The perfect everyday carry pocket knife may exist. Have I found it? I don’t know. But I have found serious contenders and candidates for it. Regardless, I’ll always be keeping my eyes peeled for the right blade to accompany me for my day-to-day activities. That being said, a great knife that I got to get my hands on is the CIVIVI Elementum.
CIVIVI knives
CIVIVI is a company that falls under the umbrella of We Knife. In addition to We Knife, their other brand is SENCUT. We formerly covered the SENCUT Fritch flipper style lockback pocketknife.
We Knife, SENCUT, and CIVIVI manufacture affordable cutting tools for consumers. Many of the knives produced are made of high quality hard stainless steel. However, there are plenty of carbon steel – as is the case with the Elementum we reviewed – blade options, and even some damascus.
The Elementum
The CIVIVI Elementum we received for evaluation has a Micarta Handle and D2 blade. This knife is a flipper style liner lock knife. Elementum knives are equipped with spring steel pocket clips and have lanyard loop holes at the end of their handles.
The Overall length of the Elementum is 6.99″ with a blade length of 2.96”.
CIVIVI Elementums come outfitted with a caged ceramic ball bearings at their pivots. The ceramic bearings lead to smooth and fast action in opening and closing. The composition of such bearings is such that when they wear over time, they tend to get smoother in operation.
The handle
Micarta was selected for the handle material over the other available options; G10, Ultem, wood, and carbon fiber. Micarta has a throwback feel, with its roots dating back to the early 1900’s, and was pioneered by George Westinghouse. Westinghouse used compounds invented by Leo Baekeland – the father of plastics – to make this durable laminate. The Micarta is not only functional, but gives the knife handle a nice charm.
Blade material
The CIVIVI Elementum has a D2 blade, as mentioned above.
D2 steel was specifically picked because it’s a high carbon tool steel that’s known for its resistance to wear. The Fritch that was evaluated was a 9Cr18MoV stainless steel, and there was interest to see how the carbon steel options from this family of knives performs over a stainless version.
These knives are sharp out of the box and maintain that sharpness for quite some time.
The Elementum in action
The Elementum that we received, I used for about eight months as an everyday carry knife. Since being introduced to flipper style knives, I’ve become a devout apostle of them. The Elementum is strictly a flipper style, as opposed to the aforementioned Fritch which is also outfitted with a thumb stud.
As far as EDC knives go, the Elementum met and exceeded my needs and expectations. I kept my Elementum in my front right pocket, clipped, with other EDC essentials I normally carry. The knife sits nice and deep into the pocket, but is still accessible for quick deployment.
The sharpness of the Elementum was maintained for several months and over many adventures. There weren’t any tasks that it was put up against that it could not cut through or handle.
The lanyard loop hole was not utilized, but it’s a hand feature to have if you need to tie it off.
Over the course of the testing and evaluation of the Elementum, besides normal everyday carry, it accompanied me on several trips and outdoor adventures. Since it was my go to for that period of time, it was heavily utilized while camping, hiking, and a number of volunteer days at an outdoor summer camp.
The quick and dirty
Pluses: Sharp. Easy to handle. Quality materials and construction. Durable. Affordable.
Minuses: Set up for right handed people. There seems to be no left handed option.
The CIVIVI Elementum pocketknife is a great addition to any toolbox or to be included as gear for a number of outdoor adventures. I recommend this knife, along with taking a look at other knives that are sold by CIVIVI or the We Knife family.
