Benchmade - I'm officially a believer

[EmberMike]

I was at my local REI and saw a Benchmade Griptilian on display. After reading a lot of very positive comments on various websites about Benchmade products, I had to take a look. It was an impressive knife. Similar in size to an old Bucklite I still use, but with a more sturdy feel to it and a very high-quality build. I spent less than 30 seconds looking at it and told the clerk to leave it at the register for me.

After a few days trying it out, I'm a believer in the Benchmade product. This, in my opinion, is the benchmark (couldn't resist the pun) by which all other knives I'll ever look at will be judged. It's phenomenal. Sharper than anything I've ever owned right out of the box, good quality steel, rugged handle, and the perfect size for a camping folder.

In addition to the Griptilian I own 4 Gerbers, the old Buck, a Swiss, 2 Leatherman tools, a Spiderco folder, and a few other random tools and antiques that don't get used much or at all. Out of the whole collection, if I had to pick just one for the rest of my life it's no contest.

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


A good review...thanks.

What do they co$t?

 

[ppine]

My brother does custom metal work and he agrees with your assessment.

 

[EmberMike]

Hi...

A good review...thanks.

What do they co$t?

It was $90 at REI. Quite a bit more than any of the Gerbers I own, but worth a dozen Gerbers in my opinion.

 

[CozInCowtown]

I have a couple of Benchmade knives and found them to be of good quality.
I personally am a Case man myself but that is a personal choice more than anything. That old arguement, whats better a Ford or Chevy??? Just depends on what you like 99.98% of the time, nothing wrong with either one.
The only problem I see with the Griptillian is the half serated blade, that I have found to be beyond useless. Just screwed up a perfectly good knife IMO.
If you like this knife and it works well for you then it is definately a great knife to be proud of.

Benchmade Griptillian Knife:

 

[Cappy]

Ok yall, here's my 2 cents. All those super hard steal knifes are pretty useless soon as they get dull. With the super hard stainless, half serrated blades they are all but impossible to sharpen. For the long run give me an old timer or old hickory knife any time. Ya get them, they razor sharp the advantage comes a week down the trail when they need sharpening. a few passes on a whet stone or fine toothed file they back shaving sharp. Those fancy arsed stainless "poodle knives you guys buy are dull and ya break a sweat and get hand cramps trying to sharpen them. While me and my 4 inch old timer folding knife are catching a second wind.:tinysmile_fatgrin_t

 

[oldsarge]

Benchmade knives are built well but I'd prefer carbon steel to stainless. I don't like serrated edges either.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Benchmade knives are built well but I'd prefer carbon steel to stainless. I don't like serrated edges either.

Agreed. I really dont see the need for a serrated edge I seriously doubt if I'll be trying to saw thru a barge hawser. And I'm definitely a fan of carbon steel.

 

[EmberMike]

Benchmade makes carbon blades, right? So what would be a good Benchmade, carbon steel, axis lock knife? Or any brand for that matter.

Any suggestions?

 

[Grandpa]

I found a nice benchmade and it is a good knife. I do not like the combo serrated/straight edge because of the sharpening. However, it is my #1 carry when backpacking. But my favorite of all my knives is still a Kershaw that I have had for about 30 years. It is my #1 carry when hunting and has done me excellent on many, many deer and elk.

 

[ppine]

A half-serrated blade is perfect for cutting cordage. Any horseman worth his salt, carries one in case a rope or piece of leather tack gets hung up. They can save a life. It is best if they are fixed blade or open with one hand. I carry them a lot when camping out of habit.

 

[Barney]

Ok yall, here's my 2 cents. All those super hard steal knifes are pretty useless soon as they get dull. With the super hard stainless, half serrated blades they are all but impossible to sharpen. For the long run give me an old timer or old hickory knife any time. Ya get them, they razor sharp the advantage comes a week down the trail when they need sharpening. a few passes on a whet stone or fine toothed file they back shaving sharp. Those fancy arsed stainless "poodle knives you guys buy are dull and ya break a sweat and get hand cramps trying to sharpen them. While me and my 4 inch old timer folding knife are catching a second wind.:tinysmile_fatgrin_t

Here is what I think: you probably have zero super hard steel knives and have read online from more people like you who also passed on that super hard steels are impossible to sharpen. The idea behind that statement is to explain that they are hardER to sharpen. If you think that spending 10 more minutes on a proper stone for such steel that will last 5 generations in your family while performing the hardest tasks is too much, than you are right - old timer is for you.

But you are right for serrated edges though.

 

[Cappy]

Hate to disapoint ya Barney but I own a bunch of ss knives including a set of cutco kitchen knives which are some of the premere ss knives on the planet. They are used and preferred by most chefs. I own a diamond steal that I am very adept at using. So my statement comes from years of experiance, and an atempt to give a newbe an option of an easier to sharpen knife. When in the woods I prefer easy and less energy. BTW most serrated blades are one sided and easy to sharpen from the back.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

My brother has a set of cutco knives, and they are highly overrated IMHO. They really don't hold an edge all that well, and they don't touch up real well from a honing steel either.

They go have decent grips, and the blade shapes are pretty decent, but I'm not impressed for the price.

 

[Theo]

My brother has a set of cutco knives, and they are highly overrated IMHO. They really don't hold an edge all that well, and they don't touch up real well from a honing steel either.

They go have decent grips, and the blade shapes are pretty decent, but I'm not impressed for the price.

Back in the day when Cutcos were made by W.R. Case and Sons, they were a top notch product. Now-a-days, they aren't what they used to be. I've got a set that my Dad bought back in the late '50's. My sister has a set she bought about 10 years ago. There is a big difference.

Still American made if that is important to you. They also own KaBar knives.

 

[Barney]

Hate to disapoint ya Barney but I own a bunch of ss knives including a set of cutco kitchen knives which are some of the premere ss knives on the planet. They are used and preferred by most chefs. I own a diamond steal that I am very adept at using. So my statement comes from years of experiance, and an atempt to give a newbe an option of an easier to sharpen knife. When in the woods I prefer easy and less energy. BTW most serrated blades are one sided and easy to sharpen from the back.

OK my bad. I looked up the Cutco knives and they mainly use 440A steel, which is a quality steel no doubt, but by no means a super steel, considering that super steel is a colloquial term used to describe super hard steels, which are harder to sharpen than other steels. Here's a good example. Take a Bark River knife in 3V steel out in the woods, you will go weeks of wood processing before you would need sharpening, and that is not a joke, been there, done it. And wood processing is definitely the best endurance test there is. I believe Bluntruth4you on YouTube did a test by building a shelter with Bravo 1, carved a spoon and hacked trees all day long. Later he sliced some paper with that edge like it hasn't seen a light of day, and that was D2 steel version, not 3V which is a quantum leap in quality. Use any other knife that is easier to sharpen, meaning it won't hold an edge nearly as long and you will need to retouch it every 3 to 4 hours into the job. When you calculate how much time you need to spend on sharpening, you'll start to hate your old timer pretty soon. There's a reason metallurgists design these steels. I guess it all comes to what you do with your knife.

For outdoors, I like dependable knives and I'll never go with something of your preference. Example: I almost never sharpen my s steel knives in the field, because I don't have to. And I have yet to see rolled edges on these things.

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


When afield, I don't have too much use for serrations on a knife blade, although my best sheath knife has a partially serrated blade.

I have found that those serrations can be as easily sharpened with a file or whet stone as easily the rest of the blade can be.

Remember...only the POINTS of the serrations do the cutting, and a file, stone or steel will sharpen them (usually, anyway, although always on my own knives for field or kitchen use).

 

[ghostdog]

You can get the Benchmade Griptillians without the serrations. They do make a great folding knife.

As for kitchen knives, none of them are what the used to be it seems and all of them tend towards not holding an edge but sharpening them is easy for the uninitiated. They all have soft steel so they will be easy to touch up with a steel. When I hear the abuse going on in the kitchen with edges slapping down on cutting boards I know I'm going to have to hit them with the steel at least and sharpen them on stones more often than my personal knives with higher RC.

I like 12C27mod Sandvik Stainless better than 420 for culinary steel. It is tough but holds a decent edge and is still easy to bring back the edge with a few strops.

 

[ppine]

In the kitchen we have two completely different sets of knives. The German stainless steel gets knocked around and sits on the counter. If I really want to cut something, I have in a drawer miscellaneous old carbon steel knives with a lot of antler handles, some of which are from the 1800s. I don't let anyone touch them and keep them out of sight.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

I have a couple of Pampered Chef knives (gifts) that were sharp as hell when I got them, with good comfortable handles. You have to be extremely careful of the edge, though. They are VERY prone to nicking, and once you have a nick, it takes a lot of work with a stone to bring up good edge again.

That said, I like them a lot, jusr wouldn't have paid the price for them.