Mini Grip opinions

[338375]

I'd probably really like a Spyderco if I tried one. I'd really like a PM2. I'm just more into having a Buck 112 or Case trapper with me and the Mini Grip would be along for the ride. I think they have a really classic look for a modern folder. Sometimes less is more and I like that it's not different for the sake of being different. If the makes any sense

That's a great combination to go with the Mini... The 112 is my favorite Buck. I have big hands, and I've never felt the mini was to small.

Re: the pivot, I adjust mine as soon as I get them. You can get it to the point where the blade will swing open and closed easily. It just takes a little time, because there is a very small sweet spot. None of my Minis have blade play, and they all swing freely.

The Cabelas D2 version you mentioned is a great knife. Mine is all black, but I've had OD Green and black minis before, and they look great

 

[Scooter70]

I carried my 556 combo edge Mini Grip for years and recently purchased a Ritter and then put aftermarket scales on it. I prefer the blade shape on the Ritter though it's probably personal preference. The Mini Grip is a fantastic EDC knife in stock form and gets even better with some tweaks.

 

[inlikeflynt56]

Mini Grip, Wilkins scales. Tom Krein Regrind. It's a great knife.
The Mrs. carries a stock one also.
Like bld522, I do like my Spydercos.
Frequently carry a PM2, Delica FFG and Native 5 G10.

 

[TexasWade]

Another Mini Grip fan here. I hadn't carried a knife for several years and recently decided it was time to find something nice. Wound up with a Mini Barrage (585). Yes, the grips do have that plastic-ey sounds when you tap on them but the contours and textures are very nice. I liked that one so much I decided to go for the Mini Grip with the black D2 blade from Cabela's. The griptilian feels a just a little bit small in my hand but perfect in my pocket while the barrage is a tiny bit big in my pocket but perfect in my hand. Also I really like the lively feel of the assisted opening in the barrage and miss it a bit on the griptilian. The lighter weight and textures on the griptilian are really good though! Sometimes I like to just roll that knife around in my hand without even opening it.

Also if you didn't know, Benchmade has different clips they will send you just for asking. I got a deep carry clip for my mini-barrage and I like it so well I asked them for the same for my mini-griptilian. Great knives and a great company so far in my experience.

 

[firefighterguy]

Those are some of the things that cross my mind because this would be the most expensive knife for me as well. I'm kind of used to the Cryo 2 now and I think the size is ok. I've always dug the Kershaw oso sweet for some reason and that's around the same size. I have bigger hands too and it's hard to find a perfect size. I've been carrying the Rat 1 and even though it feels great, it's just more than I need on a daily basis. I think I'd rather go a touch smaller. I always have a bigger blade with me in my truck and in my pack, so I think the smaller size would be ok. It's cool to know someone was in the same boat so recently...

My knife collection went like this. Cryo II, delica 4 then mini grip. I thought spydercos were ugly. Now I'm a fan boy. I have my second on the way. The mini grip is small compared to the Cryo II and will feel very plasticy. That's not a bad thing because it disappears in your pocket. You'll love the mini grip. The steel has performed great so far for me. Smaller knives have their place. I really don't need a knife bigger than the mini grip. I just like them

 

[Scooter70]

Another Mini Grip fan here. I hadn't carried a knife for several years and recently decided it was time to find something nice. Wound up with a Mini Barrage (585). Yes, the grips do have that plastic-ey sounds when you tap on them but the contours and textures are very nice. I liked that one so much I decided to go for the Mini Grip with the black D2 blade from Cabela's. The griptilian feels a just a little bit small in my hand but perfect in my pocket while the barrage is a tiny bit big in my pocket but perfect in my hand. Also I really like the lively feel of the assisted opening in the barrage and miss it a bit on the griptilian. The lighter weight and textures on the griptilian are really good though! Sometimes I like to just roll that knife around in my hand without even opening it.

Also if you didn't know, Benchmade has different clips they will send you just for asking. I got a deep carry clip for my mini-barrage and I like it so well I asked them for the same for my mini-griptilian. Great knives and a great company so far in my experience.

They make a great combination. Love my Custom Shop Mini Barrage. I rock deep carry clips on both.

 

[JD Bear]

That's a great combination to go with the Mini... The 112 is my favorite Buck. I have big hands, and I've never felt the mini was to small.

Re: the pivot, I adjust mine as soon as I get them. You can get it to the point where the blade will swing open and closed easily. It just takes a little time, because there is a very small sweet spot. None of my Minis have blade play, and they all swing freely.


The Cabelas D2 version you mentioned is a great knife. Mine is all black, but I've had OD Green and black minis before, and they look great

Huh, a fan of the 112 and the mini grip with black blade. I tell you what my friend, if you like beer and women with big.....eyes, I'd say we have a lot in common. I'm driving myself up a wall deciding between the OD green and the black. I'll probably end up with both someday, but that's down the road.

 

[JD Bear]

My knife collection went like this. Cryo II, delica 4 then mini grip. I thought spydercos were ugly. Now I'm a fan boy. I have my second on the way. The mini grip is small compared to the Cryo II and will feel very plasticy. That's not a bad thing because it disappears in your pocket. You'll love the mini grip. The steel has performed great so far for me. Smaller knives have their place. I really don't need a knife bigger than the mini grip. I just like them

I have the Cryo and I don't really mind the size so I'm sure I'll like the mini grip. I like bigger models, like the Rat 1, if I'm only carrying one blade. That rarely happens though. This is more of a companion if I need a one handed opener and from what I hear will fill the role perfectly.

 

[338375]

Huh, a fan of the 112 and the mini grip with black blade. I tell you what my friend, if you like beer and women with big.....eyes, I'd say we have a lot in common. I'm driving myself up a wall deciding between the OD green and the black. I'll probably end up with both someday, but that's down the road.

Well, we do have some things in common,except the beer... I drank enough for a few guys over the years, but I don't drink it much anymore.
I've always preferred whiskey. Anymore beer just stuffs up my sinuses and gives me a headache, but back to the knives...

Here is a picture of the green and black. This will give you a better idea what it actually looks like in case you have only seen them in stock photos..

A picture of my well loved Cabelas knife to show you how they look with age and use...

And if you really want to have a hard time choosing a color, here is a picture I took at Benchmade a couple months ago. It shows the various color options
from the Custom build program

 

[JD Bear]

Well, we do have some things in common,except the beer... I drank enough for a few guys over the years, but I don't drink it much anymore.
I've always preferred whiskey. Anymore beer just stuffs up my sinuses and gives me a headache, but back to the knives...

Here is a picture of the green and black. This will give you a better idea what it actually looks like in case you have only seen them in stock photos..

A picture of my well loved Cabelas knife to show you how they look with age and use...

And if you really want to have a hard time choosing a color, here is a picture I took at Benchmade a couple months ago. It shows the various color options
from the Custom build program

That last picture is really cool. Not a fan of the bright colors, but I have to respect the choices. Both of yours look great and I think I'll go with the OD when I pull the trigger. Do you know how the tan holds up after time?

 

[338375]

That last picture is really cool. Not a fan of the bright colors, but I have to respect the choices. Both of yours look great and I think I'll go with the OD when I pull the trigger. Do you know how the tan holds up after time?

All of the colors hold up great. The color is actually mixed into the plastic on the newer versions. The older version of Griptilians were painted, and with use and age could show wear... Unless you buy an old Grip with 440C steel, you don't have anything to worry about. I like the tan knives too.

 

[Lee48]

I've owned one Mini Griptilian but didn't like it. I bought it because I had the full size Griptilian and I thought the smaller version would be easier to carry. It was easier to carry, but unfortunately the grip was too mini for me. If you look at the photos in the previous posts, you can see the way the grip on the knife is designed to position the hand farther back on the handle. In the regular Griptilian, this is comfortable. But in the Mini, it just pushed my hand too far to the rear. I never felt comfortable using it because of the short gripping area. So I gave it away without ever carrying it. Since then I've bought a Mini Presidio Ultra that fits me so much better than the Mini Griptilian.

If it fits your grip (ahem), the Mini Griptilian is a fine little carry knife, very well made. It just didn't fit my hand at all.

 

[jpm2]

I recommend one without thumbstuds, so it won't open drawing it from your pocket - or grind down the weak side stud.

 

[firefighterguy]

That's a great combination to go with the Mini... The 112 is my favorite Buck. I have big hands, and I've never felt the mini was to small.

Re: the pivot, I adjust mine as soon as I get them. You can get it to the point where the blade will swing open and closed easily. It just takes a little time, because there is a very small sweet spot. None of my Minis have blade play, and they all swing freely.

The Cabelas D2 version you mentioned is a great knife. Mine is all black, but I've had OD Green and black minis before, and they look great

When you say swing freely, do you mean that it will fall with gravity when disengaging the axis lock?

 

[338375]

I recommend one without thumbstuds, so it won't open drawing it from your pocket - or grind down the weak side stud.

I've never had one open when removing it from my pocket, and I really doubt you need to worry about wearing down the thumbstud

When you say swing freely, do you mean that it will fall with gravity when disengaging the axis lock?

Yep... When you do it correctly, it will fall free and close.

 

[jpm2]

I've never had one open when removing it from my pocket, and I really doubt you need to worry about wearing down the thumbstud

All 4 mini grips will open on draw, especially from a sitting position. This is due to the weak side thumb stud catching on the heavy seam of my jeans.
I ground down the weak side stud on one of them to fix the flaw.
This has also happened with the mini stryker, north fork, contego...
I'm sure it's happened to others who wear heavy jeans.
Never had a tip down open on me, shame it's not possible with axis lock.

 

[Lee48]

Yup. I've had several brands of knives with thumbstuds to open when being drawn from a tight pocket. It can happen. Not often and usually not causing any blood loss but, yeah, you can catch a protruding stud on your pocket seam under the right conditions and make your knife into an Emerson Wave without meaning to.

I've also had tip down only models open when returning them to a tight pocket.

Stuff can happen.

 

[firefighterguy]

I've never had one open when removing it from my pocket, and I really doubt you need to worry about wearing down the thumbstud



Yep... When you do it correctly, it will fall free and close.

How can I do this correctly? If I loosen the pivot enough for it to fall freely it has blade play. So I just tighten it up until there's no blade play.

 

[338375]

All 4 mini grips will open on draw, especially from a sitting position. This is due to the weak side thumb stud catching on the heavy seam of my jeans.
I ground down the weak side stud on one of them to fix the flaw.
This has also happened with the mini stryker, north fork, contego...
I'm sure it's happened to others who wear heavy jeans.
Never had a tip down open on me, shame it's not possible with axis lock.

Yup. I've had several brands of knives with thumbstuds to open when being drawn from a tight pocket. It can happen. Not often and usually not causing any blood loss but, yeah, you can catch a protruding stud on your pocket seam under the right conditions and make your knife into an Emerson Wave without meaning to.

I've also had tip down only models open when returning them to a tight pocket.

Stuff can happen.

That's true, stuff can happen, but I guess I have been lucky over the years. The only pants I own are Wrangler blue jeans, and I've carried my BM's in the same pocket for roughly 15 years.

How can I do this correctly? If I loosen the pivot enough for it to fall freely it has blade play. So I just tighten it up until there's no blade play.

If it's a new knife. it might take a little breaking in before it will do this. My Ritter Mini that I got about 6 months ago took a little work, and was actually the hardest one I've owned to get to this point. I tightened the pivot so there was a decent amount of resistance, and opened and closed it probably 30 times.
Then I loosened it up and started adjusting until I found the sweet spot...

I bought a new 555 awhile back, and it was absolutely perfect out of the box. I bought a used Cabelas Mini and it wasn't bad, but I got bored one night and took it apart. I polished the bronze bushings and the blade tang a little, put a very small amount of oil on the bushings and put it back together.
This sucker is like glass

 

[jumpstat]

Hi,
Got a standard desert tan with black blade wight the MDP blade style. Been using it quite a lot and it is a keeper.

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Pros: Light, easy to carry, grippy, 154CM blade, Axis Lock, black coating blade lasts,
Cons: Need to adjust the pivot often than most, thumb studs hinder cutting length, wear on scales, difficult to sharpen the heel using sharpmaker as the end of the cutting length is too close to the scales.