Civivi's second Elite-series folder, the Tessera, pairs a crossbar lock and CPM S35VN blade with machined aluminum handles — preorders open at $137, shipping by late September.
Civivi's Elite line exists to occupy the space between the company's main catalog and its parent, WE Knife Co. — a middle tier where materials and finishing step up without stepping into full custom-adjacent pricing. The Brova opened that effort with a fairly aggressive, tactical profile. The new Tessera, the second release in the series, takes the opposite approach.
Where the Brova reads as a working tool, the Tessera leans toward a gentleman's-knife silhouette — slim, clean, and visually restrained. The change in character extends to the lock. Civivi swapped the Brova's button-actuated top liner lock for a crossbar lock, the pinch-and-pull mechanism popularized by Benchmade's AXIS design. A crossbar is marginally slower to disengage than a button, but it works identically from either side, which matters for left-handed users.
The rest of the package follows that ambidextrous logic:
Dual thumb studs for manual deployment
A reversible pocket clip, so the knife carries comfortably in either pocket
Diamond-pattern machined aluminum handles — light, durable, and textured enough to compensate for the minimal profile
A 3.37-inch drop point blade in CPM S35VN, a well-established powder-metallurgy stainless that balances edge retention, toughness, and ease of sharpening against pricier super steels
Overall length lands at 7.7 inches and weight at 2.93 ounces, numbers that sit squarely in the range most daily carriers find comfortable — substantial enough to use hard, light enough to forget. Three colorways are planned; one pairs a black stonewash blade finish with the machined handles, while the other two use satin. Materials are identical across all three.
Preorders are open now on Civivi's site at $137 per knife, with delivery expected by the end of September. That puts the Tessera slightly below the Brova, which is a sensible position for a design aimed at buyers who want premium steel and a refined profile rather than a heavy-duty tactical folder. For anyone weighing a first serious EDC purchase, or adding a dressier option to a rotation, the Tessera is worth a look — and it gives the Elite line a genuinely different second act rather than a repeat of the first.