I have bought a shit ton of random knives (Helvie, drake, GEC, flexcut, morakniv etc) based on recos from subreddits and youtube videos and I have to say despite how cool they are, I think my favorite go tos are a Victorinox tinker that I redid the edge on and a Remington whittler I bought on eBay because the price was right.
I have an old Opinel I like that I picked up a couple decades back. I don't really whittle regularly so I can't speak to use-wear but it's still in really good shape after 20+ years so there's that.
I love the look of opinels but never tried using one. What model do u use?
I'll have to check when I get home, it's roughly 6" and has a swivel collar to lock the blade. Cylindrical wood handle with some shaping for comfort.
Hahaaa! 😀 Nice to see the good old Opinel pocket knife mentioned in this place. I use mine practically everywhere, from cleaning fingernails to occasional wood carving. My beloved Tamarisk spoon was made with only a No.9 and sandpaper.
Some infodumping (because ... i have to ...):
Characteristics which make the classic Opinel suitabe for (fine) woodwork:
The thin blade with the steep-angle, concave-cut cutting edge requires relatively little force to cut wood. It can be easily sharpened to almost razorblade, even with just some fine sandpaper on a flat surface. The thin and pointy tip is good for fine details.
Disadvantages: The thin and pointy tip and edge are quite delicate and can break on very hard material (when re-doing it after it broke, that will make a less thin tip). The blade is not made with wood carving in mind, specifically. The 8-9 cm blade is actually often too long and too wide. It's no good for narrow concave curves.
If one insists on using an Opinel, then perhaps the No.6 (the smallest one that has the retention ring), or the slimline variant, or the nuts and garlic cutter may be more suitable.
And last not least, TIL that the classic model "Savoie" design has not changed much since 1890! Only the retention ring was introduced in 1955. company history