Civivi Elementum Utility Knife | Review

I just received the Elementum Utility Knife to test out. Deep down, I know that a product’s packaging doesn’t enhance its quality one bit, but it does make the product look a little richer. Plus, if all things are equal, it will tip the scales so a customer buys that item instead of a competitor’s product.

So with the above said, let’s start off by covering the packaging. The Civivi Elementum Utility Knife comes in a white box. Open that, and you’ll uncover a padded black zip-up pouch that holds the knife, a hard plastic container with three replaceable blades, a cleaning rag, and an extra screw. This adds to the appeal of the knife.

Civivi Elementum Utility Knife

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The Elementum Utility Knife is what I’d classify as a compact sized knife but still large enough to maintain a firm grip on while using. The thumb grooves on the spine along with the flipper help you to maintain your grip.

You have two options to deploy the blade: thumb-stud or flipper.

I am thumb-stud challenged, so I use the flipper. The Elementum Utility Knife has an easy, fast deployment. To close the blade, it has a button lock system, which I like. The handle offers a lanyard hole, and it has a point-up reversible pocket clip.

It uses the same blade as the old-school retractable box cutter knives we used to hang sheet rock. Due to the blade locking design, there is 2 1/8-inches of exposed cutting surface, which is plenty enough for my utility knife tasks, which are about 2 ½ times as much as the old box cutters of 50 years ago.

I was thinking of what project to test this knife on when suddenly, an opportunity presented itself. My wife is a school teacher and is changing classrooms this year. It is the week before school starts, so she is working nearly daylight to dark to get everything set up. She told me that in her best buddy’s room, the vent poured out the heat, and she asked me to cut some cardboard to block the vents. The cooling system is set up so some rooms are freezing, and the room next to it is hotter than blue blazes. So, the teachers in the cold rooms crank up the heat, which half bakes the other teacher.

So, I told Katy I’d run by late this afternoon and rectify the problem. To me opening boxes and cutting cardboard is the perfect testing ground for a utility knife. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever used a utility knife for much else except opening boxes and marking sheet rock.

There were three vents that needed to be blocked. To do so, I needed to cut three 24”x24” pieces of cardboard. That would provide a good test. I measured out the cardboard and cut the first piece. Whoa, the blade was sharp as a…. well, razor.

The second piece also cut like hot butter. The third piece that I used though was double walled and thick. I cut it easily enough but the blade was definitely duller. Still useable but duller which prompted a thought. How hard would it be to resharpen the razor blade to save from buying a new blade every 30 minutes?

After finishing the vent work, I ran home to experiment. I tested it first. It’d slice through a newspaper easily enough but it also definitely had a little drag. What angle does a razor blade have? Pretty steep. I figured 12-15-degrees probably. To sharpen it I used a smooth steel rubbed with 80 grit Emory cloth.

When using a smooth steel, you’ll be working with blades that have softer metal so usually what you think is dull, the edge has just rolled. Due to this logic, I held the blade at about a 14-degree angle and ran the blade backwards down the steel. On one side I could definitely feel that the edge had rolled.

I didn’t steel it too long, probably 10-15 times on each side. I then tried to slice through a sheet of newspaper again. Wow, we were back in the saddle. The edge was razor sharp again. So with that said, I’d recommend resharpening your blades. Since I just started using the Elementum Utility Knife I can’t tell you how many times you can resharpen a blade. It will be interesting to see.

So, if you need a higher-class utility knife, check out the Elementum Utility Knife. I wish the set included a star Allen wrench which you need to replace the blade. The MSRP on the Elementum Utility knife is $50.00 and as is usual, we will close with the specs.

Specifications:

• Model Number: C23039B-2
• Model Name: Elementum Utility
• Product Type: Utility Knife
• Overall Length: 5.91″ / 150.2mm
• Width: 1.19″ / 30.3mm
• Overall Height(Include Clip): 0.64″ / 16.3mm
• Blade Length: 2.26″ / 57.5mm
• Closed Length: 3.65″ / 92.7mm
• Blade Holder Thickness: 0.12″ / 3mm
• Blade Thickness: 0.02″ / 0.6mm
• Handle Thickness: 0.47″ / 12mm
• Knife Weight: 2.3oz / 65.2g
• Blade Holder Material: Stainless Steel
• Blade Holder Color/Finish: Stonewashed
• Blade Material: 6Cr
• Blade Finish: Plain
• With 3Pcs Extra Blades & 1Pc Screw
• Handle Material: Aluminum
• Handle Color/Finish: Blue
• Pocket Clip: Tip-Up, L/R
• Clip Material: Stainless Steel
• Screws / Thumb Stud Material: Stainless Steel
• Pivot Assembly: Caged Ceramic Ball Bearing
• Locking Mechanism: Button Lock

*Note that the button lock is designed with a spring under the button to provide just the right amount of tension so that there is enough resistance to avoid accidental opening, while still offering the ideal amount of pressure to release the lock.

About Tom Claycomb