Civilian "Reinforced Tip"

[Polecat]

Saw this somewhere while trying to find out info about the Civies. I saw mention that the Tip was "reinforced" on the current generation. What is, or how is it reinforced? Is it thicker, ground different?

Not that I am going to go and pry something with the tip, but just for my own edification I was curious, as it looks pretty vulnerable in the first place.

Thanks,
Dave

[Blerv]

Hi Dave,

I don't recall that but to be quite honest I don't follow the Civie as well as some folks here.

Just to throw out my 2 cents, which I hope are quickly confirmed/denied, I thought only the Matriarch2 had a revised tip from the previous generation which made it a bit more stout. The Lil Matriarch is certainly a different animal as well.

[kennethsime]

Not to get too off-topic, but I definitely broke off the very tip of my Matriarch 2 during the week I used it as an edc just to see if I could. Put it back to sharp with some sharp maker stones, but these kind of knives are really meant for one thing.

[The Deacon]

There's a lot of misinformation on the internet. The fact that you saw mention somewhere of the Civilian's tip being "reinforced" doesn't mean such a change actually took place. I'm not saying it did not happen, but I'd have to see a link to a post by someone from Spyderco saying it had before I'd believe it since neither Spyderco's online catalog on the website, or any printed catalog from 2005 to 2015, mention any change in the tip. In fact, most of them include a disclaimer that the Civilian is not intended for general utility use.

This is from description of the Civilian in the current online catalog. I took the liberty of emboldening the most pertinent parts:

The Civilian has a patented reverse "S" blade that's intended to be used like an oversized claw. The tip is ground to an ultra-thin profile. Deeply curved and full at the belly, the VG-10 ground blade excels in slicing and is available fully SpyderEdged. Because of its distinctly specialized features it is not intended or designed for general utility or everyday use.

[twinboysdad]

My sister bought one last year and the tip was paper thin, as it should be. If used as intended, it would likely be of little concern whether or not the tip was intact. I was goofing with it after cocktail hour and got bit!

[yablanowitz]

I seem to recall seeing pictures here of the tips of newer and older Civilians showing the newer one was ground a little thicker. I don't think I'd call it reinforced or ready for heavy utility use, but it should be a little stronger.

[JD Spydo]

I have often wondered why they didn't make a thicker, more beefed up versions of the Civlian and Matriarch both. There are a lot of people that for whatever reason that would like to EDC either one of the models and would do so if they didn't have to worry so much about whether or not the tip would break or chip on them.

Personally I really like the Matriarch and have used mine before cutting boxes and so forth. I only used the VG-10 version on rough cutting so I have no idea what the older ATS-55 would do to hold up.

The Civilian and Matriarch models were primarily marketed as a self defense tool only and come with disclaimers warning against using for utility purposes. But truly with their popularity growing I would like to see both models beefed up for all around usage.

[UpDok]

I have both a current production Civilian and a Matriarch. The tip on the Matriarch seems a bit more beefed up than the Civilian, but the Civilian is one totally badass blade. I wouldn't use the Civilian to cut up boxes...it might be ok for picking my teeth with if I couldn't find a toothpick :cool: