Civivi Baby Banter - Review After Two Months

/ spartanjohns
Link above is where you can donate to support the channel. If you want to, of course.
As for this video:
Filmed on 2023 02 21.
While I know this might be boring I am just trying to give as much information as possible to those who might want it.

[@philoo9750]

Hey. VERY useful video. One of the best I saw on Baby Banter. The very opposite from boring as you feared in the description. It takes time to present your opinions / adjustments. You're so right about the thumb studs. Very informative infos about the edge angle, the non-problematic liner lock etc. Nice to hear that it's good quality micarta. I like this material because of the great grip it provides, especially for heavy duty tasks...which I don’t intend to use a B.B. for. I would have enjoyed a brown version because I really don’t like this green colour. So I might go for the wood version. Very classy in my opinion. Thanks a lot.

[@SpartanJohns]

Hello! I am glad you liked the video. As I said in the description and as I do in most of my videos, I try to offer as much information as possible and i do this for those people who are interested in that particular knife. Someone who is not really interested in this model...might not find this video very.....entertaining. But it's not made to be entertaining but rahter informative. And I am really happy when someone is being helped by the information I provide. This is why I do this! On the wooden scales topic...i do not know their wooden scales but here's some food for thought....why not get the micarta version and use some rit dye? That is if you like micarta. This knife is in the kitchen...has been there since i posted that short about "3rd person testing protocol". MY wife uses it for all sort of tasks...Last time I checked the edge(at 13 dp) was still intact. Dirty but no chips and no rust. If you end up getting one (micarta or wood) i would appreaciate you letting me know if, in your opinion, i missed something. I realize hands are different and that poeple carry and use knives in different ways....but i would still like ot know. Thank you! Denis

[@philoo9750]

@@SpartanJohns Hello Denis. Since you were kind enough to leave a long response to my comment, I’m coming back now that I finally got the desired wooden version. And my impressions are extremely positive. Ergonomics : it’s almost as if it was designed for my (small) hand. I’m not disturbed by the thumb studs neither knife folded that in the deployed version. I might remove them just to try the difference but I’m pretty sure I’ll put them back in place. I was a bit concerned by the slipperiness of the wood. Some users complained that it’s therefore hard to flip open and/or hazardous to use. I had no issues to enjoy the “fidgetability” of the knife and I feel safe using it a bit more roughly because it fits my hand so well and the grip provided by the jimping is quite good. And the wooden version is the one that will not damage your trousers pockets (I heard efficient clip + micarta can be aggressive for fabric). Cuibourtia wood + black blade + golden thumb studs is a beautiful combination. On the classy side but not too much. I don’t have any opinion on the nitro-v steel yet. It will come after some weeks using the knife. Thanks again for your review that provided me lots of knowledge to make an enlightened choice. All the best.

[@SpartanJohns]

@@philoo9750 Thank you for the feedback. I really enjoyed getting to know your first impressions of the knife. And, of course, I have some commentary. I think some might say that the wooden handle scales are slippery but they forget to say "by comparison". That was what I found to be true. Just like some will call a knife "a good slicer" but fail to mention what the comparison is. A splitting axe, a paring knife? The shape of the Baby Banter is, in my opinion, so good that even smooth G10 or CF would not make it "hazardous" to use. I never had the any wooden handle scaled Baby Banter but by what I know and what you wrote I am now certain of it. Ben did a few good things here: the functional design and the aesthetic design. Offering this in so many cool versions. De lines might be "boring" as some describe it....but to different color thumbstuds and coatings on the blade, handle colors...really make it something for everyone. My wife has been using it around the kitchen(cardboard and plastic packaging, some vegetables, fruit--whatever needs a small blade or just an incision). She's not careful with edges. I put a 13 dps edge angle on it and after checking it recently i could not see any serious damage. There might be some small rolling of the apex but it is so small the knife still cuts thru a piece of printer paper. I know, from my own tests, that cutting into hard wood knots and hard plastics can damage the apex. I am curious how it will behave for you! As for the thumbstuds being uncomfortable...if you ever have certain chores where you do the same cut over and over again, where also pressure is necessary(for me it was cutting rope and cardboard for tests) that is where you might notice it. Well...as I said previously: I am happy you found my information useful and believe me when I say: I learned a lot from your reply just now! So: Thank you for that! BR, Denis

[@jesustheyrealltaken]

Excellent long term review, thank you.

[@SpartanJohns]

Glad it was helpful! The knife has been sitting in the kitchen for while now and my wife has been using it for....whatever she used to use her Sage 5 LW for... so now it's in the "3rd person test phase". I am curious how it would do because the edge is currently at 13 dps

[@stephan123321]

Moin Denis, Ich habe dasselbe gedacht, also dass das Baby Banter ein Design ist, das mich mehr anspricht als das Banter. Die meisten meiner Klingen (Klappmesser) haben einen Winkel von 17 Grad pro Seite.....ich glaube ich werde zukünftig den Winkel noch weiter minimieren....deine Erfahrungen mit 13 Grad pro Seite scheinen ja positiv zu sein. Die Pins habe ich bisher immer dran gelassen, ich glaube dir aber sofort, das der Komfort und die Schneidperformance ohne Pins besser ist/wird. Den Nitro V habe ich bisher bei meinem Baby Banter zweimal geschärft, dadurch wurde die Schnitthaltigkeit ein jedes mal etwas besser....man muss dem Stahl wirklich etwas Zeit und eine neue Fase schenken. 🙂 Ein Baby Banter in Magnacut oder Cruwear wäre eine feine Sache. Torx 8 Schrauben sollten sie echt immer nutzen....ich bekomme immer schlechte Laune, wenn ich T6 sehe! 😀 Ein klasse Vorstellung mal wieder, vielen Dank! Ich wünschte wir würden nicht so weit auseinander wohnen, Denis......es wäre großartig wenn wir uns mal persönlich treffen könnten. Stay sharp & Peace, Stephan

[@SpartanJohns]

Hi Stephan, 13 DPS ist ein schneidewinkel dass nicht so klein ist. Fuer Holz, Pappe, Plastik sollten da keine Probleme aufkommen. ABER beim schleifen muss man schon den Grat richtig entfernen. Was ich an Schanden auf die 13 DPS Schneide sehen konnte war nur auf die Spitze der Kante. Also falls 13 DPS zu wenig ist ist hier eine super Gelegenheit mir einer Microphase zu spielen. Thumbstud ist jetzt wieder drauf und das Baby Banter geht jetzt zu meine Frau. {mein 3rd Person testing protocol :)) } Iich werde nach ein paar Tage ueberpruefen und im "long run" werde ich versuchen es fuer sie so anzupassen dass kein Schaden mehr ersteht. Bei ihr Sage 5 LW habe ich den Schneidewinkel bei 17 DPS und Microausbrueche sind schon seltener. Bei 20 DPS war es "eine wochentliche affaire". Ist so eine Sache mit den Stahl und den Schneidewinkel spielen...da braucht man schon Gedult und Interesse and diese Dinge haben. Danke Stephan, freue mich sehr dass dir meine Videos gafallen. Das wuerde ich mir auch wuenschen. :) VG, Denis

[@Brakhage9]

Excellent 👏

[@SpartanJohns]

Thanks a lot! I am really glad you liked the video!

[@K.M925]

Nice review 👍

[@SpartanJohns]

Thanks! 👍Glad you liked it! The Baby Banter might be something for you, even if not completely uk legal...such a small edc should not create too many issues.

[@MartinLeschinski]

Thank you for another awesome Review! It's on my list. I have lots of knives in this size and tend to prefer larger ones, these days. My 2 cents - only the Baby Banter Design looks good to me. The standard is not pleasing my eye and misses the forward finger choil and the Large or XL, is kinda boring.

[@SpartanJohns]

To be 100% honest...I am a knife junkie! I would like to hold any knife in my hand, sharpen it and see how it does. But realistically I don't have the money or the time. So I have to really think about what I buy and test. The Banter...I don't think it is something for me. Maybe if I can find it for a decent enough price on the secondary market... The Big Banter...as you said, and I can definitely understand that point of view, it is boring. But it does look like it would be a decent work knife> The thing which makes me very curious is: it seems to me that it has the same type of liner lock cutout like the Baby Banter...as in: it goes further down the handle. This can make it easier to release the lock but will it have the same issue I talked about? For the Baby Banter it might not be a big deal since it is a small knife and chocking back on the handle is not really something you can/want to do...but the big banter...well....i am curious

[@MartinLeschinski]

@@SpartanJohns with you on the money and time thing. I have around 20 folders and almost 10 Fixed. There are Manix 2, 4xPM2 with 2 in Cruewear, Shaman, Lil Native Slipit, Bugout, Vero Engineering like Impulse, Axon, Neuron, Demko 20.5 and WE High Fin 20CV, Giant Mouse Ace Biblio Micarta, Civivi ButtonLock Micarta stonewashed(first Gen in Sandvik)... TRC Southpole Elmax, Casström No 10 Flat Grind Sandvik, Esee 4(OG) Jars Natrix Micarta N690, Giant Mouse GMF1-FAT Satin, Heid #1 M390, Skrama 240... just to name a few... For hard use, I'd go with maybe 3 of my Fixed and the Spyderco Shaman. All the others don't get close to anything harder than a Swiss Army Knife could not handle. So realistcly speaking... I'm a knife Junkie as well but don't use them that hard on a day to day Basis. I get out regularly and have a fixed as Backup in my EDC, but when it comes to which degree I have a on a blade- it's the stropped OG shape, most of the year. I have wetstones and use them, as well. But 80% for our kitchen knifes :) For my high value best pieces, I still send them to a Pro, for sharpening. They get a symmetrical edge and a mirror Finish. But that's like months after stropping them first, after purchase.

[@SpartanJohns]

I have a Shaman. Now it is with a friend who likes it more than I do. I reduced the edge angle to about 17-18 dps....but still it is too thick. When he's had enough of it I will take it down to 15 dps and see if I can start to like it...for rougher tasks...sure it is great, but I, honestly, do not need a knife in my day to day life...so that is why I am so focused on making them perform as good as they can. So whenever I actually need to use them, i can tell that there is a diference and make sense, in my head, why it was really worth spending 100+ EUR for a knife to do a job that a 10 EUR Opinel could have done :))

[@MartinLeschinski]

@@SpartanJohns great point! Let it perform over the Mora Companion. - which isn't that bad at all :) I'm still lurking around a Sharpening System- but the almost 500 Euro let me always pick the next blade over it. There will be a time end of this year, when I have my next 2 goals (Vero Synapse XL and CKF Rotten EVO 3.0) that I have cash for the controlled sharpening system and will try out different angles and corse biting vs mirror phases on some of my cheaper Knifes.

[@MartinLeschinski]

@@SpartanJohns you are a good friend to have! :) The Shaman(have skinny Micarta scales on it)carries so well in the pocket. Way better than Manix 2, the PM2s or other reasonable sized ones. Just my Demko 20.5 get's more pocket time. It's light, lock is brilliant and the shape is thin. But handling... Shaman all the way. 90% of my friends don't worry about knives, tools and that stuff. So even if I'd handle the pain of giving one of my babies away, not knowing what they do with it... what a nightmare... Mainly my wife gets to try my blades and hey- she knows how to open and close all different ones, which makes me proud

[@ianrawlings2546]

So it's okay if you completely resharpen it and change the apex angle. Which I can't do. So I won't bother to buy one. At least I know that now. Thank you.

[@SpartanJohns]

I think it's ok even if you don't change the edge angle. The inittial edge was decent. But with a lower edge angle, which makes sense for small knives, it is really a good edc

[@RioDeLaNorte]

Ich habe das Messer auch, bin sehr zufrieden damit.

[@SpartanJohns]

Dieses kleine Ding war eine echt angenehme Ueberraschung! Obwohl ich mehr auf L-->XL Messer stehe...fing ich an, und damit hat auch das Baby Banter was zu tun, mich nach kleinere Messer umzuschauen.

[@cwrowe]

Good video

[@SpartanJohns]

Thank you! I am glad you liked the video!

[@jx7230]

This or the para 3? For general EDC.

[@SpartanJohns]

as is....this one. if you're willing to modify the handle...maybe the para 3

[@yuliybeilin5038]

+++👍🏻👍🏻💪🏻

[@SpartanJohns]

Glad you liked it! 🙂