Home / Knives / Designer Creates Deep Carry Pocket Clip for Opinel Knives

Designer Creates Deep Carry Pocket Clip for Opinel Knives

February 17, 2020

[UPDATED 11/9/21: Altered to reflect change in the product name]

Opinel fans are being given an option to equip their folders with a pocket clip, thanks to a new Kickstarter project. The O-Clip aims to modernize the carry style of three of the most popular Opinel knife sizes.

In short, the O-Clip is an attachable pocket clip for Opinel Nos. 7, 8 and 9, which range in blade length from 3.19 to 3.5 inches. The O-Clip works like the friction-style clips we often see on flashlights, fitting over the Virobloc locking collar without any screws or additional hardware. Visually it’s a wideish, tip down, deep carry-style clip, made from hardened stainless steel.

The Virobloc is the “locking mechanism” that we’ve seen on Opinel knives since the 50s, a rotating metal collar with a notch cut into it that, once turned into the correct position, keeps the blade from accidentally opening or closing. Due to its friction-fit nature, the O-Clip actually replaces the Virobloc in that locking function.

Most Opinel size classes have several different options that users can choose from, like classic wood-handled models or the more modern-feeling, polymer-handled Outdoor versions. According to its designer, the O=Clip will work for any model keyed to the same size number.

The O-Clip is the brainchild of Anatoliy Omelchenko. Omelchenko is a product designer, and has turned out a variety of disparate goods through the popular crowdfunding platform. This is his first knife-related project. Omelchenko says that he plans to bring the O-Clip concept to the rest of the standard, Virobloc-equipped Opinel models (sizes 6, 10, and 12) but chose the 7,8, and 9 models to begin with due to their popularity for EDC.

Kickstarter is proving to be a popular place for sourcing inexpensive but desirable knife mods. We’ve seen Tortoise Gear bring out the Firefly firestarter accessory for certain Victorinox models, and more recently StatGear created a pocket clip for certain Victorinox models as well.

The O-Clip project is live on Kickstarter right now and runs until 4:34 pm EDT on March 27th.

Featured Image: O-Clip by Anatoliy Omelchenko

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