I want a Griptilian BUT ...

FWIW After getting a Ritter Mini Grip this past x-mas I hardly ever carry my PM2, and am strongly considering putting it up on the Exchange.

 

You should take a look at the 707.

As for the blade play in the mini grip, you can tighten the pivot screw and handle screws and get rid of any play. If you do not like the handles, you can easily get some after market handles. There are a number of makers on this forum.

 

View attachment 554211 Here is the excellent REI grip....poorly photographed!

 

The Grip is a good knife, and with a scale upgrade it becomes excellent. But the Grip's main appeal, I think, is that it's a budget benchmade. If you're going to consider replacing the scale, consider spending more money on another one in the benchmade line.

 

^^^ Yep. This.

 

Yes there is a point in owning both the Grip and PM2. The Grip fills your hand better and the PM2 is a thinner carry in your pocket. They both have their advantages. Plan on owning both at some point in your life. Personally, I think the Ritter Grip is the best of the bunch.

If you love the ergos of the Griptilian, then that is the knife to buy.

 

Ditto the reply that said the full size Grip fills the hand well, but is fat in pocket. Benchmade sells Grips with different blade profiles and either thumb studs or a blade hole for opening. The Ritters are very nice. I have a Ritter mini, and the bulbosity is a lot less than the full size model.

 

Check out my grips for both regular and mini Griptilians. I've been making and selling them for a long time.

View attachment 554260

 

Check out Igorded here on the forums. I've replaced the scales on both my mini Ritter and regular Grips from him and love them. I also replaced the pocket clips with the low rider clips from the Adamas if I recall correctly.

Here's one of his threads.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1167984-BM-Griptilian-scales-custom


Benchmade Mini Griptilians with custom scales from Igorded from Blade Forums. by Nigel, on Flickr

Benchmade Mini Griptilians with custom scales from Igorded from Blade Forums. by Nigel, on Flickr

 

Perhaps try and locate one of the discontinued Bone Collectors if you want the thumbhole and D2. Or opt for the new Hunt line. Great knives and tough.

But really, even though the standard handles may feel a bit cheap, you'd be hard pressed to find a handle that'll stand up like the regular Grips.

And as mentioned, tbe aftermarket scales really transform the knife, but at a cost.

After using a standard, off the shelf grip, you won't really notice the handles. I'd say give them a go for awhile, and if they aren't for you, then upgrade with an aftermarket set.

 

When a pm2 can be had for 10 dollars more than a Griptilian , the pm2 is by far the better value. That said, the Ritter and the pm2 are both in my current five knife edc rotation (the pm2 is the most carried of the five).

 

I've just picked up a Mini Grip 555 after coming to the conclusion it offers many of the things I consider important for an EDC folder. I carried and really enjoyed a CRK folder for about 7 years, but always wanted a fully ambidextrous knife. The price of a Mini Grip with aftermarket scales is still a fair bit less pricey than a Small Sebenza and offers more of what I'm(currently) looking for. I'd love to grab a Ritter in the future, but this will work for now.

 

I had the same dilemma recently. I also am relatively new to both this forum and knife collecting. My answer was to buy both a PM2 and a Griptilian. So here is my take on both. The pm2 has a 4 way clip both tip up or tip down and for me the tip down is more comfortable in the hand the pm2 clip also has a slight curve downwards at the end of it that adds to the comfort in the hand. The grip's clip although reversible does not offer a tip down position. The pm2 has jimping and a thumb ramp on the tang and also on the bottom of the tang for the index finger that make it almost impossible to slip your hand off in a pressure situation resulting in slicing your hand. The grip also has jimping on both the liners and a thumb ramp on the tang but they are fairly recessed and doesn't do a very good job of keeping your thumb from slipping. There is no jimping for the index finger. The pm2 has g10 scales where the grips scales are made out of Noryl GTX which is just a fancy plastic. I find they are a little slick and cheap feeling. The pm2 overall feels better in my hand and I believe a much safer knife to use. The pm2 uses CPM S30V steel the grip uses 154CM although a little harder to sharpen from what I've read the CPM S30V is a better steel. I do not have enough knowledge to argue this point I am simply taking other more knowledgeable folks opinions. The pm2 has a nice sized lanyard hole that has a bushing in it where the grip has a much smaller lanyard hole with no bushing in it. The pm2 features a compression lock that is essentially a reverse liner lock that makes it less likely to close up due to your finger hitting and moving the liner lock. The grip has an AXIS lock that uses a spring loaded bar that rides in a slot cut into both liners. I like this system much better than the compression lock. It allows for fast one handed opening and closing of the blade. Both knives are great knives but the PM2 would by far be my choice of an EDC.

 

The Pm2 may seem like the better value in the short run but Benchmade has spyderco beat with their life sharp service. Replacement parts aren't always available and Spyderco will not replace a blade.

 

I dunno, I'd call it a tie on value.
A black PM2 costs about $130 on most sites these days, and you can get a Ritter Grip in M390 for $140.
Granted, the G10 on the PM2 wins by a landslide, but I call it a tie on the awesome locking mechanisms.

Either way, to get a PM2 in M390 or a Ritter Grip with custom handle scales is going to set you back about $250, maybe more for the blue PM2....

 

If you're considering aftermarket grips, the WilkinsGrips are really awesome. It's a different shape from the stock Griptilian handles, but I actually like them better.

 

If we're comparing a Ritter to PM2 the Ritter is much more robust of a knife. M390 is superior to S30V. G10 is not superior to FRN in performance as far as I can tell. It just feels more premium. In my book the Grip takes it.

I don't carry either these days. I'm not crazy about the lock placement on the PM2 though.

 

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Me neither, it looks awkward to close it the knife.
also the PM2 could be harder to sharpen without a sharpening choil, unlike the Ritter, which is much easier looking.