Benchmade Mini Griptilian

Designed by Mel Pardue the Mini Griptillian is one of the classic EDC knives and certainly one of the most popular models for EDC carry.

In this review we tested a 556y combo edge knife with yellow handles.

The 556 is a 2.91'' blade featuring 154CM stainless steel, it is very sharp, keeps sharp and is very resistant to use and abuse. The opening mechanism uses thumbstuds and the locking mechanism is Benchmade's trademarked Axis lock, among the most reliable and secure locking mechanisms in the market. It was easy to open the knife one-handed and it was also easy to close it with the fingers never getting in the way of the blade. This doesn't happen in many other knives with different locking mechanisms.

The grip is very good, the texture on the scales being right to make the knife non-slippery but at the same time confortable to hold without feeling pinched by the scales. The locking mechanism seems to be more resistant to lint and blockages than linerlocks or framelocks.

The 556 included a black pocket clip to carry the knife tip-up. In our tests the 556 opened boxes, cut wood, food and cans without showing signs of wear or damage, the operation is smooth and secure and you can get the feeling that the knife won't quit. There are models in different colors and with different blade types, the semi-serrated blade being great for a general purpose knife since the serrations help in tasks such as cutting rope.

A very nice knife for every day use and utility jobs, it can be purchased for about $55 from different vendors. You can read more information in Becnhmade's official website.