Buying First Benchmade: 530 or mini-griptilian?

C

Cheeseiest1

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Apr 12, 2012
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So I've been collecting/using modern folders for about 3 years now and have built up a small little collection. I have some of the standard spydies (delica, dragonfly, and ladybug), some saks (ranger, cadet, classic, spartan) a few kershaws (leek, od2, chill), some sogs (flash 1 and mini aegis), a couple from buck (vantage select small, parallex, 110), and a few of the other popular lower-end knives (ontario rat 1, boker subcom, opinel #8, etc.), but still no benchmade knives! Shame on me, I know. I probably shouldn't have bought any of those listed other than the spydies/saks and used the money I spent on all of the cheaper knives to buy something from benchmade, too bad I didn't learn the value of saving up for quality knives for a long while. Oh well, live and learn.

It doesn't help that I'm a college senior, read "broke." But I've finally manage to save up enough expendable cash that I'm ready to purchase my first benchmade. I've spent quite a bit of time looking over the benchmade website, reading reviews online, watching videos on youtube, etc., and have really come to like the looks of both the mini-griptilian and the 530. My budget is around 85 bucks (could maaaybe stretch it closer to 100 if I'm willing to literally eat nothing but Ramen for a week or two). I was just wondering which knife you would recommend between the 530 and mini-grip, or if there are any other models in this price range you would recommend more highly. If you recommend the mini-grip, should I go for the 555hg or the 556? I should mention that I have a friend willing to send me his NIB 530 for 76 bucks, a knife I know is usually a little more pricey than the mini-grip. I'm really attracted to the lightweight and slim form-factor of the 530, but like the range of colors the mini-grip is available in. I should probably also mention that as a college student my uses for a knife are not very demanding, cutting tasks while out on dayhikes and slicing apples are about as extreme as it gets so the greater strength of the mini-grip really isn't that important to me. Any advice or experience you guys/gals might have for me that would help me make up my mind I would really appreciate! Thanks!
 
I vote mini grip. I like the blade shape of it over the 530. It "feels" a little more solid than the 530 to me.
 
I have had a couple of each and if for edc, I would go with mini-grip. Not to say that the 530 is a bad knife, It is very thin and so is the blade. Just keep that in mind when you make your decision and there is no wrong answer.
 
There's a new Benchmade sub forum here, not a whole lot of content right now, but it might be a good place to post this.
 
Thanks for the welcome and the advice! Sounds like the mini-grip is probably the way to go. Any recommendations about 555hg vs. 556?
 
KB3UBW said:
There's a new Benchmade sub forum here, not a whole lot of content right now, but it might be a good place to post this.
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Where is it? What path would get me there.

NEVERMIND!!!!!!!! I see it. Dang thing snuck up on me!!!!:rolleyes:
 
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^Didn't even notice this either.

I still like my 530. It is an awesome very lightweight and thin edc. Sometimes I'll forget it's even in my pocket because it is so flat and light.

I have the other version of the 555 with the oval hole. It's also a great knife and feels nice in hand. The only thing is I notice it a lot more in my pocket compared to the 530 because of the handle shape in thickness.

Both work great as slicers and have done work breaking down boxes and whatnot. If you want something very lightweight and hardly noticeable in the pocket I'd say go for the 530. Otherwise if you want something that fills the hand a little bit more then go for the 555.

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I'd say get the 530, especially if you can get a bit of a deal on it. I got the mini-grip about a year ago and it never stayed in my pocket, but I recently got the 530 and I wish I had just gone with that to begin with. It's the perfect thin slicing knife aside from a Douk Douk or a Mercator K55K.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone! When I told my friend I wasn't positive about the 530 over other models he offered it to me for 50 bucks and I just couldn't pass it up at the price. Hopefully soon I'll save up enough to try out a mini-grip, thanks again for the help!
 
Can't beat that, nice score...enjoy! (the knife and eating something besides ramen)
 
Cheeseiest1 said:
Thanks for the advice everyone! When I told my friend I wasn't positive about the 530 over other models he offered it to me for 50 bucks and I just couldn't pass it up at the price. Hopefully soon I'll save up enough to try out a mini-grip, thanks again for the help!
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Indeed, a great price for the 530. The 530 will perform 99% of EDC cutting tasks and carries better than almost any knife on the market. As a bonus, I've heard credible stories of people exerting upwards of 200-300 pounds of force on the lock, and it has not failed! I do not carry my 530 often due to its smaller size but it's still an outstanding EDC option for lighter cutting tasks. Better than most other competitors on the market.
 
$50 is indeed an excellent price on the 530, but in my opinion the mini grip is just flat out a better knife. You can find a mini grip online for around $60 if you look hard enough, and I truly believe the mini grip platform is one of the best edc platforms out there. With regards to drop point vs hollow ground, I prefer a more pointy tip, so despite for my preference for the opening hole over thumb studs, the standard drop point would be my choice. However, with that said, I would still recommend you look into the Ritter grips (Doug Ritter RSK MK1 and Mini RSK MK1). They are a bit more expensive than the standard models but feature a steel upgrade of s30v over 154cm as well as a "wide chord drop point" blade shape which is a high flat grind and makes it a better slicer than the standard drop point or hollow ground sheep's foot blade shapes. Add on some custom scales to replace the cheap feeling "plastic" (really noryl gtx which is a fiberglass reinforced nylon) handles and you have one of the best edc blades ever made in my opinion. There's nothing wrong with a standard model griptilian or mini grip, but a Ritter with custom scales is really on a whole different level. It may take you a while to save up for all the pieces (Ritter mini - $110, custom scales - $80-120ish) but in the end you'll have an absolutely world class knife .
 
mini grip hands down

but since you scored the 530 for $50... its win win baby lol
had you originally planned to purchase either one new, you should have enough or near enough money leftover for a mini grip on the 2nd hand market if your patient :)
 
if/when they come out with a G10 530, I will snatch one up in a heartbeat. I'm not much of a mini-grip fan, but some of the limited edition Grips they've been doing in G10 are niiice.
 
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