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- Apr 7, 2002
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The Kevin Wilkins Griptilikins? That was only a few months ago!
http://knives.cx/store/index.php?manufacturers_id=301
http://knives.cx/store/index.php?manufacturers_id=301
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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Benchmade 556 Mini-Griptilian review
- Thread starter eleven
- Start date
Some years ago at the Atlanta Knife show, BM had a table showing the then-new Grips. They had two colors, black-which I hate because I can never find them in dark places- and purple...well, forget the purple. I told them if they would make it in yellow, I would retire my Spyder Endura. About a year later, they had apparently listened to me (ahem) and I scooped a yellow one and never looked back. Great EDC that's been with me every day since.
I agree on the downside that the handles don't hold up on dropping on tile floors or concrete - minor dings only however, gives it character. And the spring clips are a bit aggressive. But mine is the old oval hole-440C version and it's just fine. I would prefer the new round opening hole, but I just like this little puppy so much, I think I'll resist a trade-in.
Keyfit
I agree on the downside that the handles don't hold up on dropping on tile floors or concrete - minor dings only however, gives it character. And the spring clips are a bit aggressive. But mine is the old oval hole-440C version and it's just fine. I would prefer the new round opening hole, but I just like this little puppy so much, I think I'll resist a trade-in.
Keyfit
- Joined
- May 4, 2001
- Messages
- 1,553
I wouldn't have been so disappointed if a piece of my handle had dinged on a concrete floor: instead a piece of it broke off after hitting a linoleum floor. :grumpy: I still like the knife, but I think that they could have picked a better plastic. The 154cm models weren't cheap when they first came out.
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- Nov 18, 2006
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It has better steel with a better blade profile than the standard Saber grind. The 154CM on the standard Griptilians is no slouch either, though!
They all have their advantages. The nice, pointy blade on the standard 556 is great for all-around utility work. The 555HG is razor sharp for slicing and detailed cutting work. The Ritter is just a great looking knife with excellent steel, and very tough, practical blade shape.
My closed 556 fell off my lap into a parking lot as I stood to get out of my car. I'd been practicing openings/closings at stoplights and had forgotten it was still on my lap. It hit the blacktop at the top (pivot end) of the handle, and did not even scuff(!). I'm wondering if perhaps the area that broke off of your handle had some kind of pre-existing flaw in the Noryl/plastic? Or maybe I was just lucky.
My 556 (and all my other Grips, the 556 being my fave) are the old 440C versions, but they have held up really well.
Jim
thats a subjective question. I personally do not believe so. s30v is good but so is 154cm, so much so that I dont really care enough to pay a premium for it unless that premium is very small. Is the blade shape on the ritter better? yeah, probably. but is the steel and the blade shape really worth 50 dollars? again, its up for you to decide, but if you are asking for my personal opinion, no, its really not. I would gladly cough up say 20 dollars over a regular mini grip but not more.
But I cannot say enough that its what is worth it to YOU. For the price of the mini ritter you can get a 710, 707, either hk axis, a 520, a 525 (in that order, again my opinion) and if you want to spend up slightly you can get a 615 or a 930 and I feel that every knife I have listed has something that warrants buying it over the ritter grip.
again just my 2c and I dont want people who own a ritter to think Im bashing their knife, its just not for me, just like griptilian line in general isnt for me.
Mini and Fullsized.
brilliant knife. imho thats the one reason I havent bought a grip, the blackwater is the same size but you get thinner handles and g10 and I just absolutely love it. I even prefer it to the regular 707 because I like g10 over aluminum with g10.
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Everyone's experiences will differ, but I own or have owned all of the knives that you have mentioned, with the exception of the 930 Kulgera, and for day to day use I rate the Mini Ritter Grip higher than any of them.
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- Nov 26, 2002
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- 328
I don't know, but for that price delta, you could get a Spyderco Native in S30V knife, so you'd have 2 quality knives, rather then just one.
Another option, is to get the MiniGrip in D2 from Cabelas, for a smaller cost difference, then the Ritter.
I've had the version in D2 for years, and it's served me well.
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- Apr 20, 2001
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- 18,423
Great review!
While I normally prefer full size Griptilians, I got the "minibug" to!
While I normally prefer full size Griptilians, I got the "minibug" to!
Last edited:
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the 551 (regular grip) has a 4.6 inch handle and you can probably get all 4 on that one.
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- Apr 20, 2001
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That's why I prefer the full size to. Mini's a great and come in handy for those times when you can't carry a bigger knife, but they can be a little to "mini" for me.