Benchmade - Mini Griptilian 556-1 Knife, Drop-Point Blade

I reviewed the original Mini Griptilian 556 a while back and I gave it 5 stars despite a price I thought could be a little lower and some design elements I wouldn’t have minded seeing improved. The 556-1 improves on all of the design elements I could want while improving the blade steel, with the caveat that the price also went up substantially.I have owned versions of the Mini Griptilians for probably over ten years now. The design is simple but practical and effective, the ergonomics are good, the axis lock is very good, and the blade steel(154CM) was stellar. The only things I wanted from the knife that it didn’t provide was a flow through design and different materials for the handles or scales. The flow through design is better for cleaning and just more practical with less materials and the handle material while good always felt and looked cheap and flimsy. It felt like hollow plastic on a cheap child’s toy despite it being actually very durable and strong.The 556-1 has a flow through design and now uses G10 which feels solid. Not only that but they’ve added some flare to the design with anodized blue aluminum standoff’s and layered grey G10 with blue G10 accents. The color combo may not be for everyone but I personally like it a lot.The blade steel has been upgraded to CP-20CV which is a very nice high end knife steel. My first Griptilians used 154CM which was also an excellent premium steel that kept a nice edge, was pretty corrosion resistant, and was really easy to maintain and sharpen. The 20CV is a good deal harder for a amateur sharpener like myself to work with but the corrosion resistance is comparable or better and edge retention is substantially better. This is a fantastic steel and maybe a bit overbuilt considering most people probably would have been happy with something like S35VN that falls somewhere in between 20CV and 154CM.Another surprising upgrade is the included deep carry pocket clip. It’s a small upgrade but definitely appreciated. It’s still steel and the black coating will still wear but it’s stiff and does make your knife less conspicuous.All these upgrades have added to the cost by almost 100%. At about $170 retail this is far from the almost excellent budget knife it used to be. If I wasn’t so impressed with the knife I might be inclined to give it only 4 stars for the pricing. While the steel is a nice upgrade, the design upgrades shouldn’t increase the value by that much. You can find a lot of flow through designed knives with good locks and G10 scales for well under $170.Another reason the price bothered me with this knife is it seems the quality control is slacking lately. My blade was not centered, there is just a bit of side to side blade play while it was stiff in the pivot, the axis lock was very sticky, and there are still screws that go through the liner and poke through to the center of the knife. I have been able to improve on the blade play, sticky lock, the pivot stiffness, and centering by opening the knife up and cleaning and lubricating it. I am considering shaving down the screws but this is more of a nitpicky aesthetic issue as the screws don’t seem to be able to make contact with the blade. If this was a sub $80 knife, all these issues would be somewhat acceptable but paying $170 should have meant much better performance out of the box. Since I was able to fix most of the issues I again didn’t remove a star since I really like the knife.If this is your first knife I would recommend going with the original 556 as you can find them for under $100 and they are still superb knifes. If you are already a fan of the Griptilian and are willing to put some work into the knife then I have to say I really like all of the improvements on this knife and the 20CV blade came very sharp and has excellent edge retention. If you liked the Griptilian you’re gonna love this knife.

This is my third Benchmade knife. I own a 940 and custom mini Barrage I built off their site also. This is the smallest of the 3 and I really like the size of it. It costs a decent bit more than the standard mini Grip, but I feel the upgrades are worth the price. I've handled a full-size Griptilian that was bought as a present and it felt hollower and less sturdy than this model with the G10 handle.G10 handles are very solid and feel great in the hand. Love the color combination of the gray and blue along with the open flow-through design. Deep carry clip that is standard on this model is a welcome feature. It also includes upgraded steel over the standard versions (20CV vs 154CM). Blade was perfectly centered and shaved my arm hair out of the box. And that Axis Lock. Who doesn't love a good Axis Lock! It's my favorite lock design out of all the knives I own and makes going back to liner lock knives very difficult.I love all my Benchmades, but If I only had the money to pick to a single one to fill the role of a compact and very lightweight (2.9oz) EDC knife, this is probably the one I would get. The G10 handle on this one makes it feel more sturdy than my other models and the fit and finish is superb. You can't really go wrong with this one. The only very minor downside I can think of is that the handle sticks out the tiniest bit when in pocket since the deep carry clip doesn't extend all the way to the very end of the handle. It's a very minor protrusion and something that would probably only bother the most hardcore of the "DEEP CARRY" folks out there. See pictures for size reference.

As the headline says, I don't know a darn thing about knives, except that they're cool and that having one makes me slightly cooler as a result. I am an avid indoorsman, so I can't tell you how this thing works on skinning game, cutting folks free from kidnappers, or performing field surgery. But it opens boxes like nobody's business. And it feels really good in my hand. And it's so much easier to open than the older "thumb notch" knives I am used to. In fact, I need to practice opening and closing this thing so I don't slice one or more of my fingers.The main reason I went with this one is the outstanding reviews. Also because it's "fancier" than the other model, and as you likely can tell from this review, I'm a fancy-pants. So, if you're in the market for a solid EDC knife and you're just some boring paper pusher like myself, get this knife and start living the dream.