Benchmade Griptial 551-1 vs mini griptilian 556-1

A

Armen

Joined
Apr 20, 2018
Messages
163
I'm having a hard time deciding between the new full size griptilian vs the mini griptilian.

Does anyone know if the new grip has full liners or is it partial like the older griptilian and 940 models? (The reason why I ask is because the mini appears to have full liners).

Does anyone know if the new full size griptilian carries better than the previous model? I know it's slighter thinner. I own a 940-1 and it carries very slim. I also own a PM2 which has more pocket presence.

For what it's worth knives tend to live in my pocket 99% of the time and I work in an office environment.
 
I don't know about the new one, mine is over a year old (a Ritter in M390).
I almost always carry it in a belt pouch because it is a bit much in a pocket and still get past it for other things in the pocket.
That said I think it is a mistake to make it any thinner and I would not want the thinner one.
I am totally happy with the old thick one and the partial liners are enough and I am totally happy with my old one in every way. The action is perfect as well.
Speaking of thinner you might want the Bugout. Check that out if you haven't.
Armen said:
I'm having a hard time deciding between the new full size griptilian vs the mini griptilian.
Click to expand...
The full size is a lot of knife for office carry, not that I wouldn't enjoy it for that.
Here is a comparison.
IMG_5469.jpg

Here is the full size with the 940-1
IMG_4858.jpg
 
My 551-1 is slightly thinner than my old standard 551 Noryl & 154CM Grip. The KW micarta version is also thinner than the old standard Grip. All of the Grips have the same partial liners. The difference is that the KW micarta & the 551-1 have solid scales, or at least they're closed off. The 551-1 is a layered G10 with solid blue G10 liners, I guess. Sort of like the liners under the handle scales on a fixed blade knife. The KW micarta Grip looks like it has solid micarta scales. So the newer versions don't have the open spaces in the inside of the scales that give the old Grips their hollow sound.

But the actual steel liners that the AXIS lock rides in all look like the same size partial liners to my eye.
 
For the older style of Griptilians I much prefer the mini's. The full liners do add a noticeable difference in hand. With the newer models, it's not quite as apparent. The G10 doesn't flex like the Noryl/Zytel, so they aren't as bad. That said, I still prefer the mini's. It's more than enough knife for any job I've ran across and they do carry much better.
 
dalefuller said:
My 551-1 is slightly thinner than my old standard 551 Noryl & 154CM Grip. The KW micarta version is also thinner than the old standard Grip. All of the Grips have the same partial liners. The difference is that the KW micarta & the 551-1 have solid scales, or at least they're closed off. The 551-1 is a layered G10 with solid blue G10 liners, I guess. Sort of like the liners under the handle scales on a fixed blade knife. The KW micarta Grip looks like it has solid micarta scales. So the newer versions don't have the open spaces in the inside of the scales that give the old Grips their hollow sound.

But the actual steel liners that the AXIS lock rides in all look like the same size partial liners to my eye.
Click to expand...

The mini grip has steel liners that take up the entire length of the handle. The full size grip has partial liners like the 940. I guess the new model is also partial.
 
McFeeli said:
For the older style of Griptilians I much prefer the mini's. The full liners do add a noticeable difference in hand. With the newer models, it's not quite as apparent. The G10 doesn't flex like the Noryl/Zytel, so they aren't as bad. That said, I still prefer the mini's. It's more than enough knife for any job I've ran across and they do carry much better.
Click to expand...

I own a PM2 and a 940-1. The 940 carries really slim in the pocket but I carry it sparingly because of the price I paid for it. The PM2 is a bit too much beast to carry around in the office. I tried a Para 3 and it didn't carry much better than the PM2 even with a lynch clip. the 556-1 carries slim, great man jewelry, 3" blade (no issues with laws or sheeple) and I really like it a lot. I don't know why Im tempted to get the full size which would carry like the PM2. /shrug
 
My full-size Grip was a gift several years ago. It is a great knife, but a bit more than I like to carry. If I were buying it myself today, I would get the Mini.

Usually I find that the smaller version of a knife is more satisfactory for carry: RAT 2 over RAT 1, Opinel 6 over Opinel 8, etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 353
Have a couple of the olders in FS, it is a bunch of knife for edc...also personally like the mini for better carryability
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top