Benchmade Griptillian the New Buck 110?

Classic Folders, Old & New

If there's a knife "hall of fame" (and maybe there is), its honorees aren't chosen by a board of directors or some highfalutin committee. No, the blades that stand the test of time are picked by folks who use them -- people like you and me.

A knife that makes the hall-of-fame cut is instantly recognizable. Either we owned one or we know someone who did. It's a knife for Everyman.

Sometimes, a particular knife becomes synonymous with an entire class of edged tools. Scout knife. Swiss Army knife. Bowie, Green River, Buffalo Skinner...and so on.

One such knife is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year: the Buck Model 110 Folding Hunter.

Anyone who grew up in a neighborhood that included cornfields and tree stands, fishing holes and filling stations, trap lines and machine shops, knows the Buck 110. We recognize its elements -- the distinctive clip blade, the chunky brass bolsters, the wood-slab handles -- at first sight.

Many of us, especially those who count ourselves among the "Boomer" generation, probably put "Buck knife" or "folding hunter" on a Christmas list at some point -- and we didn't need to say more. Everyone knew that meant a 110.

Now, a half-century after it first appeared, the Buck 110 Folding Hunter has earned its status as an icon of American cutlery, a true classic. Over 15 million have been sold since 1964 and, for some old-timers, nothing else will do. Here at KnivesShipFree we still sell a bunch of them.

Time and trends haven't passed the Buck 110 by, necessarily -- it remains a sound design, sturdily built and much-imitated -- but in many ways the cutlery world has moved on. It was inevitable, perhaps, that another locking folder would lay claim to its title.

Benchmade's Griptilian: A Classic for the 21st Century

There are many contenders, all high-quality blades, and we could have a long debate about which one (if any) has supplanted the venerable Buck in the pockets of Everyman. In our opinion, however, one knife rises above the rest: the Benchmade 551 Griptilian.

Introduced in 2001, the Griptilian brought a combination of materials, design and technology to a knife world desperately in need of innovation. While it filled a familiar niche -- "big folder" -- it did so in a fresh new way.

When picking up a "Grip" for the first time, the most common reaction is, "Wow, that's light."Accustomed to the weight of traditional designs, some folks are surprised that a full-size folder weighs-in at half the heft of an old brass-and-wood design. Benchmade employs synthetic materials (Noryl GTX or Grivory, depending on the color) for the handles, backed up by stainless-steel liners, to lighten the knife without sacrificing strength.

(Before we go any further, let's get something out of the way: We know that some people will neverbelieve that a knife as light as a Benchmade Griptilian can be as tough as a traditional design.Heavier is better. Metal is stronger than "plastic." All we can say is that we've worked the ever-lovin' snot out of our Griptilians and we haven't broken one yet. If you don't believe us, we can't help you.)

The Griptilian's 3.45-inch blade is what Benchmade calls a "modified drop-point" pattern -- saber-ground, strong and versatile -- and is deployed via ambidextrous thumb studs. The steel is 154CM stainless, known as an excellent all-around knife steel that offers a good balance of corrosion resistance, toughness and edge retention.

Where the Griptilian steps firmly into the 21st Century is with its patented AXIS locking mechanism. We're going to devote an entire KnivesShipFree Blog post to the AXIS in the very near future, but for now we'll simply say that we know of no other mechanism that's as strong or as easy to use.

(The AXIS also makes the Griptilian "flickable," by the way. No kidding, it's way-cool -- we promise to include a video demonstration with that future post.)

In the hand, the Grip offers serious grip. A subtle swell, combined with the handle's contours and texture, inspires confidence. And to top-off the knife's excellent ergonomics, balance is smack-dab on the first finger -- relatively rare, in our experience, for a production folder.

Completing the Griptilian package is a reversible pocket clip (right- or left-handed, tip-up) -- no belt sheath required, thank you very much.

To this point we've been talking about the 551 Griptilian, a knife we consider a modern classic. Suppose, however, you're not a big fan of thumb studs. Maybe you're just not crazy about a drop-point blade. Or maybe you like the Griptilian concept, but you prefer a smaller knife.

No problem -- Benchmade's Griptilian family includes thumb-hole designs as well as studs, plus tanto and sheepsfoot blades, plain or combo-edge. And all full-size Grips are available in "Mini-Griptilian" versions, roughly 15% smaller than the full-size models.

In fact, we could make a strong case that the Benchmade 556 Mini-Griptilian, which is the down-sized version of the 551 we've been raving about, is the ideal everyday-carry locking folder. We've worked our 556 hard -- in the office and in the garage, from the garden to the woods -- and it's never even whimpered.

Benchmade's Griptilians are popular because they're well-designed, well-built and affordable. They have the accolades and all of the qualities to justify their place among iconic knives.

We like the 551 and, for EDC, the 556 -- you may be drawn to one of the other Grips, and that's fine. But whatever your preference, don't pass up an opportunity to include one of these modern classics in your knife life.