CIVIVI Praxis Review

CIVIVI Praxis is a tactical and functional folding knife by CIVIVI that also acts as an EDC. It is known for its sleek design and deep finger choils. It comes in many different colors, as well as the CIVIVI Praxis Mini. Let us dig into one of its variants.

CIVIVI Praxis is an 8.5” tactical, quality, and affordable folding knife. It features contoured handle scales over skeletonized stainless steel liners, jimped thumb rest and deep finger choil. The blade material consists of 9Cr18MoV with black stonewash finish and drop point style and flat grind. The handle is made from Green G10 that offers great ergonomics with a lanyard hole in the back spacer. There is also a black stonewashed deep-carry pocket clip.

The deployment method of the knife is a flipper with a liner lock.

The CIVIVI Praxis came in a little white branded CIVIVI box that included the product itself, a pouch to store it in, a piece of microfiber cloth for cleaning the knife, and a knife-shaped sticker. The pouch is an interesting addition, because you won’t normally get a knife with a pouch at this price.

The nylon pouch is also of a good quality lined with soft felt fully padded. It will prevent the blade from sticking out, even though it closes up. Either way, it keeps the knife safe and secure. It is sized perfectly to fit in the CIVIVI Praxis in a locked position. More than that, you can also use it to store some other stuff. It is multi-functional.

As a customer, our first impression was that if a brand is adding added value stuff in the package, that may mean that it is trying to make up for the low quality of the knife. But we were wrong. The knife turned out to be in a perfect condition. It was nicely polished with contoured edges, and a razor-sharp blade right out of the box. It had that factory edge on it, and sliced through paper like butter at first try.

The handle felt perfectly ergonomic and comfortable in the hand. The flipper tab opened up the blade nice and smooth fully into an open position. Lockup is just as smooth and secure. The liner lock does not get stuck no matter how frequently you open or close the blade by using it. It keeps the blade in a fully locked position when open, so you do not have to worry about it closing in on you.

The belly of the blade is ample enough for various cutting tasks. The jimping and the finger choil further add to the capacity of the hold. You can choke it up, use it to slice and chop, cut rope, etc. The handle and blade are in full alignment with the Praxis’ overall weight and feels very lightweight, even with stainless steel liners and the caged ceramic ball bearings that make the deployment and lockup smooth as ever.

The G10 handle is of high-quality with nice OD green smooth polished finish. It will not fade away anytime soon, even though regular maintenance will be required. The black stonewashed pocket clip is perfect for deep pocket discreet carry and does not take up too much space.

Overall impressions of the knife are just fantastic.

The CIVIVI Praxis sports a 9Cr18MoV black stonewashed stainless steel blade with a drop point, flat grind and plain edge. The drop point makes it perfect for EDC tasks. The blade length is 3.75” with a cutting edge of 3.25”, which provides plenty of sharp point to carry out a cutting task. For pocket knives or folding knives, anything above 3” works well. It is easy to handle, and with the jimping along the spine, much more comfortable to grasp for extended tasks.

The deep finger choil assists in sharpening the blade, and the drop point further makes it easier. It also acts as a finger guard, preventing your finger from sliding down the blade. So finger choils play a very important role in folding knives. On top of that, the bends in the scales further help in protecting your knuckles when chopping on a surface. As with EDC tasks, the drop point also works well in carrying out kitchen tasks like chopping and slicing. The blade and handle profile perfectly fit such tasks.

The stonewash finish is one of the best blade finishes that protect it from scratches and gives it a rugged look. The blade profile on CIVIVI Praxis is just perfect for use as it is quite stabby with high edge retention, 58-60 RC hardness level, razor-sharp grind and wear and corrosion resistant.

The 9Cr18MoV steel is a high-end modified steel, which is a pretty good deal in just $42.50 with 18% chromium and 0.9% carbon. It is strong, durable and functional.

The best way to hold this knife is the one shown in the above image. Carefully place your index finger below the finger choil while placing your thumb on the jimping. It will ensure a firm grip and allows you to choke it up because it has enough width and belly. The blade thickness of 0.11” makes it ultra-thin and sharp, which allows precise cuts.

The handle of CIVIVI Praxis is made from OD Green G10 with stainless steel liners and caged ceramic ball bearings pivot, which makes it buttery smooth when flipping it open or close. It has two regular screws in its back spacer with two smaller ones for the pocket clip, and the large pivot screw. It also has a lanyard hole to attach a lanyard and extend the handle’s strength.

The handle is 4.7” long, 1” wide and 0.51” thick. That makes it easier to grip in average to large-sized hands without necessitating a lanyard attachment. It is very ergonomic; therein, you can use it with sweaty, cold or oily hands as it has slip-proof properties. But it is better not to hold with sweaty or greasy hands for too long because then the texture and color will fade. Proper maintenance and handling of the knife is essential for its longevity. It is highly durable and versatile. The G10 is a popular handle material that is both affordable and high-quality.

The pocket clip is black stonewashed, discreet in the pocket of any fabric and does not take up too much space. It also does not create any hot spots against the pocket fabric. It is configured for tip-up carry with both right and left hands.

The knife weighs just 4.42 ounces, with stainless steel liners nestling inside caged ceramic ball bearings. That makes the flipping and lockup action extremely smooth. The blade sits perfectly straight and does not hinge from its spot. It will also not close or open accidently. So you can perform cutting tasks without having the knife close up on you. The blade slides smoothly between the liners protecting the blade and the back spacer. It locks up perfectly well with the back spine sliding out making it easier to manually open the blade.

There is a firm finger stop at the base of the blade inside the handle that acts as safety for the hand while gripping and using the Praxis. The edges are contoured or beveled, allowing the user to hold the knife comfortably without any sharp edges protruding out. The handle is shaped to fit the hand perfectly, curved at the right angles.

The CIVIVI Praxis is a flipper knife with a liner lock. Both work really well together and are the easiest, most affordable deployment and lockup mechanisms. You can see the prominent flipper tabs protruding from each side that you can flip with your thumb when opening and closing.

A little press on the flipper sends the blade flying open easily and smoothly. It allows frequent flipping of the knife without damaging it. The blade opens fully and locks into a position, which is great for quicker tasks. You do not have to struggle with opening the knife. That is the best quality of a flipper knife.

CIVIVI has also added knurling on the flipper for increased grip when opening the Praxis with added thumb grip.

Using the liner lock is an alternative method of opening and closing the blade of Praxis. The stop pin and the detent ball on the liner allow you to push on the liner to unlock. One of the blade’s stainless steel liners cut out and bend to create a spring effect. It engages the back of the blade tang when blade is opened. The caged ceramic ball bearings in the pivot is what makes the action smooth here too.

So you can either open the knife using the flipper tab and close it with the liner lock, or the other way round, or simply just use flipper or the liner lock. Such a mechanism offers ease of use, convenience, and user-friendliness.

We have used the CIVIVI Praxis for months on end now, and still none of its color or texture has faded. It still looks in the same condition as it did when it first arrived. We used it as an office knife cutting open cardboard boxes, packages, slitting open envelopes, and using it as a paper cutter.

It is much easier to carry around in the pocket, and it does not even feel like you are carrying anything. It is lightweight. We also opened and closed the knife several times using both the deployment and the liner lock. Although we are not used to flipper knives, it did not feel strange in the hand. It moves with the hand’s movement, like it was designed for the shape of the hand, which made it super easy to deploy. Liner lock is more useful in closing the blade than opening it, and you can do it with just one index finger. The best thing about deployment and lockup is that you can carry out both with one hand. One-handed action is a winner when you have got to use the knife frequently and fast.

The value the knife provided for all the months of usage outdoes its price and outperforms our first impressions.

The pouch is very safe and secure and allows multiple usages. If you do not want to carry the knife in the pouch, you can use it to store other stuff like nails. But keeping it in the pouch secures the knife from moisture and dirt. It is also imperative that you clean the knife after every use, although it does not easily get dirty. You can use it with sweaty or greasy hands without accumulating dirt. But cleaning it regularly helps it keep its fine texture.

Overall, the knife outperforms Tenancious, Kershaw, or any other branded knife at this price point. The blade is also easy to sharpen with its flat grind, drop point and sharpening choil. It has everything an EDC folding knife should have.

CIVIVI Praxis and Elementum have a lot in common. Both are flipper knives with drop point blades, jimping, a finger choil, and G10 scales. It also has ceramic caged ball bearings in the pivot that makes the flipping and lockup extremely smooth. Although, it does not flip well as compared to the Praxis. The detent is lighter and does not fully open up the blade in a locked position. You have to fully open it up manually.

Moreover, Elementum’s blade length is just under 3”, which makes it legal to carry in more States, although its actual cutting edge is just 2.96”. It has a shiny satin finish rather than a matte stonewash finish on the Praxis. But it is made of D2 steel, which is harder and pricier than 9Cr18MoV. It sports a blue G10 laminated handle and has a lanyard hole. But the Elementum’s scales are not as well contoured with the right bends to match a hand’s shape as well as Praxis. Although, it does a fine job in the ergonomics department and provides a comfortable grip. On top of that, it costs a bit more than the Praxis, around $50. So Praxis comes on top when it comes to performance and price edge.

The Tangram Orion is also a flipper knife like the Praxis with a liner lock and G10 scales. It costs $40, almost the same price range as the Praxis. Its blade is 3.35” and weighs 3.5 ounces. It also has a finger choil and jimping along the spine for a smooth cutting action. But it sports a Japanese 440C steel, which is harder and more corrosion resistant with a smooth satin finish.

Both the knives are fidget-friendly and perform impressive cutting tasks.

We found the CIVIVI Praxis very impressive with superior performance and all the functional features needed in an EDC folding knife at a much lower price. It is a high-value product, is versatile, durable, flipper-friendly, ergonomic, lightweight, and budget-friendly. You cannot go wrong with the CIVIVI Praxis.

The knife came with a felt-lined pouch for carry, a carbon fiber cloth for cleaning purpose, a sticker and the product itself. It came out with a sharp factory edge and smooth contoured edges. It has deep finger choil, jimping along the spine, a stop pin, and a lanyard hole. It has everything a folding knife should have.

The flipping action is a no-brainer. It supports one-handed action and opens up in a fully locked position, which means it is less manual and more automatic. The liner lock works smoothly, and the caged ceramic ball bearings pivot with just light enough detent makes the opening and closing smooth as butter.

We used the knife for months and it never faded its color or texture, which is a win-win at its price point. It also comes out on top when compared with Elementum and Tangram Orion.