Civivi vs Kizer Vanguard?

S

SkyStream

Joined
Aug 19, 2020
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It seems like Civivi gets way more hype and attention than the Kizer Vanguard series and I don't understand why. Kizer uses more desirable blade steels and has superior flipping action in my opinion Kizer knives are typically a little more expensive but it should be expected when every Kizer that I can think of has a designer involved with several being American designers. Most Civivi knives are in house designs and when there's a designer involved, as with the Mckenna, the price is clearly higher and pretty comparable in price to a Kizer Vanguard.

I'm not bashing Civivi in any way. They are great knives but Kizer Vanguard is better and deserves more credit in my opinion.
 
A few factors one huge one being that the production game of civivi is unmatched right now. They put out so many new knives every year they stay on top of youtube "top ten budget knives" lists. Another thing is price. The vanguard series can be had for around 55$ at the low end and civivi produces models in the low 40s. It may be hair splitting for those of us that buy more expensive knives but that can matter for a lot of folks.

There are some really good Kizer Vanguard knives though and I agree that more people should get their hands on one. At the same time if I am going to recommend one of the two for a newer knife owner im certainly going Civivi.
 
I saw nothing I like in the kizer vanguard line except a tanto or two models around 3.4" blade and they were pricey. on the cheaper side models lots of tiny blade stuff and designs that I have zero interest in. civivi has some in house damascus, and 3.5 and larger models. given the two, id buy a civivi. just on blade size alone and I like that damascus.
 
jbmonkey said:
I saw nothing I like in the kizer vanguard line except a tanto or two models around 3.4" blade and they were pricey. on the cheaper side models lots of tiny blade stuff and designs that I have zero interest in. civivi has some in house damascus, and 3.5 and larger models. given the two, id buy a civivi. just on blade size alone and I like that damascus.
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Their Damascus is pretty nice but the thing I don't like is how they change the handles to slippery carbon fiber overlays on most of their Damascus options. I really wish they would either go with full carbon fiber or just leave the G-10 the way it is like they do with the McKenna Damascus.
 
Both are great. Gotta say really love my kizer sheepdogs and vatt lind. The civivi mckenna is one of my favorite little flippers too
 
Akutila said:
Both are great. Gotta say really love my kizer sheepdogs and vatt lind. The civivi mckenna is one of my favorite little flippers too
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I really like the McKenna too. Even though it's a higher priced Civivi, it might be the best bang for the buck front flipper.
 
To me, civivi knives are more attractive and finished to a higher degree.

I only have one kizer and it's a Swaggs Maileah. Bought it to support her, but the knife itself is very "ehh" and cheap feeling.
 
soc_monki said:
Haven't tried any kizers, but civivi consistently has very thin edges and slice oh so nicely. For the price, imo, they can't be beat.
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That's the key: cutting is better with a thinner edge. Hollow grinds are a plus for me, as are blades longer than 3.5 inches. If Kizer made something like the Civivi Praxis at the same price point, I'd probably have one.
 
Dergyll said:
To me, civivi knives are more attractive and finished to a higher degree.

I only have one kizer and it's a Swaggs Maileah. Bought it to support her, but the knife itself is very "ehh" and cheap feeling.
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The Maileah is a CJRB knife which is the budget brand of Artisan Cutlery. I have a Maileah and I really like it but I agree that it doesn't feel quite as nice as a Civivi.
 
Oops you are correct sir. I was thinking of the Kizer Swaggs swayback when I said that! Good catch!
 
I've owned some flawless Kizer Vanguard knives, but I've also owned a couple duds.

100% of the CIVIVI knives I've owned have been flawless, and punched well above their price point.

Both great companies and great budget lines, but in my experience CIVIVI's consistency and QC wins out over the Vanguard line. (Every non-budget WE and Kizer knife I've owned has been flawless and an excellent value.)
 
soc_monki said:
Haven't tried any kizers, but civivi consistently has very thin edges and slice oh so nicely. For the price, imo, they can't be beat.
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Thats another thing i forgot to mention. Civivi grinds really are fantastic at any price point. They have knives produced around $40 even running thin hollow grinds. To this day edge geometry is underrated in cutting ability. We spend a lot of time comparing N690 to 9CR but the reality is that the edge geometry is probably what you are going to notice the most in an EDC role.
 
Dergyll said:
Oops you are correct sir. I was thinking of the Kizer Swaggs swayback when I said that! Good catch!
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Interesting. I have used my swaggs swayback more than any other knife since buying it, it's superb.

I like Civivi and Kizer, but Kizer tends to have more interesting designs. All too many Civivis look to alike one another and it is hard to distinguish among them all.
 
jeffsenpai said:
Interesting. I have used my swaggs swayback more than any other knife since buying it, it's superb.

I like Civivi and Kizer, but Kizer tends to have more interesting designs. All too many Civivis look to alike one another and it is hard to distinguish among them all.
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Must be in the eye of the beholder because I feel the opposite. Kizer tends to do a lot of drop points or sheepsfoot blades featuring green or black g-10. I can think of clip points, drop points, tantos, sheepsfoots, as well as carbon fiber, micarta, g-10, and frn for styles and materials that civivi is offering right now. Not to mention the blade steel. Recently they started running 14C28N which I love but even before that they were featuring D2, 9CR (which is actually pretty good), S35VN, and Damascus.
 
jeffsenpai said:
Interesting. I have used my swaggs swayback more than any other knife since buying it, it's superb.

I like Civivi and Kizer, but Kizer tends to have more interesting designs. All too many Civivis look to alike one another and it is hard to distinguish among them all.
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I had never heard of the Kizer Swayback until now. I'm very interested but they are sold out everywhere. I'm hoping they come out with a black at some point but the red looks good too. It looks like White Mountain is supposed to get a Micarta exclusive at some point.
 
I've had a bunch of knives from both Civivi and Kizer's N690 selections. I've had all of them apart for cleaning and inspection. I've used most of them and the others were gifts. (I like to make sure my gift knives are 100%, clean, and lubricated with good non-toxic stuff.) Overall, Civivi is better on fit, finish, and QC. I only had one issue with Civivi. I got an Elementum with a real wet noodle of a detent. Turn-around time on the warranty was longer than I wanted so I just exchanged it via the retailer.

Kizer is definitely decent. The ones that are good are very good. Of the dozen or so I've had, three had issues. One had a chewed up polymer washer. It was assembled with six washers, two bronze per side with a thin polymer washer between each pair of bronze washers. I'm not sure why they made it that way but whatever. I contacted Kizer for a replacement. They sent me a full set of replacement washers and that was nice.

Another knife had corrosion on the inside of one of the liners. It worked perfectly and I only noticed because I had the knife apart. It was dark pitting as opposed to rust. I don't know if it left the factory that way or if something happened during overseas shipping. Either way, it still worked and looked fine when together. So I kept it and still sometimes carry it.

The third was a liner lock with very early lock-up. As a result, it is possible to overcome the lock with moderate spine pressure. By "moderate", I mean more than I would ever want to apply to the spine of a folding knife in the first place. It's just that it isn't supposed to be like that. I could have returned it but it was a limited edition. I may eventually get around to fixing it but for now, I just treat like I do any folding knife: a knife that can fold.
 
I prefer WE to Kizer, and therefore Civivi. Civivi comes in with designs separate from WE, whereas vanguard are less expensive variations of their regular products.

I really like my Mckenna damascus. Wish they made a larger version with micarta or cf. My exarch damascus is nice too.

Civivi is also now offering blades with 14C38N now, which I probably would take over the vanguard series VG-10.

Apples to Oranges in my opinion...
 
K.O.D. said:
I prefer WE to Kizer, and therefore Civivi. Civivi comes in with designs separate from WE, whereas vanguard are less expensive variations of their regular products.

I really like my Mckenna damascus. Wish they made a larger version with micarta or cf. My exarch damascus is nice too.

Civivi is also now offering blades with 14C38N now, which I probably would take over the vanguard series VG-10.

Apples to Oranges in my opinion...
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I like the Mckenna so much that I have the D2 and Damascus. It's the best Civivi and Isham design in my opinion.
 
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