[rating:4.5]
There she is. My newest daily carry knife. The Benchmade Mini-Griptilian. I chose the black on black tanto model with serration (model 557SBK). If you have never had the pleasure of checking out a Benchmade let me urge you to do so. These are some of the best production knives you can find. Benchmade has 4 different production classifications for their knives. Red Class, Black Class, Blue Class, and Gold Class. For more details on the classes of Benchmade knives check out this link: http://www.benchmade.com/about_knives/anewclass.asp. The Mini-Griptilian is a Blue Class knife (Gold is their highest class, Blue is second) and comes in a swanky blue box. A couple of things I love about Benchmade is their Lifetime Warranty (defects and workmanship) as well as their “LifeSharp” service which allows you to send the knife back to the factory for a resharpening to “factory edge” for only $5 to cover shipping! Speaking of sharp, Benchmade ships their knives with a razor edge, heed the warning on the box “Handle With Care – Benchmade knives are packaged extremely sharp”
Right out of the box I loved this knife. The grip is great, feels natural in both hands, I have longer thin fingers and this knife doesn’t get “lost” in my hands like some. The handle is a grip textured “Valox” material which is basically a high strength polymer of some kind. It seems like it would take a beating, its very dense.
The blade is 154CM Stainless Steel, which Benchmade describes as “An American made premium grade stainless steel originally developed for tough industrial applications. Known for its best all-around qualities, it offers great corrosion resistance with good toughness and edge quality.” Its hardness is 58-60HRC. The model I received has the black coating on the blade, it looks great and so far hasn’t “scratched” off like some knives I have had in the past.
The Mini-Griptilian uses the patented Mel Pardue locking system. This was the main reason I bought it. This is one of the best and most reliable locking systems you can get on a folder. What does that mean? Well, hacking and whacking is a little safer with this folder. I have been through my fair share of knives and that cheapo made in China you bought for $5 just isn’t going to stay open under much pressure. I like all 10 of my fingers. Do you?
The whole knife is held together with “six-lobe” screws (I always called them star screws). This is actually very handy if you want to adjust your knife’s tension or switch the side of the carry-clip (VERY cool feature). You can also just take the clip completely off if you aren’t into that. They also sell a “tool kit” made just for their knives but you could definitely do without it.
All in all this knife is tough, sharp, and comfortable. The Mel Pardue Locking System has functioned amazingly so far. It looks darn sexy too. This one is getting two thumbs up from me. I will try to do a revisit in a few months to update you on the wear and tear.
I purchased mine from Savson Swords and Knives for $67 (retail price is $102).
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Yes, I would like to trade links.
Alicia
Alaska Survival Supply
Hey Phil
I found your site through the American Bushman blog and then saw you’re linked to Mungo’s, another blog I’m linked to.
It looks like you’ve made a great start, I’m looking forward to seeing more posts. Please have a look at my blog, and let me know if you’d like to swap links?
Kid regards
SBW
Do you take submissions of reviews for survival products? I’ve got a brand new Ranger Knives Ready Detachment Series RD-4 for which I could provide a review. Concerning the Benchmade, any particular reason you chose a partial serration rather than a plain blade?
This is great site and keep up the review.
I too have owned the Grip but in the sheepsfoot with a hollow grind. At first I liked it. It looks very good and ergonomic. However after using it intensively it has gotten to the point were it can no longer be recognized as a BM model.
My take on it is that it is a very good knife for the money. However, in a survival situation it’s not the best thing to be carrying.
On mine (much of this could because of the thin hollow grind) I broke the tip after a little digging and chipped large piece of the primary edge from batoning.
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The knife works great for slicing and is extremely sharp. However several flaws lend into the Grip (mine) is that the, I believe the lock is much too strong for the knife. The lock, in no possible way can fail. I have stood on it, I have thrown the knife from beyond 60 feet into a tree, the lock will not fail. The blade, however, as I explained is weak.
You also got a few things mixed up.
The classes of BMs knives aren’t based on which is better but divided to best suit the customer. The gold class is the most expensive and has knives with the most exotic materials (no better in terms of performance, but better in looking). The blue class is designed for the majority of buyers and is not really better than the black class. The black class was specifically made for military personal and include many automatics as well as a push dagger. The red class is the economy line class for buyers looking for the a good knife for a cheap price.
Also, the handles are made from a high strength polymer not called Valox, but Noryl GTX
Finally, the lock wasn’t designed by Pardue. The blade is. The lock is a McHenry and Williams design, called the Axis.
Even after a little mix up, your reviews are great. Please keep up the good work!
Thanks for the review TC, you are right about the mel pardue mix up, good catch. I have since learned the locking mechanism is called “Axis”. However the handle is called Valox according to the benchmade site.
As far as the classes of the knife I guess I see your point, the point I was trying to make is that the blue class for instance is of higher quality than the red class… considering the red class is the “economy line”.
Thanks for the comment.
After a lot of thought – I have had the Doug Ritter drop point version ins30v for a week now. I agree – “scary sharp” out of the box. My wife has tactfully not mentioned the band aids that have a appeared on the end of my thumb. Great knife will be my country, hiking knife (EDC is not allowed here). I particulalry like the wide blade which helps with chef style guided dicing. It is certainly a cut above the Kershaw vapor and kabar dozier folders which are similar in length in the blade- Compact pocket folders The full metal sekeleton structure in the handle is reassuringly robust. I also like the ritters washed look which is subdued and not polished without being black/tactical – a look that is not appreciated here, in fact I lamost go the yellow handled version. The actual grip is excellent and gives confidence in using it. I cna see why some reviews mention review it as a great hikers knife. For a full back country working knife I might get the larger version as well (less than an inch larger) – have to decide sheeps foot or standard drop point
Savson Swords and Knives, despite good pricing have proven, very unreliable for me. I ordered an SOG Flash I three weeks ago. Still no knife. They don’t respond to email either. I would suggest to everyone that they stay away. It is worth the few extra bucks for a reliable seller with a better reputation for following through. You can check them out on BLADEFORUMS.com it seems to have happened before.
Good choice for an everyday knife! I’m a big fan of benchmade knives. You really can’t go wrong with Benchmade: http://www.bladeops.com/Benchmade-Knives-s/55.htm
I was at one of the sporting goods stores and the guys in the knife area did not know what a tanto point was.
that is so sad Raymond, did you know that the original “tanto” was a short sword used by samurai to take their own life?
No. I didn’t know that.
TC, i must correct you on your correction.
“Also, the handles are made from a high strength polymer not called Valox, but Noryl GTX”
only the full size grips are noryl gtx. all of the minis ARE valox
verry goods benchmade edc
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