Just ordered my first knife

C

camp4fun

Joined
Jan 17, 2008
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6
A Benchmade Griptilian 551SBKSL will be arriving in the mail shortly. It will be my first quality knife, as I've only had a couple of multi-tools up till now. Here's a link to a pic/description of the knife:

http://www.thebladeshop.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1351

I chose it as my first knife for several reasons:
-it's not hugely expensive so i won't be afraid to have a little fun with it and actually put it to use
-the blade material is 154CM - seems to be tried and true and not too difficult to sharpen
-it's partially serrated so I can practice sharpening both a serrated edge and a plain edge, and if I should mess up the knife in any way while learning how to sharpen it, the serrated part of the knife would likely still provide some cutting power
-it looks cool and seems like it will always be a classic in my personal knife collection

My favorite knife from the beginning to the end of my research was the Benchmade Osborne plain black edge, but I knew I would hesitate to use it no matter how strong it was because of its price and its being more difficult to sharpen. I would rather not screw up a $150 knife's edge while learning how to sharpen.

Hopefully I will be happy with the knife I chose. Do you guys have any comments on my choice? Could you offer any general advice/wisdom or tips when using and sharpening the knife, or perhaps an idea of what I should expect? Thanks.

Some questions that come to mind:
How well does it stand up to the elements? Is it ok to use this thing in the rain for extended periods of time? I will be using the Lansky deluxe sharpening kit (very coarse, coarse, medium, fine, very fine hones as well as a medium grit serrated hone-will be getting a fine serrated hone soon). How do you recommend I sharpen this particular knife with this kit?
 
Very nice choice for your first. I'm proud for you.

I would go to wal mart or some where and buy an elcheapo to pracitice sharpening on. It takes some practice to get the angle and stroke right. If you screw up the cheap one it will be easy to sharpen out unlike the 154. Keep some band aids handy, haha!
 
Its a great knife.. I EDC'D one for about 3 years or so..
It got used hard, and spent a fair amount of time in the rain and snow...
Always took a good edge easy and held it for quite a while
I always tried to keep it fairly well dried off and never had any problems with corrosion anywhere on the knife. The only thing I learned to watch for was, pocket lint seems to accumalate around the lock mechanism. Easy to keep it cleaned out though.

Whe sharpening it you can use a sharpie marker on the edge of the blade, that way you will be able to see if you are using the correct angle setting on your Lansky... I always used a small file for doing the serrations. Have to be careful though because the files are tapered, and if you aren't careful you can overcut the serrations.
 
welcome to the forums you will enjoy it here.you have made a great first choice. got my son one and he is thrilled with it.
 
wow I you are probably the first person ever to buy a quality knife as the first one. my first knife was a SAK classic but it was a gift. The first one I ever saw and bought was an el cheapo delica ripoff witch I thought was the best in the world. of course I changed my mind 3 days later after having the supposedly lockable blade close on my fingers.
 
Camp4fun - Congrats on your new knife - that sounds like a wonderful choice!
Also - Welcome to Bladeforums :thumbup:

sp
 
I think you'll really enjoy the axis lock. I know you said you had a Lansky, but if I were you, I would look to invest in a Spyderco Sharpmaker. It is a cinch to sharpen on and sharpens the serrations without having to change out to something else. As a matter of fact I leave my Sharpmaker set up on my work table and every day or two I go by it, take my knife out , and hit it for about ten strokes each side. The key is to not let your knife get dull to begin with and the Sharpmaker will be much easier to use for quick touchups than the Lansky will. The Lansky will shine if you have a really dull edge and you need to recut the edge.
 
You will love that knife - It is a great one.
Remember, the first is always the most memorable :) , but I know it will not be your last, or your only ;). Welcome to the obsession :eek:.
Dave.
 
Thanks for all of the comments and the warm welcome! I think I'm addicted already haha. I will consider getting the Spyderco Sharpmaker. It's cool that it is so small. Could be something I EDC.
 
camp4fun said:
Thanks for all of the comments and the warm welcome! I think I'm addicted already haha. I will consider getting the Spyderco Sharpmaker. It's cool that it is so small. Could be something I EDC.
Click to expand...

I dont think you can edc a sharpmaker. The things pretty big. (correct me if im wrong) If you want to edc a sharpener and have serrations, get a small tapering diamond rod. They'r not very expensive and are easy to carry, some even have pocket clips and lanyard holes.
 
Congrats on getting your first quality knife. The partially serrated BM 551 was one of my 1st quality folders as well. I might have to get another 551 PE just to have. It's a great knife.

Welcome to the forums:). Stick around.
 
Welcome to the forum and Congrats, nice first! You'll luv it. I always liked the look of camo but I'm scared of dropping or putting it down and never finding it! We'll want lots of action pictures :D
 
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