Civivi Mini Elementum Knife Review

I loved my (big) Civivi Elementum, so of course, I’m excited about the Mini version! This has brass and is tiny; read on for more photos!

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 Official Specs

Here’s a link to the Civivi Mini Elementum page.  Technically that’s the copper version; I don’t see brass on their site right now.

Versions

There are at least two versions of the Civivi Mini Elementum.  I think that’s all for now though…  Copper and brass (seen in this post) are available.

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Short Review

I have an orange G10 Civivi Elementum and love it except I always wished it was a little smaller.  Now we have the Mini Elementum, which is not just a little smaller – it’s way smaller.  I like it!  But now I’m wishing for something right in the middle.  For everyday purposes, the Mini Elementum is nearly too small!  It’ll work, though!

Long Review

Package and Manual

What’s Included

• Civivi Mini Elementum
• Split ring
• Papers

Look

This is the brass version of the Civivi Mini Elementum.  Just one scale is brass.  This is referred to as a Black Hand Rubbed Brass Presentation Handle.  Take that for what you will, but the finish on the brass part is quite nice.  The other side, which is the locking side, is stainless steel.

One nice touch, at least if you aren’t using the Civivi Mini Elementum as a survival knife (and why would you be), is that the spine has a chamfer. This keeps it from being sharp and sometimes uncomfortable.

Along with the other stainless parts, this backspacer is most likely stainless too.

Open / Close / Lock

Civivi made the Mini Elementum a flipper, just like the big brother (full size) Elementum.  I reviewed the Civivi Elementum in G10 Orange a while back, in case you want to compare. The flip action is great if the overall size of the knife works for you.  If you have big ol’ meat hangers, then the knife will probably be too small for you to hold and flip comfortably.  That said, there’s enough reveal and the blade is “loose enough” that you can pinch it and open the blade that way, too..

The Mini Elementum is a frame lock knife.  As stated above, the locking side is made of stainless steel.

From a practical standpoint, stainless is good for great longevity.  It does mean that the sides “don’t match” in the sense that they aren’t both brass.

Here you can see the frame lock in the locked position.  The knife is fairly easy to unlock and close, even with just one hand.

The opening action is so smooth. It’s also exceptionally quick. This isn’t one of those flipper knives with a big weighty blade that sort of lumbers out of the closed position to being locked open.  No, this one flicks open quickly!

Below you can see a bit of jimping but not in the usual place.  This jimping is on the flipper tab, and really does provide a good bit of extra grip for flicks.

Build and Feel

These photos aren’t lying about this knife.  It really is that matte finished.  The stainless is actually probably the best matte finish I’ve ever seen.  You can see lines brushed into the brass scale – the stainless scale has those too!

Size

Overall Length: 4.33″ / 110mm
Width: 0.76″ / 19.2mm
Blade Length: 1.83″ / 46.5mm
Closed Length: 2.5″ / 63.5mm
Blade Thickness: 0.09″ / 2.2mm
Handle Thickness: 0.32″ / 8.2mm
Weight: 1.42oz / 40.3g

You could carry this all sorts of ways probably, but the most likely choice is going to be the coin pocket on your jeans.  It’ll probably swim in the depths of any deep pockets…

Importantly, here’s a comparison between the Elementum and Mini Elementum.  The full size is way bigger.  The mini is way smaller. I still love my Elementum; it has such a great thock when opening.  But it’s big!  I wanted something smaller, and the Civivi Mini Elementum is definitely smaller.

Steel / Cut / Oats

Civivi has the blade branded as “14C28N” steel.

Here are the details of that steel:

https://www.materials.sandvik/en/products/strip-steel/strip-products/knife-steel/sandvik-knife-steels/sandvik-14c28n/

Retention

As stated above, the Mini Elementum will likely most happily live in a coin pocket.  But also on the end is a hole for lanyard attachment.

A lanyard is not included.

Conclusion

The Civivi Mini Elementum is a fantastic tiny knife.  If you need a tiny knife, then this is a wonderful choice.  The action is absolutely wonderful.  It’s not extraneous in any department.  Both brass and copper are options for the scales.  Also, the cost is not too high – at $50 (or less, depending on where you get your deals), it’s a great deal. All in all, I call the Civivi Mini Elementum a great win for tiny knives, and can easily recommend it.

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Notes

• This knife was provided by me for review. I was not paid to write this review.  (Technically it was a Christmas present…)
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