Knifeworks Exclusive: Benchmade 551-1702 Review

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BMCGear

BMCGear

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I liked this variation of the Griptilian. The micarta was a bit slick but M390 steel is always nice. Ended up moving it. The price looks to have been dropped permanently and I think the knife is a good value at it's current price.
 
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bluemetalchurch said:
I know the Grip gets some flack for being thick
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Yes but that is why it is one of my favorites.
Alas no one went for my "Fat Boy" 940 suggestion.
Good thing there is the Griptillian.
Thanks for the heads up.
I assume the Micarta handle feels more solid than the original Grip. The original was absolutely no problem for me but some get a cheep vibe from it.

PS: Great photos !
 
Wowbagger said:
Yes but that is why it is one of my favorites.
Alas no one went for my "Fat Boy" 940 suggestion.
Good thing there is the Griptillian.
Thanks for the heads up.
I assume the Micarta handle feels more solid than the original Grip. The original was absolutely no problem for me but some get a cheep vibe from it.

PS: Great photos !
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Thanks! The micarta is def. more rigid and feels great in hand. This recipe is a winner.

Fatboy 940 is interesting. I never saw that suggestion.
 
I am wondering how it compares to the 550-1 or 551-1?

The only difference being Micarta vs. G-10 and handle color.
 
Daniel said:
I am wondering how it compares to the 550-1 or 551-1?

The only difference being Micarta vs. G-10 and handle color.
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I've owned the 551-1. It was a great knife but Micarta feels better to me than g10. Also, I dislike the blue liners.
 
I didn't really care for the 551-1 with the gray G10 and blue liners, but I bought one for my wife for her birthday, and I gotta say it's really nice. Looks much better in hand than the pictures and has a real nice feel. The 20CV steel came with a wicked sharp edge and the F&F and action are excellent right out of the box. She loves it.

My only 551 is an SBK with Igorded Micarta scales and I've been wanting a 551 plain-edge satin for a while. If I do end up springing for one I think it'll be just like yours, BMCGear BMCGear . That's a really sweet one you have there. Congrats on the new butterfly! :):thumbsup:
 
ChazzyP said:
I didn't really care for the 551-1 with the gray G10 and blue liners, but I bought one for my wife for her birthday, and I gotta say it's really nice. Looks much better in hand than the pictures and has a real nice feel. The 20CV steel came with a wicked sharp edge and the F&F and action are excellent right out of the box. She loves it.

My only 551 is an SBK with Igorded Micarta scales and I've been wanting a 551 plain-edge satin for a while. If I do end up springing for one I think it'll be just like yours, BMCGear BMCGear . That's a really sweet one you have there. Congrats on the new butterfly! :):thumbsup:
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ChazzyP ChazzyP I def. prefer the black but I could live with the blue liners as I don't mind the gray at all. I'm really enjoying this knife and am confident you would as well. :)
 
Very good write up!

I love this version of the grip best of the 3 I have, the grey G-10 version and the DLT carbon fiber special being the other 2. The carbon fiber scales are fatter than the micarta, and the G-10 is "slicker" somehow. The action on mine is just perfect.

Thanks to my new love affair with the Bugout, however, it isn't getting much pocket time.

I would buy a mini grip version in a hot second.
 
Kiteman72 said:
Very good write up!

I love this version of the grip best of the 3 I have, the grey G-10 version and the DLT carbon fiber special being the other 2. The carbon fiber scales are fatter than the micarta, and the G-10 is "slicker" somehow. The action on mine is just perfect.

Thanks to my new love affair with the Bugout, however, it isn't getting much pocket time.

I would buy a mini grip version in a hot second.
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Question for you: I just sold a 940 because after using the Grip it just felt so small. Does the 535 fill the hand more?
 
bluemetalchurch said:
Question for you: I just sold a 940 because after using the Grip it just felt so small. Does the 535 fill the hand more?
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I wish now that I had handled a 940 at some point, so I could answer better, but I think the BO has a lot of handle for how light it is. But it is a fairly thin handle, especially compared to the Grip. My hands, glove size large, can easily get all 4 fingers on it. It does certainly have a much slimmer feel than the Grip and the grivory has a nice feel as well. Handled the Casbah? That grivory is terrible by comparison. I would lose my marbles over a BO with micarta scales.

I do a lot of farm work, and really appreciate how the BO disappears in the pocket in a way the Grip doesn't. The grip seems to demand a whole pocket dedicated to it. I lose virtually no blade length with the BO vs the Grip. I pair the BO with a GEC crown lifter, which I use for rougher work (screwdriver is very useful).

Anyway, lol, probably not that helpful, not having handled a 940, but here ya go. Smiley face.
 
Kiteman72 said:
I wish now that I had handled a 940 at some point, so I could answer better, but I think the BO has a lot of handle for how light it is. But it is a fairly thin handle, especially compared to the Grip. My hands, glove size large, can easily get all 4 fingers on it. It does certainly have a much slimmer feel than the Grip and the grivory has a nice feel as well. Handled the Casbah? That grivory is terrible by comparison. I would lose my marbles over a BO with micarta scales.

I do a lot of farm work, and really appreciate how the BO disappears in the pocket in a way the Grip doesn't. The grip seems to demand a whole pocket dedicated to it. I lose virtually no blade length with the BO vs the Grip. I pair the BO with a GEC crown lifter, which I use for rougher work (screwdriver is very useful).

Anyway, lol, probably not that helpful, not having handled a 940, but here ya go. Smiley face.
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Yea, the Grip can feel substantial in the pocket but I've been carrying Spyderco's and it carries way better. I am coming to like the thickness in hand. I think the 535 would be ok because it has a taller handle even though it's thin. The 940 was too slim all the way around.
 
Back before CCW became such an easy option, I regularly carried a folder RFP and dedicated the entire pocket to it. I was a waiter for 8 years and carried a Spyderco police model every day, religiously, right front pocket.

When I got my CCW, I started carrying a J-frame revolver in my RFP so the knife I carried had to move or adapt, and I suppose I have been experimenting in one way or another ever since. Now that I have relocated from very urban to very rural living, I no longer really need to carry a revolver in my pocket. At least not a big one, as I usually have a NAA mini revolver in a pocket somewhere, the J-frame is just really too chunky to put up with when you are in and out of a tractor and truck all day. When I went to carrying a Grip for a while, it seemed kinda like I had that revolver back in my pocket again.

The BO is my new lightweight love affair.
 
ucfgrad93 said:
Knifeworks has it on sale for $170. I'm thinking about getting it. Any updates on your review, BMCGear BMCGear ?

https://www.knifeworks.com/kw-exclu...aper-micarta-handle-knifeworks-exclusive.html
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Worth. Every. Penny.

Since this initial review I've now owned two of these. While I really liked the first one the grass got a little greener and I decided to move it for my first ZT. That was a huge mistake as I hated having a flipper. I decided to repurchase this knife and I carry it everyday at the office.

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Knifeworks should make a limited mini grip exactly like this..i bet there'd be a market just like with the ritters.
 
Amazing what a change of scales and spacers can do for a knife. Great upgrade!
 
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My two most carried knives are the Bugout and a 940-1 so I felt like I should comment that the Bugout is very slim in the hand because it is so thin side to side. The 940 is slim on the up and down sides, but thicker side to side if that makes any sense, so IMO it fills the hand a little better. I really like them both. Due to the weight and that slimness, the Bugout disappears more in the pocket, a big plus for me.
 
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