question about the Benchmade Griptilian/Mini Griptilian

[ericvar101]

I see some Griptilian that say designed by Doug Ritter and others that say Mel Perdue. They look like the same knife, and are both called "Griptilian". I find this odd that two different people are credited for the design on the same knife, is there a difference between them, they look the same, and if so why are they both called the "Griptilian" ?

 

[powernoodle]

The Ritter flavor is a more spendy and slightly different version of the standard Griptilian, which is a Pardue design.

 

[mkjellgren]

The difference is in the blade shape and steel used. Also, the "Ritter grip" is not actually called a griptilian. The actual model name is the Ritter RSK- 1, us knife nuts have nicknamed it the Ritter Grip. The Ritter version has a wider blade profile and I high flat grind with makes it a better slicer but at the expense of the pointier tip of the standard version. The Ritter uses s30v blade steel which is considered an upgrade from the standard 154cm. The standard griptilian is available with both a drop point blade with a thumb stud and a hollow ground sheep's foot blade with a thumb hole. Both come standard in 154cm. All versions are exactly the same other than the blade shape and steel choice. The handle and internals are identical.

 

[thallium]

Doug Ritter, a survival expert, collaborated with Benchmade on designing a blade that he liked to go into the griptilian handle. So, if Mel Pardue was totally responsible for all the griptilian blade variations and the handles then the Ritter Griptilian is a Pardue/Ritter design technically.