Happy Front Flipper Friday to all who celebrate! Today is also a NKD* for me with the recent arrival of the Civivi Appalachian Drifter II.

The lineage of the Appalachian Drifter family is intersting as there have been a number of variations. A slip-joint version in S35VN, a liner locking version in S35VN, various damascus versions, and this, the Nitro-V version. All, as far as I know, are now discontinued by Civivi and most places are offering remaining stock with pretty good discounts.

This has an odd-ball pocket clip: it’s curved and has a triangular mount that is not compatible with any other Civivi knife that I’ve seen. (I’m not a We/Civivi/Sencut expert though so don’t hold me to that.)

This might be only the second folding knife I own with a clip-point blade, which seems odd, as I like the blade shape. The original slip-joint has a traditional pocket knife feel/look to it and the Drifter II continues that albeit with more modern materials.

In-hand this feels, for me, pretty good. My hand fits well inside the curve of the scales and I don’t get an hotspot with the clip. The deployment, on my copy, has been a little hit-or-miss. Maybe that’s user error or maybe there’s some weirdness going on but sometimes it flips out beautifully and sometimes it stops half-way. It might just need a disassembly and cleaning though. The jimping on the flipper is not rough and doesn’t tear up your thumb. In theory you should also be able to deploy it by way of flipping with the fuller but I can’t do that with mine. That’s probably all user error though.

The micarta is not overly smooth, which is my preference. I know some complain about the Civivi micarta but I would rather have more traction than less and have never had any issues.

This rides close to the “gentleman carry” category for me and while I would not put it through hard use there’s nothing to indicate it couldn’t handle it. The hollow-ground blade is thin and elegant while the Nitro-V steel gives plenty of toughness.

For the deeply discounted price I paid, I think it’s a great purchase. A nod to a classic looking folder with a modern twist.

(* I actually got this last Friday but as I was heading out of town to go camping in the cold, I didn’t have time to even really look at the knife. )