Best Flipper options with 2.75-3.5" blades

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EDC4ME

Joined
Apr 17, 2011
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For the last few years I've carried a small Boker Trance Flipper as my EDC beater knife. They are cheap enough that I have several and they get a lot of hard use. I've found that the size and action is great but I'd like to step it up a notch for my defensive knife. In my research I found the XM-18 and will certainly be buying one in the future or perhaps the ZT Hinderer flipper model whenever it becomes available. However, in the mean time I'd like a quality flipper to supplement my beater knives whose primary use would be personal defense. I'm open to everything from full custom jobs, semi custom, or high quality production. I currently have a ZT0700 flipper, and CRKT m16 flipper, but I keep looking while I wait for the perfect Hinderer to pop up for sale somewhere. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
 
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What's wrong with your ZT? It should perform well as a last ditch SD knife.

I think that if you go down the road of looking for a "best" of anything, you will be sorely disappointed after you spend all your money. No such thing as a "best", what's best for me isn't for you, and will always be dependent on situation, application and your personal knowledge base.
 
Galyean Pro Series Turbulence or Small Lahar(if you can find a large version, even better:thumbup:), just about anything from R.J. Martin, Nirk Tighe if you want to be flashy. I believe there are other makers as well, but generally anything with a flipper, titanium framelock, and IKBS is good. Though you haven't mentioned a price range, so pretty much everything I suggested is $400+.

As for an XM-18, I would look for one in the $500-$550 price range. Might also want to ask the seller about the detent. Depending on the detent strength, flipping can either be easy or frustrating. Also not safe to carry tip up with a weak detent.
 
Any reason for the 3.5 inch blade length cap? A lot of "tactical" knives are larger.
 
"Tactical"? "Self Defense"? I always crack up at people who buy and carry knives daydreaming of the day they'll fillet bad guys with it like Steven Seagal. Good luck opening your envelopes with your knives.
 
That's a pretty small blade specification for what you want it for . If you can, Get a coldsteel spartan or g10 espada and call it a night. I'm sure the size of them alone would be a deterrent from actually having to use them.
 
EDC4ME said:
For the last few years I've carried a small Boker Trance Flipper as my EDC beater knife. They are cheap enough that I have several and they get a lot of hard use. I've found that the size and action is great but I'd like to step it up a notch for my defensive knife. In my research I found the XM-18 and will certainly be buying one in the future or perhaps the ZT Hinderer flipper model whenever it becomes available. However, in the mean time I'd like a quality flipper to supplement my beater knives whose primary use would be personal defense. I'm open to everything from full custom jobs, semi custom, or high quality production. I currently have a ZT0700 flipper, and CRKT m16 flipper, but I keep looking while I wait for the perfect Hinderer to pop up for sale somewhere. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
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Oh no, not again. This is a bad idea. Defense against what or whom precisely? Everytime someone insinuates that act, it is followed by a total lack of perspective. You want self defense, common sense will be more useful for you than any knife or sword could ever be.

What exactly do you consider "the perfect Hinderer"? There is no such thing.
 
RevDevil said:


Oh no, not again. This is a bad idea. Defense against what or whom precisely? Everytime someone insinuates that act, it is followed by a total lack of perspective. You want self defense, common sense will be more useful for you than any knife or sword could ever be.

What exactly do you consider "the perfect Hinderer"? There is no such thing.
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Ah, but common sense is the rarest sense of them all;). I also missed the bit where he brought up personal defense. Is there any particular reason why one would want a $600+ knife(on the secondary market) for that purpose over a gun?
 
"What's wrong with your ZT? It should perform well as a last ditch SD knife."
Frankly almost nothing, I really love the 0700. Its an awesome knife, but my friend at the DA's office was concerned a jury would think it was "vicious looking" if god forbid I ever had to use it. From his experience "sheeple perception" can swing a case.

"you haven't mentioned a price range" anything up to about $600. And thanks for the great advice on the Hinderer.

Any reason for the 3.5 inch blade length cap? A lot of "tactical" knives are larger.
I travel a lot and it seems 3.5 is the average length limitation I encounter. Also, much bigger and weight and size become an issue for me.

"Tactical"? "Self Defense"? I always crack up at people who buy and carry knives daydreaming of the day they'll fillet bad guys with it like Steven Seagal. Good luck opening your envelopes with your knives.
I know right :) I pray that I only use my knives and my guns for mundane tasks and recreation. Unfortunately, as a CCW holder I did have an experience where I believe having a gun saved my life. I have carried whenever I was legally allowed to ever since. Yet , I'm in areas where I can't carry a gun a lot, and having seen what knives are capable of I know its a highly viable self defense tool and I am working to get more training on its use. This has been expedited along with my hunt for an EDC flipper after a friend was viciously attacked (they continued to beat him after he had lost consciousness)by three men several blocks from my home... So while I agree that "tactical" has become more of a style than a reality for most products, I know many people who have used knives to defend themselves both on the street and in the sandbox. That being said, the one thing I never leave the house with is a good OC device which is probably the one self defense tool everyone should carry.

What exactly do you consider "the perfect Hinderer"? There is no such thing.
Price, blade profile, finish. Since who knows how long the wait would be if I could even get an order in, I'm just looking for someone selling what I would order at a reasonable price.
 
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I have a 3" xm-18 that I use all the time for tactical sandwich cutting (does it bother anyone else when the guy doesn't cut your sub all the way through and you pick up half and the other half comes up as well and falls apart :( :mad:) and defensive peanut butter spreading! :D
 
Most of us realize that the knives in our pockets are going to be used to cut string and open boxes, and maybe do some whittling on occasion. The likelihood that our knives will be used to de-animate Tangoes is so slender that it is laughable.

Yes, it is better to have a knife handy for any emergency, but we know that it is merely another tool. Also, most people don't have a clue about how to deploy and use a knife for any SD situation yet they insist on carrying some huge mofo of a "tactical" knife.

Lastly, not to make fun of you, but this gets posted by somebody a couple times a week here.
 
I don't think that the Hinderer/Zero Tolerance options you listed are going to be sufficient if you're going to be needing your knife to perform rigorous tactical self-defense tasks. For a true extreme tactical self defense knife, you're going to need something that has a black coated, partially serrated tanto blade with lots of writing all over it. Preferably, it should also feature an assisted opening mechanism for optimum tactical deployment speed and have an eighteen inch blade or greater for maximum reach and piercing capability.
 
Dorito Monk said:
I don't think that the Hinderer/Zero Tolerance options you listed are going to be sufficient if you're going to be needing your knife to perform rigorous tactical self-defense tasks. For a true extreme tactical self defense knife, you're going to need something that has a black coated, partially serrated tanto blade with lots of writing all over it. Preferably, it should also feature an assisted opening mechanism for optimum tactical deployment speed and have an eighteen inch blade or greater for maximum reach and piercing capability.
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But you missed working in the word "professional"... :D
 
Im quite "tierd" of hearing these people who constantly post about the "tactical word usage" in peoples posts... if you find it funny, laugh, and move on... we dont need to waste our time reading ur dumb post, about your opinion of why not to carry a tactical knife, this thread is of the maker of it, and in my own opinion the only replys he should be getting are of valuable information to help him decide on a knife... if you guys realized ur not much better then trolls..

I mentioned that im sick of hearing people laugh about carrying tactical blades, because if you think about it, u watch the news on TV, and see a brutal attack on a man/woman sometimes for no purpose at all (like last night when i watched tv) 2 teens in a MCdonals brutally attacked a trans-gender for being in the womens bathroom.. they beat her/him so badly that they are facing a felony charge.. as the victom was having siezures .... now whether it be a knife or a can of OC... it is my opinion every1 have something on them to protect themselves...

btw, i have had a knife pulled on me TWICE in my life... i dont live in a bad neighborhood, but it seems no matter where u go trouble will find u... now i dont know wheather the person/s had any real intent on stabbing me, i didn't want to find out, one step back while i deployed my Mchenry and williams 710 BM, well both times they fled.. and no i didn't run after them like rambo, and yes i did have to go home and change my underwear :).. but i rather say that now then say i wish i could have helped myself somehow .... so all of u that think this "tactical" carry is a joke.. i hope nothing ever does happen to u!, but if it does.. i bet ur remember reading this post then ;)..

to the dude who created this thread, keep ur search going!... dont let em put ya down, and sorry but i had to try to stop at least some of these trolls from constantly saying tactical blades aren't worth carrying...trust me I KNOW!
 
edcrefiner said:
Why is it so ridiculous to carry a knife as a self defense tool?
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The knife designer Al Mar once said something about how even a "combat knife" is 90% utility. Chances are, you aren't going to be using your knife for self defense.

I'm not sure about 3.5 inch blade lengths, where do you see that? If you want a good flipper, the ZT 0200 and Böker Applegate Fairbairn models are good, but they have 4 inch blades.
 
sgt244 said:
Im quite "tierd" of hearing these people who constantly post about the "tactical word usage" in peoples posts... if you find it funny, laugh, and move on... we dont need to waste our time reading ur dumb post, about your opinion of why not to carry a tactical knife, this thread is of the maker of it, and in my own opinion the only replys he should be getting are of valuable information to help him decide on a knife... if you guys realized ur not much better then trolls..

I mentioned that im sick of hearing people laugh about carrying tactical blades, because if you think about it, u watch the news on TV, and see a brutal attack on a man/woman sometimes for no purpose at all (like last night when i watched tv) 2 teens in a MCdonals brutally attacked a trans-gender for being in the womens bathroom.. they beat her/him so badly that they are facing a felony charge.. as the victom was having siezures .... now whether it be a knife or a can of OC... it is my opinion every1 have something on them to protect themselves...

btw, i have had a knife pulled on me TWICE in my life... i dont live in a bad neighborhood, but it seems no matter where u go trouble will find u... now i dont know wheather the person/s had any real intent on stabbing me, i didn't want to find out, one step back while i deployed my Mchenry and williams 710 BM, well both times they fled.. and no i didn't run after them like rambo, and yes i did have to go home and change my underwear :).. but i rather say that now then say i wish i could have helped myself somehow .... so all of u that think this "tactical" carry is a joke.. i hope nothing ever does happen to u!, but if it does.. i bet ur remember reading this post then ;)..

to the dude who created this thread, keep ur search going!... dont let em put ya down, and sorry but i had to try to stop at least some of these trolls from constantly saying tactical blades aren't worth carrying...trust me I KNOW!
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I don't think anyone really meant to be a dick. It's just that when you really think about it, ANY knife can be used to defend yourself with(perhaps with the exception of a SAK or some other two-handed opening knife), and that "tactical" is just a word to get the mall ninjas all excited so that they will spend money on your product. Statistically speaking, I believe the kitchen knife is among the most commonly used in knife assaults.

Given the current state of the economy, I find myself carrying a knife with me even outside of work(CCW is not allowed). Though frankly I too pray I won't have to use it($200+ price tag of the knife aside, I'd be treated to a grilled cheese sammich).
 
I live in one of the two wonderful states that do not allow CCW, so my knife is my equalizer. I also live in a very red county, so I don't anticipate any problems.
 
is the XM-18 perfect for tactical? personally I'm not quite sure about that. The XM-18 other than being 3.5" max is skew towards a thicker construct which may not be your preference in so-called tactical situations. The knife design is technically aiming to work on heavier duties IMO. Nonetheless, XM-18 like ANY OTHER knives will have no problem performing tactical/combat/whatever you'd like to call it tasks.

I also have no problem with assisted opening also and my ZT350 does get carried often. IMO it does improve the flipping action for some knives, and for others its just satisfying playing with it when I'm bored. No, I don't have tactical in mind when I carry it, but if needed I don't see why others should be downplayed for doing.

Bottomline: carry what you like, don't be discouraged for other's opinion. XM-18 IMO might not be ideal if you wish it to exceed in all tactical properties (I assume you wish it to: low profile, good at penetration, slices well, coated blade....etc) BUT what you gain is the ability to have a more EDC friendly knife that you can use on other task even tho this might lead to the other concern of if the XM-18 thick blade is actually ideal for EDC tasks.
 
I'd take a look at Cold Steels line of knives with the TRI-AD lock. There fast, sharp out of the box, and you could easily find one with that "deterrence" look. I used to carry a Recon 1, but i now carry a Kershaw Skyline (in damascus :D). Its a great small, light knife, and in damascus really sharp. However id say its greatest downfall is the liner lock. Hope you find what your looking for!
 
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