Benchmade Griptillian

N

nickdr

Joined
Dec 1, 2006
Messages
5
I think I am going to buy one of the BM Griptilian 551, but before I do I have some questions:

- 550HG is hollow ground, what exactly is hollow ground and is it better than the 551?

- I have seen the Ritter S30V Griptilian and I would love to have that knife. My dilemma is that I work for an authorized Benchmade retailer so once I year I can order a Benchmade knife almost at dealer price with my name laser engraved on it. Since the Ritter knife is an exclusive I can't do this with the Ritter one... so my question how much better is s30v than 154cm? will I even notice the difference? I use my knives for day to day tasks (cutting boxes, food, paper, etc.) nothing that I'd consider hard use.

- is 154cm relatively easy to keep sharp and sharpen? i have a spyderco sharpmarker

thanks for your help!
 
154CM has been around longer than S30V. S30V is often touted as THE premium blade steel. I have folders in both steels and prefer 154CM. In my experience it is far less prone to chipping.

If you have a Sharpmaker, it should be easy to bring back the edge on a 154CM blade. It is possible a blade of S30V might hold an edge a little longer than 154CM if you are lucky and get a specimen without chipping problems. But, IMO, you would probably be better off with 154CM.
 
I EDC a BM551 myself. Its the older 440C model but I love it to bits. I can only venture a guess that the 154CM would be even better. Since the tasks your doing are pretty simple I dont think you need the spectacular properties of S30V. And being able to get it cheap is even better! I got mine fairly cheap and I have no problems using it as an EDC beater. And a few weeks ago I finally got around to thinning the edge more and now it cuts beautifully.
 
The original 550 is great. The new Hollow Ground ones suck. Due to them being hollow ground the tips are way too thin for me. I also preferred the oval hole on the original ones.

They ruined the 550 when they changed it to the 550HG. Just my simple little opinion.

So I would rather carry a 551 if I had to.
 
I EDC a 551 and I like it a lot. It is also my go-to knife for a wilderness folder. The lock is easy to use and the blade is as smooth as silk--- push back on the lock or push the thumb stud and flick your wrist and the knife is open.

Sharpening is easy. I touch mine up on a crock stick once in a while. The 154CM holds up well.

Hollow ground is just what it sounds like-- the blade is ground with a round abrasive which tapers the blade in a shallow arc. Many older knives you see are hollow ground. See http://www.buckknives.com/technical_making.php and scroll down to #7. I prefer a flat ground blade.
 
I have no experience with s30v but the 154cm on minigrip has held out excelently especially when compared to 440 and AUS-8
 
I don;t have a Grip or Ritter-Grip, but I do have knives in 154CM and S30V. BOTH steels are great and can be sharpened on the SHarpmaker. While the "properties" of S30V might be called (argueably) "spectacular", you can rest assured you will probably never notice the difference between the two steels. 154CM is, in my opinion, as "spectacular" a stainless steel as you'll find.

Now, if you're a metalurgist or professional knife-steel tester?..... you might cite a few differences betwixt the two. Otherwise, I'd say go with the one that suits your fancy. Both steels are "premium".
 
i dunno, i just got a grip 2 weeks ago and it has chips, used it to open a few boxes and cut some rope, and bam i notice chips missing.

emersons 154cm though is good
 
razorsdescent said:
i dunno, i just got a grip 2 weeks ago and it has chips, used it to open a few boxes and cut some rope, and bam i notice chips missing.

emersons 154cm though is good
Click to expand...

Try sharppening the chips out. If it happens again I would contact BM. The blade on your grip may not have been heat treated.
 
If you like a tough utility edge, the flat grind is the winner. If you want a fine using edge, got with the hollow grind. If you want to be able to use a blade a lot, and keep the edge thin for fine cutting, the hollow grind has no pier. You can sharpen them for years with out the edge thickening you will get with a flat grind.
 
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