I have 3 custom Peter Marzitelli folders and they are very light and excellent quality. In recent years he will only makes fixed blades…fixed blades is not my thing. He said is a lot of work making folders.
Despite sanding the beech handle factory finish off and letting it soak submerged in boiled linseed oil for two days, it still swells badly when exposed to moisture. By moisture I don't even mean pouring water on it. I swear it starts getting a little tight even in humid air (I live by the coast). More often than I would like, it gets impossible to open (except by Coup du Savoyard, of course)
I've disassembled it so many times trying to sand it around the pivot that I'm surprised the wood hasn't cracked yet (it takes quite a beating to punch said pivot out). The knife now stays in a drawer until I decide I want to like it again, someday.
I considered buying one of those Opinels with polymer handles, because I find everything about this knife excellent except for the damn beech wood.
I wouldn’t put the Opinel in the bad knife catagory. When you buy one, you’re buying of a piece of nostalgia. They were designed in France 120 years ago as a peasant knife or working farmer’s knife, and still made the same way today on purpose. If someone wants a modern knife, they should buy a modern knife.