I think the Griptilian has been talked about quite a lot here as I researched every thread I could find from 3 years ago to present before my purchase. Still, I thought I would write this to have a more recent thread and one in which a newcomer may think helpful. I am fairly new to the knife hobby and perhaps that will show in this information. Please feel free to enlighten me, or ask me any questions and I will do my best.
The 551 came from New Graham on Thursday. This is the second purchase I have made from NG and the only online knife purchase I have ever made. I couldn't be happier with them.
Now that I own the knife, I have had some time to REALLY inspect it. I thought it was linerless (as mentioned in another thread), but indeed it does have a liner that runs about 3/4s of the length of the handle. It also tapers away from the blade grove edge, so it is very difficult to see it when the blade is open and you are looking at the blade grove in the handle. This is why I thought is was linerless.
Pros:
Opening: This knife is very slick in opening. I have a MUCH easier time with a thumb stud than I do with a hole. A quick and firm push on the stud and the blade flys open into the locked position. Alternatively, releasing the axis lock in the closed position allows for a wrist flick open. I have found this to be slightly faster, but I have a hard time controlling the speed at which the blade deploys. Too soft and it doesn't make it. Too hard and it slams into the locking stud with a very firm snap. I feel like doing this may cause early and excessive wear on the knife and it doesn't feel significantly faster than a simple thumb push.
Closing: Again, very slick. Pulling the locking bar down and a reverse wrist flick and the blade snaps into the handle (get those fingers out of the way though!). I have to change my grip a bit and use the feel of the pocket clip to make sure that my fingers are clear of the blade path. No problem. This action does not seem to be as hard on the knife as opening with a wrist flick.
Blade: the drop point blade is very sexy and has a nice point. It is not as wide as the Ritter grip it would seem, but still quite nice. The blade is quite a bit thicker than I would have expected. It is only .5 inches bigger (longer) than my mirage, but it make the mirage look like a toothpick. I really like the stout blade. Here is where my newness may show because this blade may not, in fact, be very stout compared to many. However, compared to my Mirage and my little Chive, this think is a tank.
Clip: This knife carries lower than any of my others. I like that. I had to find a diferent place to clip the knife because I did not like the original place that I carry my others as this knife is a bit longer and interferes with my leg when driving. A quick move to the side of my hip fixed that. I may experiment with bringing the knife a bit farther back beyond my hip bone as well. The clip is not as tight as my Mirage, but that is quite alright as the Mirage was so tight that I often could not get it clipped on me without a fight. The grip clip is plenty tight for safe carry, but not so tight that I struggle to clip it.
Cutting: Truthfully, I have cut very little with this knife. It cuts every material I put next to it (fabrics, plastics, papers, etc.), but I had some problems with sharpness which I will get into next. So out of the box cutting was good, but not great...
CONS:
Sharpness: It came fairly sharp, but I did not have the edge that I expected from all the talk. It would not readily shave arm hair at all when using it on one side of the blade, and did manage to take a few hairs off (though not happily) when using the other side of the blade. I thought this would be a good time to practice with my sharpmaker and so I got to work. I now have a single beveled 30 degree edge on the blade. It cuts the hell out of things now and my arm is lacking hair. I will report back about how well it holds the edge at this acute angle when I figure it out. For now the 440C seems okay withthis edge. If it doesn't work, I will put a 20 degree edge on it.
Handle material: I don't care what they call this stuff. It feels like plastic to me. It sounds like plastic too when you tap it with a coin or whatever. Still, it is a great shape and size. It seems plenty strong with that liner in there. Also, it really is very grippy in the hand. The texturing on the spine of the blade and back of the handle make this knife a seemingly good hard user. Also, it is quite light for a blade this size. It doesn't feel any heavier than my Mirage and as I said, it is massive compared to it.
OVERALL: I like this knife quite a lot. I am very happy I did not give up on Benchmade when I held the Pika. This knife far exceeds it. I will EDC this knife for a while and report if anything comes up. If you have any questions, I would be happy to do my best with them. Thanks for reading.
The 551 came from New Graham on Thursday. This is the second purchase I have made from NG and the only online knife purchase I have ever made. I couldn't be happier with them.
Now that I own the knife, I have had some time to REALLY inspect it. I thought it was linerless (as mentioned in another thread), but indeed it does have a liner that runs about 3/4s of the length of the handle. It also tapers away from the blade grove edge, so it is very difficult to see it when the blade is open and you are looking at the blade grove in the handle. This is why I thought is was linerless.
Pros:
Opening: This knife is very slick in opening. I have a MUCH easier time with a thumb stud than I do with a hole. A quick and firm push on the stud and the blade flys open into the locked position. Alternatively, releasing the axis lock in the closed position allows for a wrist flick open. I have found this to be slightly faster, but I have a hard time controlling the speed at which the blade deploys. Too soft and it doesn't make it. Too hard and it slams into the locking stud with a very firm snap. I feel like doing this may cause early and excessive wear on the knife and it doesn't feel significantly faster than a simple thumb push.
Closing: Again, very slick. Pulling the locking bar down and a reverse wrist flick and the blade snaps into the handle (get those fingers out of the way though!). I have to change my grip a bit and use the feel of the pocket clip to make sure that my fingers are clear of the blade path. No problem. This action does not seem to be as hard on the knife as opening with a wrist flick.
Blade: the drop point blade is very sexy and has a nice point. It is not as wide as the Ritter grip it would seem, but still quite nice. The blade is quite a bit thicker than I would have expected. It is only .5 inches bigger (longer) than my mirage, but it make the mirage look like a toothpick. I really like the stout blade. Here is where my newness may show because this blade may not, in fact, be very stout compared to many. However, compared to my Mirage and my little Chive, this think is a tank.
Clip: This knife carries lower than any of my others. I like that. I had to find a diferent place to clip the knife because I did not like the original place that I carry my others as this knife is a bit longer and interferes with my leg when driving. A quick move to the side of my hip fixed that. I may experiment with bringing the knife a bit farther back beyond my hip bone as well. The clip is not as tight as my Mirage, but that is quite alright as the Mirage was so tight that I often could not get it clipped on me without a fight. The grip clip is plenty tight for safe carry, but not so tight that I struggle to clip it.
Cutting: Truthfully, I have cut very little with this knife. It cuts every material I put next to it (fabrics, plastics, papers, etc.), but I had some problems with sharpness which I will get into next. So out of the box cutting was good, but not great...
CONS:
Sharpness: It came fairly sharp, but I did not have the edge that I expected from all the talk. It would not readily shave arm hair at all when using it on one side of the blade, and did manage to take a few hairs off (though not happily) when using the other side of the blade. I thought this would be a good time to practice with my sharpmaker and so I got to work. I now have a single beveled 30 degree edge on the blade. It cuts the hell out of things now and my arm is lacking hair. I will report back about how well it holds the edge at this acute angle when I figure it out. For now the 440C seems okay withthis edge. If it doesn't work, I will put a 20 degree edge on it.
Handle material: I don't care what they call this stuff. It feels like plastic to me. It sounds like plastic too when you tap it with a coin or whatever. Still, it is a great shape and size. It seems plenty strong with that liner in there. Also, it really is very grippy in the hand. The texturing on the spine of the blade and back of the handle make this knife a seemingly good hard user. Also, it is quite light for a blade this size. It doesn't feel any heavier than my Mirage and as I said, it is massive compared to it.
OVERALL: I like this knife quite a lot. I am very happy I did not give up on Benchmade when I held the Pika. This knife far exceeds it. I will EDC this knife for a while and report if anything comes up. If you have any questions, I would be happy to do my best with them. Thanks for reading.
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