Mini Grip or Monochrome?

BJE

BJE

Joined
Apr 12, 2006
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I want to get the Benchmade Mini Griptilian with sheepsfoot blade and thumb hole for $70 or the Benchmade Monochrome for $55, any suggestions? I know I can find them cheaper online, but I want to get them locally. I will be using it for light to medium edc, I want it to be as good as my Native, only with a stronger tip. I know that the Mini Grip is very highly reccomended here, but I have also heard good things about the Monochrome. I have felt both, but only for awhile and they are located at two different stores 30 min. apart, so I have to choose before I go. Do you think that either price is way too high? I would rather have the Axis lock, but money is tight right now, and I am having a hard enough time justifying a new knife, but I would only spend my left over cash on something dumb anyway. Do you think that the Monolock is stong enough or is the Axis lock worth the extra price? I want a lock that won't fail over time, my Mini-Ambush now has alot of blade play from just medium powered spine whacks (I have to send it back to the factory, I havn't even used the knife to cut one thing and I just had to test the new rolling lock (idiot, idiot, idiot), is this normal for rolling locks? I still love my Mini Ambush, but I trust it a little less (it didn't fail though:o ). Any help will be appreciated.
 
They're both good knives with good locks. Grip has somewhat better steel and I think the handle is better for serious work than the monochrome.

Phil
 
I like the feel of both knives, and I don't use my knives for extended periods of time, so the ati-fatigue aspect is deminished. Design quality is the main issue. Which one is tougher?
 
I think I will get the Monochrome this weekend and ask for the Grip for Christmas. Keep the advice coming, I might change my mind. What is the difference between a Ritter Grip and Orig. Grip? Thanks for the help.
 
ritter grip has a different blade shape, somewhat more useful all around, comes in S30V instead of 440C (now 154CM) and is about 40 bucks more expensive. If its worth it for the steel upgrade (not as important to me, as I am a fan of 154) is up to you. I would definitely skip the monochrome and go to the grip first. The axis lock upgrade alone is worth the 15 dollar difference. The grip is a great user and unless you just have to have a framelock, this one wouldn't even be a tough decision for me, but thats what makes life interesting. I EDC a mini grip in my rotation and the only negative that I could say is that the grips tend to be rough on pockets due to their texturing.
 
Agreed on the Grip:) I don't own a Monochrome yet, but I do own a few Grips. I felt that the Monochrome tended to be slightly heavy in the pocket. That's me - I also carry a lot of stuff on me, so weight does come into play. I sorta feel this way about most of the SS handled folders. I bought a Spydie Adventura last week, and despite it being a pretty nice folder, it's just heavy enough that it's noticeable. It would probably be OK if it was the only one that you carried. Ideally, it would be good to pick both up, touch/feel/fondle first. Both are excellent value for the money.

My $0.02 CDN - gord
 
Could you be more specific on why you like the Grip better than the Monochrome? Why do you like the Axis sooo much better? I am not very hard on my knives, so the locks don't have to hold 400+ or anything (I would like a very reliable lock that is strong though). How reliable are the Monolocks?
 
Minigrip, easy.

As per the lock, not only is the axis lock one of (if not the) strongest locks, it's also much more reliable and easy to use. Reliable in the sense that it'll never just slide off and has spring redundancy built in, so in a worst case scenario where a spring fails, you still have something helping out. Easier to use because the action is superior to other locks, allowing you to axis-flick the knives. Pull the lock down and you can easily flick it open AND closed.
 
I've had the mini grip for about 2 weeks now and love it!!! Best knife I own so far.
 
I haven't used a mini-grip but do have a Monochrome. The Monochrome is a great knife for the price w/decent steel and strong lockup. Only one (little) thing for me is, it's a little slim to get a decent hold on when cutting, other than that it's great.
 
Just to let everyone know, I went to the sporting goods stores today, and they didn't have the silver Monochrome, just the black coated version (I don't like dark blade coatings) and the only grips they had were the full sized with thumb studs, so I picked up a Vex instead, I got a first production run, it says 0172/1000. I got it for $45, and I really like it. I wrote a review in the knife reviews and testing forum.
 
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