Thanks Walker! The rings are the factory rings. I heat blue the outer one for a more subdued look.

I really would like to make the outer ring from thin damascus sheet, but that is in the future. Not easy to make, but I guess if you have the right machine you can turn them out in millions, like Opinel does.

Here in Europe it is something of a cult to modify Opinels. Opinel even sells a knife with the rings in place, but with a square beech block as a handle, so people can cut their own handles.