Opinel Folding Saw No.12

Handy little saw ideal for preparing wood for my fire box.

Effective little saw very good for cutting small branches are not bad for bigger branches light and easy to carry Blade is a little bit stiff to open especially if you're wearing gloves

Nice little size perfect for my hazel branches for my stick making, very handy tool at a great price cheers HH people

Got it for my wife, cuts very well out of the box and has a pleasant look to it. Edge retention so far ( few months ) is good, but cant imagine it will last. Problems: Blade can't be sharpened, blade can't be replaced, expensive for what it is, wood swells making deployment a pain, blade is a tad flimsly ( thin and wobbly when in use ), can't tackle very big branches comfortably. Its not a bad product, its just not worth its price... not even close. Opinel knives? Yes! Opinel saws? Nah...

Ive had mine about 4 years along with the Bahco Laplander. If you are traveling light this is the one I would go for as it takes up as much room as a large penknife & will fit in your pocket. It is very sharp & cuts very well with little effort. I would say it is well made & finished. I have had no problem with rust but must say I do keep my tools well oiled & maintained. It is fine for cutting wood a couple of inches thick & leaves a nice clean edge. It is ideal for pruning in the garden. If I were to be cutting thicker wood or were on a longer camping trip with my rucksack I would recomend the Laplander as this is more robust & will cut anything asked of it.

In the past I have owned x2 Bahco Laplanders. Two because of the green and black colouring makes them a hard spot in the field. So I lost one and the second was well used and due a replacement. This Opinel 12 looked like a decent successor. I wanted a better colour and something a little smaller. It was a bit of a let down really. The wood swells when wet meaning you will need pliers to open the saw. The steel seems prone to rust as soon as it possibly can. It doesn't fold confidently it catches the wood or seems to struggle to close neatly. The icing on the cake was that the saw snapped at the tip. I am not one to abuse tools and this one snapped when cutting a branch. Bad luck? Bad design? Just not meant for me I think.

Classic Opinel design and a great blade make this a very capable folding saw at a good price. Light and easy to pack.

Sitting round a campfire only yesterday (15/3/11) all the wood cut with this little saw. Had also cut 15 hazel shanks for walking sticks. Current saw 5 years old, still awesome performer. Wouldn't be without it.

One of my hobbies is stickmaking and this is the time of year to cut shanks for next year. This saw cut fairly substantial hazel sticks with ease. It has a needed flexibility in the blade and is a good size to carry in a belt pouch or pack. Benefits from a wrist lanyard. As usual great delivery from Linda and team.