A top-quality hunting knife is your best friend, closest companion, and most trusted ally when it comes to the tough jobs. It needs to be durable, light in weight, has an exceptionally strong blade, and not only sharp, but easy to keep sharpened.

The Benchmade Griptillian 551 Knife can fulfill all of these requirements, do it easily, and look good at the same time. You’ll keep finding new ways to use it, whether it’s your first or your hundredth hunting expedition. Let's have a look at why this is considered one of the most expensive hunting knife.

The Benchmade Griptilian is a classic all-around EDC knife, which has a nice 3 ½” blade, a lightweight and grippable handle with an axis lock, and the ability to cut so many things during your outing. It has been around since 2011 and is comparable to the Benchmade Griptillian 556, as well as the Mini Griptillian. This one is the full-size model.

You can get it in four colors, including black, olive, orange, or sand. There are four blade styles: plain edge/coated finish, plain edge/satin finish, serrated edge/coated finish, or serrated edge/satin finish, with minor price fluctuations depending on how you prefer the steel.

Who is this Product for?

This Benchmade Griptillian knife is for both the novice and experienced knife user alike. Knife “vets” keep coming back to this particular style, since the blade is stout and won’t chip as much, it’s light, it has a solid handle, and it’s versatile enough for multiple situations.

Hunters will definitely appreciate this knife, since the 154CM blade ensures it’s super sharp for gutting and disassembling. Even when covered in blood, the handle has enough texture to prevent slippage.

Its best performance is shown when the hide is thick, necessitating deep cuts. It doesn’t have a fine scalpel blade, but for everything else, it delivers a high performance with hide after hide.

This is a top-quality knife, and the price range reflects that. But it still retains its sharp edge, and it is light enough for extended hunting trips in the wilderness. It delivers when it comes to either field or home animal processing and doing it quickly.

What’s Included?

As you can see in the video, the Benchmade Griptillian 551 comes with a standard blue box. It has a fabric bag as well. There is a clip right on the handle, so you can slide it into your pocket and it fits. Other than that, this knife doesn’t come with other accessories, like a sharpening stone or a hard case.

Overview of Features

When you first look at the Benchmade Griptillian 551, you’ll see a gently curved, lightweight, and unusually strong knife. It could be an EDC or a specialty hunting knife. In size, the blade is about 3.5” long, the overall length is just over 8”, and the weight is 3.8 ounces. It’s a full-size knife. You can change the axis lock right at the base of the blade in order to flip the knife shut.

The blade itself is made of 154CM stainless steel, which is high quality. It has a classic drop point design with a nice swedge on the top and a reinforced tip. That makes it great for thrust cuts and cutting thick materials.

It has a high hollow grind for slicing. It’s also easy to sharpen and doesn’t rust or corrode easily. There is a partially serrated version, where the serration is about 1 ¼” long. The coating is not painted on. It does tend to get scratched.

The blade sits sturdily in the handle. The axis lock is an excellent feature to enable the blade to swing downwards. It doesn’t accidentally swing entirely closed, which is a safety feature and reduces the possibilities of hand cuts.

The handle is made from FRN (fiberglass reinforced nylon). It’s very light in weight. However, the material is very strong. There’s a rougher texture on the handle for gripability. It doesn’t have a full liner, and the inner liner is tapered, reducing the weight.

The handle has gimping on the top, and it’s sharper on the black coated version. There’s a good thumb ramp to hold your thumb in place.

How to Use This Knife

You’ll want to practice flipping this knife open with one hand. This is where the pocket clip comes in handy. When holding the knife vertically, you brace your fingers against it to use your thumb to flip open the blade.

Alternative Product

Benchmade - Mini Griptilian 556 Knife, Drop-Point. Based on one of the key downsides, which would be price, you can have all the excellent features of the Benchmade Griptillian – in a smaller size.

The Mini is a few dollars less but doesn’t sacrifice in quality. It’s also even lighter in weight and can be used as your go-to knife on any wilderness backpack trip since it’s so small. It’s also an excellent overall knife.

Conclusion

When a knife is not just made, but crafted, that’s when you know you have an exceptional tool. This Benchmade Griptillian has been around for years, and that’s because customers keep coming back to it.

It’s made in the US and built to last. If you're looking for the most expensive hunting knife, you won’t regret owning this one, especially if you prefer hunting.