The Opinel knife was invented by Joseph Opinel in 1890, at age 18, in the commune of Albiez-le-Vieux near Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in Savoie, France.

The Opinel knife was invented by Joseph Opinel in 1890, at the age of 18. The young man made pocket knives for his friends, but quickly moved beyond the family circle and since then, 300 million blades have been sold in 71 different countries. The founder of the company was a tailor by trade. He made large tools for agriculture. At the same time he was already making a few knives and one of his models was very popular, a success which encouraged him to launch into the industrial manufacturing of knives. The Opinel brand was registered by its creator in 1909 and the famous safety collar only dates from 1955.