels. But it seems like the ring could be made even better/more grippy, with some deep knurling for instance.

Bob the bumps on the Cold Steel knife really a requirement without them it would be almost impossible to deploy the lock , just a bit too stiff , like I said the Twistmaster's lock is just a bit crude when compared to the Opinel's  .

I was never a huge fan of the Twistmasters, but then I never really gave them a real chance.  I suppose it was one of the few knives I disagreed with CS over- that one and the Grohmann copy really rankle me, although I do like CS products in general.

Usually Cold Steel's Carbon V steel is coated in black epoxy to increase it's resistance to rust and corrosion- I suppose copying the lock mechanism wasn't enough, they also wanted to copy the weakness of the Opinels too?   

I'm interested to see what you think after putting that one to work.

Def

.

The Carbon blades do take a wicked edge  .

I am glad Cold Steel made the Twistmasters as Opinel has rather oddly largely ignored the non wood handle options  .


captain pretty sure most Aussies say anticlockwise 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I think like Swiss Army Knives, Opinel is more about tradition and producing a high quality low cost price.  That tends to keep innovation down, but also produce a good product on a massive scale.  Besides, plastic (like in the Twistmaster) looks cheap and so may not be of interest to them.  Opinel also has a lot of followers, collectors and modders, and they are cheap enough that anyone can get into modding and not dump a lot of cash into failed projects.

One of the neater Opinel mods I've seen (and I believe I heard about it in Twistmasters as well) was to turn them into automatic knives.  Basically you just run a spring from the blade spine to the handle and use the lock to open it.  Twist the lock and the blade snaps open, then twist the lock back to lock it that way.  Not exactly sleek, but a neat idea! 

Def

[MultiMat]

G10 does not look cheap Def  . I reckon Opinel is CARZY CRAZY CRAZY by not producing non wooden handled knives. It would create a whole new customer base that once hooked would probably buy into their traditional wooden handled range. From a cost point of view surly it would not cost too much to produce & then sell for a competitive price  , relatively low risk & would not compromise their traditional products 

I would love a Opie that I do not need to worry about getting wet , do not have to worry about dropping it or beating up on it . I have seen some really ratty splintered Opies .

[dks]

I would love a Opie that I do not need to worry about getting wet , do not have to worry about dropping it or beating up on it . I have seen some really ratty splintered Opies .

+1 

or worry about moisture in the air making it tight, or drying out and cracking, or dishwashing, or catching fire... come one, lubricating with vaseline?? what were they thinking? I giggle just thinking of that type of lubrication.. reminds me of my student years (olive oils works better by the way)

I live in a dry climate but the other day one of my fancy opinels, I got out after reading this thread, was a pain to open, even though it is stored in its closed box.
You ARE supposed to hit it on a bench top hard to open it, but I would hate to scratch it like that..