Griptilian Drop Point or Sheepsfoot?

Cow51

Cow51

Joined
May 6, 2016
Messages
662
I am currently looking for a Griptilian and originally decided on the drop point, but wanted to hear the pros and cons of the mod. sheepsfoot. How is it better or worse then the drop point? Which do you prefer and why? This is my first higher end knife so I am trying to cover all the bases. (Yes, I probably will end up with both, but for now I must choose one) Thanks.
 
I'd say just go with the one you like the looks of. I did and it was drop point. The differences in cutting performence are not that great, so go for the looker.
 
If they are still available, I'd recommend the Doug Ritter version of the Griptilian. It's a Knifeworks exclusive so you have to buy it from their site. The M390 blade steel is a big upgrade, and the flat ground, leaf shaped blade outperforms the other Griptilian blades IMO. Otherwise either of the standard blades are pretty good. I personally have the Sheepsfoot (as well as the Ritter) which I got because I wanted the round hole opener--no studs to hang up in whatever you're slicing.
 
Doug Ritter Grip has a WAY to broad blade, IMO a BAD design.. Putting the emphasis on IMO. :D
 
I would be interested in a Ritter, but it's out of the budget right now.

After looking at them and reading about them, I don't have a preference either way until I can use one. So, I am just going to buy one and see how it goes. Now I got to wait for one to pop up here.
 
They are! I can definitely see owning all the different versions down the road. Collecting exclusively Griptilians.
 
Doug ritter kind of leaf shape on the small and standard drop point on the large for me
IMHO the drop point is a better all around utilitarian blade for the size of the griptiluan
 
Pretty much preference. The sheep has a spydie hole and drop point has thumb studs. Sheep has a less stabby tip meaning you can get a little more crazy with it with less risk of stabbing yourself but reduced stabbing ability. The sheep is less threatening looking because it looks less stabby too. I like sheepsfoot because I don't stab things very often and since I almost only slice it covers 95% of what I want to cut. A lot of what I cut at work are cases with food packaging inside so the lack of a tip also reduces the risk of accidental damage to product during inspection.

The biggest differences though, IMO, are the thumb stud vs hole for opening and the difference in threatening appearance vs effectiveness of the tip. I believe the cutting edge is the same shape as the modified sheepsfoot has a lot more belly than most sheepsfoot blades.
 
Is the sheepsfoot easy to ''flick'' open using the thumb hole?
I think I'm actually leaning towards the sheepsfoot now, it looks better, lacks thumb studs to get caught up in whatever I'm cutting and would perform better for the majority of what I'd use it for.
 
Cow51 said:
Is the sheepsfoot easy to ''flick'' open using the thumb hole?
I think I'm actually leaning towards the sheepsfoot now, it looks better, lacks thumb studs to get caught up in whatever I'm cutting and would perform better for the majority of what I'd use it for.
Click to expand...

I prefer the thumbhole on the sheepsfoot version because I like the third finger flick when opening it. You can do it with thumbstuds but with less control.

Another thing to consider, is that the plain sheepsfoot grips are hollow ground. The 20CV and some custom shop sheepsfoot versions are saber ground.

For an all purpose knife I prefer the belly and the high saber grind on the Ritter. They are discontinued though. I like the sheepsfoot more for utility cuts where I drag the point to open things, i.e. opening boxes.
 
It's very easy to flick open due to the little resistance the axis lock gives. With proper adjustment of the pivot, you can also flick open with a wrist flick by disengaging the axis lock though that's not my preferred method.

I've been carrying a sheepsfoot mini-grip since the start of the year and I'm very fond of it even having several nicer folders oriented towards EDC. I know plenty of people don't like the plasticy handles but I actually really like them and the price of the grip and mini-grip really make them nice options, IMO.
 
If your Axis lock is properly adjusted the hole opener makes for an easy and intuitive "flick" open. You can also open it with the "Spydie Drop" method, i.e. holding the blade by the hole with two fingers and making a quick downward motion with your hand. That's not really practical with the thumb stud version.
 
I wish I would have gotten the sheepsfoot one because of the hole in the blade, that way I could have done the zip tie mod which would have gave me faster deployment.
 
Can anyone tell me how long the ''useable'' portion of the Mini grip handle is?
 
This is how I often hold mine for slicing since I use it most for light tasks, up to cardboard (large glove size mitts). It wasn't all that pleasant to use cutting up branches out in the yard to push back the tree growth so I grabbed something larger the next time.

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I can just barely get a four finger grip on the mini grip handle, but it's sufficient for me. I often use it with a 3 finger grip, pinching the base of the blade with my thumb and forefinger. This is how I was taught to slice with Japanese kitchen knives and I find the control this hold offers is useful for a lot of different types of cutting.
 
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