Benchmade Mini-Griptilians - Great Knives

joe90

joe90

Joined
Aug 17, 2001
Messages
346
Have just received delivery of two new Benchmade mini-griptilians (in olive drab color) courtesy of New Graham Knives. One of them has the sheepsfoot and the other the drop point blade. I previously owned (for a very short time) a normal sized griptian, but I much prefer these smaller ones.

They are terrific knives. Nice weight to them - not too light but not too heavy either. Very comfortable to hold. I find that the opening hole in the sheepsfoot blade takes a lot more effort to use properly than my Spyderco's (Native and Calypso Jr) but that the thumbstud on the drop point blade is a breeze to use.

I was extremely impressed by the grind on the sheepsfoot blade as it sits totally dead centre when in the closed position. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the drop point, which is (in my opinion) badly ground to one side ... but to be fair I have found this is also the case with the Calypso Jr's blade as well. None of this affects the smooth opening and closing of the blades into the axis lock mechanism.

There are some really nice ridges on both the handle and blade for your thumb to contact with when actually using the knife, and they are nicely rounded so that they never feel too rough to handle (pardon the pun!). The handle has a nice "grippy" feel as well, though I have to say that this is both a godsend and a nightmare as the inside pockets of my jeans are definately showing strain .. though not as much as when I started carrying around my Kershaw Blur (this handle shreds clothing rapidly - I now carry it in its own case on my belt!)

I think I am definately, at this stage of my knife 'career' tending towards smaller knives for EDC (3" blade tops), though I still love the shape and feel of my BM710. I might even start considering trading down some of my other larger blades.

All in all I'd have to say that if you are on the lookout for a (smaller) good quality folding knife then you definately can't go far wrong with either one of these Benchmade Mini-Griptilians - They are terrific!

Happy hunting :)

Joe.
 
Good score! I've been singing the praises of thoise little mini's(namely the 556) for a couple years now... a must-have knife. Can a knife be made that's any easier to use? I don't think so! I've dropped it so many time I cant count even off a loading dock, ran it through the wash machine a bunch of times, doesn't even flinch.
 
Just yesterday I, too, received a mini-griptillian drop point from New Graham. In Yellow. Very solid, fun little knife.

This is my first benchmade and first axis lock. Quick question regarding the axis lock: How smooth should the lock be? Should I be able to easily operate the lock from just one side? It seems that the lock sticks when I try to operate it with just my thumb. If I use thumb and index finger, there's no problem. Will this smooth out over time? Should I lube the lock?

Also, what's the best technique for closing the blade? I don't like swinging an open knife through the air, as I'll probably wind up stabbing myself in the thigh when I'm not paying attention. Anyone have a good, quick technique that doesn't involve arm swinging?

The action is nice on this knife, but not nearly as smooth or effortless in opening or closing as my Al Mar Shrike. I think it's because the axis lock puts more pressure on the blade during opening and closing. Has anyone experienced a dramatic smoothing out of the action?

(I probably should have waited a few weeks to post, since it takes me a that long to truly fall in love with a new knife, but I 'm really curious as to what to expect!)

Many thanks.
 
They should be as smooth as hot buttered glass. they ship them pretty tight so I'd fiddle with the pivot screw first. Sometimes you'll have to compromise a little blade wiggle for ease of opening and sometimes you get lucky as I did and get that one knife that you can loosen and it still has zero play in any direction. When mine gets gritty feeling I just put dish soap all over it and run it under warm tap water and clean the s out of the thing. Then douse it in rubbing alhohol to dry up the water, let it dry real good sometimes using a hair dryer on it, then lube it with militec oil. It is slick as snot after this treatment!
As far as closing the thing if you don't want to flip it shut, try holding it with the butt end nested in your palm as you hold the lock bar on each end, then in one motion just run the back of the blade up against your thigh to close it.
I usually hold it like that and just let the blade fall back into the closed position on it's own.
Mine happens to be smooth whether I pull back on one side or both so it may just need some use to smooth out.
Axis knives, especially the mini grips, when all set up and cleaned & lubed should be among the very smoothest knives you'll come across.
 
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