Benchmade Mini Grip vs Giantmouse Ace Iona

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Klingac

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Aug 7, 2015
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Hey guys!

I am in the pit of undecidedness once again.

I cannot decide which knife to get: Benchmade mini Griptilian 556 in S30V is on sale at my local retailer for 78€ (87$) but I have been eyeing the GM Ace Iona in M390 for 106€ (118$) for quite som time now. Both knives meet my requirements (great steel, PB washers, sub 3" blade, one handed opening and closing).

My questions are aimed mainly towards owners of either or both of them. How is the fit and finish, blade centering, overall sturdiness, value?
 
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I don't own a Mini Grip, but I do own a blue Iona.

No complaints about the build quality of it, although i have seen people describe the steel as soft.
It doesn't get much pocket time because it is a little bit to small for what I like in my work knives, but I don't think it would have any problems.
 
Have you ever owned an axis lock ? If not that may be a consideration just to try it out.
 
skyhorse said:
Have you ever owned an axis lock ? If not that may be a consideration just to try it out.
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That is a good point. I own a Sanrenmu with an "axis lock" and have owned a Ganzo with the "g-lock" but I guess they cannot compare.

I've read about centering and blade play issues with Benchmades, that is why I have not pulled the trigger. Shelling out ~100$ for a knife isn't something I do
on daily basis so I want to be sure the knife is worth it.
 
Klingac said:
That is a good point. I own a Sanrenmu with an "axis lock" and have owned a Ganzo with the "g-lock" but I guess they cannot compare.

I've read about centering and blade play issues with Benchmades, that is why I have not pulled the trigger. Shelling out ~100$ for a knife isn't something I do
on daily basis so I want to be sure the knife is worth it.
Click to expand...
Benchmade’s QC is much better nowadays, so it’s less likely you will get one with blade play. I’ve never owned or handled a GM product, but I have owned a mini grip and I think your money will be well spent if you get one.
 
I've gotta say, I've been trying out the ACE Iona for the last month, and I really, really like it. Better steel, seems to be well heat treated, and I like the blade grind a little bit better as well. The action got super smooth after it broke in and the lockup is rock solid. While the Grip is always a solid choice, I think the Iona is one of the best "budget" ways to get an ultralight edc that sports some really great steel and is built to cut. If I were choosing between the two right now, I'd go with the Iona, personally.
 
I'd avoid the iona. Paying more for the steel but it's heat treated softer. Doesn't have as good edge retention as Benchmades s30v.

If your going to a place you can hand pick your Benchmade and get one with quality qc on it. If you order online make sure to order somewhere where you can request them to inspect it, like DLT trading. The other big box internet sites won't inspect them.
 
Mo2 said:
I'd avoid the iona. Paying more for the steel but it's heat treated softer. Doesn't have as good edge retention as Benchmades s30v.

If your going to a place you can hand pick your Benchmade and get one with quality qc on it. If you order online make sure to order somewhere where you can request them to inspect it, like DLT trading. The other big box internet sites won't inspect them.
Click to expand...

It has not been shown that the M390 on the Iona is heat treated soft. Certainly doesn’t match my experience or anyone else’s that I’ve heard of.

Claims like this are regularly asserted, but I’ve yet to see any credible substantiation of such claims.
 
I personally was extremely disappointed in the Iona which I bought at the time directly from BladeHQ because I could not find a Biblio. On paper the Iona seemed a winner but in hand the Iona had bad ergonomics for me (bad opening design angles/stiff detent) YMMV. It was extremely difficult to open even after a lot of time trying to adjust the knife. I may had gotten a rotten egg or maybe the detent would have broken in with time, but since the brand name was GiantMouse/ACE, this shouldn't have been an issue in the first place. Since getting rid of the Iona I was able to score a Biblio which is an entirely different animal. I love it!
 
halden.doerge said:
It has not been shown that the M390 on the Iona is heat treated soft. Certainly doesn’t match my experience or anyone else’s that I’ve heard of.

Claims like this are regularly asserted, but I’ve yet to see any credible substantiation of such claims.
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Ive seen quite a few from Giantmouse do sub optimal in testing. I mean it's only 58hrc so it's expected.

 
Mo2 said:
Ive seen quite a few from Giantmouse do sub optimal in testing. I mean it's only 58hrc so it's expected.

Click to expand...

Plenty of others have seen it perform on par with M390 from other manufacturers. We certainly don’t have any evidence that their M390 is run at 58 hrc generally speaking. You can find a single outlying test to prove about anything when it comes to knife steels.

I suppose all I can go off is my limited (8 different ones in M390) number of first hand experiences of GMs actual performance in use. They definitely all held edges comparable to the same steel from other makers and definitely a hell of a lot longer than anyone’s S30V.

Simple assertions that their M390 is run soft and performs worse than S30V is extremely misleading at best.
 
halden.doerge said:
Plenty of others have seen it perform on par with M390 from other manufacturers. We certainly don’t have any evidence that their M390 is run at 58 hrc generally speaking. You can find a single outlying test to prove about anything when it comes to knife steels.

I suppose all I can go off is my limited (8 different ones in M390) number of first hand experiences of GMs actual performance in use. They definitely all held edges comparable to the same steel from other makers and definitely a hell of a lot longer than anyone’s S30V.

Simple assertions that their M390 is run soft and performs worse than S30V is extremely misleading at best.
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I have seen more than just that test perform sub optimal on giantmouse knives. Sorry man. I know you like them. But the fact is they just label them m390 for the steel name and focus less on heat treatment.
 
Mo2 said:
I have seen more than just that test perform sub optimal on giantmouse knives. Sorry man. I know you like them. But the fact is they just label them m390 for the steel name and focus less on heat treatment.
Click to expand...

Sorry man. I know that you dislike them. It’s fine that you feel that way, we all have our preferences. But you really are just basing your assertions on that dislike. That’s why they’re misleading.

My opinions are based on actually spending a significant of time owning and using a good number of their knives. If they underperformed in the ways you claim I’d be the first to say so.
 
Klingac said:
That is a good point. I own a Sanrenmu with an "axis lock" and have owned a Ganzo with the "g-lock" but I guess they cannot compare.

I've read about centering and blade play issues with Benchmades, that is why I have not pulled the trigger. Shelling out ~100$ for a knife isn't something I do
on daily basis so I want to be sure the knife is worth it.
Click to expand...
Honestly coming from someone that's not a big Benchmade fan, imho you'd be just fine getting the mini grip. Way better than those knock off clones.
 
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halden.doerge said:
It has not been shown that the M390 on the Iona is heat treated soft. Certainly doesn’t match my experience or anyone else’s that I’ve heard of.

Claims like this are regularly asserted, but I’ve yet to see any credible substantiation of such claims.
Click to expand...
Mo2 said:
I'd avoid the iona. Paying more for the steel but it's heat treated softer. Doesn't have as good edge retention as Benchmades s30v.

If your going to a place you can hand pick your Benchmade and get one with quality qc on it. If you order online make sure to order somewhere where you can request them to inspect it, like DLT trading. The other big box internet sites won't inspect them.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, The Iona is rated at 61 HRC at knivesandtools.com.
 
I love my mini Griptilian. It’s easily my most carried blade, and I don’t expect that to change unless I lose it. Granted it is one of the discontinued Ritter’s but I do love the design. Mine’s clipped to my my right pocket now actually. Small, lightweight, and it’s unobtrusiveness makes it a joy to carry, but it still cuts like knife should. I haven’t ran into any normal cutting chores that I felt I needed a larger knife. I’d recommend a mini Griptilian to everyone and anyone.

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I’d also like to add that the Mini Grip is a solid choice, regardless of the steel option chosen on it. It’s a classic edc for a reason.
 
If you can save up a bit more, the hogue knives Doug Ritter RSK is well reviewed. It's basically a griptilian by the same designer that did it for Benchmade. Some would argue its better. No one's tested the m390 on it yet, but they do have better reputation for qc than Benchmade. But alas most companies have some qc issues that get through.
 
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