Civivi Praxis review: full-sized EDC that doesn’t take over your pocket

[JTR357]

Excellent review! The choil kills it for me too. When you have a full-size handle like that there's just no need for it. I'd rather have more cutting edge.
One thing I like about these Chinese knife companies is that most all of their knives already come with a deep carry clip. You'd think Spyderco & Benchmade would catch on. My conspiracy mind thinks that they're in cahoots with Lynch & MXG lol.

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

Thanks! Yeah, 9Cr18Mov is a massive improvement on both edge retention and corrosion resistance. Sure, it's not as tough and takes a couple more minutes to sharpen but it's still easy and holds up so much better for my regular carry tasks.

Yes, I still have a pair of Beacons. They are excellent, among my favorites from WE. Of course, mine are modified. The titanium flats on those made them perfect candidates for texturing mods. They do an okay job with 20CV. The heat treatment isn't as good as Spyderco or fancy stuff like Shirogorov but it's okay. It has plenty of edge retention for my needs.

I don't think I realized just how many knives you own... until your name consistently kept coming up in the archived search for other knives I was interested in It's good info you've put out there btw, helps.

I can't believe you modified the beacon! It looks perfect as is to me but as always I'm considering it's overall strength.

Just got my first 9Cr18Mov recently in the form of AR-RPM9. I look forward to comparing it to the 14c28n, which I've been edcing at your suggestion

 

[DangerZone98]

Hey guys, don't you find the liner lock on the Praxis kind of flimsy?

Any experience with hard using the knife and the lock failing, stuff like that?

Thanks.

Hey man. My Praxis locks up solid to this day. I don’t open my knife 50,000 times a day though. Only if I need it or feel like deploying it.

Kinda tempted by the Mini Praxis now.

 

[DangerZone98]

Excellent review! The choil kills it for me too. When you have a full-size handle like that there's just no need for it. I'd rather have more cutting edge.
One thing I like about these Chinese knife companies is that most all of their knives already come with a deep carry clip. You'd think Spyderco & Benchmade would catch on. My conspiracy mind thinks that they're in cahoots with Lynch & MXG lol.

Thanks! I would’ve preferred a smaller sharpening choil or no choil at all.

 

[Chronovore]

Excellent review! The choil kills it for me too. When you have a full-size handle like that there's just no need for it. I'd rather have more cutting edge.
One thing I like about these Chinese knife companies is that most all of their knives already come with a deep carry clip. You'd think Spyderco & Benchmade would catch on. My conspiracy mind thinks that they're in cahoots with Lynch & MXG lol.

I like a generous sharpening choil. Aside from thinking it looks good in some cases, I definitely prefer to avoid edges running into the plunge and funky effects like the edge smiling up. A bad example will funk up a factory edge. I see lots where you might only be able to sharpen it a couple of times before running into issues. A generous and properly placed sharpening choil skips the question.

You are absolutely right about the deep carry clips. It isn't just that a lot of Spydies ride super high. It's that when I switch to an MXG or Lynch clip, I'm left with bulbous screw heads sticking up into the loop-over. Not only have a lot of Chinese companies gone standard with deep-carry loop-overs, a good number of them have gone standard with flush-fitting clip screws.

 

[Chronovore]

I don't think I realized just how many knives you own... until your name consistently kept coming up in the archived search for other knives I was interested in It's good info you've put out there btw, helps.

I can't believe you modified the beacon! It looks perfect as is to me but as always I'm considering it's overall strength.

Just got my first 9Cr18Mov recently in the form of AR-RPM9. I look forward to comparing it to the 14c28n, which I've been edcing at your suggestion

Thanks for the kind words.

Yeah, AR-RPM9 is basically spray-form 9Cr18Mov. From feedback in the community, it does seem to pick up a little in toughness. I haven't seen it quantified but 9Cr18Mov seems to be down around steels like 440C, N690, and 154CM in toughness. I don't imagine it picking up as much as CPM-154, and even CPM-154 isn't as tough as 8Cr13Mov (much less higher-toughness stainless steels like 14C28N). Still, AR-RPM9 seems friendly enough on the strop. Curiously, I've seen reports that AR-RPM9 gets a little extra corrosion resistance too. That's fun if true but 9Cr18Mov is already extremely stainless.

A major issue I had, besides Artisan calling it a PM steel when it isn't, is that the edge retention of AR-RPM9 wasn't matching 9Cr18Mov with a good heat treatment on the Civivi and Sencut knives. That's not saying AR-RPM9 isn't capable of better edge retention. It's just that with Artisan being the only company using it, it is what it is. I've heard rumors about Artisan improving their heat treatment over time but I don't know.

So as to not leave on a sour note, here is a recent carry pic of one of my Beacons.

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

Thanks for the kind words.

Yeah, AR-RPM9 is basically spray-form 9Cr18Mov. From feedback in the community, it does seem to pick up a little in toughness. I haven't seen it quantified but 9Cr18Mov seems to be down around steels like 440C, N690, and 154CM in toughness. I don't imagine it picking up as much as CPM-154, and even CPM-154 isn't as tough as 8Cr13Mov (much less higher-toughness stainless steels like 14C28N). Still, AR-RPM9 seems friendly enough on the strop. Curiously, I've seen reports that AR-RPM9 gets a little extra corrosion resistance too. That's fun if true but 9Cr18Mov is already extremely stainless.

A major issue I had, besides Artisan calling it a PM steel when it isn't, is that the edge retention of AR-RPM9 wasn't matching 9Cr18Mov with a good heat treatment on the Civivi and Sencut knives. That's not saying AR-RPM9 isn't capable of better edge retention. It's just that with Artisan being the only company using it, it is what it is. I've heard rumors about Artisan improving their heat treatment over time but I don't know.

So as to not leave on a sour note, here is a recent carry pic of one of my Beacons.

Shame about the AR-RPM9. Let's hope Artisan has dialed it in a bit more since you last checked, it's one of the newer models I picked up but we'll see! I'm definitely someone who values a quality heat treat over x amazing steel, it makes such a huge difference on the user end that a budget steel run nice and hard has only a negligible difference to a super steel that's run soft.

Those mods on your beacon look way cleaner than I imagined! That design has such great simple lines, I'm jelly

 

[Chronovore]

Shame about the AR-RPM9. Let's hope Artisan has dialed it in a bit more since you last checked, it's one of the newer models I picked up but we'll see! I'm definitely someone who values a quality heat treat over x amazing steel, it makes such a huge difference on the user end that a budget steel run nice and hard has only a negligible difference to a super steel that's run soft.

Those mods on your beacon look way cleaner than I imagined! That design has such great simple lines, I'm jelly

Thanks, pal! I did a little ergonomic softening and then sent it to KnifeModders for the real work: bark texture, then stone-washing for softness, and a bronze anodization that doesn't really show in that light.

One thing I love about Micarta and G10 is that mods like ergonomic softening are very easy. Even when they are not uniform, layering in those materials can look cool when relieved a little. Anything that is coated, painted, or anodized requires refinishing. I'll sometimes do it with wood but metals I've got to send out.

Yeah, AR-RPM9 felt like a let-down but a lot of that had to do with how they named it and hyped it up in the marketing. As is, it's a reasonable budget steel and some of the models I've seen in it feel reasonably priced.

 

[Mikel_24]

I have this very same knife (Civivi Praxis) and I like it. Action is smooth, blade slices well, steel behaves nicely and the handle is comfortable for me.

HOWEVER I do not agree at all with the statement that it goes unoticed in the pocket. There are many knives out there (from Spyderco, for example, which I have a few) that offer the same cutting edge length and are less bulky and ligthter. I also understand that a more hand filling handle is more comfortable for exerting more force on it, But I don't usually do that with my folders.

Mikel

 

[DangerZone98]

I have this very same knife (Civivi Praxis) and I like it. Action is smooth, blade slices well, steel behaves nicely and the handle is comfortable for me.

HOWEVER I do not agree at all with the statement that it goes unoticed in the pocket. There are many knives out there (from Spyderco, for example, which I have a few) that offer the same cutting edge length and are less bulky and ligthter. I also understand that a more hand filling handle is more comfortable for exerting more force on it, But I don't usually do that with my folders.

Mikel

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Mikel. Yeah, compared to a Para 3, Native, or even the Delica, I agree the Praxis isn’t the smallest or most compact. But in my defense, I was used to carrying the Cold Steel Recon 1 prior to writing this short review hahaha.

I’m eyeing the Praxis Mini even though I have no real need for it.

 

[Mikel_24]

...But in my defense, I was used to carrying the Cold Steel Recon 1 prior to writing this short review hahaha....

Then I understand your feelings completly... I always wanted a Recon 1, but never bought it. I guess I have more knives than I really need (I use them all).

Mikel