THE NEW CIVIVI JENCKS FIXED-BLADE KNIFE.

By: Henk “The Knife” Kraaijvanger.

Once again, I have the privilege of field-testing this CIVIVI Jencks fixed-blade knife and then reviewing it. In my opinion, CIVIVI makes very good knives and products for the money. To find older CIVIVI reviews, please use the Search Bushcraft.nl function on the www.bushcraft.nl homepage. CIVIVI sent two new fixed-blade knives, but I will test and review them separately!

THE CO-DESIGNERS OF THE CIVIVI JENCKS: G. MUHLESTEIN, THE THOMAS KNIVES FATHER-AND-SON KNIFEMAKING DUO, AND CIVIVI.

1. GEORGE MUHLESTEIN:
American George Muhlestein has been passionate about knives since long before that was socially accepted. He entered the knife industry by writing about knives and eventually began making videos about them. Over the years, he learned to appreciate every nuance that makes a knife great, whether it is the blade steel, edge geometry, handle design, locking mechanism, or anything else you can think of. When his “nerd level” reached a critical point, he began designing his own knives; he will tell anyone willing to listen about every tiny detail of a design. Besides knives, George enjoys tying knots, shooting a slingshot, playing guitar, and preparing Tex-Mex delicacies in the smoker. He has a wife who is far too good for him and four young boys who cannot wait until they are old enough to carry their own knives!

2. THOMAS KNIVES:
Thomas Knives is the American knifemaking duo of father Darrin and son Hayden Thomas. The Thomas name enjoys “royal status” in the knife world. Darrin's twin brother Devin is a master Damascus-steel smith and a member of the Cutlery Hall of Fame, while Devin's son Larrin is the knife industry's favourite metallurgist. Darrin and Hayden run their own custom-knifemaking business and began their production venture with WE Knife Co! Both are great admirers of Japanese culture, skilled chess players and jazz musicians, and they share a special fascination with growing, processing and cooking with corn.

The knife was named Jencks in tribute to their shared early ancestor and blacksmith, Joseph Jencks.

. GEORGE MUHLESTEIN.

THE CIVIVI JENCKS (C24051-1).

THE CIVIVI JENCKS.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CIVIVI JENCKS (C24051-1).

THE BLADE:
The drop-point blade with a high flat grind deliberately has no finger choil, but it does have a small sharpening choil. The blade is made from Swedish stainless 14C28N, a very good budget blade steel that has proven itself in practice for many years. For strength, it has a wide full tang with a lanyard hole near the end; CIVIVI supplies the lanyard as standard.

The blade tang has a cut-out in the handle section for the integrated finger choil, while the blade spine deliberately has no thumb ridges or jimping.

THE HANDLE:
The relatively thin, slender handle has the previously mentioned integrated finger choil in the middle of its underside. It consists of the wide full tang and two black G10 handle scales with an attractive grain pattern, secured by two T9 Torx screws. This somewhat thin handle contains a lanyard hole and, in keeping with CIVIVI tradition, a lanyard is supplied as standard. Unlike during many previous knife tests, I am using it this time!

THE SHEATH:
The Jencks fixed-blade knife comes with a sturdy black Kydex sheath offering several carry options. The compact sheath is made from two flat, heat-formed pieces of Kydex joined by seven blackened hollow rivets. The supplied T-Clip, designed by renowned American knifemaker and designer Robert “Bob” Terzuola, is attached through two of these round holes and provides an almost vertical carry position. Fortunately, the sheath also has a functional drainage hole. The plastic sheath adapter mentioned above accommodates belts up to 55 mm wide with the spacer removed. A special spacer is fitted at the factory to provide secure retention on narrower belts as well.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THE CIVIVI JENCKS (C24051-1).

INDEPENDENCE STATEMENT.

At my request, and without any conditions or instructions attached, CIVIVI Knives of China sent me this fixed-blade knife through its Dutch importer, Knives & Tools Online, for which I am grateful. It was provided for this field test and new CIVIVI review. The findings and statements are entirely my own and were sent directly to the webmaster without any intervention from the company mentioned. So there were no backroom deals and no imposed instructions; the fact remains that “measuring is knowing”!

CONDITIONS BEFORE THE FIELD AND E.D.C. TESTS.

If any part of the blade, lock or supporting handle breaks, the field test is stopped immediately for safety and the test sample automatically receives an unsatisfactory rating from me/us. The cutting tests can be demanding, but they are fair, normal cutting tests that you would also perform in practice—not “tough-guy” abuse involving a vice, car bonnet, or similarly irrelevant YouTube sensationalism.

RATING SCALE:

MY OVERALL FINDINGS & SCORES FOR THE CIVIVI JENCKS (C24051-1) BEFORE THE E.D.C. AND FIELD TESTS.

MY OVERALL FINDINGS & SCORES FOR THE CIVIVI JENCKS (C24051-1) DURING THE E.D.C. AND FIELD TESTS.

MY OVERALL FINDINGS & SCORES FOR THE CIVIVI JENCKS (C24051-1) AFTER THE E.D.C. AND FIELD TESTS.

SUMMARY.

During and after my field tests, the CIVIVI Jencks (C24051-1) proved to be an outstanding and functional fixed-blade knife for outdoor, bushcraft and hunting use. This CIVIVI fixed blade may look simple, but its cutting performance means that it truly needs no unnecessary embellishments. Its blade is made from Swedish stainless blade steel that has proven itself in practice for many years, and the very well-made Kydex sheath rounds out the package positively. Because of its low weight and therefore limited striking mass relative to its fairly short blade, however, the CIVIVI Jencks is not a true chopper. The slim handle places the balance point within the grip and provides very good blade control as well as discreet tactical carry. The handle could nevertheless be somewhat fuller, which would make it more comfortable and useful during prolonged, demanding work, particularly woodworking and extended heavy cutting tasks.

THE BEST SURVIVAL KNIFE?

The best survival knife is the knife you have with you when you need to survive—not one of the many “wall hangers” at home! So you had better have this CIVIVI Jencks with you!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

Thanks to Candy at WE & CIVIVI & SENCUT Knives for the excellent communication and for supplying the CIVIVI test model. Thanks also to Knives & Tools Online for forwarding this attractive CIVIVI test knife. Without all of that, we could not have produced this new CIVIVI review. You can also see CIVIVI's attractive products on its website: https://www.civivi.com/.

AT LEAST, I CERTAINLY HOPE SO!