Just purchased my first Civilian. WOW !

[elena86]

What a splendid self defense weapon this is ! I own a few Matriarchs but I allways craved for the legendary Civilian; I was pulled back by the thought that it might be too heavy but no, it’s fast in hand and well balanced. Now I understand the philosophy behind this knife. I wonder who designed this scary yet fascinating blade. My bet is on Sal but I hope he will chime in and tell us more about it.

[tactikool]

James Keating is the designer.

[Stuart Ackerman]

Sal was the designer...

James is the fella that showed us how to use it in dire straits...

[yablanowitz]

Not according to Spydiewiki (among others). Sal designed it in response to a request by a law enforcement agency for a last-ditch weapon for deep-cover operatives who couldn't carry a gun but could carry a knife. They were largely untrained, so it needed to be effective with minimal training and used by instinct. James Keating developed a training/use system that made it much more effective, but he didn't design the knife.

Edit to add: Stu types faster than I do. Or maybe he's less pendantic.

[tactikool]

James Keating is the designer.

Insert foot in mouth. Keating was the Chinook.

[Scandi Grind]

The Civilian and Matriarch knives are some of the more fascinating designs to ever hit the market. I am kind of curious how far they can be stretched into an EDC role, although they are obviously not designed around average cutting tasks. I would never have reason to get one, but they are cool!

[Manixguy@1994]

Fascinating knife but honestly would not be for me , but have handled a friend’s CF Left Hand in PE , beautiful knife . MG2

[Fireman]

It’s an amazing knife. carried one for years

[ZrowsN1s]

They're pretty cool.

[Doc Dan]

I would love to have one, but they are against the law, here. Even my tiny Ladybug hawk can get me many years in prison.

[Stuart Ackerman]

I made quite a few Kydex sheathes for these over the years, but never owned one...
Maybe when I hope to visit the SFO in November next year, I can snag one?

Maybe even catch the Seconds Sale, if there is one in November 2023?

[Fireman]

I would love to have one, but they are against the law, here. Even my tiny Ladybug hawk can get me many years in prison.

Where do you live?

[yablanowitz]

I made quite a few Kydex sheathes for these over the years, but never owned one...
Maybe when I hope to visit the SFO in November next year, I can snag one?

Maybe even catch the Seconds Sale, if there is one in November 2023?

Fingers crossed. It should be the Saturday before Thanksgiving if nothing goes wrong. I got my Civilian at a Seconds Sale a few years back.

[Doc Dan]

I would love to have one, but they are against the law, here. Even my tiny Ladybug hawk can get me many years in prison.

Where do you live?

SE Asia. Except for Thailand, most nations outlaw certain knives and Singapore bans them altogether.

[Evil D]

I would love to have one, but they are against the law, here. Even my tiny Ladybug hawk can get me many years in prison.

Wow really? Is it specifically about hawksbills? I've never heard of a knife law that specific.

[Evil D]

If there was a way to make this exact same knife with a much beefier tip so it could have some harder use I would be aaaaall over that. I like this handle design so much more than the Matriarch/Endura. I wish more back locks of this size used that handle.

[cabfrank]

I've always been intrigued by the design, and wanted one. I do think a Matriarch would be much more practical though. At any rate, I am missing a reverse S knife, and need to get one someday.

[Doc Dan]

I would love to have one, but they are against the law, here. Even my tiny Ladybug hawk can get me many years in prison.

Wow really? Is it specifically about hawksbills? I've never heard of a knife law that specific.

Yes, anything with a curved blade. It used to be common in US cities, too. I almost got arrested when I was a teenager until I proved I used it at work. I had a hawkbill knife in my pocket when the cops stopped us for no particular reason (not uncommon in those days of oppressive rule in the South). It was either a Case or a Boker, I don't remember which.

[Cl1ff]

If there was a way to make this exact same knife with a much beefier tip so it could have some harder use I would be aaaaall over that. I like this handle design so much more than the Matriarch/Endura. I wish more back locks of this size used that handle.

What’s the best thing about the handle to you?

[Evil D]

If there was a way to make this exact same knife with a much beefier tip so it could have some harder use I would be aaaaall over that. I like this handle design so much more than the Matriarch/Endura. I wish more back locks of this size used that handle.

What’s the best thing about the handle to you?

There's three main things I really like:

1. It's very similar to a Military, in how it has a big fat pommel at the end of the handle. This really helps to keep it from slipping out of your hand during hard pull cuts, and on a hooked blade like this that seems really important. I really love the Military ergonomics, so I like this similarity.




2. I really love how the ricasso blends into the end of the handle, and it almost works like a 50/50 finger choil. This eliminates much of the snag potential that a lot of back locks have in that area, which again seems very important on a self defense knife but it's just something I look for in every knife I buy. This probably can't be done on every knife as easily as the Civilian, because there's a reason the ricasso is shaped the way it is, and that's because it needs to hold the blade further out from the handle than most knives to fit the unusual blade shape. On an Endura for example the blade closes much further into the handle, so the ricasso doesn't extend down and blend in with the handle like this. I like it but it would take more of a handle shape change than a ricasso change if that makes sense (or in other words, like the Rock Jumper/handle forward idea).

3. No finger grooves that may or may not fit my finger size.