Hi all. Really appreciate everyone's thoughts about their knives over the years. Here are some of mine on the Delica 4 and the Benchmade Mini Griptilian.
They are very close in blade length, weight, quality and price. Action on the Mini's axis lock is slightly smoother and closing it is slick--it's fun to just flick it open and closed. However, closing the D4 is also one-handed and more positive because I close it with my thumb so I know it's closed--sometimes the Mini will close part way or close too hard and bounce back open a little bit. I don't have a preference between hole and thumbstud--they both work equally well for me--I do think the hole looks cooler, though. The Mini's blade is swedged on top making it more pointy and perhaps better at stabbing and starting a cut; however, I've never had a problem with the D4 in this area. The Mini looks less scary; more like a standard pocket knife. The D4 looks all business; perhaps too scary for some public uses. The blade steel on both is great, so no big advantage to me either way there. The handle on the D4 is thinner than the Mini, which is nicer in the pocket, and FRN is my favorite handle material; it's grippy and warm feeling and the shape combined with the thumb ridge on the blade locks the knife in my hand without the limitations of finger choils. The Mini's handle is thicker, but that doesn't make it fit my hand better; it's just too short (3 1/2 fingers) and the material doesn't feel as nice as the D4. Also, the finger guard on the Mini puts your grip farther from the blade than the D4 giving less control but a little more reach, which to me isn't a good trade-off. In the final analysis, the D4 just feels great; it never feels too small nor too big. The Mini grip feels too small for my only edc; it could make a great loose pocket knife, however, I carry a Leatherman Juice S2 in my right front pocket everyday and its 2 1/2" blade already fills that role. Hope this helps anyone trying to choose between these two knives.
They are very close in blade length, weight, quality and price. Action on the Mini's axis lock is slightly smoother and closing it is slick--it's fun to just flick it open and closed. However, closing the D4 is also one-handed and more positive because I close it with my thumb so I know it's closed--sometimes the Mini will close part way or close too hard and bounce back open a little bit. I don't have a preference between hole and thumbstud--they both work equally well for me--I do think the hole looks cooler, though. The Mini's blade is swedged on top making it more pointy and perhaps better at stabbing and starting a cut; however, I've never had a problem with the D4 in this area. The Mini looks less scary; more like a standard pocket knife. The D4 looks all business; perhaps too scary for some public uses. The blade steel on both is great, so no big advantage to me either way there. The handle on the D4 is thinner than the Mini, which is nicer in the pocket, and FRN is my favorite handle material; it's grippy and warm feeling and the shape combined with the thumb ridge on the blade locks the knife in my hand without the limitations of finger choils. The Mini's handle is thicker, but that doesn't make it fit my hand better; it's just too short (3 1/2 fingers) and the material doesn't feel as nice as the D4. Also, the finger guard on the Mini puts your grip farther from the blade than the D4 giving less control but a little more reach, which to me isn't a good trade-off. In the final analysis, the D4 just feels great; it never feels too small nor too big. The Mini grip feels too small for my only edc; it could make a great loose pocket knife, however, I carry a Leatherman Juice S2 in my right front pocket everyday and its 2 1/2" blade already fills that role. Hope this helps anyone trying to choose between these two knives.
