CIVIVI Teton Tickler Fixed Blade Knife

[King of the Cheese]

I wouldn't say that. I don't love D2 in the first place and there are additional issues with a lot of the Chinese D2. For instance, steels like 14C28N and 9Cr18Mov shouldn't be competitive with D2 when it comes to edge retention. The fact that they are speaks to the problem here. This is made worse by the fact that WE has achieved the opposite with their excellent heat treatment of 9Cr18Mov. It gets good edge retention and has excellent corrosion resistance. I'd be happy to see all of their D2 replaced by 9Cr18Mov or 14C28N.

That's especially true for this knife where the toughness of 14C28N may have additional benefits. Of course, that price might also seem high for a production knife in 14C28N... As the price of a fixed blade climbs up over $200 or so, I have to wonder whether that money wouldn't be better off going towards a custom. A custom knife in AEB-L would be much tougher, more resistant to corrosion, and hold a good enough edge that something like this in D2 falls right off the table for me.

We are talking about Civivi here, not some random Chinese knife off Alibaba. I think we can trust their heat treat.

Also, there is more to price than the steel. How about handle materials? Leather sheath? Size of the knife?

All I’m saying is, if people want to badmouth D2, they need to take a good long look at the rest of the civivi lineup.. because CIVIVI built their house on a foundation of quality D2. If it’s crap, show me the pics of all the broken D2 blades with “C” on the pivot.

 

[Chronovore]

We are talking about Civivi here, not some random Chinese knife off Alibaba. I think we can trust their heat treat.

Also, there is more to price than the steel. How about handle materials? Leather sheath? Size of the knife?

All I’m saying is, if people want to badmouth D2, they need to take a good long look at the rest of the civivi lineup.. because CIVIVI built their house on a foundation of quality D2. If it’s crap, show me the pics of all the broken D2 blades with “C” on the pivot.

There are lots of things that matter in a knife. A good sheath is important for a fixed blade. Nice handle materials are a plus. This is a pretty knife but that dovetails with the high price in making its D2 stick out like a sore thumb here.

It's not a matter of blades in Civivi D2 breaking. That seems rare enough for modern knives, at least in performing any task I'd ask of this one. The issues beyond price include Chinese D2 falling below both expectations based on the preexisting reputation of D2 and the edge retention that D2 is capable of achieving, the low corrosion resistance of D2 as a semi-stainless steel, and that people do tend to value higher toughness in fixed blades. Like I said, this knife at least wouldn't have been a hard pass at its current price had they used 14C28N.

As far as edge retention for the money, the D2 in Civivi knives doesn't seem to be much better than the Chinese D2 in knives from lots of other manufacturers. That kind of D2 can represent a very good bargain versus steels like 8Cr13Mov. For instance, the Petrified Fish 818 in D2 offers a lot of edge retention for $30. While the Civivi knives in D2 might have other things to offer, their steel doesn't seem any better. Coincidentally, I did see a WE knife in D2 that did much better in cut testing. I don't know if they get a more careful heat treatment, if they are treated at a different facility, or if it was just luck of the draw; but I'd rather not have to wonder.

 

[King of the Cheese]

There are lots of things that matter in a knife. A good sheath is important for a fixed blade. Nice handle materials are a plus. This is a pretty knife but that dovetails with the high price in making its D2 stick out like a sore thumb here.

It's not a matter of blades in Civivi D2 breaking. That seems rare enough for modern knives, at least in performing any task I'd ask of this one. The issues beyond price include Chinese D2 falling below both expectations based on the preexisting reputation of D2 and the edge retention that D2 is capable of achieving, the low corrosion resistance of D2 as a semi-stainless steel, and that people do tend to value higher toughness in fixed blades. Like I said, this knife at least wouldn't have been a hard pass at its current price had they used 14C28N.

As far as edge retention for the money, the D2 in Civivi knives doesn't seem to be much better than the Chinese D2 in knives from lots of other manufacturers. That kind of D2 can represent a very good bargain versus steels like 8Cr13Mov. For instance, the Petrified Fish 818 in D2 offers a lot of edge retention for $30. While the Civivi knives in D2 might have other things to offer, their steel doesn't seem any better. Coincidentally, I did see a WE knife in D2 that did much better in cut testing. I don't know if they get a more careful heat treatment, if they are treated at a different facility, or if it was just luck of the draw; but I'd rather not have to wonder.

I have owned probably 30 different Civivi knives of varying steels, used all of them. Civivi has a solid reputation for its heat treat. You might group Civivi D2 in with the same quality as some less reputable manufacturers, but I do not. There is a reason Civivi has such a strong following. The knives are solid, the steel is superb. It isn’t just some crappy blade in better clothes.

 

[Chronovore]

I agree, drop the second part of the name maybe reconsider a new name

Handle looks too smooth, possibly slippery.
Guard looks well done
Sheath needs changed a little, the restraining strap looks cumbersome to use
Recommend changing it to a strap coming from the spine side of the handle and across the guard down to a snap on the front of the sheath
Can’t see the end of the handle so not sure if it has a lanyard pin?
And as mentioned change the blade steel to something a bit higher in value to help keep it above the rest of the pack
G2

These are some good ideas.

One thing I've always liked about Civivi from a style perspective has been the lack of billboarding. Doing it on the sheath here is unattractive to me. If they felt the need to imprint something on the leather, a nice basket weave or other texture might have been nice.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Thanks and yes the front of the sheath is definitely not a good idea, I guess if you were wearing it on a night out people would be able to tell what the knife is at a glance but in the woods I doubt a deer will recognize it
The sheath seems to be made by another company, outsourced by Civivi and doesn’t seem to be to be finished as well as it could be
G2

 

[Chronovore]

I have owned probably 30 different Civivi knives of varying steels, used all of them. Civivi has a solid reputation for its heat treat. You might group Civivi D2 in with the same quality as some less reputable manufacturers, but I do not. There is a reason Civivi has such a strong following. The knives are solid, the steel is superb. It isn’t just some crappy blade in better clothes.

I've also had a lot of different Civivi knives. You won't find me complaining about their other steels. I'm apparently infamous around here for being a proponent of both the Civivi brand and the 9Cr18Mov used by WE in the Civivi, Sencut, and Ferrum Forge knives. I don't have much experience with their Nitro-V yet, but I feel like I don't have to worry about it. There has been a lot of speculation on why Chinese D2 has issues but generally, it does.

In my own experiences with the edge retention of Chinese D2, the Civivi knives haven't been any better than what I've experienced from Bestech or Petrified Fish. I don't know if you think those companies are reputable, or how you feel about other companies like Artisan or Steel Will. I think the following discussion video will do a better job exploring the general issue of Chinese D2, including test results from a variety of brands ranging in reputation from Civivi to Ganzo. For contrast, I'll add his shorter testing video that looks at Civivi's 9Cr18Mov.