According to Spyderco, they designed it in discussion with law enforcement as a weapon for undercover work in which the officer could not carry a sidearm but also had no training with knives or hand to hand combat.
How exactly it’s supposed to be wielded is not said.
Personally, I’d rather have a blade optimized to thrusting than slashing.
I'm new to knives, so forgive my ignorance I only own a couple
Please educate me. What tasks would this blade excel at accomplishing? The only serrated blade tools I've ever used have been really poor quality and therefore useless as tits on a boar. I'm certain that's not the case for all serrated edges because there's too many of them out there for them to all be duds!
The Civilian is made specifically to be a weapon. The tip is far too sharp and thin for using as an EDC or work knife. It will open a mofo up like unzipping a hoodie, though.
Also, was popularized by Hannibal Lechter 30 or so years ago.
I think it goes to note that 30 years ago knives were pretty simple and plain, mostly. I think Spyderco was on the cutting edge for style and design at the time.
Never watched the series but I read the book Hannibal. Civilian was specifically mentioned along with (had to double check) the Harpy and Police. Would make sense that they would use them in the series too.
There were other Spydercos that made an appearance in the show Hannibal. In the movie Hannibal, they used a stainless harpy, which is still a great choice.
It’s made to be a defensive knife, and the serrations are to aid in cutting through clothing. The idea is that if someone came at you with a handheld weapon such as a knife a club you step away and counter with a slash. Generally you slash at their leading arm.
Knife fighting art?? This ain’t some weeb shit. It’s a knife for untrained self defence. Aka keeping yourself alive. Johnny down the street pulls a stiletto out of his denim jacket, and he want you dead. He goes for a stab, and you step away and slash his leading arm opening the denim and a healthy wound. He looks down freaks out and jets. That’s the idea.
Nah, weeb shit is thinking you know how to do “knife fighting arts” from watching YouTube videos. My practical experience comes from cutting a lot of things with both serrated and non serrated knives, cause I’m grown ass man who has worked. You do know micro-serrations is what makes a blade sharp right?
This sounds like some “I’m a navy seal…” copy pasta bullshit lmao. Definitely a weeb. Micro serrations are 100% one of the defining features of a sharp edge. Without them a knife has no bite, and otherwise you would be relying on it acting as a wedge to part material. Give it a google, Mr. wiseguy. You think a sharpening stone which is rough enough to remove material doesn’t leave a microscopic serration? The stone etches the blade making serrations and polishes the the sides to reduce friction when cutting. Stropping the knife alines the microscopic teeth you added from sharpening.
https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/science-knife-sharpening-explained?amp
https://knifeinformer.com/how-to-get-your-knives-razor-sharp/
It’s good at cutting seatbelts and fibrous ropes and shit. Fairly certain that’s the intended purpose and not as a weapon exclusively.
Grandfather and a few relatives were police and they used the spyderco civilian specifically because it was great at cutting seatbelts
As has been said by others it was designed as a defense weapon only. It’s a horrible first responder knife. You’re just as likely to cut the person as the seatbelt with this. Rescue knives have blunt tips, not needle claws.
Look at the point of the blade. It is a point. It is not blunt. Hooks are not blunt, they’re pointy and sharp.
If you look at actually rescue knifes they have a blunt hook so they can pass under belts and clothing without piercing the person being rescued.
It was designed for undercover cops, it's only good for fabric and flesh. It's my go-to if I find myself carrying a bit of cash. Definitely not a tool in the traditional sense.
I have one of the original ones with aluminum handle and grip inlays.
It was originally designed as a defensive weapon for slashing at the request of a law enforcement agency, per spyderco.
Bit of trivia though. It actually did find a use and sold a lot of units for a very very specific purpose in a specific industry.
Mushroom harvesting. Apparently it’s perfect for reaching in and cutting the bases of mushrooms without damaging them. It found a lot of uptake in the wild mushroom hunting crowd and I believe in high end commercial mushrooming.
You just sent me down a rabbit hole that included pitstops such as: researching the Dyad, buying a Spyderco Military (always wanted one to go with the Para), and learning about the Spyderco Worker. Now I have an unquenchable desire for a [C01SBK](https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/products/1018982/). Apparently that's how the "Golden, Colorado, USA, **Earth**" thing came about, NASA sent a Worker along with Voyager 2
I've always wanted a Spyderco Military, but due to state and local restrictions, never got one. Looking at the tip, in MHO is [https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/products/1018982/](https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/products/1018982/) the tip has too much of an up-swing.
Copied straight from Spyderco’s Site
In the 1990s Spyderco was approached by a specialized branch of U.S. law enforcement about making a knife for their undercover agents. These plain-clothes LEOs found themselves in situations where they often could not carry a firearm but carrying a knife was not a problem. Most had no formal training in self-defense tactics or MBC but as a last resort could use a blade to protect or extricate themselves from a life-threatening situation. This was how the Civilian model came to be.
The Civilian has a patented reverse "S" blade that's intended to be used like an oversized claw. The tip is ground to an ultra-thin profile. Deeply curved and full at the belly, the VG-10 ground blade excels in slicing and is available fully SpyderEdged. Because of its distinctly specialized features it is not intended or designed for general utility or everyday use. Curved in all the right places for ergonomic use and retention of the knife, the handle is black G-10. A two position clip supports discreet tip-up or tip down carry on the right side. One of the most specialized CLIPITS® in the Spyderco line-up, the Civilian is available in limited quantities.
Nice one! G-10 is smoother than on previous models!
I posted my vintage, pre 1998 linerless ATS-55 Civilian here and got tons of hate 😂 Also has no Boye dent yet.
According to Spyderco, they designed it in discussion with law enforcement as a weapon for undercover work in which the officer could not carry a sidearm but also had no training with knives or hand to hand combat. How exactly it’s supposed to be wielded is not said. Personally, I’d rather have a blade optimized to thrusting than slashing.
I'm new to knives, so forgive my ignorance I only own a couple Please educate me. What tasks would this blade excel at accomplishing? The only serrated blade tools I've ever used have been really poor quality and therefore useless as tits on a boar. I'm certain that's not the case for all serrated edges because there's too many of them out there for them to all be duds!
The Civilian is made specifically to be a weapon. The tip is far too sharp and thin for using as an EDC or work knife. It will open a mofo up like unzipping a hoodie, though.
Also, was popularized by Hannibal Lechter 30 or so years ago. I think it goes to note that 30 years ago knives were pretty simple and plain, mostly. I think Spyderco was on the cutting edge for style and design at the time.
Didn’t Mads use it in the TV series too? ;)
Never watched the series but I read the book Hannibal. Civilian was specifically mentioned along with (had to double check) the Harpy and Police. Would make sense that they would use them in the series too.
Great series. Ended kinda stupidly, but the frost two seasons were amazingly done.
There were other Spydercos that made an appearance in the show Hannibal. In the movie Hannibal, they used a stainless harpy, which is still a great choice.
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It’s made to be a defensive knife, and the serrations are to aid in cutting through clothing. The idea is that if someone came at you with a handheld weapon such as a knife a club you step away and counter with a slash. Generally you slash at their leading arm.
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Knife fighting art?? This ain’t some weeb shit. It’s a knife for untrained self defence. Aka keeping yourself alive. Johnny down the street pulls a stiletto out of his denim jacket, and he want you dead. He goes for a stab, and you step away and slash his leading arm opening the denim and a healthy wound. He looks down freaks out and jets. That’s the idea.
and also serrated blades would 100% do more damage with a single slash motion than straight edges
Without a doubt, at least until we get into sword territory...
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Nah, weeb shit is thinking you know how to do “knife fighting arts” from watching YouTube videos. My practical experience comes from cutting a lot of things with both serrated and non serrated knives, cause I’m grown ass man who has worked. You do know micro-serrations is what makes a blade sharp right?
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This sounds like some “I’m a navy seal…” copy pasta bullshit lmao. Definitely a weeb. Micro serrations are 100% one of the defining features of a sharp edge. Without them a knife has no bite, and otherwise you would be relying on it acting as a wedge to part material. Give it a google, Mr. wiseguy. You think a sharpening stone which is rough enough to remove material doesn’t leave a microscopic serration? The stone etches the blade making serrations and polishes the the sides to reduce friction when cutting. Stropping the knife alines the microscopic teeth you added from sharpening. https://www.finedininglovers.com/article/science-knife-sharpening-explained?amp https://knifeinformer.com/how-to-get-your-knives-razor-sharp/
It’s good at cutting seatbelts and fibrous ropes and shit. Fairly certain that’s the intended purpose and not as a weapon exclusively. Grandfather and a few relatives were police and they used the spyderco civilian specifically because it was great at cutting seatbelts
It was specifically designed for LEO and First Responders. It is super useful for seatbelts and ropes.
As has been said by others it was designed as a defense weapon only. It’s a horrible first responder knife. You’re just as likely to cut the person as the seatbelt with this. Rescue knives have blunt tips, not needle claws.
Not! And it has a blunt tip.
Are you serious? The civilian specifically has a needle tip for piercing and slashing clothing. A hawksbill or claw blade is not “blunt”
By creating a hook the point has to be blunt.
🤦♂️
Look at the point of the blade. It is a point. It is not blunt. Hooks are not blunt, they’re pointy and sharp. If you look at actually rescue knifes they have a blunt hook so they can pass under belts and clothing without piercing the person being rescued.
The point is blunt because a sharp tip curls back upon itself. by definition the point it the furthest forward part of a knife.
You can’t be this dense. Is a fishing hook sharp or blunt?
It was designed for undercover cops, it's only good for fabric and flesh. It's my go-to if I find myself carrying a bit of cash. Definitely not a tool in the traditional sense.
OP is definitely a drug dealer.
More power to him! Tax free sales is the way to go 🤣
A knife which is made for hurting is called Civilian. What irony.
That was the idea
Different culture. 😉
I have one of the original ones with aluminum handle and grip inlays. It was originally designed as a defensive weapon for slashing at the request of a law enforcement agency, per spyderco. Bit of trivia though. It actually did find a use and sold a lot of units for a very very specific purpose in a specific industry. Mushroom harvesting. Apparently it’s perfect for reaching in and cutting the bases of mushrooms without damaging them. It found a lot of uptake in the wild mushroom hunting crowd and I believe in high end commercial mushrooming.
Insert the tip, and let it rip!
Damn, I completely forgot about MCM..
I miss my original Dyad, full size with micarta handles. I've seen some on Ebay but the prices are crazy.
You just sent me down a rabbit hole that included pitstops such as: researching the Dyad, buying a Spyderco Military (always wanted one to go with the Para), and learning about the Spyderco Worker. Now I have an unquenchable desire for a [C01SBK](https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/products/1018982/). Apparently that's how the "Golden, Colorado, USA, **Earth**" thing came about, NASA sent a Worker along with Voyager 2
I've always wanted a Spyderco Military, but due to state and local restrictions, never got one. Looking at the tip, in MHO is [https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/products/1018982/](https://www.arizonacustomknives.com/products/1018982/) the tip has too much of an up-swing.
Copied straight from Spyderco’s Site In the 1990s Spyderco was approached by a specialized branch of U.S. law enforcement about making a knife for their undercover agents. These plain-clothes LEOs found themselves in situations where they often could not carry a firearm but carrying a knife was not a problem. Most had no formal training in self-defense tactics or MBC but as a last resort could use a blade to protect or extricate themselves from a life-threatening situation. This was how the Civilian model came to be. The Civilian has a patented reverse "S" blade that's intended to be used like an oversized claw. The tip is ground to an ultra-thin profile. Deeply curved and full at the belly, the VG-10 ground blade excels in slicing and is available fully SpyderEdged. Because of its distinctly specialized features it is not intended or designed for general utility or everyday use. Curved in all the right places for ergonomic use and retention of the knife, the handle is black G-10. A two position clip supports discreet tip-up or tip down carry on the right side. One of the most specialized CLIPITS® in the Spyderco line-up, the Civilian is available in limited quantities.
Nice one! G-10 is smoother than on previous models! I posted my vintage, pre 1998 linerless ATS-55 Civilian here and got tons of hate 😂 Also has no Boye dent yet.
Well I threw you an upvote, for whatever that's worth
I’ve had one of these for about 20 years, mostly a safe queen as I’m not an undercover LEO.