A Knife Without Flaw: Civivi Lumi Review
For the price, materials, design, and execution, the Civivi Lumi is unquestionably one of the best knives on the market today. See why.
Justin Lundquist is the knife equivalent of Athena — he burst onto the scene fully formed and confident as a designer of tools. His original design, the Kizer Feist, is one of the bestselling and best-designed knives of the past decade, bringing Lundquist’s clean, virtually symmetric designs to the masses.
Lundquist’s use of front flippers as the deployment method of choice has really impacted the knife world as many designs now open this way.
His initial success has attracted a lot of attention from high-end pocket gems like the Urban EDC Supply Baby Barlow to the WE Knives Eidolon. The only issue with Lundquist’s designs has been cost — there were no budget blades in the Lundquist lineup.
Until now.
Lundquist’s design language is clearly at work in the Lumi, with a front flipper and nearly symmetrical design when closed. But there is more going on with the Lumi than just its hallmark design.
Read on for our review of this stunning blade.
Civivi Lumi Review
Civivi Lumi Specs
- Steel: 14C28N
- Grind: High hollow grind
- Lock: Liner Lock
- Blade length: 2.56 in.
- Handle length: 3.53 in.
- OAL: 6.09 in.
- Weight: 1.76 oz.
- Price: $51 shipped
- Country of origin: China
The knife pulls heavily on the preferred tool of the indigenous people of Northern Europe, the Sami. These people have been doing real work in the harshest conditions for centuries with a knife called a Puuko.
Edge & Handle
This fixed blade has an exceedingly acute (usually zero ground) edge with a handle that swells in the middle. While significantly smaller than a folder, both the acute edge and tip, and the palm swell carries over to the Lumi.
Add to that sculpted and letterboxed handles and a crowned spine with an excellent deep-carry clip, and you have one of the best EDC packages around — thoroughly modern but informed by history.
The steel, 14C28N, happens to be the best nonpowder steel out there, a way to squeeze out some performance while keeping the costs down. (It is Larrin Thomas of Knife Steel Nerd’s recommended choice for budget steels.)
Drawbacks
This is a knife without flaw, a tool that embraces the final and most difficult to navigate frontier of good design: value. The Eidolon is bigger and nicer, made by Civivi’s upscale brother brand WE, but it lacks the consideration of form and materials that help protect one’s wallet.
The Lumi does all that the Eidolon does and does it cheaper, in a lighter package, while making intelligent compromises.
Sure, it lacks the high-end blade steel and the integral G10 handle, but those things don’t impact the end user’s experience 95% of the time.
Conclusion
With its price, wonderful selection of materials (I got the gray G10 handle with a stonewashed blade, but there are a few variations, including some with micarta handles and coated blades), perfect size, and elegant, historically informed design, the Lumi is one of the best knives on the market today. Highly recommended.
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