Starting a fire with a Griptilian

B

BMBM

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Sep 15, 2015
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I never paid too much attention to the Benchmade Griptilian because I’m not a big fan of the plastic grips and the ones I had tried seemed like they would chew up my pants because they are so grippy. I bought this Griptilian off a coworker for $20. It was a 550 with a broken sheepsfoot blade. I mailed it back to Benchmade and they switched it out to a 551 blade per my request for free.

I’ve been watching a lot of Bear Grylls Man vs Wild on tv so I bought a flint and today my goal was to start a fire with just the Griptilian, flint and what I could find in the back yard. I didn’t want a big fire, more of just wanted to see if I could do it. I baton’d a piece of wood, made small chips and shavings from that. I found some mostly dry leaves and dead grass. I couldn’t find any super dry leaves. Every morning everything is really wet with dew and the backyard is shaded the majority of the day.

I was showering the leaves with sparks but just couldn’t get it to light and stay lit. I would get smoke and a little bit of flame but not enough to stay lit. After a long time of no sustainable flame, I cheated and got a couple cotton balls and soaked them in acetone. One strike and that baby lit it up. Time for some marshmallows.

The Griptilian did everything I asked it to. It developed a little bit of side to side wiggle but I fixed that by tightening the pivot screw just a tad. After I was done it was still hair shaving sharp. I really like the Griptilian now. I adjusted the pocket clip so it’s not as tight and now it won’t shred my pants. I’ll keep carrying my 710 most of the time, but any time I’m going hiking or camping, the Griptilian will be going too. Next time I go camping I’ll bring my Griptilian, flint and a little container full of Vaseline soaked cotton balls to make the fire starting easier.

Any tips on fire starting from you guys or anyone else use their Benchmade folders as camp knives?















 
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That looks like fun. Good to hear grip did not let you down for the most part.
Did you baton the grip? Looks like it in one of the pics.
 
That's awesome. You definitely got your 20 bucks out of that.. lol
I think it's the carbon steels that you would get better spark with and not sure how much carbon 154 has.
I have no experience on lighting fires with flints so dont quote me on that. lol
 
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A Magnesium bar would light that stuff on fire. Just takes a few shavings and poof, you have fire.
 
BMBM said:
...anyone else use their Benchmade folders as camp knives?
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Nice little review! I don't baton with mine, but I now exclusively use a 551 for backpacking. Can't beat it. Strong, lightweight, and impervious to weather.


Brusiedmeat said:
I think it's the carbon steels that you would get better spark with and not sure how much carbon 154 has.
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I don't think the OP was having trouble sparking the firesteel with the Grip's blade. It was more with the tinder. When striking a firesteel with a blade, it has more to do with having a sharp spine angle rather than carbon content and the Grip's spine is plenty sharp in my experience. :thumbup:
 
Funny how everyone has a negative opinion of the Griptilian handles until they actually use the knife in an outdoor environment.
Easy to grip even when wet, light weight and pretty much indestructible.
 
I'm really happy with it. It's now my outdoors and travel knife. I was thinking about getting a Benchmade Bushcrafter but the Grip can fill that roll for now and if I break the blade, I'll just pay for a new blade. I'm careful not to pry with the blade so it should hold up just fine.
 
I saw the thumbs down in thread title and was sure this was going to be a rant about a Griptilian not catching on fire easily enough... :D

Very cool pics and looks like a fun time. Congrats on the dealio :thumbup:
 
I've had my mini Gryptillian with a partially serrated blade for over a decade now. It's always in a pouch on my belt.
 
My girlfriend has never carried a knife and didnt own any except kitchen knives until I surprised her a couple of months ago with a pink mini Griptillian with the combo blade. Now she carries it everywhere. I switched the pocket clip to a polished split arrow clip and it looks pretty nice.

I'm not going to baton fire wood with the mini Griptilian but it would probably hold up just fine.
 
Batoning can create indentations in the Axis bar cutouts that impede the full travel of the Axis bar and results in permanent up and down blade play that can only be remedied with new liners. We learned this the hard way with my Son's Adamas.

Hear me now and believe me later! :)
 
Definitely sounds like the materials were just too damp.

You'd want carbon steel to strike flint (the flint actually scrapes away the steel during the strike) but since they OP isn't using flint, is using a firesteel, any steel, including stainless steels should strike a spark. It would have more to do with the edge on the spine of the knife than the carbon content.
 
this man speaks the truth.
Professor said:
Batoning can create indentations in the Axis bar cutouts that impede the full travel of the Axis bar and results in permanent up and down blade play that can only be remedied with new liners. We learned this the hard way with my Son's Adamas.

Hear me now and believe me later! :)
Click to expand...
 
This man also speaks the truth,

if I might add... wow member since 02 and 11 posts..lol


you need to post more and read less!
BryanS said:
Definitely sounds like the materials were just too damp.

You'd want carbon steel to strike flint (the flint actually scrapes away the steel during the strike) but since they OP isn't using flint, is using a firesteel, any steel, including stainless steels should strike a spark. It would have more to do with the edge on the spine of the knife than the carbon content.
Click to expand...
 
shinyedges said:
This man also speaks the truth,

if I might add... wow member since 02 and 11 posts..lol


you need to post more and read less!
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Lol Quite the opposite with this fellow.

I have actually found out that batoning or chopping with the axis lock does cause up and down play. My contego is notorious for this. I fixed it by taking apart and cleaning and that did the trick. Still a great deal for 20 dollars.

I love deals ;) it's the only way I'll buy a new knife.
 
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Professor said:
Batoning can create indentations in the Axis bar cutouts that impede the full travel of the Axis bar and results in permanent up and down blade play that can only be remedied with new liners. We learned this the hard way with my Son's Adamas.

Hear me now and believe me later! :)
Click to expand...

Is it also true that if you disengage the lock you can avoid damaging it? I still wouldn't baton with a folder but it can be done without damaging the lock.
 
My 585 has lit many a fire! It has a very sharp spine that is perfect for throwing sparks and the 154cm works good too.
 
craytab said:
Is it also true that if you disengage the lock you can avoid damaging it? I still wouldn't baton with a folder but it can be done without damaging the lock.
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Less damage. You're still thumping on a folder's pivot in that instance, but I'd say that's less traumatic than when locked. My Son's Adamas had to go back to the Motherland for new liners after batoning while locked. BM sent me a note about the indentations on the liners and summized that it had endured some serious reverse angle trauma. I knew exactly what caused it at that point and fessed up. They replaced the liners free if charge anyway, despite the abuse. Awesome CS, as always.
 
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