Copper handles are usually a $200 upgrade. The CIVIVI Asticus C2002F gives you a stonewashed copper frame and a 3.80-inch D2 blade for $70, and the reason it is cheap is also the reason it is heavy: 6.79 ounces of metal in the handle.
The spec: 8.81 inches overall, 3.80-inch blade, hollow grind, satin finish, 0.12 inch stock, D2 at 59-61 HRC, 5.01 inches closed, 0.47-inch handle thickness, 6.79 ounces, copper handle and copper backspacer, stainless liners, tip-up reversible clip. A flipper tab on caged bearings handles deployment.
Hollow grind plus 0.12-inch stock is the recipe for a knife that cuts like a much thinner blade. The concave grind takes the edge geometry down fast behind the bevel, so cardboard and rope separate with less force than the spine would suggest. D2 backs that up with wear resistance — this is a steel that will keep a working edge through a week of warehouse work, at the cost of needing dry storage and a diamond stone when it eventually dulls.
Copper is the aesthetic and the liability. It patinas, it conducts heat and cold, and it is roughly twice the density of aluminium, which is where most of the 6.79 ounces comes from. What you get for that weight is a handle that balances a long blade and feels like a tool rather than a toy. Against the Lazar at $110 the Asticus is $40 cheaper with half an inch more blade and no Damascus to maintain. Against the Chronic at $57 you pay $13 more and give up 3.3 ounces and pocket-friendliness.
Verdict: buy it if you want a large, cheap, hollow-ground cutter with a handle that will look like an antique in two years. Skip it if you carry in light trousers or work in the wet — copper and D2 is the worst possible combination for a damp environment.
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