CIVIVI Brazen Review: A Drop Point with Excellent Action

The size is right where I like it: roughly 8 inches overall with a 3.5-inch blade and about 3.375 inches of cutting edge on my sample. The blade is around an inch wide and 0.12 inch thick, with a nice high flat grind.

This is the 14C28N drop-point Brazen, which is an important distinction from the D2 tanto version. The handle is black G10, about 4.5 inches long, and the pocket clip supports left- or right-hand tip-up carry. It uses a liner lock; our guide to different knife lock types explains how that mechanism works.

The price at the time of my review was $49.30. At that price, I thought you would be hard-pressed to find a better knife among that year’s budget releases. There is a lot going right here.

Putting the Brazen beside the Real Steel Rokot and Kizer Justice really brings out something I like about its proportions. Their blades are quite similar in size, but the Brazen gets there with less handle. The blade-to-handle ratio is so darn good, and it is one of the first things that stands out to me.

The CIVIVI Riffle and large CJRB Feldspar are useful comparisons, too. The Brazen is very much in the same general size range, and its thickness is particularly close to the Riffle.

The blade itself reminds me of a combination of the Incite and Praxis, especially the Incite. It has a sleeker, narrower look than the wider Praxis blade, with attractive grind lines and a screaming, shaving-sharp edge on my sample. I measured about 0.015 inch behind the edge. Combined with the 14C28N steel and 0.12-inch stock, that makes an excellent budget-user blade in my opinion.

Some people might want a thicker tip. I personally really like it as it is for everyday work. That is a judgment about the design, rather than a reason to treat a folding knife as a construction tool.

The steel choice is a big part of why this drop-point version appealed to me more than the D2 tanto. I like D2’s edge retention, but I rust D2 very easily. Here, 14C28N is an excellent choice for what I want from the knife.

I also really like the jimping on the flipper tab. It catches my finger without aggravating it. That is not new for CIVIVI, but I wish more brands got that little detail right.

The thumb studs get the placement, size and color right for me. They are neither too big nor too small, and they don’t aggravate my thumb. The black studs work really well with the black G10 and the washed-looking blade finish. CIVIVI calls that finish stonewashed.

More than anything, I love how the lines flow from the blade into the handle. Nothing looks unnatural or mismatched. The two parts look like they were made for each other, and the knife is attractive both open and closed.

The ergonomics are very good, too. I wouldn’t call these the best ergonomics I’ve ever experienced, but for a handle without a forward finger choil, they are about as good as I could ask for. The thickness and width suit the design, and it is a pretty good hand hugger.

There are no hot spots for me. I can feel the pocket clip, but it doesn’t give me any real trouble. Its rounded shape and the small flattened section at the top help. Depending on your hand size and where the clip lands, you might find it more noticeable; it happens to fall in a good place for my hand.

The G10 scales are flat rather than contoured, with chamfering around the edges that makes them feel good. I also really appreciate the backspacer’s integrated lanyard hole. I prefer that to drilling a separate hole straight through an otherwise good-looking handle.

It is a small detail, especially at the original $49.30 price, but CIVIVI took the extra step. I could imagine an even more hidden internal lanyard attachment, but I have no real issue with this one. If you are going to include a lanyard hole, this is a much more attractive way to do it.

Something about the overall profile even makes me think a little of a Sebenza. I’m not saying it copies a Chris Reeve design; the tip and grind are different. It is more the way the front of the handle meets that simple blade. For a straightforward black G10 EDC knife, I find it a little classier than I expected.

This knife has the trifecta: an excellent flipper, amazing thumb studs and a very easy middle-finger flick off the stud. All three work fantastically well for me.

You could argue for a slightly stronger detent, but I have no issue with it. More resistance would make the middle-finger flick harder, and I like the balance as it is. This is the kind of good CIVIVI action I enjoy.

The flipper tab’s design and placement are among the best I’d seen on a CIVIVI at the time of this review. Compared with the Riffle, there is a small difference in the angle of the top corner. The Brazen has a little more upslope rather than being as squared off, and the placement works really well with it.

It only takes a light push into the tab and the blade flies out. When I showed the knife to my dad, he initially gave it a big wrist movement along with the finger push. I told him he didn’t need all of that: just push into the tab. He did, and that was his first CIVIVI experience. I think he liked it.

Deployment feels effortless and extremely enjoyable, whether I use my thumb, middle finger or the flipper. That is a big part of what makes this knife so good for me.

At the time of my review, this was easily one of my five favorite CIVIVIs. I was still trying to decide whether I liked it more than the Riffle, because both were amazing to me. The Brazen’s simple profile, useful blade and excellent action make it an absolutely fantastic EDC knife in my book.

For more options from the brand, compare our other CIVIVI knives. Keep in mind that this review covers the original 14C28N drop-point liner-lock model, rather than every knife that now carries the Brazen name.