The Mantis Civilianaire coin knife arrived the other day. It’s very icey.
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| Mantis Civilianaire Knife Was it inspired by OSS tools? |
The red-rimmed, black-faced circular knife is striking. Both faces have a geometric pattern pressed into black surfaces, creating highlights and improving friction. The red circumferential surface is also textured to improve grip. On small knives, friction surfaces are critical to enhance your grip.
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| An edge view of the open Civilianaire |
These surfaces form the handle and are constructed of G-100, a micro glass fiber/resin composite. Glass fiber has the advantage that it is dimensionally stable and chemically non-reactive to ordinary solvents. It doesn’t expand by absorbing water and creating internal stresses.
The blade is a wickedly sharp
curved slice of steel about an inch long.
The curve feeds material into the cutting edge and effectively lengthens
the cutting edge. The blade opens with a
small spur that sticks out from the coin.
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| The curved blade makes cutting easier |
The blade is a laminated
structure of two 420 Damascus steels supported on a 420 core.
The Civilianaire opens easy with the spur. There is sufficient friction so it doesn't accidently open
I spoke to Gary West, the founder
of Mantis Knife, and he explained that the Civilianaire coin knife was designed
to fit most jeans' watch pockets. My
measurements found the closed knife to be 1.3 inches in diameter and about 0.2
inches thick. Compare that to America’s
least favorite coin dollar, the Susan B. Anthony, which clocks in with a
diameter of 1 inch and a thickness of 0.08 inches.
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| Slightly bigger than the unloved Anthony dollar |
Yeah, the Civilianaire is slightly larger and noticeably thicker. You will not accidentally drop it into a coin slot!
The knife doesn’t lock open, according
to Mr. West, because locking knives are prohibited in Europe. I don't see that as a big problem. I instinctively placed my index finger on the
opening spur and pulled the knife to cut with it.
It’s not the knife you’d take on
a raft trip up the Amazon or trekking across the Rockies. It is a knife you’d carry to cut string, open
packages, or in a non-permissible environment.
Mr. West told me the company came
into existence in 1999 when his son joined him after graduation. At the time, they were selling night vision
and metal detectors, but the son was interested in knives more than anything. They looked around and called it Mantis
Knives because Praying Mantises eat spiders, a dig at one of their competitors.
Mantis makes a lot of cool and
interesting knives. You can find the Civilianaire at
https://www.mantisknives.com/product/mck-1-civilianaire/. The MSRP is $50.00.
Check it out. You will be surprised by the range and
quality of Mantis knives.
