Collecting knives is pretty fun…
And as a knife collector, I’ve always loved it when knife manufacturers decide to make larger or smaller versions of some of their best designs…
Well, that’s the case with Benchmade, and in this article, the two knives I’m talking about are:
| Image | Products |
 | Benchmade Griptilian (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
 | Benchmade Mini Griptilian (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
So here’s the deal… In this Benchmade Griptilian Vs Mini Griptilian comparison were going to put these two knives up against each other…
We’ll go over exactly how they’re similar, and we’ll also go over exactly how they’re different…
In the end, I’ll let you know which version of the Griptilian (Mini or full size) I prefer, and you should have all the information you need to determine which is the right knife for you…
Let’s start by going over the similarities…
Benchmade Griptilian Vs Mini Griptilian – How Are They Similar?
Blade Steel And Material…
The Benchmade Griptilian is an extremely popular EDC knife. It’s one of Benchmade’s best sellers, and over the years it’s developed a huge following…
Because of the popularity of the Griptilian, Benchmade decided to make a scaled down version of the design, which is called the Mini Griptilian…
Now both the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian come in a number of different versions that have different blade steels…
But that being said, the most common version of both knives come with 154CM blade steel. 154CM is considered a high end blade steel…
It does a pretty good job at resisting rust and it maintains an edge pretty well too. In addition to that, it’s not too difficult to sharpen, and overall, I like that Benchmade chose to go with 154CM because it’s a pretty high quality steel…
Now I should also mention that Benchmade offers a service with both of these knives called Life Sharp. Basically the Life Sharp program means that you can send your knife back into Benchmade for repair, lubrication, and resharpening…
You can actually send your knife in for service for the life of the knife, and this is all done by Benchmade for free…
I really like that Benchmade offers the Life Sharp program because, to me, it shows that they are willing to go the extra mile to take care of their customers and that they stand behind the craftsmanship of their products as well…
Both knives also come in a variety of handle materials, but just as 154CM is the most common blade steel for these designs, glass filled nylon (or grivory) is the most common handle material…
Again, I like the choice by Benchmade of going with grivory as the handle material on both the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian…
The reason why is because it’s a pretty strong material, but at the same time, it’s extremely lightweight. It’s also very comfortable to hold and feels great in your hand, and all of these characteristics make it a great handle material for utility knives such as the Griptilian and the Mini…
All in all, I would say that the 154CM blade steel and glass filled nylon handle are high performing and high quality choices in material for both the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian.
Blade Shape And Handle Design…
Both the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian come in a number of different blade shapes. You can get either design with a tanto blade or a sheepsfoot blade…
But the most common blade shape you’ll find for both designs is a drop point. I really like the look of the Griptilian-style drop point…
It’s fairly unique to the eye, and I think it gives these knives a lot of character. It also performs very well, and makes both the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian great at cutting, slicing, and dicing…
In addition to that, both knives can be had with a plain edge or a serrated edge (Benchmade’s serrated edge is really a combination edge with a plain edge on the upper half of the blade and serrations on the lower half of the blade)…
Personally, I prefer to go with plain edge blades over serrated blades because it just makes them easier to sharpen…
But I’m glad that Benchmade offers both of these designs with serrated edges for those out there who like a serrated blade…
You can also get both the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian with satin finish blades or with black coated blades, and both knives will be razor sharp right out of the box…
They also both have a little bit of jimping on the spine of the blade, which gives you a little extra control for precision cuts, and they both have a thumb stud that makes blade deployment easy with one hand and very smooth…
Now like I mentioned before, both knives have a glass-filled nylon (grivory) handle, and both handles have a little bit of checkering on the sides…
Both handles are comfortable and ergonomic in your hand, and both allow you to get a solid purchase when you’re using your knife…
We’ll get to the differences in handle size later in this comparison, but for now, let me say that the larger handle on the Griptilian is a little more comfortable to hold on to (it is called the Grip-tilian after all)…
But on the other hand, the Mini Griptilian’s handle is a little smaller and slimmer which makes it a little more comfortable to carry around in your pocket…
All that being said, both knives are comfortable in your hand and carry in your pocket pretty nicely, and they both come in a number of different colors such as black, orange, tan, green, pink, yellow and gray…
I really love when knife manufacturers offer a variety of colors to choose from because it means you can pick out a knife that fits your specific needs and personal styling.
Locking Mechanism…
The locking mechanism on both the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian is the AXIS Lock. The AXIS Lock is a locking system that incorporates a spring-tensioned bar, a track inside the handle and the liner, and the tang of the blade…
I like it because it’s a very strong locking mechanism, and it allows the blade to be deployed very smoothly as well…
It is a proprietary locking system for Benchmade, and they acquired the patent for it all the way back in 1988 from knifemakers Bill McHenry and Hason Williams…
So it’s a mechanism that Benchmade has been using a long time, so it’s time tested, and it’s the type of locking mechanism I’d expect to see on premium folding knives like the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian.
Pocket Clip And Carry Position…
Both the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian have a pocket clip that sets you up for tip up carry. Personally, I prefer tip down carry…
But I’m ok with tip up carry if I think the knife is a cool design and that’s the only option it offers (and I like both the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian)…
In addition to that, both the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian have a clip that you can swap to either side of the knife…
Even though there’s no option for tip down carry, I am glad that you can swap the clip to either side on both of these knives because that will allow you to optimize the knife’s carry position no matter whether you’re right handed or left handed…
Now both knives sit relatively low in your pocket. They don’t completely disappear the way some knives do, but both are fairly discreet and ease to get to…
They’re also both pretty comfortable to carry around, but because the Mini Griptilian is a little bit more compact and slim, it’s just a little bit more comfortable than its bigger brother to carry around all day.
Benchmade Griptilian Vs Mini Griptilian – How Are They Different?
Size And Dimensions…
Benchmade Griptilian
The Griptilian is a medium-sized utility knife. It has a blade that measures in at 3.45 inches long, and the handle measures in at 4.62 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Griptilian to 8.07 inches long when the blade is fully locked out. In addition to that, the Griptilian weighs in at 3.88 ounces…
That’s not too heavy, but it’s not as lightweight as some of Benchmade’s other designs either (such as the 940 or the Bugout)…
In the end though, I think the Griptillian is a fairly compact and lightweight utility knife, and that’s partly why it’s such a popular option as an everyday carry knife.
Benchmade Mini Griptilian
Like I mentioned earlier (and as the name implies), the Mini Griptilian is a scaled down version of the original Griptilian…
The Mini Griptilian’s blade measures in at 2.92 inches long, and it’s handle measures in at 3.87 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Mini Griptilian to 6.78 inches when the blade is fully deployed, and it means that the Mini Griptilian is around 1.29 inches shorter than the Griptilian when both of their blades are fully locked out…
Also, the Mini Griptilian only weighs 2.5 ounces. So in addition to the Mini Griptilian being a more compact knife than the Griptilian, it’s also a little bit lighter in weight.
And last, as I mentioned before, the handle on the Mini Griptilian is slimmer than the handle on the Griptilian, which makes it a little more comfortable to carry around in your pocket all day.
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately I won’t be able to get into exact numbers in this category because the prices of these knives are changing all the time…
That being said, in general, you’ll usually find that the Mini Griptilian is around 15 to 30 bucks less expensive than the Griptillian…
It makes sense that the Mini Griptilian would be less expensive because while it uses the same materials as the full-size Griptillain, it’s a much smaller knife (so less material has to be used)…
Now to be honest, 15 to 30 bucks isn’t a huge difference in price, but if you’re on a budget…
…and you’re looking to pay the lowest price possible, the Mini Griptilian is definitely going to be the less expensive option for you.
Benchmade Griptilian Vs Mini Griptilian – Final Thoughts…
So to sum it all up, there are many similarities and a few differences between the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian…
First of all, both of these knives have 145CM blade steel (which is a high quality steel), and both have a glass-filled nylon handle, which is strong and very lightweight…
In addition to that, the blade shape on both the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian is the same high performing drop point (the Mini’s is just scaled down), and both handles are ergonomic, lightweight, and comfortable…
Both knives also use the same AXIS Lock locking system, which is a strong locking mechanism that locks the blade out securely and allows the blade to deploy smoothly…
And last, both knives have a pocket clip that sets you up for tip up carry, and it’s also swappable to either side of the knife…
Now, the major difference between the Griptilian and the Mini Griptilian comes in the Size and Dimensions category…
Obviously, the Mini Griptilian is a much smaller knife measuring in at around 1.29 inches shorter than the Griptilian, and it’s also a more lightweight knife as well…
In addition to that, the Mini Griptilian is around 15 to 30 dollars less expensive than the Griptilian because they both use the same materials and the Mini is a smaller knife…
So which of these knives do I prefer? I prefer the Griptilian…
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I prefer the full size Griptilian for a couple of reasons. First of all, the handle on the Griptilian is extremely comfortable…
It’s more comfortable than the Mini Griptilian’s handle because it’s a little bit larger and allows you to get most of your hand on it…
I also like the longer blade on the Griptilian because it just gives you more capabilities than the slightly shorter blade that you get on the Mini…
Now if you want a more compact knife that carries extremely comfortably in your pocket and will save you a few bucks, then feel free to go with the Mini Griptilian because it’s still an awesome knife…
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You can’t go wrong going with either of these two great knife designs from Benchmade because they’re both built to a very high standard…
The biggest question you need to answer is: How big of a knife do you want? Once you’ve determined the answer, you should have a much easier time deciding whether to go with the Griptilian or its little brother, the Mini.