REVIEW – Being a fan of all things EDC, I am constantly reading articles and watching YouTube videos on the subject. Over the past year or so I kept coming across videos on the benefits of replacing a folding pocket knife with a fixed blade. Naturally I was very intrigued as I had yet to take that challenge. So when my parents asked what I wanted for Christmas, I jumped at the chance. Let’s see what the CIVIVI Baby Banter Fixed Blade holds in store!
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $59.50
Where to buy: CIVIVI and Amazon
What is it?
The Civivi Baby Banter Fixed Blade is just that, the fixed blade version of their baby banter folding knife for those who need/want a shorter blade length.
What’s included?
- Civivi Baby Banter Fixed Blade knife
- Attached snake knot red paracord lanyard
- Bead chain
- Black kydex sheath
- Adjustable clip
- Polishing cloth
Tech Specs
- Handle Material – Green canvas micarta
- Blade Material – Nitro-V steel
- Overall Length – 5 inches
- Blade Length – 2.39 inches
- Weight – 1.89 ounces
Design and features
The CIVIVI Baby Banter Fixed Blade comes in two finishes: a green Micarta handle with a stonewashed blade, or a black G10 handle with a black stonewashed black and blue accents. Given that I’m an earth-tones kind-of-guy I opted for the green handled version.
My dad told me at a very young age that it’s always a good idea to have a pocket knife on you. You never know what you might need it for. Over the years, I have tried a variety of different knives and multitools, but I always seem to land back on a trusty Swiss army knife. Whether it’s a Victorinox Huntsman or a Climber (or any of their other numerous models), there has always been something there. However, until recently, I had never thought of carrying a fixed blade. Mostly because many fixed blade knives have a length that greatly exceeds the 3 inches we are limited to in my state. Then I saw the Baby Banter Fixed Blade and knew I had to try it out.
The CIVIVI Baby Banter Fixed Blade knife is built extremely well with attention given to every facet of the product.
The full tang design coupled with the Nitro-V steel makes this thing feel indestructible. After putting this thing through the ringer with countless Amazon boxes and cutting apples for the kids, I can say it holds an edge with the best of them.
The drop point is also one of my favorite blade shapes to use. The curve up at the tip may be too extreme for some, but jimping helps when needing to adjust the angle. The full-flat grind of the blade is also a welcome feature.
Speaking of jimping, the purchase you can get on this knife is fantastic. I love that it’s not only located at the base of the blade where you expect to find it; they also put four groves near the tip for fantastic precision when digging out splinters (or whatever your use case might be).
The canvas texture on the handle provides a wonderful grip, so you don’t have to worry about your hand slipping when in use. The scales are held in place by what I understand to be their own torx T8 screws. In case you need to remove them for cleaning purposes. There are some amazing third party scales out there for the folding version of the baby banter, but I have not been able to find any for the fixed blade version in question. If I had to provide some constructive criticism, I would say the handle would be a bit small. They made it even a slight bit smaller than the folding baby banter. This is not a dealbreaker for me as I have small hands. However I could see a larger individual taking issue with the handle size.
I know it’s a small detail, but I love that they included the snake knot paracord lanyard. I know not everyone will like this, and some of you may even cut it off, but since I always put one on most every knife I have, and use the same knot at that, it was a pleasant addition.
The sheath is where things start to fall apart for me. It is by no means a bad sheath. It’s what you expect from a Kydex sheath: durable and protective. I just prefer more of a classic look. Something in a whisky or cognac brown leather finish. Sadly that is not offered with this knife, and I have not seen any third party choices yet as it was just released late last year.
The clip is, for lack of a better way to put it, terrible. When arranged at the end of the sheath it places the knife handle down in the pocket. It does place it deep in the pocket but it requires three steps for me to access the knife since I am right-handed and would carry it in my right pocket. I need to 1. take the knife and sheath completely out of my pocket, 2. transfer it to my left hand, gripping the sheath, and 3. pull the knife out of the sheath to use it. I would much rather have it sit tip down in the pocket with the clip secured so I can just pull it out with my right hand, and get to work. You can arrange the clip so that it sits tip down, but this was not intended as you can only arrange it that way using a single screw with the other hole sitting on the bulge where the handle of the knife slides into the sheath. That also causes the clip to have a huge gap between it and the sheath so it will not hold in place on the pocket. You can arrange the clip for horizontal belt carry, however that leaves the blade sitting edge up if you use the four holes arranged on the edge of the sheath.
There is an included bead chain as well. It’s fine, and does the trick if you want to neck carry. That said, I have never cared for the feel of metal around my neck so I would find some leather cord, or use paracord to carry in that fashion.
And last, but not least is the included cleaning cloth. It is a nice addition in the box but not something to carry on the daily unless you want to use it for another purpose.
Final thoughts
All in all, I love this thing. The CIVIVI Baby Banter Fixed Blade has a thoroughly thought out design for a pocketable EDC fixed blade knife that punches well above its weight class for basic use (and then some). As you can see most of my gripes come at the expense of the clip and sheath. Mostly the clip, but there are plenty of third party options out there if you want to hone in your preferred carry style. For the money, I highly recommend this little knife to anyone that wants to try a fixed blade pocket knife.
What I like about the CIVIVI Baby Banter Fixed Blade
- Small pocketable size
- Jimping placement for excellent grip
- Strong full tang build
- Very comfortable handle
What needs to be improved?
- Sheath is just ok with the clip being next to useless
- The handle could be a hair small for some
Price: $59.50 (on sale at the time of writing on Amazon)
Where to buy: CIVIVI and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was purchased with my own money. CIVIVI did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
Check out these other EDC knife reviews!
- Shieldon Hoplon pocket knife review – Is it your next EDC pocket knife?
- Artisan Cutlery Andromeda 3.42” M390 & Titanium Handle pocket knife review – a classy carry option
