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Product Description
The 550-S30V Griptilian model features a flat ground CPM-S30V blade, round thumb-hole openers and an AXIS lock mechanism. The handles are made from Noryl GTX with a reversible pocket clip for completely ambidextrous carry. With multiple blade styles, sizes and colors your Grips just got a little wilder... Grrr!
CPM-S30V Stainless Steel
A premium steel created especially for knives, it is a powder steel creating uniform carbide distribution and clean steel properties. As a blade material, it offers excellent corrosion resistance and superb edge qualities. This stainless steel is extremely well balanced, making it one of the best all-around choices for daily tasks.
AXIS Lock
A Benchmade original, AXIS has been turning heads and winning fans ever since its introduction. A 100 percent ambidextrous design, AXIS gets its function from a small, hardened steel bar that rides forward and back in a slot machined into both steel liners. The bar extends to both sides of the knife, spans the liners and is positioned over the rear of the blade. It engages a ramped tang portion of the knife blade when it is opened. Two omega style springs, one on each liner, give the locking bar its inertia to engage the knife tang. As a result, the tang is wedged solidly between a sizable stop pin and the AXIS bar itself.
Designer: Mel Pardue
The senior team member, Mel has been grinding sparks, making knives and creating a following for 25-plus years. His style has a class and simplicity all its own. The Pardue collaborations offer great utility to the everyday knife user while at the same time presenting an upscale distinction. Less is definitely more with Mel's designs.
Specifications
- Blade Length: 3.45"
- Closed Length: 4.62"
- Overall Length: 8.07"
- Blade Thickness: 0.105"
- Blade Material: CPM-S30V Stainless Steel
- Blade Hardness: 58-60 HRC
- Blade Style: Flat Ground Modified Sheepsfoot; Ambidextrous Thumb-Holes
- Handle Material: Noryl GTX
- Handle Thickness: 0.64"
- Clip: Reversible, Tip-Up, Black
- Lock Mechanism: AXIS Lock
- Warranty: Manufacturer's Limited Lifetime
- Designer: Mel Pardue
- Weight: 3.79 oz.
- Made in the USA
Specifications
| Lock Type | Axis |
About brand
Benchmade Knife Company, Inc. set-up shop in Clackamas, Oregon in 1990 (originally founded in California in 1988). The initial knives primarily consisted of the Bali-Song knives, using a combination of outside vendors and inside processing to build finished products. And like most companies, starting out meant scarce money and big plans, using second hand equipment and limited resources.
Soon, a natural born fortitude and an undying passion to make it right and make it Benchmade, prospered into significant growth. As the product line grew so did the in-house capabilities. We began to acquire new machines and technologies including the first of several lasers, making Benchmade the first knife manufacturer to have such equipment in-house. Open minds and positive attitudes would lead to several more industry firsts over the course of the next several years.
This was only the beginning of Benchmade's breaking of new ground in the manufactured knife markets by using non-traditional materials and modern manufacturing methods in not only building knives better but, inevitably building better knives. The Designer Series was first introduced in 1991 with several custom designs being manufactured. By tapping into the custom knife makers' knowledge and combining it with our manufacturing expertise we were more readily able to offer more contemporary knife designs and innovations to the knife users.
Consecutive years of aggressive growth led to the next logical step in 1996 when Benchmade moved into its own 35,000 sq. ft. facility. A contemporary styled building complete with all of the modern equipment and amenities necessary to manufacture what has become recognized as a higher standard of specialty cutlery.
Today, Benchmade Knife Company, Inc. manufactures knives for a loyal and ever growing following of knife users. As we move into the 21st century we are poised for even more exciting opportunities, innovations and ongoing total world-class quality. Here at Benchmade we employ a simple philosophy- 'Make it cool, make it solid, make it happen and definitely make it Benchmade.'