- Joined
- May 1, 2004
- Messages
- 1,240
BM555
After spending most of the summer waking up at 5am to work I was finally able to have some money to purchase some higher quality steel. Since I spend about half the year in Chicago I wanted something for my EDC with a sub-3 inch blade and I have heard nothing but good things about the Griptilian series so I ordered one of the mini-grip 555s from newgraham.com and recieved it about 2 days from my order date.
First Impressions:
-bigger than expected, a very good thing. The handle is beefy and fills my hand very well for a smaller folder.
-the axis lock is cool. really cool. the button is easy to manipulate and the lock-up feels very solid, one handed closing is smooth and easy.
-the rounded edge on the opening oval doesn't work for me. i found myself missing more often than not so i used a zip-tie and now i can open it a lot easier with wet hands/gloves/etc.
-the checkering on the side of the handle and the finger groves on the top and bottom work well. when i grip the knife it feels like an extension of my hand.
-the pocket clip seats the knife higher than i like and has somewhat of a rough finish but holds the knife very tight, even when hanging partially upside-down above some steam pipes.
-the 440C blade came very sharp, it would catch freehanging hairs and shave with little effort. i haven't needed to sharpen it after a week or so of use.
-overall the blade seems very strong. i picked the modified sheepsfoot because i have broken enough tips in my time to know that i need a stronger point.
Actual Use:
-pulling the knife out of my pocket and putting it into action is very fast and intuitive. the blade cuts all manner of things well and over the course of a week on the job i have used it to cut open a thick plastic paint bucket that was dried shut, slice up numerous boxes, cut twine, plastic straps, 3/8 rope and even pry off switchplates that were stuck to the wall.
This knife has been clipped to my left pocket everyday since i bought it and serves well as the people-friendly EDC.
BM10400
from benchmade's red class i am very suprised by how good this knife is. i ordered it as a throw-away sort of knife to lend out at work and abuse as i saw fit and it has suprised my by holding up very well.
First Impressions:
-same as the mini-grip, the oval hole needed zip ties to work for me.
-opening this knife creates the most euphonious sound, a very loud and solid *CLICK*
-even though the knife has no liners the zytel(iirc) handles feel very solid and have no flex to them.
-the factory grind was uneven on the left side but the knife came sharp enough to shave and the 440C took a very good 20 degree edge on the lansky after about an hour of re-profiling.
-love the low profile pocket clip. i carry this knife on campus clipped to my pocket because so little is exposed that i don't draw any attention.
-ergos on the knife are good but it's a little to thin to be perfect for me, the pebble texture doesn't really seem to help or hinder my grip. in the future i may just sand it down and stick some skateboard tape on there instead.
-the lock feels very solid and seems to take enough force to disengage that i can't see it accidentally disengaging at all.
Actual Use:
-hard to use with wet hands. i had to grip it so hard that my hand would cramp up after a few cuts.
-cuts very well and held an edge for a lot longer than a 20$ knife should. after reprofiling to 20 degrees the edge still shaves after almost 2 weeks of constant use. resharpening is easy, the burr jumps out after a few strokes and is easy to knock off.
-one handed closing is too risky. i wasn't paying attention and pushed to hard with my index finger while closing one handed and gave myself a pretty nasty slice on my middle finger. tightening the pivot could help this but i don't really need it.
-this knife is strong. my workers used it for things no knife should ever see; screwdriver, chisel, prybar, hammer, etc. and it's still working great. they did manage to knock a big chunk out of the top of the handle when it fell onto a concrete floor from two stories up and broke a little piece of the tip off but it's still sharp and works great.
Pacific Salt
i won't lie, i have no real need for this particular knife but i really like the fact that i can tell people my blade doesn't have the ability to rust and i really like the blade shape so i picked up a pacific salt the same time as i got the mini-grip.
First Impressions:
-wow, the blade is a lot bigger than i expected.
-wow, the blade is a lot sharper than i expected. (i cut myself twice within the first 5 mintues of ripping open the package)
-the spyderhole is awesome. the edges are sharp enough to grip perfectly every time but not too sharp to be uncomfortable.
-i like the spyder-drop a little too much.
-the shape of the blade and the handle make this knife feel very secure in my grip.
-the traction grooves on the blade work very well.
-the pocket clip is too high like the mini-grip but i like the little spider and it does what it is supposed to so no real complaints.
-the knife feels like it is a little too easy to close, if the pivot was adjustable i'd have the perfect knife.
Actual Use:
-one handed closing is a very bad idea, same as the 10400. as soon as you trip the lock and put pressure on the blade the blade swings down and comes way to close to cutting off my finger for me to want to do it when i'm distracted.
-cuts like a laser.
-the H-1 steel holds an edge fairly well and is easy to sharpen.
-i haven't been able to use this knife as much as the other two but so far it has worked great and is my primary EDC.
After spending most of the summer waking up at 5am to work I was finally able to have some money to purchase some higher quality steel. Since I spend about half the year in Chicago I wanted something for my EDC with a sub-3 inch blade and I have heard nothing but good things about the Griptilian series so I ordered one of the mini-grip 555s from newgraham.com and recieved it about 2 days from my order date.
First Impressions:
-bigger than expected, a very good thing. The handle is beefy and fills my hand very well for a smaller folder.
-the axis lock is cool. really cool. the button is easy to manipulate and the lock-up feels very solid, one handed closing is smooth and easy.
-the rounded edge on the opening oval doesn't work for me. i found myself missing more often than not so i used a zip-tie and now i can open it a lot easier with wet hands/gloves/etc.
-the checkering on the side of the handle and the finger groves on the top and bottom work well. when i grip the knife it feels like an extension of my hand.
-the pocket clip seats the knife higher than i like and has somewhat of a rough finish but holds the knife very tight, even when hanging partially upside-down above some steam pipes.
-the 440C blade came very sharp, it would catch freehanging hairs and shave with little effort. i haven't needed to sharpen it after a week or so of use.
-overall the blade seems very strong. i picked the modified sheepsfoot because i have broken enough tips in my time to know that i need a stronger point.
Actual Use:
-pulling the knife out of my pocket and putting it into action is very fast and intuitive. the blade cuts all manner of things well and over the course of a week on the job i have used it to cut open a thick plastic paint bucket that was dried shut, slice up numerous boxes, cut twine, plastic straps, 3/8 rope and even pry off switchplates that were stuck to the wall.
This knife has been clipped to my left pocket everyday since i bought it and serves well as the people-friendly EDC.
BM10400
from benchmade's red class i am very suprised by how good this knife is. i ordered it as a throw-away sort of knife to lend out at work and abuse as i saw fit and it has suprised my by holding up very well.
First Impressions:
-same as the mini-grip, the oval hole needed zip ties to work for me.
-opening this knife creates the most euphonious sound, a very loud and solid *CLICK*
-even though the knife has no liners the zytel(iirc) handles feel very solid and have no flex to them.
-the factory grind was uneven on the left side but the knife came sharp enough to shave and the 440C took a very good 20 degree edge on the lansky after about an hour of re-profiling.
-love the low profile pocket clip. i carry this knife on campus clipped to my pocket because so little is exposed that i don't draw any attention.
-ergos on the knife are good but it's a little to thin to be perfect for me, the pebble texture doesn't really seem to help or hinder my grip. in the future i may just sand it down and stick some skateboard tape on there instead.
-the lock feels very solid and seems to take enough force to disengage that i can't see it accidentally disengaging at all.
Actual Use:
-hard to use with wet hands. i had to grip it so hard that my hand would cramp up after a few cuts.
-cuts very well and held an edge for a lot longer than a 20$ knife should. after reprofiling to 20 degrees the edge still shaves after almost 2 weeks of constant use. resharpening is easy, the burr jumps out after a few strokes and is easy to knock off.
-one handed closing is too risky. i wasn't paying attention and pushed to hard with my index finger while closing one handed and gave myself a pretty nasty slice on my middle finger. tightening the pivot could help this but i don't really need it.
-this knife is strong. my workers used it for things no knife should ever see; screwdriver, chisel, prybar, hammer, etc. and it's still working great. they did manage to knock a big chunk out of the top of the handle when it fell onto a concrete floor from two stories up and broke a little piece of the tip off but it's still sharp and works great.
Pacific Salt
i won't lie, i have no real need for this particular knife but i really like the fact that i can tell people my blade doesn't have the ability to rust and i really like the blade shape so i picked up a pacific salt the same time as i got the mini-grip.
First Impressions:
-wow, the blade is a lot bigger than i expected.
-wow, the blade is a lot sharper than i expected. (i cut myself twice within the first 5 mintues of ripping open the package)
-the spyderhole is awesome. the edges are sharp enough to grip perfectly every time but not too sharp to be uncomfortable.
-i like the spyder-drop a little too much.
-the shape of the blade and the handle make this knife feel very secure in my grip.
-the traction grooves on the blade work very well.
-the pocket clip is too high like the mini-grip but i like the little spider and it does what it is supposed to so no real complaints.
-the knife feels like it is a little too easy to close, if the pivot was adjustable i'd have the perfect knife.
Actual Use:
-one handed closing is a very bad idea, same as the 10400. as soon as you trip the lock and put pressure on the blade the blade swings down and comes way to close to cutting off my finger for me to want to do it when i'm distracted.
-cuts like a laser.
-the H-1 steel holds an edge fairly well and is easy to sharpen.
-i haven't been able to use this knife as much as the other two but so far it has worked great and is my primary EDC.
