Made in France and created by Joseph Opinel, the oldest son of a peddler turned blacksmith – the Opinel[1] brand of pocketknives has been in existence since 1897.  Made of only five pieces, the original design started out as a riveted free moving blade attached to a wooden handle.  The introduction of the “virobloc” in 1955 helped to ensure a safe locking mechanism for the blade – and this seems to be the only real change made to the design in 121 years.