We couldn’t tell you the number of times we’ve asked both “Does anyone have a knife?” and “Does anyone have a corkscrew?”. Or the number of times we’ve tried to open bottles of wine by banging the butt of the bottle on a tree or boot-heel. If we’re out and about with cheese, whether headed to a friend’s porch, picnicking in the park, or camping, we’ve learned the hard way to always bring your own knife and corkscrew. And by gosh, this thing’s got both!

We’re long time fans of age-old French knife company Opinel’s combination of quality and affordability. The thin, yet strong 4-inch blade makes for a fantastic cheese knife- limiting drag through delicate pastes but sturdy enough to cleanly slice cheddars or granas. And the corkscrew is far from an afterthought- its sturdiness is crucial for the bit of brute-strength necessary for the occasional difficult cork.

Opinel No. 10 is always in our glove compartment, purse, or backpack for better or worse- we can’t tell you how many knives we’ve had confiscated by the TSA…