This Affordable New Pocket Knife Boasts a Blade With More Than 2,000 Years of History

Deploying Damascus steel, the Civivi Nugz costs just $95.

Published August 16, 2024

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Updated August 17, 2024

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Among the pocket knife cognoscenti, Civivi is generally regarded as an affordable and reliable knife maker, but not exactly a premium one. The Chinese-manufactured brand is, after all, sold at Walmart.

Sometime later, the practice of crafting Damascus steel was lost … until 1981, when two Stanford metallurgists produced a material that at the very least resembled the blades of yore.

That being said, some of its knives hit a pretty tempting sweet spot between wallet-friendly price and attention-worthy material. Exhibit A: one particular skew of the new, somewhat unfortunately named Nugz, which brings some noteworthy blade steel to the party for less than a Benjamin.

Civivi Nugz Carbon Fiber & G10 Handle (3.17″ Damascus Blade)

$95 at Civivi

Civivi Nugz

We should say, there are in fact four different Mathew Wehrwein-designed pocket knives carrying the Nugz name. Three cost around $70 and pack perfectly respectable Swedish 14C28N blade steel along with G10, micarta or wood handles. Shell out another 25 bucks, however, and you get a knife with some key differences.

The $95 version features carbon-fiber overlays on the G10 handle, which do not really lighten the load (the knife weighs 3.39 ounces, the same as the standard G10 one and slightly more than the micarta and wood varieties) but does add aesthetic appeal that pairs nicely with the more meaningful point of distinction, the blade material.

Because, if you couldn’t guess from its appearance, this knife’s blade is made of that ancient wonder, Damascus steel. While it’s not as hot as the super steel known as MagnaCut — all the rage right now and sure to put a dent in your wallet — Damascus steel does have a cool backstory and the quality to match it.

Performance meets pedigree

At least as far back as Alexander the Great, who died in 323 BC, Middle Eastern blacksmiths pounded out a special steel from India called wootz to make swords with blades that bring to mind the effect of a stone dropped in a lake, a rippling sheen that also happened to hold an edge like no other.

Sometime later, the practice of crafting what came to be known as Damascus steel was lost … until 1981, when, according to The New York Times, two Stanford metallurgists hit upon a high-carbon recipe for producing a material that at the very least resembled the blades of yore.

civivi nugz folded — The overlay of carbon fiber is more aesthetic than anything, but hey, it looks good.

More than four decades later, blacksmiths craft modern Damascus steel by blending different steels and working them into folded layers, with the properties varying depending on the steels used, but always carrying a potent combo of edge retention and toughness — and that telltale rippling appearance.

In the case of the Nugz, it takes the form of a 3.17-inch reverse tanto blade with a wide belly and a flat grind. It can be deployed via the thumbhole or the flipper and is held in place with a liner lock. The knife also comes with a stainless steel pocket clip.

And whether you daydream of ancient battles every time you use it to cut open an Amazon box or not, you can be sure of one thing: You won’t need to sharpen it very often.

Availability and pricing

The Damascus steel Nugz is available now for $95. As previously mentioned, there are also Damascus-free versions with handles made of G10, micarta and wood starting at $67.