Are gen 3 xm-18's still considered custom?

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shooterpunk

Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Messages
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Im going to be getting an xm-18 3" this week and was just curious if they are considered custom. I know he outsources the blade grinding but hand sharpens them himself. So are they custom still?
 
What do you mean "outsources the blade grinding"? It was my understanding that all the XM-18s were made in his shop. I consider them midtech knives, as do many others. I could be off base here, but that was the impression I got.
 
They're considered production by Rick Hinderer as far as I know. Everything on the newest XM-18s, down to the screws, is made in-house. The only difference between the customs and productions is that the productions have the blades ground by a CNC. The handles on both are CNC'd as far as I know, so they're identical besides the blades.
 
What does he do ddifferently with a custom of his versus the xm18? By outsourced I mean I heard that he cuts out the blade then someone else grinds it and then he sharpens it
 
shooterpunk said:
Im going to be getting an xm-18 3" this week and was just curious if they are considered custom. I know he outsources the blade grinding but hand sharpens them himself. So are they custom still?
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They aren't custom knives.
 
As far as I know, the hand ground blade is the biggest difference between production and custom XM-18's. I have heard some people say that the customs get a little more had fitting as well.

I'm not sure if the machine ground blades are done in house or if they are outsourced. A lot of midtech knives have blades that get machine ground out of house. Either way, it's really not relevant - Rick makes a helluva knife, so you can't lose either way.
 
An XM-18 custom is only different in that the blade is completely hand ground by Rick as opposed to only putting the final edge on the Spanto blade. Otherwise they are the same. Mid-tech is a name that they coined for this. :)
 
Go over to the Hinderer sub-forum and look at the picture gallery thread, I'm sure you'll find that it's quite a difference. :)
 
I just meant it doesnt seem like a big difference between custom and production. So you can stop rolling your eyes
 
It is a huge difference. I spend hours on my grinding and only minutes on sharpening.

I know what you mean though, shooterpunk, it seems like a small difference. It would be like if someone said "oh that car just needs a new transmission, I even have one, just change it out." Easier said than done! If you've done a few it might be an afternoon but to be that quick you have to have a lot of experience. :D
 
shooterpunk said:
Im going to be getting an xm-18 3" this week and was just curious if they are considered custom. I know he outsources the blade grinding but hand sharpens them himself. So are they custom still?
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Check out one of the authorized dealers knifeart.com. They have one Gen 3 XM-18 full custom available in stock (as of this posting). In my opinion the Gen 3 custom S35VN blade steel is as much sought after as the Gen 1 and Gen 2 XM-18.
 
Seven1Niner said:
Check out one of the authorized dealers knifeart.com. They have one Gen 3 XM-18 full custom available in stock (as of this posting). In my opinion the Gen 3 custom S35VN blade steel is as much sought after as the Gen 1 and Gen 2 XM-18.
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I won't fault your taste in steel but I'll take Duratech 20CV and CTS-XHP everday and twice on Sunday....just sayin....my Sebenza is S35VN and it's nice. :)
 
the customs are a bit nicer as they are handground and feature a hollow grind (which I prefer to flat grind). they also feature a satin finish which is not available on the mid-techs. the spanto tip is also nicer, like Bob Lum's appleseed tip (although it is not convexed) - I guess the CNCs cannot reproduce the tip like that. The rest of the handle is the same for the mid-techs and customs.
 
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