The McKenna has always been the CIVIVI that looks like it escaped from a custom maker's table. Elijah Isham's design language is the reason: the handle has that stepped, architectural profile, and the blade is a slim drop point that reads more like a gentleman's knife than a work tool. This version, C905DS-2, puts a 2.92-inch Damascus blade in a copper handle and asks $110.
The measurements are gentle. Overall length is 6.75 inches, closed length 3.83 inches, blade stock 0.10 inch, weight 3.22 ounces. The liners are stainless with a black finish, the backspacer is copper to match the scales, the pocket clip is tip-up and ambidextrous, and the pivot runs on caged ceramic ball bearings. The lock is a liner lock, which is the period-correct choice for a knife with this silhouette.
Copper is the conversation piece. It is heavy compared with titanium and it will patina, going from bright orange to brown to near-black depending on how much you handle it and how humid your pocket is. Some people buy copper knives for exactly that; others sell them within a month because the smell and the tarnish annoy them. Damascus raises the same question on the blade: pattern-welded steel at 59-61 HRC looks extraordinary under light and cuts acceptably with a flat grind, but it is not a steel you choose for edge retention. Treat it as a show knife that will still open mail.
Compared with a base CIVIVI Elementum, the McKenna is a hundred dollars more and offers no performance advantage whatsoever. Compared with the CIVIVI Chevalier at roughly half the price, you are paying for Isham's geometry and the copper. Against a Vosteed Raccoon, the McKenna is smaller, slimmer, and far more decorative.
Verdict: buy the McKenna as a dress knife or a gift, not as your only folder. It is beautiful, it is well made, and it is the sort of object that makes a suit pocket interesting. Just do not expect the copper to stay bright.
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