hey everyone David C Anderson here coming at you from the Knife Center and
today we're going to be looking at the Benchmade Griptilian, one of the
all-time great EDC designs now available with s30v at the KnifeCenter let's
check it out so the Griptilian has long been one of Benchmade's most popular
models and now it's even more competitive than ever thanks to that
upgrade in steel one of the reasons for its popularity has been the variety not
only do you have three different blade shapes, available in the drop-point
sheep's foot and tanto profiles, but you also have two sizes available, a large
and a small. With a name like Griptilian you'd expect the handles to feel really
good and they certainly do; thanks to this elliptical shape they fit
a wide variety of hand sizes. With no finger grooves or extraneous points
sticking out anywhere it means that anyone, whether you wear a size small or
size extra-large glove, you'll be able to get a good solid grip on this knife
Another thing that makes this great is the fully ambidextrous nature of the
design. We start off with the pocket clip that can be placed on either side for
left or right side carry but it's the lock especially that's the star here
Benchmade's signature access lock allows for fully ambidextrous operation.
This bar goes through the handle here and interfaces with the blade tang on the
back; it can be disengaged from either side just as easily.Another advantage to
locks like this that I particularly appreciate is that as you're closing the
blade you don't have to put your fingers in the closing path of the edge; simply
pull the bar back and rotate the blade closed. Also once they're broken in they
can flip open and closed very nicely
Although some people would prefer more premium material like G10 or carbon
fiber one advantage of this synthetic material is the weight distribution
Thanks to that weight the balance point sits right at the index finger which
makes this knife very nimble to use; you're not fighting the weight of the
blade or the handle when you get your day-to-day chores done. The drop-point
blade is one of the great all-time versatile blade shapes and this knife
works well from everything to EDC to camping to hunting if you're needs are
more tactical-oriented we've also got a tanto profile available
Thanks to the unique profile of the tanto shape you get a very strong and
robust tip which is great for piercing and heavier tasks
it also transitions very well to everyday carry
thanks to that flat edge right there at the front you can actually do some light
chisel work with this blade that it's harder to do with other more typical
shapes. The other great shape we've got is this modified sheepsfoot blade which
is also great for EDC unlike a true sheepsfoot which has a
straight edge we do see some belly here at the front. This version also shows the
combo edge variant of this blade. You can get it either with these partial
serrations or with a full plain edge and that option's available across the range
of blade shapes. This version also features a blade cut out for opening as
opposed to thumb studs, which some people prefer because you're not going to have
those protruding pieces of metal which can get in the way of certain cuts this
orange drop point model of the Griptilian is just one example of the many
great colors that are available we've also got the mini version which shows
off the OD handle version as well as the black coated blade which is available on
some of the variations. Although the full sized Griptilians are still easy to
carry and can get a lot of work done some people prefer these mini versions
for their even more pocket-friendly nature with this latest upgrade and
steel these Griptilians are now more competitive than ever equating
themselves very well against their rivals such as the Spyderco Paramilitary 2
which we recently compared in a video a few months ago. Now that the materials
have been upgraded be sure to let us know in the comments below which one of
these great designs that you prefer. To get your hands on one of these S30V
equipped benchmade Griptilians, click the link in the description below to
head on over to KnifeCenter.com and be sure to sign up for our newsletter to
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