Benchmade 551 Griptilian

Reviewed 09/14/2014 by Hipower

-Price Paid: $90.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

The ultimate value for an everyday carry, hard use, American made knife. Nothing pretty about it. 154 CM is a very good steel. Axis lock is great. Ideal size. Handle feels cheap, but solid. The plastic handle reduces weight so carry isn't as noticeable. Great knife. Made for heavy use and I've put mine to the test. Whenever a coworker asks my opinion for a great workhorse knife, Griptillian is always among those I mention.

Reviewed 01/21/2014 by josh

-Price Paid: $75.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

I bought this knife brand new from a local Benchmade dealer. The blade after opening the package was DULL! I also have blade play. Benchmades quality control is terrible. Why can I purchase a chinese made HK Ghost knife from big 5 for $25 and its scary sharp, and has a more solid lock up? Benchmade is garbage... Step it up Benchmade. Ill try spyderco..

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Reviewed 01/16/2014 by Jordan

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I bought this knife at Cabela's 8 years ago and after losing it and finding it again 3 times over the years, this knife keeps going. It has become a part of me that I use daily. It's very durable, light, holds a great edge, and has never failed me. Thank you Benchmade for keeping it American and keeping quality before quantity.

Reviewed 10/28/2013 by Ironman2326

-Price Paid: $137.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 1 year

Comments:

I have a customized Griptilian (which is why I paid more for it) with black drop point blade and orange handle with silver pocket clip. I love this knife! I carry it everyday. The blade is very durable and holds an edge pretty good and is easy to resharpen with just a few strokes over a ceramic sharpener. The axis lock makes it very easy to open and there is ZERO play in the blade when it's locked open. The ONLY thing I wasn't too fond of was that the handle "feels" cheap because it is lightweight and plastic; HOWEVER, it is a VERY high quality and durable plastic, like they use for firearms. That being said it does not bend and has very little give.I think it would take an exceptional amount of force to break it or crack it.Additionally, the warranty is excellent and in that event Benchmade would repair it for free so long as it was not intentional. I recommend this knife for sure and Benchmade knives because they have top quality products and back it up with a great warranty!

Reviewed 02/12/2013 by SplitHoof

-Price Paid: $70.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I have been carrying a pair of these knives for over 5(?) years now, and have found so many good uses in addition to self-defense that I never go without them. One goes in the small of the back clipped inside the waistband for concealed carry, the other goes in a special pocket sewn horizontally between the buttons of my uniform shirt. Either way I can access a blade if necessary if my back-up or primary firearm goes down, etc (my employer frowns on automatic knives). The blades hold an edge for a long time, and re-sharpen easily. The Axis-Lock is plenty strong and very secure. While the handles feel light, none have been broken or chipped. I would buy another knife just like this one if needed.

Reviewed 05/25/2011 by Maximo92f

-Price Paid: $90.00
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

I have spent hundreds of dollars over the past year trying to find a suitable replacement for my EDC knife of six, very hard years, a Camillus Heat. The Griptilian has everything I was looking for, light weight, premium blade steel, black coated half serrated blade, tip up carry, lanyard hole. This blade is excellent for smooth cuts, hard cuts, piercing and the 154cm steel blade holds an edge very well under hard use conditions. The handle is very comfortable in my large hands and grips well for a non slip grip. Pluses, but simply my personal preferences are the half serrated black coated blade, black steel clip set for tip up carry RH or LH, light weight, lanyard hole, stainless liners, and the Benchmade Axis lock. The blade shape makes for one of the most universal cutting tools there is for EDC, and the jimping provides excellent gripping for the thumb along the spine of the blade for those times when more force is needed for a hard cut. The blade locks up tight yet moves very smoothly with no wiggle, up, down or side to side when locked. The 154cm steel blade holds an edge very well even under extended or hard use. Now, in full disclosure I have for many years made a practice of giving my knives a touch up before they ever go dull so I never really know how long a blade holds an edge. The dozen or so knives I spent a hundred dollars or more for, though all great knives, simply don't measure up to the Griptilian as a good sturdy EDC knife.

Reviewed 04/22/2011 by Pedro

-Price Paid: $75.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I have been using this knife (and only this knife) for every day care about a year and a half now, and I cannot recommend it enough.

The blade comes super sharp (no surprise), good enough to shave with.

I have bigger hands than most guys, so one thing I look for in a knife is handle size and the Griptilian is nearly perfect to hold.

Holding it as you normally would, with your thumb along the spine of the knife, is very comfortable. The jimping on the spine is small but is gives your thumb just enough grip.

If you flip the knife over and hold it so that the blade points down while your thumb points up, it's even more comfortable. The hilt of the handle has ridges right where your thumb goes that allow you to grip very nicely.

The only drawback here is the plastic handle feels slightly hollow and cheap. However, in over a year of use, it shows no signs of damage, except for minor nicks that are nearly unnoticeable except under close inspection, despite numerous bangs and drops. I think the handle feels fine, but if you are used to a knife with an all metal handle you may need to adjust.

The Axis lock is great, and placed just right on the knife, making it easy to open with one thumb by using either the thumb stud or by sliding the Axis stud back and flicking with your wrist. It takes some practice, but after a few minutes you'll get a feel for it.

There's a big screw right by the axis lock that you can tighten of loosen to adjust the play in the opening action. I loosened mine to the point that by holding the knife out and pulling the Axis stud, the knife opens with gravity. Even still, the blade doesn't feel too loose when opened.

The blade holds an edge pretty well. I sharpen mine ever couple of weeks. Just 5 or so strokes and it's like new.

The only major complaints I can see with this knife are on matters of opinion. The feel of the handle and size of the individual components may not cater to some. Personally, I think the size and feel are just right and I have 0 issues with it, so I'm giving it a 10, but there are some minor things I think others may not prefer. Either way, it's a great value.

If you are looking for good knife for every day use under $100, I highly recommend the Griptilian.

Reviewed 03/02/2010 by Danny

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Other
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

My experience with this particular model is just from playing around with it in the store a lot. However, as I stated in another review I got my girlfriend a 556 grip. They are pretty much the same thing except the 556 is smaller.

For full details see my review of the pink 556. I will go over what is different about this knife.

There is only one difference besides size. And its not a good one. The handle feels really cheap. Cheaper than the 556 even though they are both made of the same material. Plain and simple. It feels very hollow and plasticy; yes it is made out of plastic i know. A major contributor to the knife feeling cheap is that it does not have full stainless steel liners. Next time your in the store tap on the handle with your finger nail, thats not how a well put together solid knife(especially for around $100) is suppose to feel and sound like IMO.

Now, a lot of people wont know what the hell im talking about, and think the handle is fine. And I get that. Im very picky about how a solid handle should feel.

As with most benchmades I feel the Axis stud/knob/what ever you want to call it should be sticking out around a millimeter more. I feel the Axis stud/knob/w/e is not high enough and I could see these knives which have this "problem(imo)" to be difficult to open in a high stress or situation. For some reason my auto Axis HK snody stud/knob is raised up by about a millimeter over the non axis knives that ive played with and is beefier overall for sure!!! Wish all there knives were like that. Dont get my wrong I think the Axis lock is AMAZING, just wish it was a little different.

Reviewed 08/30/2009 by RaceMTB

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

This knife is awesome!! The griptilian has a good blade shape, is small enough to EDC, large enough to use in the woods and is very comfortable to hold.

The knife holds an edge well and is easy to sharpen. Mine has the thumb stud but you can also get it with a thumb hole, which I think is cool.

My only complaints are that the detent is a little weak, so I can open it using gravity and a quick wrist shake. Also, the handle is so light that it almost feels cheaper than it should.

It's a really good knife for the money.

Reviewed 07/18/2009 by Clinton De Abreu

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

This is one of those products that brings to mind the term "Keep it simple stupid". It's made to be straight forward in functionality & practicality. It is very resistant to wear & is definitely built to be used in the most rugged circumstances.

The blade is made of 153cm steel, drop-point type & comes razor sharp. We use it for our combat knife training, the grip is non-slip & feels comfortable in the hand. It carry's well, is light enough to carry even with suit pants or training pants, the belt clip can be put on either side for left-handed user, has an ambidextrous thumb latch to assist in a draw/close of the blade, it's easy enough to perform a wrist flick draw/close of the blade & the locking mechanism is a very strong direct locking barrel type.

We love this blade purely for it's simplicity & it's awesome value for money. Great buy by any standards.