CIVIVI Dogma Flipper Folding Knife, D2, G10 Blue, 2005C
[CIVC2005C dis.]

A beautiful, mid-sized, EDC that is a gem. For under $75, you are getting a really nice looking knife that doesn't look like it was designed by some committee in China - and for a short period, Civivi had a feel like they had a cookie cutter AI Ap that was designing the same knife over and over with minor changes. This knife has "a look", "some style", or some "pizzas" if you will. Sure the blade is D2 tool steel, a good reliable mid range budget steel. But Civivi's heat treatment is good and this has held a nice edge, hasn't chipped, and has shown itself to be decent for me. It is a reminder that not all D2 is equal. But more than that, the styling on the blade is nice. The pronounced drop point coming to a sharp almost upswept tip, the really nice satin finish, the cool swedge framing the cut out on the blade, the hollow grind, and the finger choil combine nicely and the blade is all really pretty. But it is also functional. Very slicey with that hollow grind. I am not going to use it really hard, but I have used it to break down cardboard, cut rope, and some harder use utility cuts and it has performed well. Again, on style, the G-10 is good quality, a nice color, and smartly textured. You can use this in the vaseline factory if you work there. It isn't goind to slip. Again, a detail - the liners are a little proud. So they protrude ever so slightly above the scale. That is not a fit or finish mistake, but a design feature. It frames the handle nicely and completes the look. Beyond style, the engineering is good. Hollow liners to reduce weight, a good lock up off the liner lock, smooth reliable action you can count on with Civivi. It deploys using the flipper and I can open it using the hole, though some of my friends with fat fingers can't. I find the finger flick easier than using my thumb, but I have only failed a couple of times on using my thumb and never my finger or, of course, the flipper. Any complaints? Well, after all those design features, they used the standard fold over Civivi clip, recessed screws, but the clip itself is not recessed, but that is nit picking. I struggled on the score. I really like this knife, obviously. Three, four years ago, this was special. But now we have knives like the CJRB Pyrite for $65, the CJRB Ekko for $75, the Raccoon with an axis lock for $80, it has to lose a point for value. It is a great knife, a gem really, but the competition is on its tail. Sure it is smoother and more stylish than the Pyrite, but is it "Oh my god this is fantastic value for this level of style?" That is an eye of the beholder thing. For me yes, but for others, may be not. So my mind gave it a 4, but my heart wanted to give it a 5. Hope you found this helpful.