Benchmade Mini Griptilian Knife Drop-Point Blade Made EDC Manual Finish 556 Handle

Knife guys know that the Mini Grip is considered by many to be the standard bearer when it comes to an EDC knife. Benchmade puts out great products, and without a doubt the Mini Grip can be considered along them. The blade comes very sharp, and holds an edge well. When it is resharpening time, it is very easy to put a nice, clean edge on it. It steel is very rust resistant. As ever, the Axis lock is strong. I can't imagine a stronger lockup, or one that is easier to use. As with every Griptilian that I have bought, however, I did need to back the pivot screw off just a bit so that I could grip the lock and flip it open and shut. I always do this to the absolute minimum necissary, then I oil it and flip it a bunch of times to get things running smooth. As it comes from the factory there is no blade play. If you back off the pivot screw, like I did, you may introduce a bit of play. If this bothers you, you may have to sacrifice the ability to flick it open while pulling the Axis lock after you tighten the pivot up again. This is no problem, as the thumb studs are tactile and make deployment easy. The handle is a reinforced nylon like material. So people complain that this makes it feel cheap, but I don't really agree. Anybody who picks this thing up and uses it a bit is going to know it is an exceptional knife. There is gimping on the sides and outer edges to give you a solid grip. My only complaint is the gimping on the sides is very agressive, and I worry about it shredding my pockets. I wish they would put a flat spot under the clip similar to what Spyderco does on the Delica. So if this is such a great knife, is it in my pocket everyday? No, it is not. I prefer my Benchmade 940. The Mini Grip is a rugged knife that you can beat on, but part of why I carry a knife that costs the better part of $200 is that special feeling you get when you pull it out of your pocket. However, if I couldn't carry the 940, the Mini Grip, or its big brother the Griptilian, would be a strong contender for my pocket real estate.

Excellent knife for every day carry. I did have to sharpen the blade to get the edge that I wanted, but it has held up extremely well to use. I work in an industrial plant and wanted a quality knife that I wouldn't be afraid to use when I need it. I have used it for shaving debris off of rollers, cutting various sized air hoses, plastic tie wraps, small cables, gasket materials, etc... with no hesitation on my part or significant wear to the blade. It is 154CM steel and you should web search if you don't know about knife blade metals. The AXIS lock is very nice, and always feels secure with no movement of the blade. I've had frame and liner locked blades feel like they could move, especially if you opened the blade gently and did not get a firm *click* into place, and this is a very good solution with no drawbacks. I had never used one before this purchase, but it is the most quality locking mechanism I've ever felt and my favorite feature of the knife now. The overall size is exactly what I wanted. I originally hesitated because of the "mini" in the title, but after watching videos and seeing pictures of the knife in people's hands I thought it looked like it would work, and it is perfect. I don't notice it in my pocket, but it is large enough for my average male hand to hold comfortably. The grip also feels solid and quality, although some pictures seem "plasticy" in appearance. In my focused attempts at twisting or deforming it did not flex or yield in any way. It looks and feels like a quality piece of functional hardware. No frills or decorations, but strong and useful construction. One item that was not to my preference is the clip. It does protrude a fair amount from the body of the knife, and as many have said it will scuff up if you bump against any hard objects. It is painted black, and it will shine silver through on the edges where you have worn the paint down. The paint doesn't peel or seem fragile, it just gets damaged and will look worn on the edges. I don't mind the look, but I do wish that the clip was slimmer to the body, since I had to adjust my grip a bit to accommodate it. Not really an issue worth being upset over, and I haven't noticed it in a good month now, so I think it just took getting used to. All-in-all I'm a happy user. It is in my pocket every day and was worth every cent I paid for it.

I received this knife as a gift. I have always carried a pocket knife with me and I do have a favorite that I have had for years. When you love a certain knife it is real hard to change over to something else because in my mind you are taking a chance since your current favorite knife has served you so well and has performed as expected. Even after receiving my new Benchmade Mini Griptilian knife I was hesitant to use it because of loyalty for my "favorite" pocket knife. I finally had a chance to try this new knife out when it was in closer reaching distance than my favorite. Then that was it! Wow, I was/am pleasantly surprised, this Benchmade 556 is light, very sharp, and extremely well made. All the requirements of a great everyday carrying pocket knife. It also feels good in your hand, is very easy to open and close and it holds an edge better than my old stand by did! I now look forward for the next chance to use it which shouldn't be long as I now have it on me all the time. Well worth the money in my opinion, I definitely recommend it.

I'll keep it simple; this knife was everything I expected it to be and then some! BTW I didn't say "SHORT". 😁 My old friend has one and I sharpened it for him now and then, and always threatened to keep it, in jest of course! This knife is a different model than his and I like this one even better than his! I don't need a big knife; a 3" blade is plenty for me, I'll use it mostly for opening boxes so, I expect it to remain sharp for a long time. It is razor sharp right out of the box! I discovered that I didn't even need to use the thumb stud to open it, all I need to do is hold it nearly horizontal, and pull back the blade lock and the blade will fall open and a flick of the wrist snaps it the rest of the way, then the same thing to close it, just hold it a little point up and release the lock again and it will often fall shut by itself, if not, a touch of the finger closes it the rest of the way. You may know I'm 83 and my hands don't work as well as they used too, so I'm thrilled to learn my knife is even easier to open and close than I expected! Yippee!!!!! 😁😁😁 I recommend Benchmade to anyone who wants a quality blade you won't be disappointed. I had to wait a long time to afford this present to ME! Needless to say, I love it, as much as I can love a THING! This is one of the few FIVE STAR ratings I give, that should tell you something 4 stars is my normal highest rating. Getcha one! Gabby Bill

Serious knife. Too large for everyday carry to the mall or dinner, but essential for a working knife.

I recently moved to a new house on land, and found myself consistently in a situation in which I believed a knife would benefit me. When I was single I was always very big on brand name, and would choose made in America products over foreign made products. However, now that I am married and have two children I have to worry about what someone else may think. The price of this knife seems high to the average customer, but there are many other things that you need to think about when buying: Metal grade (for strength, corrosion resistance, and sharpness), how long you plan on keeping it, and the knowledge that this may be something you carry with you all the time and you MUST rely on the quality. To the review! This knife is made with 154CM steel. For those who dont know what this means it is a very high carbon stainless steel with some molybdenum. This particular steel provides for better edge retention so you dont have to sharpen your knife as much after normal use. After about 2 months of use I have realized that I should have been carrying a knife around a lot earlier! This thing is AMAZING. Whether I am opening another Amazon package, cutting open a letter in the mail, or cutting weed whacker twine, and sharpening a stick this powers through the roughest of tasks. When I first opened the great packaging and took this out of the sleeve it comes in I was a little unnerved about how rough the thumb button was for closing. Actually I opened and closed the knife about a thousand times hoping this was a wear issue, but when I got home I applied a decent amount of WD40 and realized that there must have been some grease locked in the mechanism for packaging. I was also a little disheartened by the pocket clip, and how high the knife sits in your pocket. After some research I discovered that the screw pattern for the clip matches the Benchmade Presidio (which sits deeper because of the way the clip curves), and Benchmade's GREAT customer service team sent me not one, but TWO of the clips FREE OF CHARGE!!! Couldn't be happier with my first EDC knife purchase and now I am considering going up to the 940!

This is my first experience with Benchmade. I am a huge fan of Spyderco but recently decided to branch out and try different brands. I originally heavily considered the full size griptilian but decided to go with the mini because of the 3" knife laws. In terms of the Axis lock and the blade steel, I like it. The lock is really fun to play with, and being able to swing the knife open and close with one hand is a joy. The 154cm steel also holds a sharp edge and shouldn't be too hard to sharpen. My mini grip didn't come super hair shaving sharp out of the box like all my Spyderco knives but it was still better than my kershaw / cold steel knives brand new. Honestly my only main gripe is how the knife feels in hand. It's not bad, but not comfortable for me. Keep in my mind this is just my opinion. I have a Spyderco Dragonfly 2 and although the knife is smaller overall, it has a finger choil which is very comfy to hold and that lengthens the handle to nearly the same size as the mini grip. The jimping on the liners of the mini grip where you place your index finger are rough and my finger started to get sore after using the knife for a long time. I think the texture of the handle is decent and you should be able to get a good hold on it (I also don't think the material feels cheap like many say) but it just doesn't feel super comfortable in my hand. Overall I think it's still a good knife. I might buy a full size griptilian and see if that feels any better in hand.

Short Form: There is a very Zen aesthetic to doing something very ordinary and doing it spectacularly well. There is an equally Zen experience of appreciating such mastery only through time and exposure. I think the Mini-Grip really hits on both of those things. While it leans slightly more towards the "hard use" end of the pool, the Mini-Grip comes close to being a perfectly balanced EDC knife. If you're going to exceed the $50.00 range with one knife, I would recommend that it be this knife. Size: Smallish end of medium, with a total length of 6.78" and a closed length of a very impressive 3.87". The blade hits just shy of 3" with almost the entire exposed edge being sharpened and usable. Usage Rating: Medium going on heavy. The only reason I don't say "heavy" without reservation is because it is, on the whole, rather smallish. Other than that, this is a knife with dual steel liners, an insanely strong lock, and a moderately thick blade-stock which is ground in such a way that it can take abuse. More to the point, the texturing and gripping created by the handle make this a blade that wouldn't slip out of our hands, even if you used it to cape a deer or clean a really slimy fish, like a catfish. Steel Quality: I almost put this in the "high" category. 154 CM is a slippery fish in that way. It is certainly an order of magnitude better than 8Cr13Mov and lower steels. I'm not sure I'd call it "better" than VG-10, although it does have better wear resistance. It is not as easy to sharpen as VG-10, and while it will take a hair-popping edge, it won't easily get to that "scalpel zone" that VG-10 and Sandvik 14c28n will. Here's the trade-off: with the big ol' carbide structures in 154 CM, it gets toothy on the edge quickly and stays that way for a long time. Put more plainly, it will hold a "utility edge" (can't shave with it but still quite useful) for a really, really long time. Easily a competitor to s30v. Deployment Method: One-handed ambidextrous. Very old school, field-tested-and-approved thumb studs, both average in size and shape. Phosphor bronze washers around the pivot. Again, the whole crux here is that this an ordinary thing done extraordinarily well. This is one of those knives you really have to handle to appreciate it. I've just described half the folding knives on the planet, but the difference here is that you can easily flick this open with slight thumb pressure, despite the knife's rather petite size. And despite that lightning open, the in-handle retention is still very good. The only competitor I've seen to the action on these things is the ball-bearing systems that are starting to come into use on production models, and even then, this gives those a serious run for the money. Performance Aspects: 1. Slicing - This blade is a pretty good slicer. Decent amount of curvature and a sabre-grind that starts about 1/3 of the way down the blade, ending in the secondary bevel, make for good performance in this arena. Doesn't slice as well as a full flat-ground blade, but keep it fairly sharp, and you'd hardly notice the difference. 2. Piercing - Despite the petite size, this thing has a robust tip. The curvature of the last portion of the blade makes it a fairly pointy tip, as well. Particularly good piercing for a normal, "non-wharncliffe" style knife. 3. Push Cutting - Kind of "meh" here. Only super thin knives with high grinds are great push cutters. This is further hampered by the fact that the secondary bevel is ground a bit wide (broader than 40 degrees inclusive, in some cases - more on that later). Retention Method: 1. Functionality - this is where we get to the mini-grip's one short-coming I can think of. Clip keeps the knife in your pocket very well. Too well, in fact. The bow of the clip sits on a checkered portion of the grip. The result is a certified pocket-shredder. I won't wear this knife with suits or khaki pants because it will readily tear them up. Even my cargo shorts and jeans wear noticeably after clipping this knife quite a bit. You can cure this by working the clip and sanding the contact point, but from the factory, beware and guard your pants! 2. Discretion - not great here, either. Big, exceptionally wide clip (given the size of the knife) with a good 3/4 of an inch of handle sticking out of your pocket. Everyone will know you have a knife. 3. Versatility - good enough. Good for lefties and righties. Tip up only, but who gives a damn? Fit and Finish: Sadly, gotta ding it here, too. The first one I got was badly off-centered. Fixing the problem turned it into a fixed blade knife. Didn't rub the sides, but came insanely close. Plastic parts and locking mechanisms were immaculate, though. Here's the thing. Their customer care is fantastic. I ended up screwing up my blade. Shipped it to them, and for five bucks, they put new axis lock, new springs, new pocket clip, NEW FREAKING BLADE. Cost to me? $5. And they got it back to me a month from when I sent it out. BM also has a free lifetime sharpening service if you're into that action. Knife was absolutely immaculate when I got it back from them. Super impressed. I guess what I'm saying is that even though fit and finish aren't perfect, you may be perfectly assured they'll make it right if you aren't happy. These people are serious about keeping customers, and I don't doubt this is part of that hefty initial price-tag. Ease of Maintenance: Another POTENTIAL problem area. Remember that ultra-wide secondary bevel I mentioned earlier? If you're a sharpmaker guy (or any "set angle" system), your product may not work on this guy. That's how I borked my blade up in the first place, trying a re-profile. If the only tool in your box is a sharpener like that, this could be problematic. If you just use stones, this is an easy blade to sharpen with its simple shape. Otherwise, nice low-maintenance knife. Conclusion: Like I said above. This is a super-solid EDC. Price keeps creeping up (I think they're about $80.00 now), but still worth the money. Great blade, great design, a pleasure to use. There are a lot of reasons this is a long-lived classic. Sometimes simple is best. Just beware of the maintenance issues and the possible pants destruction.

Mejor de lo que esperaba, el acabado es excelente

Un acabado impecable como siempre en esta marca un acero excepcional un joya y un tamaño pequeño para uso diario

よくやるバーベキューのバックアップナイフとして購入しました。 小さくてかわいいのに、渋さもあってなかなか良いです。 ただし、箱出しの切れ味は残念なものでした。 だいぶ前に山秀さんで購入したBUCK110は切れ味がとても良かったので、 価格を考えるともう少し頑張ってほしかったかなぁ と思います。 今日届いた物を先程まで研いでそこそこ切れるようにしましたが、 最初の一丁で検討される方には厳しいかもしれません。 でも カッコイイ！

アクシスロックということで中に入ってる針金が折れるとロックがだめになります 切れ味、鋼材、ハンドル、扱いやすさ どれを取っても良いものです。 初心者の最初の一本にしても良いと思います。 安くても、刃持ちも動きもなんならロックもペラペラのライナーロックのナイフ買うより 数千倍こっち買った方がいいと思います。 値は張りますがそれだけ良いものです

初めてのフォルダーナイフ。 アクシスロックが安全安心。 第一印象は小さいなと思ったが、使ってみれば大き過ぎず小さ過ぎず、ちょうど良い。 切れ味は比較対象が無い為、よく分からない。使っていて困ったことは無い。 手にするまでは値段が高いと思ったが、使用してみればその価値はあると感じる。 最後に一言、カッコいい。 フォルダーナイフの購入を迷っているならコレを勧めます。