Benchmade 550 vs 551

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pinetree

Joined
Jun 24, 2005
Messages
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The sheep's foot blade is growing on me. What have you guys found with yours? Which is the easiest to open? Which is more versatile? I think I'm going for the fullsize knife rather than the mini as I don't have a "big" folder.


Thanks,
tjg
 
Would you be getting a round or oval hole 550? With the oval, you may find that the chamfer makes it slightly more difficult to open than with a stud. Can't speak for the round hole version, but it seems like your thumb could probably catch it better than the oval hole. In general, though, I'm a fan of studs, as I find them more reliable with my thumb, and a hair faster to get the opening started.

That said, on the Griptilian series, I'd opt for an oval hole 550 over the other large Grip models. I imagine the other opening systems to be a hair more effective than the oval hole, but I just find the other ones kind of ugly. The round hole on the Grip just doesn't look right to me, and I never quite warmed up to the drop point shape/grind of the 551. My favorite Grip is the 552 RSK, since it combines studs with a useful and good-looking blade design.
 
I prefer the thumbstuds to the hole (oval or round) but the sheepsfoot blade is quite practical.

I'd like to see a sheepsfoot blade with thumbstuds - it could be the model 554 :)
 
I've got an RSK and I love it, I highly recommend it. That said I've been debating the Cabella's Grip in D2, on the possibility of tougher blade steel. Opinions?
 
Go for one with thumb studs. The oval hole is a little hard to open. If you can find one of the new Spydie hole ones, go for that.
 
ohmyheckinslc said:
I've got an RSK and I love it, I highly recommend it. That said I've been debating the Cabella's Grip in D2, on the possibility of tougher blade steel. Opinions?
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Tougher than S30V in what way? I've had mini-Grips from Cabelas and Aeromedix. I prefer the RSK in S30V because of the blade shape. But I haven't had any issues with either steel failing to sharpen or perform well. The only thing I found with the D2s from Cabelas is that D2 seems to want to be "toothier" than S30V to perform at it's best.
 
dalefuller said:
Tougher than S30V in what way? I've had mini-Grips from Cabelas and Aeromedix. I prefer the RSK in S30V because of the blade shape. But I haven't had any issues with either steel failing to sharpen or perform well. The only thing I found with the D2s from Cabelas is that D2 seems to want to be "toothier" than S30V to perform at it's best.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, I meant "more forgiving"? I performed a certain task when my Ritter Grip was brand new, and compared its durability to that of a Gen4 Endura's VG10 blade. The Grip's S30V chipped, deep enough to be readily noticeable, whereas the Endura's VG10 deformed only VERY slightly. The test was push-splitting water purification tablets for my wife's aquarium. I'm wondering if the D2 bladed Cabella's Griptillian would've stood up to that test better than the S30V grip, (at least in theory)?
(that said, I acknowledge that the grinds are different between the endura and the ritter-grip, which means that it's almost apples-to-oranges... And I really like the ritter grip, I've used it hard since on other more conventional tasks and had not real trouble other than having to tighten (and re-threadlock) the pivot a couple of times, I mean it no dis-respect :) )
 
The 550 was my first Benchmade folder. I have beat the snot out of it for 3+ years and it is still going strong. I have since added a RSK which is my current EDC. I can't say enough good things about the Grips, no matter what "flavor". They just seem to fit my hands really well. Anyway, the 550 has the hole and the RSK thumbstuds. To tell the truth, I don't really notice much between them. I can open either equally well, gloves or no, wet or dry, numb fingers or warm. You get the idea. I like the blade shape of the 550 as well, but prefer the oval hole to the round one. I prefer my RSK over everything else. Yes, it is worth the extra $$. 'Nuff said.
 
I wasn't hearing any disrespect, I just didn't know what you meant by tougher". That is an actual term used to describe the impact resistance of a blade, but a lot of times people just use it to mean "better than..." in a general sense.

D2 might be a good choice for that type of task since it like to be finished a little "toothier" than steels like VG-10 or S30V. Cutting through a medicine tablet should be more easily done with a slightly coarser blade. Not serrated, just finished a little rougher than some of the stainless blades.

Another choice might be a ZDP-189 blade like a Spyderco Delica 4 or Endura 4. Some members who are much more knowledgable than I am have suggested that ZDP-189 performs better if it's not as highly polished as VG-10 or S30V, so it could be left with the micro-serrations that come from a coarser finishing stone.
 
Any of the steels mentioned can be left with a coarse finish to improve slicing ability. As far as the S30V chipping, there have been several threads about it on knives from various makers. Sometimes it takes a manufacturer a little time to hit the sweet spot for heat treating. It was sometimes solved after a couple of good sharpenings, and sometimes not.

As far as the original question, I think I would prefer the sheepsfoot blade shape, but with the round hole. I had trouble opening my AFCK with the chamfered oval hole for the first couple of weeks until I got used to it. Benchmade's thumb studs (and studs in general) seem to get in the way while sharpening. That said, I sharpen at pretty shallow angles, usually 15 degrees per side or slightly less.
 
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