You have of course recognized the famous "ferrule" of Opinel! The Opinel or even the sailor's knife is a must before boarding. For safety as well as comfort and pleasure, the knife remains an essential part of the sailor's equipment.
A story about a knife
For a very long time, he has been the heir to a tradition of sailors, freebooters, privateers and fishermen, just as the yachtsman often has a knife in his pocket. A simple knife ready to serve, rustic and foolproof.
Even if for quite a while now multi-blade knives (also called multi-tools, the most famous of which is the Leatherman) have been multiplying, one of the first knives used by the yachtsman was the Opinel. This mountain knife was used by seafarers.
For it is thanks to the installation of Victor-Amédée Opinel as a blacksmith near St-Jean-de-Maurienne in Savoie, that the first knives were born in 1890 and the famous safety ring (the ferrule) followed in 1955.
The Glénans nautical centre from its beginnings will promote this tradition by strongly advising its trainees and instructors to carry a knife in their pocket. From lunch to the boat, the instrument was indispensable and was therefore part of the "trousseau" in the same way as socks. In 2020 it is still recommended in the list of personal safety equipment. "A foldable knife with if possible a shackle is useful to deal with different situations, sometimes urgent (slicing a rope, opening a shackle)"
The SNSM recommends the same
"The safety equipment prescribed by the regulations is the minimum required. In all cases, the following additional equipment must always be on board:
But a knife for what?
Above all, to respond to a need for safety expressed by boaters. As the heir to the gabiers, the yachtsman needs a high-performance and efficient knife, whatever the sailing conditions.
Cutting a mooring line or other rope may be necessary under certain conditions. This provides safety in case of a problem. It is therefore objectively an asset in the yachtsman's pocket.
But sometimes the boater has other needs:
- Open his oysters..
- Take off the bernique (Chinese hat or patella vulgata) from a rock and taste a small carpaccio of bernique with lime
- To eat and spread on a thin slice of bread from the most famous sailor's pâté..
But beware, all knives are considered knives. However the wearing of a Laguiole knife, an Opinel or a Swiss knife of classic dimensions is authorized as it is part of the French tradition.
Without outlawing ourselves, we can therefore carry our favourite knife in our pocket, without which we would sometimes feel a little naked..
