Customer Reviews

Benchmade Pardue Design Griptilian Combo Edge Knife with BK1 Coated Blade and Black Handle

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What an amazing knife for EDC use, the 154CM blade takes and holds a wicked hair shaving sharp edge, from the factory it comes hair popping sharp and stays that way with even relatively heavy use.

the handle is...unexpected, its a hard plastic, not as sandpaper-ish as zytel, more smooth and easy on the hands yet it grips in your hand superbly, the jimping on the back of the blade and on the handle work well, it really grabs your thumb well. The fullsize griptillian does not have full length liners, they run roughly 3/4 th's of the handle, the mini-griptilian does have full liners.

As far as locks go, the axis lock is hands down the best ive ever seen or used, it locks up securely every time, is incredibly strong, theres no blade play whatsoever and its so easy to use not to mention fully ambidextrous. the blade opens lightning fast with a flick of the thumb, and if you pull back the axis lock it can be easily and quickly opened or closed with a twist of the wrist.

The pocket clip is strong and the knife rides low in the pocket, a bit of the handle is left exposed but not enough to worry about. and it can be taken off and put on the opposite side of the handle for left handed/pocket carry, tip up only though.

Not much to say about the serrations, theyre sharp and functional, the coating however i dislike, its a matte black coating that can be aesthetically damaged with relative ease, a TiNi (Titanium Nitride) coating would have been better suited but the rest of the knife more than makes up for this small imperfection on an almost perfect knife.

For the money, this knife is an amazing deal, if it cost $150 it would still be worth it IMHO, after handling and owning one of these, i can see why the griptilian is such a popular knife with as high a reputation as it has.

if your looking for a great knife with a good steel, splurge the money and get this knife, you wont regret it.

Benchmade knives are known for their quality. I own quite a few of thier knives, and use one every day. This is a high quality knife that is made to be used every day. The blade steel on mine is 440C and holds an edge quite well. I think that benchmade make this knife with 154CM steel as well and that holds an edge even better.

Overall this is a good, functional pocketknife that will give years of service.

I bought this as a replacement for my EDC (every day carry) knife. I carried the original knife for over ten years, but lost it on a portage in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The replacement is identical to the one I lost. I looked for several weeks, but just couldn't find a knife I liked better. It is well built, stays sharp, takes everyday abuse and feels just like an extention of my hand. I hope to carry this knife for at least ten years. Benchmade is quality in every aspect.

I finally found a knife I like to carry. Easy to open, easy to close, and no play in the joint. Very light, the handle is shaped just right, and it has a few places where the pocket clip can be attached. Just one complaint: there are studs on both sides of the blade for right and left handed people. I'm right handed, so the left hand stud goes to the outside when clipped to my pocket. Sometimes when taking it out of my pocket, the stud gets caught on the pocket seam, and opens it a bit. Came close to cutting me a few times, but it's a little annoying. It'd be great if it were removable.

First let me say that I did not purchase my Grip via Amazon and that I have the plain edge version which Amazon does not seem to stock. Other than the blade edge, the knives are identical so I feel that this review can apply to either version.

Starting with the most important part of a knife, the blade, it's certainly sharp, but not THAT sharp. I've gotten sharper blades out of the box from other brands, some of which are made in China and sell for only a fraction of what this Benchmade costs. Of course, the 154CM steel used by Benchmade is better than most of what comes out of China, but I felt that it could have been just a little sharper than it is.

Out of the box, the blade pivot bolt was set too tightly. Actually, it was nearly impossible to open the knife with one hand using either the thumb studs or by "flicking" it using the Axis lock. I had to back off about one full turn on the bolt for the blade to become loose enough. I happen to have the proper Torx driver but someone without the proper tool would either have had to buy one or return the knife for adjustment.

I also found that the Axis lock bar was sticking, which made the knife difficult to close. A drop of oil on the Axis bar and pivot bolt and giving them a little "exercise" got things loose enough to make the knife very usable. This wasn't a matter of a knife leaving the factory with the blade set tightly for safety reasons. The pivot bolt was right up against its stop and a sticking Axis lock bar is not a very safe thing. There is no way that a knife that costs this much should have left the factory without being properly adjusted and lubricated.

I have nothing against the Noryl handles, or non-metal handles in general. However, these have some sharp edges and might not have been properly finished after the molding process. This poor finishing is not what I expected to find in a knife this expensive. Two things I will say in favor of these handles is that they keep the knife light and provide an excellent grip. Speaking of grip, that pocket clip grips like King Kong. I'll be making a little adjustment there as well but I don't consider that to really be an issue.

After hearing so much about Benchmade quality control and being made in the USA, I really expected better than this. It shouldn't be up to the customer to have to adjust and lube a brand new knife. I think that a little stropping should put the finishing touch on the blade but, again, why is this up to the customer?

I have to admit that it was packaged well. The cloth drawstring storage pouch was a nice touch, but I'd rather Benchmade put a little more care into the details of the finished product than into the packaging.

I really want to like this knife and I'm sure that it will serve its purpose, but I feel that it is overpriced for the quality that you get. Maybe I just got a knife that was made on a Monday, but if this one is representative of Benchmade quality, their reputation is very much overblown.

Maybe I should have returned the knife to the dealer (a well-known large dealer) for an exchange, but there was really nothing that I couldn't handle myself. The question is why I should have had to do so.

I received this knife as a gift from my brother and I am very happy with it. I also have a Buck Squire and a Columbia River Tiny Tighe Breaker, both excellent and well-made knives. With respect to those two excellent carry knives, the Benchmade is the new king of the hill. As the top reviewer mentioned, the quality of the Axis lock is really amazing. I thought my Buck felt solid as a rock when it was locked open, but this thing feels like a single piece when it's locked.

Overall, it just feels very well put together. I believe the higher-than-average price is reflected in what feels like very careful workmanship, and the lifetime sharpening is a nice perk.

I've been carrying this daily for about 4 months. It has cut through most everything imaginable, fabric, webbing, paracord, zip-ties, plastic, etc. This is the smoothest action I've ever felt on a non-assisted folder. I flick of the thumb and this knife opens up quickly. The arc-lock locking design holds the blade open very securely and instills confidence (much much safer than a liner lock design). Blade is 154CM, which has not required any sharpening since I bought it, just a few honings (after cutting through some Kevlar). Handle provides adequite grip and the thumb stud is large enough that I can easily draw the knife from my pocket and open it quickly with winter gloves on. Best folder I've ever owned and I highly recommend it.

The Griptillian is the perfect edc! It's size and profile are enough to give real cutting power but not so large as to be uncomfortable. The 154cm blade steel holds an edge well and is tough enough for any task I've subjected it to. One of the best aspects to this knife is the reliability of the axis lock, I believe this lock is one of the most sturdy in the production knife world. This knife is rock solid in both workmanship and materials, but if anything ever does go wrong Benchmade's warranty is second to none.

I have spent hundreds of dollars over the past year trying to find a suitable replacement for my EDC knife of six, very hard years, a Camillus Heat. The Griptilian has everything I was looking for, light weight, premium blade steel, black coated half serrated blade, tip up carry, lanyard hole. This blade is excellent for smooth cuts, hard cuts, piercing and the 154cm steel blade holds an edge very well under hard use conditions. The handle is very comfortable in my large hands and grips well for a non slip grip. Pluses, but simply my personal preferences are the half serrated black coated blade, black steel clip set for tip up carry RH or LH, light weight, lanyard hole, stainless liners, and the Benchmade Axis lock. The blade shape makes for one of the most universal cutting tools there is for EDC, and the jimping provides excellent gripping for the thumb along the spine of the blade for those times when more force is needed for a hard cut. The blade locks up tight yet moves very smoothly with no wiggle, up, down or side to side when locked. The 154cm steel blade holds an edge very well even under extended or hard use. Now, in full disclosure I have for many years made a practice of giving my knives a touch up before they ever go dull so I never really know how long a blade holds an edge. The dozen or so knives I spent a hundred dollars or more for, though all great knives, simply don't measure up to the Griptilian as a good sturdy EDC knife.

I purchased 2 Benchmade Griptillian knives and was not dissapointed. Both are beautifully made and feel comfortable in the hand. I have a friend who has many knives and once I handed the Griptillian to him, he didn't want to give it back :) Very satisfied.