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Civivi Reimagines the All-American Outdoor Knife as an Affordable, Multi-Deploying EDC Flipper

The backwoods stalwart gets a stylish and functional form factor that would very likely blow George Washington Sears’ mind.

Close-up of a folding knife with a black blade and textured dark green handle on a lime green background.Civivi
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By Steve Mazzucchi

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When it comes to uniquely American knives, certain styles immediately jump to mind. 

You’ve got your Bowie, your Barlow, your Stockman and your Trapper, to name a few. 

Folding knife with a black blade and textured dark green handle.
When the blade is deployed, the Outlaw Muk clearly mirrors the classic Nessmuk’s wavy silhouette.
Civivi

Another that absolutely belongs on that list, near the very top, is the Nessmuk, which no less an authority than Blade magazine calls “the all-American outdoor knife.” 

Let’s get to know it refresh our memories through the lens of Civivi’s wild new interpretation, the EDC-friendly Outlaw Muk.

Backwoods story

First things first, this style of knife gets its name from George Washington Sears, an early American outdoorsman who wrote for Forest & Stream and The Atlantic in the 1800s. 

Though he tended to tote more than we do today (it was a different time), he’s now considered the father of ultralight camping.

Closed folding knife with textured dark green handle and black blade visible inside.
Sears might have been stoked to see such a light and foldable form. (The Outlaw Muk tips the scales at 3.74 ounces.)
Civivi

In his book, Woodcraft and Camping, Sears describes his go-to knife as “thin in the blade, and handy for skinning, cutting meat, or eating with.” 

The business end is easily the most noticeable feature: a keen-edged 4- to 5-inch blade with a hump on the spine near the upswept point and a generous belly.

Folding knife with black blade and dark green textured handle featuring a black pocket clip.
The silhouette is like a much rounder and smoother rendition of CJRB’s funky Nanner.
Civivi

Sears wrote under the pen name Nessmuk — honoring a childhood friend from the Nipmuc tribe from whom he learned hunting, fishing and camping skills — and this particular design eventually took on that moniker.

Sears’ version was a fixed blade, the form it typically takes to this day, so I imagine he’d flip his lid over Civivi transforming it into the pocket-sized EDC knife you see on this page.

New vision

The first production blade from part-time knife maker Trey Sprinkle, the Outlaw Muk is true to its name in that it takes the basic shape of the original while also taking some liberties with the design.

Made of budget-friendly all-star 14C28N steel, the blade measures 3.47 inches, which is big for EDC but small for a Nessmuk.

Folding knife with a dark green textured handle and a partially open black blade.
The handy button lock (seen here under the logo) makes deployment and retraction a snap.
Civivi

While you probably won’t be doing any field dressing with it, the full belly and pointed tip make it great for cutting smaller foods, slicing twine, cutting open boxes or piercing through that infernal clamshell packaging.  

The much bigger, more obvious departure from the classic knife is the fact that this one is a folder, complete with a rear flipper and a button lock that makes one-handed operation easy while offering a secondary deployment method.

Folded dark green and black pocket knife with textured handle and black clip.
The generous flipper tab and reversible pocket clip mark this knife as a product of the 21st century, not the 19th.
Civivi

Deployment and retraction into the G10 handle scales will be as smooth as you find on any Civivi (translation: super smooth), thanks to the caged ceramic ball bearing. 

It’s easy to tote, too, thanks to another feature Sears did not live to see: a reversible tip-up pocket clip. 

Availability and pricing

The Civivi Outlaw Muk will be available in four colorways beginning November 25th, with prices starting at $62.90. You can sign up now to be notified the moment it drops.

Folding knife with a black blade and textured dark green handle.Civivi

Civivi Outlaw Muk

Deriving its moniker from the pen name for early American outdoorsman and writer George Washington Sears, the uniquely shaped Nessmuk has been around as a fixed blade for centuries. Not surprisingly, it’s never been reimagined quite like this button-lock flipper, smoothly deploying a 3.47-inch 14C28N steel blade from G10 handle scales complete with a reversible tip-up pocket clip. It is available for pre-order in four colorways with an estimated shipping date of November 25.
About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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