Griptilian 551-1701 vs 551-1

[wolverine1980]

Hi
I am having a hard time deciding between the 551-1701 and the 551-1. This will be my first high end folder knife. I own the rat 1 and tenacious folders and an esee laser strike fixed blade.
Can anyone that has any experience with these two folders please help me make a decision?

Thank you

 

[MBG]

I haven't had either but have had similarly shaped scales on my griptilian (flat vs contoured). I would say the carbon fiber vs. g10 is a wash, but I prefer the aesthetics of g10. To my hand, the contoured scales (like the 551-1) are more comfortable than my flat scales (similar to 551-1701). The blade steels are equivalent. I think it really comes down to aesthetics and what you like. My vote would be for the 551-1.

 

[Silent H]

Personally I prefer the 20CV on the 551-1 to the M390 on the -1701. The two steels are chemically similar, but Benchmade has different heat treats for both. They treat the M390 for toughness, and 20CV for edge retention. For a folder I prefer edge retention over toughness, and I find Benchmade's 20CCV sharpens more easily than their M390.