I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…
Compact knives are easier to carry around in your pocket all day. To me they’re head and shoulders above large knives when it comes to EDC use…
And right now, two of my favorite compact EDC options are:
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 | Benchmade Mini Barrage (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
 | Benchmade Mini Griptilian (Check Price And Reviews On Amazon!) |
So this is going to be a Benchmade Mini Barrage Vs Mini Griptilian article, and it should be pretty fun because we’re going to compare these two little knives in the following six categories…
- Blade Steel And Materials
- Blade Shape And Handle Design
- Locking Mechanism
- Size And Dimensions
- Pocket Clip And Carry Position
- Price Comparison
In the end, I’ll tell you which of these two mini knives I prefer to carry around, and you should have all the information you need to determine which is gonna be best for you!
Let’s start the comparison!
Blade Steel And Materials…
Benchmade Mini Barrage
As the name implies, the Mini Barrage is a scaled-down version of the Benchmade Barrage. It’s an incredibly popular design from Benchmade, and part of the reason for that is the high-quality materials that go into its construction…
Now the Mini Barrage does come in a number of different blade steel options, but by far, the most common is going to be 154CM…
154CM is considered a high end blade steel, and I like it because it’s strong, it does a good job at resisting rust, and it also holds an edge pretty well…
It’s also pretty easy to sharpen, which is a big benefit because over time and with plenty of use, your edge will wear down…
In addition to that, Benchmade offers a service called Life Sharp when you purchase any of their knives. Basically, the Life Sharp program means that you can send your knife back into Benchmade…
…and they’ll repair it, lubricate it, and resharpen it for you. The service is completely free, and you can send your knife back as many times as you need to.
I really love that Benchmade does this because it shows that they’re willing to take care of their customers and that they stand behind the quality and performance of their products…
Now the handle on the Mini Barrage is made from Valox which is a reinforced resin. Many people have compared it to the FRN handles used by Spyderco on their Delica and Endura, but it is a little bit harder of a material…
All in all, I think it’s a good handle material for a utility or EDC knife because it’s fairly strong and at the same time, it’s pretty lightweight.
Benchmade Mini Griptilian
Just as the Mini Barrage is a scaled down version of the Benchmade Barrage, the Mini Griptilian is a scaled down version of the Benchmade Griptilian…
The Griptilian is perhaps the most popular knife sold by Benchmade, so to me it’s no surprise that they decided to come out with a Mini version of it…
Like the Mini Barrage, the Mini Griptilian comes in a number of different blade steels, but the most common is 154CM…
Again, I like 154CM because it does a good job at resisting corrosion, and it holds an edge pretty well too. And just like the Mini Barrage, the Mini Griptilian also comes with Benchmade’s Life Sharp service…
So if you ever need to send your knife back into Benchmade for repair or sharpening, you’ll be able to do that free of charge…
Now the handle on the Mini Griptilian (again, the most common version) is made from a glass filled nylon called grivory…
Like the Valox used on the Mini Barrage, grivory is a pretty strong and lightweight material, so it’s also a good choice of handle material for an EDC knife.
Blade Shape And Handle Design…
Benchmade Mini Barrage
The blade on the (585) Mini Barrage is a drop point with a high flat grind. I’ve always loved drop point blades because of their traditional look, but they also perform really well in a number of EDC tasks…
I also really like the flat grind on the blade of the Mini Barrage because it makes the knife great at cutting, slicing, and dicing, and at the same time, it’s a very strong blade…
In addition to that, you can get the Mini Barrage with either a plain edge or a serrated edge (the lower half of the blade will have serrations)…
Personally, I prefer the plain edge version, just because it’s easier to sharpen, but I like that Benchmade offers the serrated version as well (and remember, you can send your knife back into Benchmade for resharpening for free)…
The Mini Barrage can also be had with either a satin finished blade or a black coated blade depending on what you prefer, and the thumb stud allows you to easily deploy the blade with one hand…
Now again, the handle on the Mini Barrage is made from Valox. It feels very ergonomic and comfortable in your hand…
And it comes in either an all black color or a two-toned metallic and black color (if you go with the 586 Mini Barrage).
Benchmade Mini Griptilian
The blade on the Mini Griptilian is also a drop point, but I think it has a less traditional feel to it than the Mini Barrage…
Again, it’s a scaled down version of the full size Griptilian’s blade, and instead of a flat grind like the Mini Barrage, it has a hollow grind, so it can get insanely sharp…
The Mini Griptilian can also be had with either a plain edge or a serrated edge, and again, I prefer the plain edge version because it’ll end up being easier for you to sharpen…
In addition to that, the Mini Griptilian has jimping along spine which will give you more control for making precise cuts, and the thumb stud allows you to easily open the knife with one hand…
Now, like I said earlier, the handle on the Mini Griptilian is made from grivory. It’s also very ergonomic and comfortable in your hand, but it’s just a little bit shorter than the handle on the Mini Barrage (which makes it just a little bit less comfortable in my opinion).
Last, the handle for the Mini Griptilian comes in a variety of colors such as black, blue, green, tan, pink, yellow, gray, and others…
I really love it when manufacturers give you a number of different colors to choose from, because it means you can pick out a knife that fits your personal needs and styling.
Locking Mechanism…
Benchmade Mini Barrage
The Mini Barrage features the AXIS Assist locking mechanism. In fact, the Barrage family of knives is actually the first to feature the AXIS Assist system, which is a variation of Benchmade’s patented AXIS Lock system…
Now the AXIS Lock system incorporates a spring-tensioned bar, a track in the handle and liner, and the tang of the blade to lock out the blade when it’s deployed…
It’s a pretty cool system, and basically, an extra spring in the AXIS Assist means that when the user starts to deploy the knife manually, the blade will spring out and lock into position…
It’s a very strong locking system, and it makes opening the blade on the Mini Barrage easy and extremely fast because it snaps out with very minimal effort on your part…
I’m a big fan of assisted opening knives because they make it so easy to deploy the blade (and they’re just fun to fidget with haha), and I think the AXIS Assist is one of the best assisting mechanisms you can get.
Benchmade Mini Griptilian
The Mini Griptilian features the standard AXIS Lock locking mechanism. Again, the AXIS Lock features a spring-tensioned bar, a track in the handle and liner, and the tang of the blade…
It’s actually a proprietary locking system for Benchmade, and they acquired the patent all the way back in 1988, so it’s been around for a long time…
I think it’s a great locking system because it allows you to easily deploy the blade with one hand, and the deployment is very smooth even without the push from the extra spring that you get on the AXIS Assist…
That being said, between the AXIS Lock and the AXIS Assist, I prefer the AXIS Assist because it does make deploying the blade just a little bit easier.
Size And Dimensions…
Benchmade Mini Barrage
The Mini Barrage is a pretty compact EDC knife. The blade length measures in at 2.91 inches long, and the handle measures in at 4 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Mini Barrage to 6.91 inches long when the blade is fully deployed. Just for comparison’s sake, the Mini Barrage is 1.44 inches shorter than its big brother, the full size Barrage.
In addition to that, the Mini Barrage weighs in at 3.40 ounces, which isn’t as light as some other knife designs from Benchmade (like the Bugout) but is still pretty lightweight, which is important because it makes the knife more enjoyable to carry around in your pocket.
Benchmade Mini Griptilian
The Mini Griptilian is also a pretty compact utility knife. It has a blade length that measures in at 2.91 inches long (just like the Mini Barrage), and it’s handle measures in at 3.87 inches long…
That brings the overall length on the Mini Griptilian to 6.78 inches long when the blade is fully locked out. Again for comparison’s sake, it’s 1.29 inches shorter than it’s big brother, the full size Griptilian…
And it’s actually 0.13 inches shorter than the Mini Barrage, which is interesting to me because they both have the same sized blade (the Mini Barrage has a longer handle which I think is more comfortable in your hand)…
In addition to that, the Mini Griptilian weighs in at just 2.5 ounces. So in addition to being shorter than the Mini Barrage, it’s also just a little bit lighter in terms of weight.
Pocket Clip And Carry Position…
Both the Mini Barrage and the Mini Griptilian have a clip that sets you up for tip up carry and is swappable to either side of the knife…
Personally, I prefer tip down carry when I can get it, but to me it’s not a big deal when a knife only gives me the option for tip up carry as long as I like the overall design (and I like both of these knives)…
I do like that you are able to swap the clip to either side on both of the knives because that will allow you to optimize for left handed or right handed pocket carry depending on which hand you use…
Also, both knives sit relatively deep in your pocket. They don’t completely disappear the way some knife designs do, but overall, they’re both pretty discreet and they both feel very comfortable in your pocket.
Price Comparison…
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give you extract numbers in this category because the prices of these knives change all the time…
That being said, in general, you’ll usually find that the Mini Griptilian is around 30 to 35 bucks less expensive than the Mini Barrage…
Considering that both knives are around the same size and have the same blade steel, the difference in price is probably because of the AXIS Assist locking mechanism that you get on the Mini Barrage…
Regardless, if you’re trying to keep the price down, the Mini Griptilian is going to be the less expensive option out of these two knives.
Spyderco Benchmade Mini Barrage Vs Mini Griptilian – Final Thoughts…
So to sum it all up, in the Blade Steel And Materials category, both the Mini Barrage and the Mini Griptilian have 154CM blade steel which is a high quality steel…
However, the Mini Barrage has a Valox handle, and the Mini Griptilian has a grivory handle…
In the Blade Shape And Handle Design category, both knives have a version of a drop point blade, but the Mini Barrage has a flat grind and the Mini Griptilian has a hollow grind…
In the Locking Mechanism category, the Mini Barrage features the AXIS Assist locking mechanism, and the Mini Griptilian features the AXIS Lock system…
Both are great locking systems, but I prefer the AXIS Assist on the Mini Barrage because it makes it just a little bit easier and quicker to deploy the blade…
In the Size And Dimensions category, the Mini Barrage is around 0.13 inches longer than the Mini Griptilian when both of their blades are fully deployed…
In the Pocket Clip And Carry Position category, both knives have a clip that sets you up for tip up carry and that is swappable to either side of the knife…
And last, in the Price Comparison, the Mini Griptilian is around 30 to 35 dollars less expensive than the Mini Barrage…
So which of these knives do I prefer? I prefer the Mini Barrage…
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I prefer the Mini Barrage for a few reasons. First of all, I prefer the AXIS assist locking mechanism that you get on the Mini Barrage over the standard AXIS Lock on the Mini Griptilian…
It just allows you to deploy the blade a little bit easier and faster, and I love the way it quickly snaps the blade out into position…
I also prefer the blade design on the Mini Barrage over the Mini Griptilian. I like the flat grind that you get because it makes the knife a great cutter, and I just like the way it looks a little better as well.
Last, I like that the handle on the Mini Barrage is a little longer than the handle on the Mini Griptilian. The longer handle makes it a bit more comfortable in your hand and gives you a little more positive control over the blade.
Now if you prefer the blade shape of the Mini Griptilian (which I still think is pretty cool), if you’re happy with the AXIS Lock (still a great locking mechanism!), and if you want to save a few bucks…
Then feel free to go with the Mini Griptilian because it’s still an awesome little knife…
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Either way, I hope I was able to show you the major similarities and differences between these two great knives from Benchmade!