The first model, the "Civilian," was apparently designed at the request of some DEA Officers. Here is an explanation from Spyderco that I found in an old post by Carlos on another forum:
'The Civilian was designed after a long conversation with several DEA officers at a Show. The scenario was explained this way; "We have an officer working undercover in a Crack house. He can't carry a piece. He has no Martial combat skill. Please create a low profile defensive knife that he can use, if discovered, to get out of there alive". Spyderco makes a very limited production, sales are generally to law enforcement, knife nut collectors and civilians that have to work in questionable environments.'
As you can see, the basic concept is for a knife for concealed carry when you cannot carry a gun (for whatever reason).
The Civilian's sales were never restricted since it is only made in small numbers, the price is quite high for a production knife (your average thug could probably buy a stolen gun for that money), and it is only marketed by Spyderco to LEOs.
The Matriarch was made at the request of a Spyderco distributor in South Africa, who wanted a lightweight low cost version. Sales in this country (and a few others) are limited to LEO because of its low price in order to keep them out of the hands of kids, gangs, etc. This voluntary restriction is very controversial, and has started a number of vociferous wars over at Bladeforums.
"Selling them to LEOs has the advantage in that if an LEO chooses to make them available to their friends, they will more than likely 'pick & choose.' I don't think that we're going to see any LEOs selling Matriarchs to gangs on street corners."
Sal Glesser
Hope this helps
David
