camp griptilian

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spydercomil

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Jul 9, 2010
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so bladeforums, what is your opinion on a griptilian as a light duty camp knife. i have one and it feels like THE knife for pretty much anything i wouldnt need a machete for. thoughts and opinions?
 
Personally think the izula (or any small pocketable fixed blade) + an axe and/or machete (or large fixed blade) is the perfect camp get up... folders can break... izula wont and is just as easy to carry :)
 
The steel is not practical for a well used outdoor knife, it's just too hard to maintain on a regular basis. I know for it's hardness it sure is tough, but still doesn't compare to a good high carbon steel for practicality with extensive use. If I had to take stainless in an outdoor blade it'd be ATS-34 or AUS-8 (both of which make great slicers).
 
If they made an AUS-8 Grip and priced it as such, I'd buy one in a heartbeat... til then, the CRKT Lightfoot and RAT-1 will cover the role of backup pack blade.
 
The SRK is an awesome design-one of the best factory combat utility blades period in my opinion. Do what ever fills your niche the best but I personally don't think the Grip is the ideal woods blade by any means... a becker BK11 or Buck Paklite Skinner definately ARE and cost less than half the price.
 
Hard to beat any ESEE, Busse (and Busse Kin), Bark River as woods blades. I currently pack a Ratmandu and Izula (or Swamp Warden, depends on the day).
 
PayetteRucker said:
The steel is not practical for a well used outdoor knife, it's just too hard to maintain on a regular basis. I know for it's hardness it sure is tough, but still doesn't compare to a good high carbon steel for practicality with extensive use. If I had to take stainless in an outdoor blade it'd be ATS-34 or AUS-8 (both of which make great slicers).
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I have to laugh a little bit at this. You're knocking the Grip for the steel (154CM) and then say if you took stainless in an outdoor blade you'd pick ATS-34! They are practically the same steel. It's not that hard to maintain, either. I can keep my mini-Grip (154cm), my mini-Barrage(154cm), and my 710sbt (ats-34) shaving sharp on my Sharpmaker. Reprofiling them on the Sharpmaker is a different story, but maintaining them is not a problem.

spydercomil said:
so bladeforums, what is your opinion on a griptilian as a light duty camp knife. i have one and it feels like THE knife for pretty much anything i wouldnt need a machete for. thoughts and opinions?
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Well, despite what folks on here are saying, the Grip would be fine for camp use, however I would get a Ritter Griptilian to use as a camp knife before a standard Grip. Doug Ritter makes a different shaped blade out of s30v, and the knives seem to hold up well as camping knives.

My personal preference, however, would be to use a fixed blade at camp. that Izula really looks interesting for a small camp knife.
 
I've had a grip, great knife, no arguments there. That said, IF I was going to pack a small knife for camping, I would still reach for my warden/izula long before a grip (or any of my other folders for that matter). I mean... just rationally thinking... Camping for me = dirt, woods, mud, branches, fish, trees, various other small animals... the less moving parts on my knife the better.

IF you just really want a folder for camping, the grip (or better, rittergrip) is a great blade for the money (also cant ignore the manix2 if you want to try the spydie side of things).
 
The mini grip makes a fantastic camping folder. Yes a small fixed blade will be stronger however you said you already have a machete. The mini grip will work great for all your lighter use needs like whittling, opening bags, packages, cutting rope... Then you'll have your machete for the larger stuff. By the way I'm guessing that you camp in the jungle or desert and not wooded areas since you carry a machete. Machetes are unbeatable in certain environments however they are practicly useless as a large camp blade for me. I live in the northwest and a small hachet is infinitely more useful and practical for me.

However I think you have a good idea about getting a medium size fixed blade to complete your setup. When I camp, which I do a lot, I carry a folder in my pocket, a 4 (or so) inch fixed blade on my belt and a small hachet in my pack. Esse makes an excellent knife however I suggest checking out the makers section. Our local Bladeforums custom makers make some excellent fixed blades for as much as you want to spend. You can probably find something for just a tad more money than the Esse.
 
For many people the world-over a SAK is their camp knife.

Admittedly, I don't live in a wilderness, but I have camped many times with a folder as my only knife. My knife mainly gets used for food preparation and for cutting cordage.
I have no real need to chop or baton as I burn fallen wood that is easy to pick up and carry or drag to the wood pile.





However, I do usually take a fixed blade or two as it's an excuse to get out and play with them!

 
i think im going to get an esee rc-6 instead. i already have a fallkniven a1 and love it but i almost feel like im beating a unicorn when i use it, so i want to get a good knife i can at a reasonable weight, and the a1 has been enough for everything i have needed. so would the rc-6 be good or is it a little much?
 
Steven Andrews said:
For many people the world-over a SAK is their camp knife.

Admittedly, I don't live in a wilderness, but I have camped many times with a folder as my only knife. My knife mainly gets used for food preparation and for cutting cordage.
I have no real need to chop or baton as I burn fallen wood that is easy to pick up and carry or drag to the wood pile.

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However, I do usually take a fixed blade or two as it's an excuse to get out and play with them!

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Is that a benchmade 806 without the BK coating and with a round hole ?
 
would say that it's OK , i'm carrying in the boat and have used it quite a bit
a folder and a 4" BRK is all you really need, even batonned with the 4"
Maxx
 
For most camp purposes, a folder like the griptilian should suit you just fine, especially if you're going to have a machete/axe/saw alongside. Just know how to keep your tools sharp.
 
PayetteRucker said:
The steel is not practical for a well used outdoor knife, it's just too hard to maintain on a regular basis. I know for it's hardness it sure is tough, but still doesn't compare to a good high carbon steel for practicality with extensive use. If I had to take stainless in an outdoor blade it'd be ATS-34 or AUS-8 (both of which make great slicers).
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ATS-34 and 154CM are basically the same steel.
 
Ankerson said:
ATS-34 and 154CM are basically the same steel.
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In my experience with both steels side by side 154cm tends to chip much more than ATS-34. Personally I think ATS-34 is a superior steel. I don't know much about steel composition and I could care less, but I know from experience (at least mine) that 154cm is one of my least favorite stainless steels. Could it be the different companies heat treats? Possibly, but I'd much rather have 34 over 154.



As far as a camp griptilian, I think it really depends on what you are doing with the knife. For camping I like to take a stainless for non bushcraft stuff, food prep, etc. Then a nice carbon steel knife for any batoning, chopping, etc.
 
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