Start of the 19th century
The Opinel family first began to forge metal at the start of the 19th century. In 1817, Victor-Amédée was working as a peddler and learned his trade as a blacksmith during his rounds. He set up a forge in Albiez le Vieux, a small village near St Jean de Maurienne in the Savoie region, where he made nails, billhooks, knives, etc. His son Daniel (front row, right) took over the workshop and followed in his father’s footsteps.