- Joined
- Nov 27, 2012
- Messages
- 490
So I ordered a GP knives M4 griptillian in November, and just wanted to report on how the higher heat treat M4 was holding up. It has been in my EDC rotation for almost six months now, and until today had never really seen hard use. The most it had done until today was cutting cardboard boxes. In that time, I had never sharpened it, and only stropped it once. The edge is very much the same as when it came new. Today, I was trimming the hedges, and then moved on to a crabapple tree. There were several branches that were simply too thick for my shears to cut, and being too lazy to walk to the garage for a saw, I went after them with my griptillian. I hacked at them, sliced, pried, and batoned it (using the shears to hit the back of it). I used a similar method of prying as the benchmade bushcrafter video, but with a much smaller knife. I'd say I cut 7-8 branches this way, and although a pocket knife was not the most efficient tool for the job, it still got the job done.
Here is a picture of it with one of the branches:
After I finished, I immediately tested the sharpness of the blade on my armhairs, and am happy to say it laid waste to every hair it touched. Didn't disturb the skin at all, and I can still say it's one of the sharpest knives I own. I don't have a magnifying glass, but looking at the edge with the naked eye, I didn't see any signs of chipping or rolling. I expected some with the amount of prying I did with the edge.
Conclusion: Benchmade's higher heat treat M4 is awesome. I have a presidio in M4 using their lower heat treat and can say they are not even close. Whatever BM is doing now, it's definitely on the right track. I also have a Manix 2 in M4, and while it's a very nice knife and very sharp, I have more confidence in the griptillian.
Here is a picture of it with one of the branches:
After I finished, I immediately tested the sharpness of the blade on my armhairs, and am happy to say it laid waste to every hair it touched. Didn't disturb the skin at all, and I can still say it's one of the sharpest knives I own. I don't have a magnifying glass, but looking at the edge with the naked eye, I didn't see any signs of chipping or rolling. I expected some with the amount of prying I did with the edge.
Conclusion: Benchmade's higher heat treat M4 is awesome. I have a presidio in M4 using their lower heat treat and can say they are not even close. Whatever BM is doing now, it's definitely on the right track. I also have a Manix 2 in M4, and while it's a very nice knife and very sharp, I have more confidence in the griptillian.
