Benchmade 551 gold class m4

goldie

goldie

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Joined
Feb 18, 2000
Messages
4,575
Just got it last night,its what the griptilian should have been in the 1st place. even if the handles were g10,it would be better than the plastic.these carbon fiber handles are real nice.good reflective pattern. has a solid feel & a bit of weight to it,not like the hollowed out plastic your used to. all the hardware is a black nickel, like the old bc1 coating.even the axis studs are fancier,kind of machined & knurled.the g10 backspacer is very solid,& its fit is right on. havent done much with it but play with it.Opens smooth,well centered blade. carries nicely in the pocket,too. heres a few pics to get a better look;
grip002.jpg
grip001.jpg
grip003.jpg
 
How grippy is the handle? looks very smooth, but with ripples to help...

and I'm sure you know this, but the "plastic" handles on the original grip are actually very strong. They do feel cheap though, but at the normal grip's price point who cares? I will admit to ordering a wilkinsgrip for my m4 ritter when it gets here...

If this is going to get used, I look forward to getting a in-depth report... especially if you have a normal grip to compare it to?
 
i know the plastic handles on the original are strong, but they dont feel solid like these. they arent grippy like peel ply carbon fiber,but not slippery,either.im probably not going to give it heavy use,hate to beat up a knife this nice.
 
How do you feel about it as an EDC? Too heavy? Do you feel like you got your $$ worth?

I'm not that hard on my EDCs (usually) and have been carrying a MiniGrip for years now because I don't like the "clack" my full-size has. Just my luck I had just ordered the M4 Mini Ritter Grip when I learned about these, but I still want one. I'm tired of my nicest knives sitting in the drawer/safe but I like the Grips better than anything else I've tried, so even though this is a bit expensive for every day carry (for me) if it's not too heavy this may be my ultimate EDC.
 
I would like to compare this to the m4 ritter + wilkinsgrips when the ritter's ship... need to find someone near with the gold class grip..

I too would like to know if you feel you got your moneys worth...?
 
Man, that's beautiful! I'm very interested in what the folks with M4 bladed Grips think, particularly the upcoming Ritter models.

But, I don't think that a $400 knife is what the Grip should have been in the first place.
 
Its definitely not too heavy,it is just more solid feeling & slightly heavier than the regular one. it feels great in the pocket.The gripping of the knife feels much more solid & secure,too. its hard to say if its worth the money.(saksrcool)it was 255.00,which is much lower than i thought it would be.if it was 400.00 theres no way i would have bought it. i like it much better than the 806 & 710 m4 versions. my main gripe with the 710 & 806 versions is the black liners,hardware, & axis lock. the whole knife is completely black,& on the 710 that olive drab g10 was ugly to me,too.when i first got the 710 in m4,i got rid of it in a few days because i found it too ugly.if the liners were satin, handles were carbon fiber, & they used this black chrome,it would have been a whole different story.Too bad the blades arent satin finished,too.spyderco is doing it.i cant understand why benchmade has been black coating the liners & axis locks of many of their knifes in the last few years.it looks horrible, & i see the sharp edges of the liners start to wear quick,making it look worse.I polished the liners of my rukus knives, they look so much better, its like a whole new knife.since theres no liners on the 551,except the notches up front,its just carbon fiber & g10,looks so much better.
 
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Hi goldie -

Thanks for the pics!

I really like that look.

best regards -

mqqn
 
knifeworks had them in stock starting last tuesday,& by friday whatever they had was gone.check under their whats new list & keep an eye out....
 
Yeah $255 isn't too bad. That's only $100 more than the Ritter M4 and you get the nicer handles and hardware. Still too rich for my blood, but you know.
 
I want one, It would be really nice to have a ritter M4 blade with that new gold class handle.....Ohhh yeah, that would be nice :D
 
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