Benchmade Griptilian or SOG Vulcan?

batosai117

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I have a benchmade griptillian and a sog vulcan, and I would like to know which knife you guys prefer to use whether it be camping, edc, or work related. Here are the stats as I remember:

SOG Vulcan:

Blade: 3.5" x .16"
Overall Length: 8.375"
Weight: 5.0 oz.
Edge: Straight
Steel: VG-10
Handle: Zytel
Finish: Satin
Includes Reversible Pocket clip

Griptilian 551:

Blade Length: 3.45"
Blade Thickness: 0.115"
Blade Material: 154CM Stainless Steel
Blade Hardness: 58-60HRC
Blade Style: 551 Modified Drop-Point; Ambidextrous Thumb-Studs
Weight: 3.25oz.
Clip: Black, Reversible, Tip-Up
Lock Mechanism: AXIS
Overall Length: 8.07"
Closed Length: 4.62"

Now both of these are really great knives, but for some reason I can't find enough info on the vulcan to make a better statement about it. They both have equally comparable locks: axis and arc-lock both test out at 1000 pounds. Can't wait to hear from you guys, J.
 
Not many guys own both of them I guess. There is no meaning if we just tell from the informations you provided.
As for vulcan, the design is emphasised on strong lock and fast opening. It is worried that it might be opened accidentally in your pocket when the back of the knife is being pressed against. When you go camping, you don't need such a fast opening folder, do you? For Griptilian I have no knowledge.
 
I have a 550 Griptilian and love it, but no experience with the other... I would tell anyone to get the benchmade.
 
What is the special features with Griptilian, Soulrack223.

Nothgin specific except the axis lock is very strong and popular, not sure if the arc lock is the same quality or strionger? But I do know the design was made after the axis lock...A griptilian opens fast and closes fast and is confortable to use, but some people do not like that the handles are a sythetic (plastic) Soem people just can't get past that fact, but I cna say with expereicne that the plastic handles are very very string and will endure what most other handles can...the handle on a griptilian is a bit beeffed up compared to alot of other folders which have flatter handles...this adds a bit of grip and again confort when in use...

As far as "special features" well the griptilian has a good lanyard hole, whcih the vulcan lacks...I suppose you could use the "o" in the SOG stampout as a lanyard hole but its not only very small it is also way to close to the blade...A lanyard hole is not a big issue with folders though for many people, I however find its been helpfull to attach a small lanyard on my griptilian...

The vulcan has one thign I really like though, a very low riding pocket clip, which lets the knife sit deeper in the pocket without beifn exposed much at all...BUT, without a good lanyard hole its not all that great to me anway, if the knife has a low riding clip I would like a good lanyard to get an easy grip on it when taking it out, but thats just me...

Now...Both blades will perfrom well, but VG-10 is better than 154cm is the edge retention department...and not all that much harder to sharpen than 154cm...So if your prefer a better blade steel than the vulcan is your choice, but at the same time you cna go with a griptilian in D2 for a bit more or even a ritter grip in S30V which would top the vulcans VG-10...So there is alot to consider, both knives are very nice knives for the monye and its hard to compare these 2 in my opinion, they offer different styles completely...

Because I have had expereicne with the griptilians I would pick them over the vulcan anyday, but, if I had not ever had the chance to hold and use a griptilian and I had no knowlegde of either knife, based on stats I would pick the vulcan, lol, but you can't go wrong with either knife!
 
It does have a lanyard hole, it is just hard to see in the pictures, it looks like a black dot next to the end of the handle. I do love using my griptilian, but what really gets me is the thickness of the vulcan, it's like holding a little fixed blade. Plus, the vulcan has a finger flipper, when it is opened it acts as a finger guard too.
 
oh ok...well in this case its just about prefference, which I guess is why you started this thread, to see who preffers what and why...So, without having a vulcan to play with I have to go with the griptilian, but its a bias opinion, lol...
 
Nothgin specific except the axis lock is very strong and popular, not sure if the arc lock is the same quality or strionger? But I do know the design was made after the axis lock...A griptilian opens fast and closes fast and is confortable to use, but some people do not like that the handles are a sythetic (plastic) Soem people just can't get past that fact, but I cna say with expereicne that the plastic handles are very very string and will endure what most other handles can...the handle on a griptilian is a bit beeffed up compared to alot of other folders which have flatter handles...this adds a bit of grip and again confort when in use...

As far as "special features" well the griptilian has a good lanyard hole, whcih the vulcan lacks...I suppose you could use the "o" in the SOG stampout as a lanyard hole but its not only very small it is also way to close to the blade...A lanyard hole is not a big issue with folders though for many people, I however find its been helpfull to attach a small lanyard on my griptilian...

The vulcan has one thign I really like though, a very low riding pocket clip, which lets the knife sit deeper in the pocket without beifn exposed much at all...BUT, without a good lanyard hole its not all that great to me anway, if the knife has a low riding clip I would like a good lanyard to get an easy grip on it when taking it out, but thats just me...

Now...Both blades will perfrom well, but VG-10 is better than 154cm is the edge retention department...and not all that much harder to sharpen than 154cm...So if your prefer a better blade steel than the vulcan is your choice, but at the same time you cna go with a griptilian in D2 for a bit more or even a ritter grip in S30V which would top the vulcans VG-10...So there is alot to consider, both knives are very nice knives for the monye and its hard to compare these 2 in my opinion, they offer different styles completely...

Because I have had expereicne with the griptilians I would pick them over the vulcan anyday, but, if I had not ever had the chance to hold and use a griptilian and I had no knowlegde of either knife, based on stats I would pick the vulcan, lol, but you can't go wrong with either knife!
Thanks for sharing your view.
 
no problem...I just wish I had both knives to give you a much better comparison....I just can't speak much about the Vulcan without getting one in my hand...otherwise its not a fair judgement, lol...
 
I just received my vulcan in the mail today, and I have had a mini grip (S30V) for a while now, so I'll throw my opinion out there. The griptilian has effortless opening and closing, that is the coolest feature about it in my mind. The vulcan is similar, but definitely not as effortless. The blade will not swing shut upon releasing the lock the way that the griptilian does. My vulcan is the VL-04 san mai version, which I think is pretty cool. Obviously I havent had any opportunities to test its strength yet, but it comes extremely sharp, and from the feel of it, will not be dulling or breaking any time soon. On purely aesthetics, the vulcan blows the griptilian away. This is a sick looking knife. You can make your own judgements from pictures, but personally I always felt the grip looked a little stupid until I felt one and its function forced the appearance to grow on me, whereas the vulcan is undeniably just a good looking knife. Both are solid, the vulcan is a little heavier and feels a little more solid, although the griptilian isn't really lacking anything in that department either. The opening spur on the back will not cause unintentional openings either, due in part to its small size and partly because it doesn't just open that easily like the grip, as I mentioned earlier. Any unintentional pressure on the spur is counteracted by the arc-lock which keeps the knife closed until its been opened about 30 degrees. A downside to the vulcan is the thumb stud. For some reason, SOG chose a round thumb stud to put on this knife and it just was not a great decision. Its shape and location make it easy for the thumb to slide over it, making it a little difficult to open using this method. This is not a deal-breaker though since the knife can be easily opened using the spur or the arc-lock. Both are great knives, it would be hard to pick one as being better than the other, and frankly, I don't really want to.
 
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Update on the SOG Vulcan, it keeps developing side-to-side blade play. I tighten the pivot every day and within the next 24-48 hours it has loosened up to allow blade play again. It's a shame, because this is otherwise a great knife, however blade play like this is unacceptable for a knife in this price range. Benchmade's axis lock and construction just can't be beat!
 
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