The Benchmade 550HG Griptilian AXIS Locking Mechanism Knife may come across as minimalist pocket knife to some but after spending some quality time with the knife, there are actually numerous features that make this knife a great choice for everyday carry. With an extremely gripable handle (hence its name), high quality hollow ground blade and a super safe, yet easy to use, locking mechanism, the Griptilian is a great performer.
Benchmade 550HG Griptilian AXIS Locking Mechanism Knife Features
The 550HG Griptilian that Benchmade sent to us arrived in a nice blue box. When the outer cover was slipped off, we found the knife packaged inside a black drawstring bag which was fit inside a form fitting foam insert that kept everything in its place. The reason that this knife came in a blue box is because it is a part of the Blue Class collection of knives. Benchmade classifies their knives under three different classes, with each group having a specific market or purpose.
- Blue Class – Represents core products that make up the best combination of value and performance. These knives are designed and built to show what a difference a high-quality tool can make.
- Black Class – These products are designed and developed for extreme duty and special purposes. These are marketed towards law enforcement, public safety and military troops.
- Gold Class – Premium line of knifes that, while usually the most costly, offer the most unique varieties of knives, with rare types of materials, limited productions and what Benchmade considers their ultimate quality.
The Griptilian model was originally designed a decade ago ago and has been a returning model year after year since because of its popularity. Along the way they have added different blades, sizes, and other changes to make sure that it is always updated and current. You can actually go to the Benchmade site and get a custom Griptilian with a myriad of options. The original designer, Mel Pardue is one of the senior knife designers at Benchmade and his style is known for its simplicity and utility.
The Benchmade 550HG Griptilian AXIS Locking Mechanism Knife we received has a modified sheepsfoot style blade. This blade shape has very little belly on the cutting edge and the spine of the blade curves down to meet the edge. This style blade is well suited for applications where slicing is the main requirement. The blade is made of 154CM stainless steel which is an American developed premium grade of stainless steel that was originally intended for industrial applications. This type of steel is known for its fantastic all-around qualities since it offers great corrosion resistance with good toughness and edge quality. The blade is hollow ground which means that the back side of the spine retains its full thickness which gives the blade its strength and as you get closer to the cutting edge the grinding on the blade is actually hollowed in so that it is thinner. This yields a much finer and sharper edge. The knife for this review has a straight blade with no serrations. While we prefer the straight blade because of its ease of being able to be re sharpened, it is also available with a partially serrated edge too. Towards the back, top of the blade is a hole that when the knife is closed and you press your thumb against, causes it to pivot open. The hole in the blade provides for ambidextrous opening of the blade.
Arguably one of the best features of the Griptilian is the AXIS locking mechanism. This simple, yet very positive lock works with a spring loaded sliding thumb stud that locks the blade open. The beauty of the AXIS lock is that, unlike linerlocks, as found on many folders now days, your fingers are never in the way of a closing blade. To close the blade, use your fingers to just pull back on the studs and the blade will then be free to swing close. The handle is made of Valox which is a lightweight yet tough plastic kind of material. The handle is comfortable and really quite ‘grippy’ with extremely deep checkering on both sides of it. We can see where the name Griptilian came from. Inside the handle there are two 420J stainless steel liners that add torsional strength and support. A reversible steel carry-clip is attached to the right right side of the knife and, should you desire to carry it in your left pocket, you can reposition the carry-clip on the opposite side utilizing the threaded holes on the handle.
Testing and use
One of the first things we noticed about the Benchmade 550HG Griptilian AXIS Locking Mechanism Knife is how balanced it felt in the hand. With an overall open size that is a tad over 8 inches long it weighs in at a scant 3.25 oz. Given its lightweight feel, when it is clipped in our pants pocket, it is hardly noticeable. The second major observation is the overall sense of grip when holding the knife. Between the deeply checkered sides and the ridges that are strategically located around the edges of the handle, you won’t lose your grip even if you hands are wet or if you have gloves on. Opening the knife was easy and almost second nature after just just doing it a few times. With a simple flick of my thumb the blade swung out smoothly and with no binding. Once locked open, the blade had no side to side play. Closing the blade with the AXIS system was also easy and natural. The big thing to note was that when opening and closing, your hand is naturally positioned safely out of the way of the blade. As with any edged tool, you should always exercise caution when handling them. The Benchmade Griptilian is no exception and there are warnings on the box that the knife inside comes from the factory extremely, if not truly razor sharp.
We have used the knife to cut a good number of different things from paper, to duct tape to plastic house wrap, it has remained sharp still. The good news is that if you don’t feel like sharping your knife yourself, Benchmade has a lifetime sharpening service where, for $5.00 you can send it in and they will sharpen it and send it back to you. Also, should you damage your knife while under normal usage they will repair or replace it.
Conclusion
The Benchmade 550HG Griptilian AXIS Locking Mechanism Knife is a great choice for an everyday carry pocket knife. With so many knives on the market that look like combat tools, this knife looks like a perfect workman’s friend thanks to its modified sheepsfoot blade and sensible handle. With a simple manual opening blade, and a positive locking mechanism, this knife is just about as utilitarian as they come (this is a good thing). For our Performance rating, we gave the knife an 8/10 because it is so lightweight, yet offers full size functionality and also has features that make it safe and rugged to use in almost any condition. For our Value rating, we gave it a 6/10 since it is a little on the pricey side of a basic pocket knife. Even given its price, we found that we continually keep going back to the Griptilian as a first choice to carry day after day.
