A Hogue CounterStrike OTF and a CIVIVI Elite Tessera Kick Out a 940 and a Manix
When someone says two new knives are replacing a Benchmade 940 and a Spyderco Manix 2 for a week, that is a real comparison, because those two are the most established American EDC folders in the category. A fresh r/knives post does exactly that with a Hogue CounterStrike OTF and a CIVIVI from the Elite line.
The Hogue is the exotic half. The poster describes a red Ultem front section on an aluminum case with a narrow double-edged MagnaCut blade. Ultem is the amber-toned high-performance polymer that has spread through the knife world because it is stiff, heat resistant and translucent, and red Ultem is a deliberate statement. Double-edged blades on an out-the-front knife are the harder configuration to live with, because two edges mean a thicker grind and a blade more suited to piercing than slicing, and MagnaCut on an OTF is a genuinely strong pairing: the steel resists corrosion without needing a coated blade, which matters on a knife whose internals are harder to clean.
The CIVIVI is the practical half. The poster says it won on looks, with purple aluminum scales and an S35VN blade, and that both knives deploy quickly with the mechanics spot on. That purple aluminum S35VN description matches the CIVIVI Elite Tessera, a 3.37-inch thumb-stud crossbar folder listed at $136.50 in diamond-patterned purple aluminum. S35VN is the sensible premium stainless: better edge retention and toughness than the budget steels, still sharpenable without diamond stones. Crossbar lock plus thumb studs gives ambidextrous, low-effort opening.
The comparison is against the two knives being displaced. A 940 Osborne is lighter and slimmer with an Axis lock and a narrower blade. A Manix 2 is heavier, wider, and built around a caged ball bearing lock that many users consider the most solid in production. Neither the Hogue nor the CIVIVI beats them on mechanism maturity. Both beat them on being new, and the CIVIVI beats them on price while the Hogue beats them on pure novelty.
Verdict: the Tessera is the buy if you want a purple aluminum S35VN daily carry at $136.50. The Hogue is the buy if you want an OTF with a super steel and do not mind the two-edge tradeoff.
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