Small-in-stature clip points that punch above their weight.

There’s a reason Buck Knives chose a clip-point blade for their iconic, mega-selling Model 110 as the blade style for their folding knife. The profile has a history of being a hard-working blade. The clip point’s most distinguishing characteristic is a noticeable change in the downward angle of the blade in its spine, which makes for a sharper angle of the blade toward the tip. This change can be subtle to severe, but it always results in a thinner blade height. In essence, the break in the blade angle “clips” it to a thinner, sleeker, more pointed shape. In this BLADE® feature, we’ll look at four modern and totable clip points and their attributes to see how they fit your needs.

Civivi Slippy Sendy

The Civivi Slippy Sendy is the only gentleman’s folder of our test group, and it carries the banner well. Having no pocket clip, it is made for pure loose pocket carry, and at just 1.90 ounces, its weight is no issue. The Micarta handle is a simple slab-style with an overall length of 3.7 inches with a flat, rounded-cornered top that ends in a 1-inch, semi-circular base. The backside scale has a 1/2-inch cut-out that allows the user to access the blade’s rectangular nail nick to engage the blade.

The 2.8-inch blade has its clip breaking 0.80 inch from the tip, while the cutting edge is 0.60 wide, flat-ground and is rounded toward the tip. The blade is Nitro V stainless, a very respectable proprietary knife steel from New Jersey Steel Baron that allows the Civivi Slippy Sendy to punch above its class.

This is an all-round lightweight pocketknife that is very good for light duty around the home, office or on the go. It is not a tactical knife because it doesn’t lock up or have a fighting blade style of thick blade steel. That said, the Civivi Slippy Sendy is handy for tackling mail duty, light meal prep and other unexacting duties encountered daily. I tested it on heavy card stock, packaging twine and thick packing tapes of all types and found the upgraded steel and comfortable ergonomics both handy for all-around use daily.

Cold Steel Engage 2.5

The Cold Steel Engage 2.5 may be small, but it’s a lot of knife in a 6-inch package. The blade width is just shy of 1-inch wide (0.90-inch), and it looks like a scaled-down tactical, which, in fact, it is. This knife is a shrunken version of the Engage 3.5 and is part of a whole series of varied models in the same platform. The Engage 2.5 is named for its blade length, leaving 3.5 inches for the handle.

The 2.5-inch clip-point blade is 4116 stainless steel made by Böhler of Germany, which opens via ambidextrous thumb studs on either side of the blade. The handle features Cold Steel’s patented Atlas slide lock located on the upper spine. An ambidextrous 1.5-inch pocket clip is located on the rear base.

I tested the Cold Steel Engage 2.5 on some thick, cured boot leather. Taking off lengths of the tough material in strips using a metal ruler as a guide, the blade of the knife never wavered or tried to change angles as lesser steels are prone to do. The curved front tip of the blade dug in at an angle and stayed on course with each slice and despite the blade not being a glitzy name brand, the 4116 stainless did its job well and the Engage 2.5 proved its worth.

Demko Knives Nano Shark

The Demko Knives Nano Shark is a pint-sized EDC designed for serious slicing. The very slightly curved blade has always been a workhorse, but during the modern tactical knife era, many edged weapons specialists embraced the blade for its ability to grab and not let go until it had done serious damage.

The Nano Shark has a 2.25-inch blade that breaks to its clip 1 inch into its traverse forward, then breaks downward again where it meets the blade’s flat-ground edge. The upper rear portion of the blade features a healthy, rounded cutout for opening the blade once the user has released it via a pull-down thumb lock. The Nano Shark’s 3.5-inch GRN handle is ample enough to house the entire blade with only the thumb cutout protruding. A reversible 1.75-inch pocket clip completes the package.

The Nano Shark may be a short knife, but it acts like a behemoth thanks to its tall profile and blade thickness. The blade is similar to a short bowie, which makes it a serious small work knife. I tested it as such on a stubborn 3/8-inch synthetic rope. I started by just taking off short lengths on a flat surface before tying a large knot into both ends and free-handing the excess off each knot. I ended up with two tidy knots at each end. When in doubt, practice first!

Big Idea Design TI Lookout

The 6.2-inch Big Idea Design TI Lookout is a simple fixed-blade knife with very few parts to break so it is better for stronger tasks. The Ti Lookout is basically one large piece of premium CMP MagnaCut stainless steel from tip to base with two lightweight, diagonally textured Grade 5 Titanium handle scales for gripping. Aside from the few pieces of hardware holding the handle together and forming its lanyard fitting at the base, that’s basically the sum of parts.

With so few parts to break, the fixed-blade can handle larger, tougher tasks. The downside is the user doesn’t have the compact convenience of a folding knife, but sometimes it is necessary to get the job done. The Lookout comes with a small 4.5-inch black Kydex sheath with a steel hanger fitted to the rear for added strength.

I gave the little fixed Ti Lookout a run for its money on a length of dried redwood 2-by-4. Holding the plank vertically, I dug the blade in at an angle, taking off shavings and holding in consecutively longer and deeper lengths. The Big Idea Design fixed-blade bit in and did its job until its size was simply outweighed by the larger length of wood, but not before the small fixer had proven its worth. I never felt during the process that the Ti Lookout was going to fold or break. That’s why you use a fixed-blade for the tough jobs.

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