This is a classy flipper with great action and a slice-y blade.
There’s nothing revolutionary about the design: a liner-lock flipper with a drop point D2 blade is anything but a rare sight these days, but the dressing of this knife makes it stand out in a way that makes me happy to take it out of my pocket or keep on my bed stand.
This ended up being a nice knife with a couple of small drawbacks, but overall it’s a smooth pocket carry with nice action and a good blade.
Specifications
| Overall Length: | 7.0” |
| Blade Length: | 3.0” (2.95” cutting edge) |
| Blade Steel: | D2 (or VG10 Damascus) |
| Open System: | Flipper |
| Blade Thickness: | 0.12” |
| Blade Shape: | Drop point |
| Blade Grind: | Flat |
| Pocket Clip: | Deep-carry, right-side only |
| Handle Length: | 4.0” |
| Handle Material: | Stainless Steel w/ G10 inlays |
| Lock Type: | Liner |
| Weight: | 4.0 oz |
| Designer: | Jared Van Ottlerloo |
| Made in: | China |
| What I Liked | What I Didn’t Like |
|---|---|
| Super lightweight | Pocket clip is a mild hotspot |
| Thin-ish slice-y blade | Liner lock is a little difficult to disengage |
| Easy on the eyes | Mid-range price point makes it a tricky recommendation |
The Designer and Intent
Designer Jared Van Otterloo has said before “I like everything.” (per his Knife Junkie interview).
That definitely shows in the breadth of his designs. He has made a knife of every shape, it seems, from multi-faceted fantasy flippers to classic nail-nick openers.
He was a carpenter by trade for 15 years before switching to photography for 10 years. He developed his aesthetic and a love of proportions during that time. He likes symmetry and playing with thirds, but it’s tricky to pin down exactly what his style is.
He’s been a designer for a while now, and has a long list of impressive manufacturing collaborations that include Bob Terzuola, Greg Lightfoot, and even Begg Knives from many years before the Diamici was made.
Jared made the Diamici to be a minimal, streamlined folder with some classic vibes, and it feels to me like he hit his target almost dead on.
The Handle and Hardware
The handle is what pulls you in. Every variation of the knife has that geometric pattern pairing of inserted materials carefully tucked into the clean lines of the scales.
Sometimes looking at it I wish it didn’t have a pocket clip so both sides were equally clean. I would take the clip off and just use it as a pretty desk knife, but they’ve of course made the pocket-friendly decision to recess the base of the clip into the scales so it’s flush. If I were to take it out there would be an empty, oblong insert butting into the wood part of the handle.
That’s the nature of this beast. There isn’t much room to shift things around on the handle, which makes me sometimes wish it were a slip joint without a clip. It would take the functional aspect down a notch, but the aesthetic experience would be that much more pleasant.
But let’s get to functional stuff:
The handle is good. It’s minimal but still interesting and functional.
I didn’t think about it much when I was cutting down cardboard. It’s just long enough for me to keep a firm four-finger grip, and the flat shape of the bottom front third provides a nice stable base for strong cuts.
I did get some hot spots from the pocket clip when I needed to bear down on a cut. It makes no attempt to conform to the curves of a handle, but it functions so well as a pocket clip that I’m willing to put up with the mild discomfort.
The action is butter smooth, and they’ve got the jimping on the flipper tab just right to where it’s aggressive enough to catch the finger but doesn’t feel too abrasive.
The Liner Lock is Tricky
The lockup is solid, but the liner lock is oddly difficult to disengage. They’ve chamfered it too much so my thumb tends to slip a little as I push on it.
They also haven’t cut out any shape around the jimping in the scales, so all the contact comes from the millimeters of sloped steel sticking out above the scales, and that’s almost not enough. It’s a problem that’s easy enough to adapt to, but I wish they’d made the angles just a little harder on the lock bar.
A Minor Pocket Clip Complaint
They’ve matched the angle of the clip to the pommel of the knife, which looks nice, but creates a frustrating problem as a pocket carry: It’s not very compatible with most of the pants I wear.
It’s not technically a problem because the knife is so light the clip could be made out of a saltine cracker and still hold. But knowing the angles are opposed down there somehow never stops bothering me during the day.
Unless I’m wearing my Carhartts, because the clip happens to be perfectly angled for the tool pocket on the right leg. But since this is a dressy knife, it’s either a small tragedy or equally small joke that the Diamici only fits neatly into the pants I wear when I need to dig an irrigation ditch.
The D2 Blade Does What Blades Do
There isn’t much to say on the blade. It’s nice and it came out of the box hair-popping sharp.
After I spent about twenty minutes breaking down cardboard, it only felt a little rougher. It started tearing phonebook paper about halfway through a cut. But it didn’t take much work at all for me to touch it up into a push-cutting sharpness.
This being a D2 blade, I expected a little more fight, but whatever they’re doing to treat and grind these blades seems to make the edge pretty stable.
Comparison and Alternatives
I reviewed this close on the heels of the Kizer Comet, which I loved except for the too-strong detent. The styling is pretty similar except for the clip point blade and dry Micarta scales. The Comet’s price also stays around Civivi Elementum prices, which is to say, under the $100 mark, and that’s a strong argument.
The Finch Cimarron also comes to mind. It has that straight-line aesthetic with a thin blade, and it’s a lightweight gentleman’s carry with a more universally shaped pocket clip.
The CRKT Bamboozled (featured in our D2 steels blog) hits that same area on the minimal-looks spectrum too, just with a blade that’s a little longer, and maybe a little taller.
If you like unique pocket knife designs and convex grinds, the LionSteel SR22 may be what you are looking for.
It Cuts Well, Looks Better, but the Price is Tough
Nothing about using it really blew me away in practical use, but I like having it around:
- It makes my desk look nicer,
- Rides well in the pocket (even if the clip has a weird angle),
- The D2 steel has clearly been treated well,
- And it has a solid grip despite having a minimal, lightweight handle.
The kicker here is the price. All of the alternatives I’ve mentioned are quite a bit cheaper than the Diamici. The (roughly) 130-dollar price tag puts it into close territory with the Spyderco Delica, Benchmade Mini-Bugout, and Kershaw Bel Air, all of which are US-made blades with nice, premium steels.
The thing is, none of those knives have the kind of handle detail that the Diamici has. So my advice here is if you’re just looking for function, you’ll be happier with one of the legacy big hitters I mentioned.You need to like the look of this knife for it to live up to the cost. I do. And if you do too, then the price is absolutely worth it.
