Looking for my next Benchmade

inheritthefire said:
Allow me to be the first to congratulate you! You're going to love it.
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I agree. I enjoy all kinds of knives and even make my own fixed blades but I really love Benchmades and the Griptilians (although not the most expensive) are my favorites. I really want the Benchmade Bushcrafter next!:D
 
Time for an update.

Received the 551 grip yesterday and had a little time with it - just handling wise. First impression is I really like the blade shape/style and weight, I also like the handle size, but from there have a couple concerns. First off, even though the handle material is the same as the mini-grip, it feels more "plasticky" for some reason. Also the knife feels a bit unbalanced to me like the handle should be heavier - feels quite blade heavy holding in the open position. I must say that I can now compare the mini-grip to the regular grip, the mini grip is a home run for Benchmade. Much more of a balanced knife in my hands.

So, trying to decide what to do to make this knife better for me. Looking at my options:

I could send it back to the vendor and try another knife. I really don't like doing that as I am not sure if a different one one suit me better. And I hate sending stuff back.

I've had the thought of custom scales even before I bought this knife. I sure the custom scales would alleviate the plastic feeling of the handle, but I wonder if they would help with the handle weight/balance problem. I already pretty much have a scales material picked out (photo below) and pretty sure I am going to go this route. I am just hoping the custom scales will be a little heavier which would make this the perfect knife for me.

Any input or other suggestions?

(photo shamelessly harvested from keyman's collection)

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I've heard of people filling the empty portions of the handle scales with lead sinkers, then reassembling the knife. Makes the knife "feel" more expensive.

Some times the light weight of a knife can throw people. I recently had a coworker say that my carbon fiber 530 felt "cheap" because it was so light. :rolleyes:

I've never experimented with the lead fill, but have heard decent reviews on it in the past.
 
inheritthefire said:
I've heard of people filling the empty portions of the handle scales with lead sinkers, then reassembling the knife. Makes the knife "feel" more expensive.
Click to expand...

That is a great idea! That would help me with the weight/balance issue, but not the feel of the handle. I am going to move forward with getting custom scales - likely from keyman. I've emailed him about the material I like and asked him about the weight of the mircarta and if he might be able to add weight to the custom scales.

I really like this knife and plan on customizing it to meet my needs. I'm going to leave the mini-grip as is also since it is a limited edition.

Also as a side note, I've strayed a bit and bought a couple fixed blade knives, and have a hand made custom fixed blade arriving tomorrow. I think I caught the fever!
 
Also as a side note, I've strayed a bit and bought a couple fixed blade knives, and have a hand made custom fixed blade arriving tomorrow. I think I caught the fever![/QUOTE]

:thumbup:
 
Well, dragging up my thread from almost a month ago........

First off I want to thank everyone for helping me with my decisions. The Axis-Lock knives have been a Godsend for me with my RA.

My first was the mini-grip which I carry almost everyday, and the full size grip which I also love waiting for the custom scales. Now.....yeah.....just received my 3rd Benchmade today. My wish list includes the 710, 943, and the 707. I happened across a used 705 which I didn't even know existed since it is discontinued. Actually I was hesitating on the 707 because of the aluminum scales, but here in front of me the other day is the same knife with G10. Couldn't help myself and pulled the trigger.

I love this knife! 3 Benchmade Axis-Locks in - how many more....????

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