Spyderco Civilian

Joss

Joss

Joined
Nov 20, 2001
Messages
7,351
Does anyone here have an unserrated Civilian? Is it a good knife? Can it be used for anything besides Self Defense?

JD
 
I don't have a Civilian but I do have a Matriarch and I wouldn't use it for anything besides SD. The tip is much too delicate for any other use and it is not covered under the warranty if you use the knife for any other purpose. A Spyderhawk or Harpy would be a good alternative especially if you want to use it for utility tasks.
 
I believe that the packaging for every Civilian states that the knife is not a utility tool and is not designed for use as such. Civilians are relatively expensive, dedicated self-defense tools. You really should choose a more traditional knife design for utility work.

miguel
 
Just to be clear - I wouldn't buy one for anything besides SD. I'm just curious as to who buys them.
 
I personally thing the Civilian is more of a 'show' blade since most of us don't need that extra bit of protection on a regular basis.
 
Have one,

Sits in the drawer.

Have a Tarani folding Karambit I wear regularly though;)

I have seen a few civilians non-serrated. I'd prefer one but have the serrated model, like most.

I'm not enamored with it but used to sell knives at the shows and had one left over from those days.

I had River City Sheaths make a neck sheath for it as well.

It's an option I'll never use I suppose but it's there nevertheless.

Brownie
 
I keep my full SpyderEdged Civvie in my truck for cutting seat belts....:rolleyes: ;).

There are PlainEdge Civilians out there, but I'm pretty sure that those KnifeKnuts who have them won't part with those rare Spydies. However, Civilians are designed for self-defense ONLY, any other use will void the warranty.
 
Spyderco did a couple limited runs of no-serreted Civilians. The first was back when they had the aluminum handle. Then there was the recent run they did with carbon fiber handles. They pop up for sale every now and then. I had one and liked the knife overall. It wasn't as sharp as I would have liked and I wasn't as skilled with sharpening then. It went bye-bye.

The Civi is a very effective SD knife. Don't let the thin tip fool you. It is stronger than it appears. Still wouldn't use it for utility. I got to see the results of a cut from a Civi on my freinds leg. He was sitting in a chair and opened the knife in reverse grip, the tip was about an inch from his leg, he moved his hand forward. He then said a bad word because he cut his pants, then it was pointe out that he cut more than his pants. You could see on the blade that it penetrated a solid inch of flesh. You could see through the fat layer and into the muscle. He never felt the knife cut him!
 
I carry my SE Civilian on the days I feel "spooked".A very wicked knife.I also have a older model Melin that I carry when I need to go smaller.Both are deadly sharp.Now I need to get a Matriarch and a Spyderhawk to complete the "Family".
 
The Civilian is one of the few Spyderco models that I really really like. Especially the carbon fiber version. It may not be well suited for utility tasks, but it is one sweet knife.
 
Say, if your Spydie Civilian is serrated, and you want to 'trade it away', I have a few 50/50 large Micarta Goddard's, and wouldn't mind trading one away...along with a few bucks, for your 'Civilian'...

Email if interested.

Mel
 
I've got a CF PE and a G-10 SE. I have carried the CF but generaly if I feel the need to carry one it's the G-10.

I bought them both as users and couldn't care less about the warranty. I have broken about a 16th of an inch off the tip of the G-10 but 5 minutes with a ceramic crock stick had it back to new.:)
 
...it's that tip that's gonna cause you problems ; even the
SpyderHawk tip has been broken ( forumite Sven on the Spyderco.com
"home" forum suceeded in doing just this! ) my vote would be for
a PE or SE Merlin I've found for use they're much more
sturdier :D


AET :D
 
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