Is the BM senior Griptilian overrated?

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fireincairo

Joined
Feb 21, 2011
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Let me preface this by saying a have a min-grip I love, and a Sequel 707 which is pretty much the coolest, and sturdiest, little folder I've ever handled. I really like them both. I also owned a larger 940 which was an excellent functioning knife.

But, I've now tried two senior Griptilians, and was really unimpressed. Unlike the mini, the senior has partial steel liners. Both ones I had had blade play that was not able to be fixed by adjusting the pivot. They would get tight enough to stop the blade play, and the blade had to be two-handed to be opened or closed. One of them had an issue with the axis lock and it would sometimes stop and get caught up when trying to close it.

Maybe this is just a knife model that is just hit or miss?
 
I think it is most likely hit or miss. I have three large griptilians and two have had blade play at the onset that was fixed my the pivot adjustment. I will agree with on the feel, it leaves a bit to be desired. The scales have a bit more of a plasticy feel to me that i just cant get into.
 
I use a large grip everyday as my work knife. I guess I got lucky because mine doesnt have blade play and still opens/closes extremely smooth. I have beat the crap out of this knife for months and it keeps on going strong
 
The one thing that the Large Grip has over the Mini is the availability of orange scales. That is, before the Benchmade customization site went up.
 
fireincairo said:
Both ones I had had blade play that was not able to be fixed by adjusting the pivot. They would get tight enough to stop the blade play, and the blade had to be two-handed to be opened or closed.
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I actually have the same problem with my BM 710 McHenry Williams. Maybe it's just my knife, but there doesn't seem to be a happy medium between "blade flopping everywhere" and "tighter than a nun's arse-hole." I don't know if it's a problem with larger Axis folders or what. I've never carried it outside or used it heavily, so it can't be because of abuse.
 
In my experience all axis locks have a extremely small, hard to find sweet spot. Too tight and it doesn't open smoothly, too loose and you'll get a little bit of horizontal play but once you do find the sweet spot they are fantastic. Once you get close you literally have to turn the pivot in such small increments that you can barely tell its turning and locktite is a must.

As far as the Griptilian goes I absolutely love them. Between all the variations I've owned 10, a few of which were minis, and I was able to find the sweet spot on all of them. I find the griptilians to be a great, durable, no frills work knife. Theres definately nothing fancy or overly cool about them but they're just super practical.
 
Thanks for the advice-- I will definitely tinker with it a bit if that's the case. And yeah, I've been meaning to pick up some locktite for my pivot adjustments.
 
Like many here, I have a few knives but, the one that I carry most everyday is the large Griptilian. I've bought and used the others but the Grip has never failed me and my wife carries a small pink Grip.

I agree that their is definitly a sweet sweet spot and that quality is hit and miss sometimes.
 
I agree about the "sweet spot". With all 3 of my grips I had to spend a little time messing with the pivot to find the right place for it. I was amazed at how little movement in the screw was needed to make a difference.
 
xtal can I ask where this BM customization site is?,I tried one site from Germany and their handles would end up costing quite a bit-thanks abunch
 
I think they are under rated ! People judge them by the " plasticy feel " when really what you have is one of the most funtional , tough and comfortable utility knives made !!
 
BITEME said:
xtal can I ask where this BM customization site is?,I tried one site from Germany and their handles would end up costing quite a bit-thanks abunch
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Benchmade.com > Services > Customize a Griptilian

Full-size are available now, mini's are apparently "coming soon."
 
I was just given a full-sized Griptilian by a friend who wanted to get an auto, and he said it took him a bit of tinkering, but he definitely got it to the sweet spot, because there's no blade play at all and it opens very smoothly. I am a happy camper. Since it came to me already adjusted, my impression is just that it is one sweet sweet knife. Feels great in the hand; the lock is rock-solid; razor-sharp (that lifetime sharpening contract comes in handy, I guess) and it clearly can take a beating, though I haven't beat on it yet. :)
 
On my AXIS locks that are hard to find the sweet spot I skip the loc tite and use teflon tape which seems to hold its position better and can also be adjusted without breaking the bond like with loc tite. I also over tighten the pivot so I can barely open the blade which helps seat everything and then slowly back off until you find the sweet spot. As mentioned when you are getting close it almost looks like you aren't turning the pivot to get it just right. I find if you don't over tighten initially (or you can put horizontal pressure back and forth to help it seat) that you can adjust it perfect and then with a little use it loosen up as it breaks in and requires an adjustment and another application of loc tite if that is what was used. Also, just some use and time for the AXIS lock to break in makes the knife much smoother to open and close.

I use AXIS locks everyday and they are all glassy smooth. When the lock bar is pulled back the blade just falls open or closed and has no blade play. It might take a little tinkering to get it perfect but its not a big deal to me and I think most of us like to tinker with our knives. Flip it open and closed a few hundred times while watching TV and I think you will like it a lot more after that and you adjust it.
 
Been using a large Griptillian now for 2 years. No issues or problems w/ pivot or blade play. It sharpens easily and is one of my knives that can take a hair whittling edge off a medium grit stone. One problem I have is apparently BM laser cuts the opening holes for the blade, and mine has a noticable flaw from the cut. The other issue is the clip is difficult to tighten to the point it doesnt move around. The knife isn't perfect, but it's far from over rated.
 
I really hate the feel of the large Grip's handle. Feels cheap. Wish it came factory-made with a G10 handle.
 
I have carried the large Grip regularly for a couple of years (Ritter blade). I liked it a lot, despite the plasticy feel, and then eventually I upgraded it to orange G10 grips from Kevin Wilkins. It made the knife much more solid and substantial, but also heavier. I kind of miss the old lightweight plastic grips now. Actually what most turned me off to the knife was the thumb studs. I've come to prefer the Spyder hole. It doesn't affect the cutting ability of the blade and I find that I can deploy it more reliably from more positions than the thumb stud. I have yet to try a Grip with a hole, but one of these days I mean to switch the Wilkins Grips over to a non thumb studded blade.
 
I think the secret to getting the blade play right is to remove the pivot screw and put some blue Loc-Tite on the threads. Let it dry and put the screw back in. Then you can make micro adjustments and dial in the sweet spot. I've done this with my Grips and I've never had to readjust the screw. I've done the clip screws to keep them from coming loose also.
 
I have 2 M4 Ritter grips and I agree with the plastic handle issue of feeling cheap. I had Dobson do one and got Wilkins Scales for the other and I now love them.
 
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