Oath is a creative collaboration between two good friends Tijn Goessaert and Sam Windey. Oath is not a design studio, not an artist collective, not a product brand, not a lifestyle blog but it certainly has affinities with all these fields.

Call it a creative open space for now.

With Collection.Oath we try to get a grasp of objects, topics, software,... that are valuable in our lives as designer/developer. Not focussing on trends but on items that really matter to us, that are well designed or plain interesting. All this gives you an insight in our way of life.

An essential for the adventurer

If you like to go out hiking, camping or just strolling through nature, there are a few essential tools you will need. One of them is a knife. This object dates back to the origin of mankind and has been useful ever since. Therefore this is a tool that has to meet a lot of criteria. It needs to be durable, lightweight and portable but most importantly: it has to stay sharp.

Opinel is one of those brands that can provide such type of knifes. The design dates back to 1890 and hasn't changed much since then. Because of the simplicity and functionality there's nothing to improve.

Opinel

The knife in the picture is my own, I have it in my possession sinds my childhood and it hasn't failed me once. It is a NO. 8 Opinel.

Thanks to the inox blade it never rusts and stays sharp although I use it a lot for all kind of things. Certainly it wears the marks: the logo is fading away and the tip is bend. Other than that it is like new.

Why did I chose an Opinel over an other knife? First of all for its origin. This is a knife that has been created for generations by a French family with passion. Not by a gigantic firm without a soul or history.

It's design is as beautiful as it is pure, simple and elegant. Its safety feature -a small metal ring between the handle and the blade- offers a locking mechanism to lock the blade in place. Most other pocket knives lack this kind of feature but is so essential to prevent stupid accidents.