Arguably the meanest damn blade of modern times, the Spyderco 'Civilian' is both beautiful to look at and absolutely terrifying to be around.

Designed quite literally for undercover drug agents who were not able to carry guns to "work", to kill an entire house of crackheads if things went bad, the Civilian is strictly business. There is no opening boxes. There is no cutting fruit. There is only horrific injury. In fact Spyderco does not cover any damage to this knife that did not come from an actual knife fight, since there is no other purpose to this knife.

Would you even bother assaulting or robbing someone holding this?

Here is a nice comparison between the Spyderco 'Civilian', 'Matriarch', and 'Tasman'.
Here is a nice history of the tactical folding knife, and Spyderco's role in creating the genre.

I found this nifty interactive comparison of the various steel compositions tonight. 

After reading the current knife laws for the State of California, I realized most of it can be boiled down into two and a half statements*:
1: You may not conceal a fixed blade of any length
2: You may conceal a folding blade of any length
    2.5: Cities and Counties sometimes limit the length of a folder

Well, there goes my plan to keep a Glock Field Knife in my CCW bag, as sort of a joke to my gun nerd friends. Even a Ka-Bar TDI would be sweet in there, since it has a pistol grip and would be a natural fit in a secret holster, but probably not worth the jail time. 

So now what?

Now we find the longest folding knife from each major knife maker, and what the hell, we will only look at the models with Assisted Opening (AO)  mechanisms. Let's be honest, you know you love them. Besides, this thing is going to live in your CCW compartment, so it better be fast on the draw.

$40 / 3.75" = $10.67/inch

After a quick perusal through Kershaw's 2011 Catalog we will find that the average length of a Kershaw with Speedsafe is between 3" and 3.25". A few are 3.5". But there is only one 3.75", the Kershaw Tremor. Ihe curved handle and subtle clip point make this a decent choice for self preservation.

$56 / 4" = $14/inch

While SOG's catalog is much more marketing than specs, we eventually see that the Trident is their largest assisted folder, also at 4". Not my favorite design to be honest. SOG tries too hard.

$60 / 4" = $15/inch

If the question is "what's the longest blade on this list", than the answer is, the Answer, tied with the SOG Trident, each at 4". I haven't use a Gerber assisted opener yet so not much of an opinion.

$60 / 3.625" = $16.55/inch

Columbia River Knife and Tool (CRKT) has many more assisted openers than I thought they would, which may result in some extra 'research' on my part, bur for now I will just mention the longest, the My Tigh, which comes in at 3.625".

$82 / 3.25" = $25.23/inch

I never thought of Buck as having anything as modern as an assisted opening knife, but I looked it up anyway. They make only a few models, none of them looking like much. In case you are an old redneck or somehow back in 1971, I have included he Paradigm Avid to this review, which measures in at 3.25".  I will now back off your lawn.

$245 / 3.76" = $65.16/inch

So technically the Subrosa, which has the most apt name for a hidden item, is the largest assisted opener I could find in the Benchmade product line, so it wins on technicality, but... if we give up just 0.1" of blade length, we can get the...

$110 / 3.66" = $30.05/inch

How about am assisted opener, with a bona fide Benchmade Axis Lock,  and D2 steel which is usually used on more rugged "bush craft" type knives such as the 'Ka-Bar Becker BK-2',  for about $110?

Conclusions:
It is no surprise that Kershaw would come out with the lowest cost big assisted folder considering how popular their 'SpeedSafe' knives are. Considering that the Tremor is by far the cheapest overall and has the best dollars to length ratio, I would have to declare the Tremor as the best bet for most people.

If however, you are one of those people who get all hot and bothered about Axis Locks and D2 steel, the Benchmade Warn looks amazing.

I did not plan on falling in love during this project, but yeah, I'm getting the Warn next.

A lovely everyday carry with Spyderco's take on the axis lock. Using a hard metal ball bearing, the Manix line is as secure as the Benchmade axis lock, but I think nicer looking. Form and function. Imagine that. 


From Spyderco:
"A recipe for folding knife success: Start with hard-use rated lock. Add a blade made of exotic high carbon steel. Manufacture it in Golden, Colorado using precise tolerances then add a healthy dash of American innovation. These ingredients are the Manix2, a concoction of solo features when combined make one of the strongest knives from Spyderco to date. Patented by Spyderco, the Manix2 has a Ball Bearing Lock. It’s a hardened free-floating ball bearing contained in a custom hi-tech polymer cage. The round ball bearing allows the lock to self adjust across a large surface, smoothly and consistently locking-up with solid confidence. Evolving over time, the Ball Bearing Lock’s strength withstands hard work with a secure, versatile and comfortable grip. Ergonomics are peerless in this design. The blade is 154CM and hollow-ground with aggressive thumb serrations (jimping) above a super sized 14mm Spyderco Round Hole. The Jimping doesn’t stop there. With full steel liners the scales have jimping that extends beyond the G-10 handle scales scalloping areas of the handle’s perimeter. This one is not slipping out of your hand and works well with gloves on! The liners pull double purpose by adding rigidly and lightweight strength to the handle. A three-screw clip is left/right-hand carry, positioned for comfort and deep pocket carry. The knife also has a large lanyard pipe to protect various types of cords or thongs."

Two of the things that Italians do remarkably well are industrial design, and playing with knives. From those two come Extreme Ratio.

This has to be one of my favorite designers right now, and the fact they provide the Italian military with specialized weapons doesn't hurt their street cred. In typical Italian fashion, they show they aren't too serious for fun with humorous "About Us" page.

From their website:
"Widely used in Afghanistan as standard equipment by members of the Italian mission "NIBBIO", this knife is part of an experimental project of Alpine Troops Command equipment renewal.
During the preparation of this important mission, the Alpine Troops Command worked with a team of companies to produce a comlete and renewed individual experimental equipment. Extrema Ratio was selected and contacted for the development of a multi-tool for infantry; a knife that could be used at all latitudes and in any kind of problem which could not be solved by the specialized equipment. The success was such that this multi-tool brought to the development of the Fulcrum Bayonet, which had the same characteristics but it could be mounted on ordinance rifles.
The Fulcrum is an extremely heavy and versatile knife. The blade can hold up to 150 kg at maximum load"

While Busse may make totally unbreakable blades, Spyderco produces some of the most insanely sharp blades in the universe. You probably aren't going to use the 'Warrior' create shelter or pry a steel door open, but if you needed to make two cows out of one in a hurry, this is probably the one you want on your belt.

From Spyderco:
"The Warrior fixed blade is one of the world’s most intriguing combat knives. Based largely on the groundbreaking research of close-combat icon Michael Echanis, the original Warrior was a radical design intended primarily for use with reverse-grip tactics inspired by the Korean martial art of HwaRangDo. Produced in limited quantities by the late Al Mar and later resurrected by the martial artist Bob Taylor and Echnais contemporary Randy Wanner, it is one of the most coveted combat knives ever made."

Considered by many to be one of the finest affordable knives for every day carry, the Kershaw Skyline should  be part of any collection. It looks to me a bit like a Sebenza but it costs 90% less.

Specs: 14C28N stainless, G-10 handle, tip up/down

If you know what this is, you are already drooling.
If you don't already know what this is, you still have time to find a rag.

Less than twenty made thus the purple, and from Busse's exclusive double-secret steel INFI.

Bidding starts at $900

It's made from D2 steel so it's a lot tougher than you. It's a Ka-Bar so the fit and finish are excellent. It's blade tells the world "I don't need you anymore". It's humped back handle gives it a unique and very aggressive grip and attack.


It's also only only $29 for the combo blade, and $40 for the smooth. Why are you not just buying this already? Get three... I did.

I was skeptical of the "hump back" handle configuration, but I immediately understood its purpose when I first first handled on. This knife becomes part of your hand really, like a very sharp and totally unbreakable extension of your wrist. No foolin'.

The perfect sweet spot of "stupid cheap" and "I am urban Ninja".

Found this  beauty on eBay tonight.  A drop dead gorgeous blond companion for your Becker, though I bet she prefers a Busse. That's right folks, knife humor. 


From the seller's description:
"Due to a large number of Bushcraft knives with cracked handles, Spyderco has discontinued production of this model and released "factory seconds" of this knife, which have the slight cracks in the handle and are not covered under Spyderco's Warranty. The Bushcrafts we have for sale are not part of these "seconds" and do not have cracked handles, making them extremely rare and highly collectible."

Price: US $324.95