Elementum Pocket Knife C907A (Black)

I'd never heard of the Civivi brand. I assumed it was another one of those generic cheap Chinese brands that just sells the leftovers from factory runs, something like that. Now, there are tons of knife snobs out there who'll probably laugh at me for saying it, but this knife is actually pretty good. And it turns out, the guys who make it seem to actually care about making good knives. The steel itself feels sold, not to brittle, not mushy. It's been holding an edge nicely. Of course, one doesn't judge a knife by the factory edge, that's like judging a TV based on what the picture looked like at Costco—as in, it doesn't at all represent what you're going to get when you use it for real. The only thing the factory edge tells you is that it can *take* an edge, which, well, that's probably most knives you're going to run into. The handle is simple, solid, and comfortable. The blade shape is new to me, I've never owned this style of blade, but is comfortable to use when actually knifing things with a knife that need to be knifed. It's easy to maneuver usefully. Opening and closure is easy and straightforward, no struggling with it at all. The Elementum feels maybe a little heavier than it ought to. I suspect that's a sign of the thickness of the blade, but again, I'm no expert. It's comfortable enough to keep on hand normally, in a purse or even an actual pocket. This is the size of knife that, if you're a chick, you can easily carry if you have one of those "Thanks! It has POCKETS!" garments. As in, you don't need anything huge, just bigger than the average women's pocket. If you carry a purse (or a man bag or whatever, I just call mine a purse) it plops right in there and I'm perfectly happy just letting it swim around in the bottom of the bag. They do give you a simple, kinda cheap-feeling zip up nylon case for it, if you're worried about sand or random junk in the bottom of your bag. Overall, the whole thing feels like—despite not being a big brand—something made with care and attention to detail, using surprisingly decent material. I would gladly buy another Civivi, even though I'd literally never heard of these dudes before I looked them up.

This blade came highly recommended after I'd done my research on the web. Watch the video that l comes with the rest of the ad about this knife on Amazon. What you're seeing in that video is the knife that you're going to get. It's a nice little knife and for everyday carry, it's more than adequate. There are certain aspects of the design of course that the average person is going to say are not quite what we need but not in this price category. It's worth what they're charging. It seems smaller than the knife we're seeing online, and it's not quite as solid maybe than what we'd like to have. But the blade itself is super Sharp, it's well engineered, and for what I paid it's actually in my book worth more than what they're charging. Yes I will probably end up replacing it for everyday carry. But then it will go into my collection to stay forever. You can't argue with a well-made blade and that's what this is. When you get it you're going to find out real fast then it's razor sharp and crafted from quality steel. They put a lot of into this knife when it comes to utility. Just remember it's going to hold that edge on the blade for a long time. And for everyday carry, we all know that a good blade just needs a nice sharpening once a while. So make your purchase of this very well engineered knife. I'll tell you one thing ... you won't regret it.

TLDR: The lock is a little stiff and the edge is nowhere near close to 15 degrees, but the 3 inch blade and simple design make this my ideal EDC knife. I have only had the knife for one day, so this is by no means an extensive review. I have used it enough, though, so that I can be annoyed by a few small things, while still being impressed with its design and form factor. Annoyances: Lock - I own another CIVIVI knife, the Praxis, and despite its blade being 0.75 inches longer and 0.5 inches wider, it opens so much smoother and faster. The Elementum is still super fast to open, but I expected it to be faster than a much bigger knife. When I went to close the knives what’s where I realized why the Praxis was faster to open and easier to close. Despite the metal plates that sit on either side of the blade and make up the main structure of the handle being the same thickness and distance apart, the Elementum’s blade is about 0.5mm thicker at the point that it interfaces with the lock. This means that the lock applies more pressure to the blade, making it feel a bit more sluggish when opening. This also explains why the lock feels more difficult to open, as you have to push it open further in order to clear the blade. Ultimately, this is incredibly nitpicky and something you’ll only notice if you own multiple liner lock knives, but it was something that took some brownie points off for me. Blade edge - The blade was not sharpened to 15 degrees by the factory. When I measured it with my sharpening system that allows me to sharpen to a specific angle, it measured at almost 25 degrees. Now the edge was still pretty sharp and can retain its sharpness better at a higher angle, but the promise of a 15 degree edge means that CIVIVI should be sending you a wicked sharp knife. I ended up putting a 15 degree edge on my Elementum and it is stupid sharp now. It almost passes the standing paper test and I can easily shave hair off the back of my hand with it. Long story short, either deliver on your claims CIVIVI or don’t make them. A higher angle edge can still be sharp and is good for most people, but just tell people that is what they’re getting. Why this is my perfect EDC knife: Aside from those minor annoyances, this knife is still perfect for me. Why? Maybe it’s because a 3 inch blade feels very familiar to me, as my first pocket knives had blade lengths of approximately 3 inches, but the blade and knife feel perfectly proportioned in my hand. The handle is just long enough so that all 4 of my fingers can securely grip it without a bunch of excess at the end. The contour of the handle is ergonomically perfect for me, as I much prefer one continuous contour over individual notches for the first and second fingers like on the Praxis. The jimping on the spine of the knife is perfect in its placement, length, and aggressiveness. It looks elegant while still providing ample grip right where my thumb naturally rests. By all accounts, the ergonomics and simple appearance of this knife are what won me over in the end. My annoyances with the Elementum can be easily managed or corrected without much effort, so they ultimately did weigh on me much in the end. I look forward to putting this knife through its paces over the coming months, and I plan to update this review after this knife has spent more time in my pocket and hand. If you made it to the end, thanks for reading, and I hope you found my review helpful.

Slick little knife. Nice size and Sharp! At this price point, I'm very happy.

I've had this knife for about 3 months. The other day I was hacking away at a piece of wood with the knife and the tip snapped off. Partially my fault because it's made for cutting, not prying, but it broke really easily. The blade kerf is very thin, so this contributed to the failure, but I've given utility knife blades much more abuse without breakage, which are much thinner and just as sharp. I can reshape it on the belt sander and resharpen it to a point, but I feel a pocket knife should hold up better than this. They're making these knives out of too hard and brittle an alloy. Super sharpness isn't the only thing I need. Today I went to pull it off my pocket where I hang it with the belt clip and the knife was missing. I found it inside my pocket with one of the screws on the belt clip completely missing, so now I can't even tighten it back up, and good luck finding the appropriate screw to replace it with. Completely inexcusable quality control failure. I've never had a belt clip fall off a knife like this, and it's only been 3 months of daily carry. My last complaint is that I don't like the way it comes open. It worked kind of poorly at first, and as I broke it in it got better, but now it's back to sticking halfway open and I need to hard wrist flick it to get it the rest of the way. The old school thumb post when done right works much better. I pine away for a replacement for the cheapo Smith & Wesson knife I bought off the counter at the auto parts store for $10. That knife saw endless abuse over 10+ years and I literally just wore the hinge out to the point the screw won't stay in, even with loctite on it. Otherwise that knife is in fine working order. It wasn't the very sharpest, but it was sharp enough and it was extremely durable. It also allowed for easy one handed opening without having to flick your wrist. My only complaint about that knife is that it was kind of menacing looking and I didn't like bringing it out in public, but reliability is my highest priority, followed very closely by ergonomics, and it delivered the goods on both fronts. Knives I've purchased since then for many multiples in price have all disappointed. The knife I had before that one was also very cheap and seemed to hold up better than the more recent purchases I've made. Maybe I should just buy the cheapest piece of junk I can find and the quality will be better? Anyway, I don't recommend this knife unless all you do is cut open envelopes with it. It's not durable enough for a utility type pocket knife.