IMO - The Griptilian is too fat!

I have tried to EDC a Griptilian and came to the same conclusion: it is not comfortable to carry. It may be nice to hold in a hand, but that is less than 1% of the time: so not as critical from my point of view.
On another hand they have got plenty of knives which feel quite comfortable in a poket. So it does not have to be purfect for everyone and in every respect: such thing simply does not exist!
 
I like it, but I also like the mini. I think the mini may be a little better for EDC, but the 551 is an awesome knife.
 
shaneotool said:
The handles are plastic - whatever they call them.
I had one for a little while and sold it. It just feels cheap to me with the hollow plastic handle.
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Once you start playing with titanium and other solid materials in upper scale knives, the Grip may seem that way. They are still solid good quality work knives however. Very capable.
 
Despite being several years old, I remember when this thread originally came around, and my thoughts are the same: That complaining about the thickness of the Griptilian is like complaining that a heavy duty truck is too heavy duty, or that a Lazy Boy is too comfortable. It's called the Griptilian. It's designed to have a comfortable, hand-filling grip. Of course it's going to feel fat in the pocket. It's not called a pocketilian.
 
ChrisDS said:
Yep it's a fatty, BM should produce a version with flat scales... they would probably sell a bazillion of them.
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Well. BM doesn't but someone else does!

a686eb73.jpg


These are anodized Aluminum and no longer available. There are black G10 available.
 
I bought a mini grip thinking it would replace my Delica for my go to EDC.

I found it was bulky, and just felt different in my pocket, to the point I kept going for the Delica every time I grabbed a knife. That minimal difference does change the feel of the knife, and I sold the mini grip soon after buying it.

Trying my luck with a new Ti UK Pen Knife I picked up for a good deal, so we shall see how that works out.

The flat sides are really a game changer for me so Spyderco just seems to get my attention most of the time.
 
aquaman67 said:
Well. BM doesn't but someone else does!

a686eb73.jpg


These are anodized Aluminum and no longer available. There are black G10 available.
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At what cost?

The grip and mini grip are well priced, but when you add those scales you could have just bought something that is more suitable in the first place.

I love the look, and have considered custom scales for different knives but I do use most of mine, and prefer not to spend a bunch on asthetics.
 
Have carried an orange fullsized Ritter Griptillian and am currently carrying a black full sized with a combo blade ; no problems; seems like someone will complain about the "plastic" and a lot jump on bandwagon; to each his own. Sometime carry a Spyderco Endura don't notice any carrying difference.
 
The mini-Grip is pretty pocket friendly. The handles are curved, but overall, it is still pretty thin. It does feel more solid than the full-size Grip, probably due to the liners running the full length of the handles. That's not to say the full-size Grip handles are weak, because they're quite the opposite. The full-size Grip is definitely bulkier in pocket, but it is also more comfortable than a flat handle if you expect to be doing a lot of repeat cutting.

Video of a deliberate attempt to break the Grip:
[video=youtube_share;bkRr7452KmI]http://youtu.be/bkRr7452KmI[/video]

Video of some Grip abuse (batoning, driving it through wood like a nail):
[video=youtube_share;s5Twgq9UiRQ]http://youtu.be/s5Twgq9UiRQ[/video]
 
When my mini-Ritter first showed up I did carry it for a while. A little wide but not too bad. With Wilkins grips it carries much better and is still comfortable in the hand.

DSC_0875aa.jpg
 
mlehto said:
At what cost?

The grip and mini grip are well priced, but when you add those scales you could have just bought something that is more suitable in the first place.

I love the look, and have considered custom scales for different knives but I do use most of mine, and prefer not to spend a bunch on asthetics.
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I agree it's not very smart to put $150 scales on an $80 knife.

Sometimes ya gotta do whatcha gotta do!

BEE21311-21BA-499F-9BF4-5A6AD9F56193-1957-0000018A46DF4CFD.jpg
 
For me, the full size Grip is a little larger than I like for EDC. I also don't like the "clack" (so I got the Gold class one with the carbon fiber scales). I do think it's a great knife and one of my favorite folders for actually working with.

I absolutely love the Mini Grip for EDC and have carried one for quite a few years now- nothing has been able to knock it out of my pocket for more than a few days. The handle to blade ratio is great and I don't even notice it in my pocket (tucked up against the far right side of my right front pocket). I had great hopes for a PM2 I got after hearing how wonderful they are, and for very little more cutting edge (line them up and look before arguing) it takes up far more pocket space. Yes, it's a little thinner, but wider and deeper makes it much more intrusive.

I carry 2 sets of keys and my change in the same pocket- with the MiniGrip, no problem moving things around to get at my change- with the PM2 no room to move keys out the way to get at the change. I really don't notice it being too thick at all.
 
My large Ritter Grip was to fat for me to carry comfortably so it go about zero pocket time. Coupled with the plastic, hollow sounding scales I was pretty sure I made a mistake in giving the Griptilian a go.

I solved my scale problems by ordering new ones from Cuscadi.

photobucket-32559-1349205016070.jpg


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The Axis lock on this particular BM has some blade play despite fine tuning. It's just not as good as the Osborne or BC that I have. All in all I'm about done with Benchmade. If I could pick up a new AFCK for what I pad for my old one I'd call it a day. For the money Spyderco puts out better knives with better fit and finish with less problems.

Just one users opinion.
 
Planterz said:
... It's called the Griptilian. It's designed to have a comfortable, hand-filling grip. Of course it's going to feel fat in the pocket. It's not called a pocketilian.
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Pocketilian, ha ha. Definitely hadn't thought about it that way. I have no issue with the thickness of a grip in pocket, but length of the full size is too much. If custom scales were a few less $$ I'd definitely give them a try though.
 
I LOVE EDCing my large Grips. They are a little fat but the light weight more than makes up for the width issue. It is so grippy, but slides in and out of the pocket very easily. My only gripe is the blade centering.
 
OP, your not alone. My Ritter Grip feels a bit chunky in my pocket but it does not bother me because it is so light. The RG is my bushcraft/survival knife. That thick handle is also very helpful when doing alot of cutting. It is way more comfrotable than some of the thinner profile knives I own. It all depends on how much cutting you plan on doing and what your going to wear. YMMV

Unklfranco
 
I love my 556, but I agree about the handle thickness. I'd love some aftermarket scales, but I can't justify paying three times the cost of the knife just for some new scales!
 
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