Benchmade Griptillian

The Benchmade Griptillian is considered one of the best all around general purpose knife on the market at the moment and a great beginner knife. Its build quality and construction is considered top notch. The patented benchmade axis lock is also another reason for its popularity as it leaves little risk to your fingers compared to the frame and liner lock counterparts available on the market.

This specific knife is the Benchmade 551 Griptillian with a 154CM blade that is black coated and half serrated. To start off, the blade design is a wonderful drop point that has worked for me very well in any situation. The black coating has begun to rub off but that is unavoidable and it is just a product of wear on the blade. The 154CM, is also a wonderful steel and used to be considered the premier steel for knife blades before the introduction of powdered steels such as S30V. Heated to a hardness of 58-60 RC, it takes and holds an edge quite well. The handle also fits the hand and is on the larger size. This unfortunately also becomes a negative point for the knife. Due to its bulkiness, it becomes a bit difficult to keep it in pants pocket as it tends to eat up space for other items and makes it quite difficult to reach into said pocket. 

All in all, it makes a great knife but its larger size makes it a little harder for a domestic EDC as its ruggedness is usually a bit overkill for most problems and its size makes it difficult to share real estate with other items such as your phone. I would not recommend this knife for an EDC unless the bulk of your wardrobe can accommodate the space for this knife.