Buying a Hinderer

Leo Greer

Leo Greer

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2021
Messages
877
Hey y’all! I sold off some of my collection, and now I have a little room for a larger purchase or two.

Hinderer kinda caught my eye, so I was wondering if y’all had any tips or advice on where and what I should be looking at, or things I should know before making a purchase.

Thanks!
 
Keep your eyes on the exchange here. I think there’s an average of one or two XM-18s sold a day here. The 3.5” seems to be the most popular, but I prefer the 3”. You can get a variety of blade shapes and choil/no choil. If you don’t like it, you won’t have a problem reselling it.
 
Where is tough, because they were scarce before the pandemic and now I feel like they're even harder to obtain at retail. I recommend going through Hinderer's list of dealer sites and planning to check all of them as often as you're able, while also keeping an eye on the secondary market (the Exchange here, etc.). Sign up for dealers' mailing lists, too.

If you have a chance to snag one that doesn't have the exact show side scale or hardware you'd prefer, you can also spend a bit more to swap out the hardware after that fact. (Assuming the parts you want aren't also scarce, which unfortunately is often the case.) If you're flexible on blade shape, etc., that will also help.

My XM-18 3.5 is one of my favorite knives. I went hunting for it close enough to a 2021 drop that I was able to pick it up from DLT Trading. Now I'm hunting for an XM-24 and finding that quite challenging, as they're often considerably more than retail on the secondary market.

The current generation, gen6 with the Tri-Way pivot, is superb. I recommend looking for one of those, whatever size/style you land on.

You might also enjoy BF's ongoing Hinderer thread, which is a great place to ask questions and drool over knives:

Lets see some Hinderer action

It's been a while since we've had a Hinderer thread. Looking forward to seeing what you've got! New or old, beat up or nice and shiny!
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
Buy from a legit reseller. Honestly if you don’t know a lot about the brand and what to look for and the pricing etc, you could get taken buying on the used market. Try DLT or GP knives etc. You know what your getting is legit and you can research the site and learn
 
I assume you mean folders (Rick does great fixed blades, too).

These are all his folders:

i-csRn2x3-X3.jpg


All of them have fans around here. But I suggest to pick in which direction you want to go first ....

Roland.
 
Since the supply is relatively limited, when they drop it's over before you know it. One of the problems is there are folks who are getting in on a drop and buying multiple knives with the sole intention of hitting the secondary market w/inflated prices.

Project X dropped yesterday, they were gone in what seemed like minutes @ $500 a pop, expect to see a few on the secondary market in the $600 price range. Sometimes it's worth it to get scalped to get one, at least it's new and the chances of getting one through 'normal' channels are pretty slim.
 
Right you are XXL XXL , those are probably the scarcest XM out there.

I have one in my pocket right now, they are the grail of the XM-18 IMO, and yes I paid over retail for a beautiful NIB example on the secondary market and probably would again.
 
For my vague preference on blade shape and model, I really like the 18 with spear point, spanto, or the harpoon spanto, and then the full track. I’ll take a look at that thread…
 
Depending on the intended use(‘s).. I would highly recommend a slicer grind. I’ve had a a handful of hinderers from Spanto’s, spear points and Slicers ( 24’s and 18’s ). The BEST performance came from skinny slicers, or regular slicers ( choilless). I’m a little picky with my edge geometry, always knock the shoulders down ( Hinderer’s in M390 seem to tolerate 17 to 20 degrees per side well. I had a Gen 4 in S35VN down to 15 degrees without issue. Granted I’m only cutting cardboard and light plastic at worst ).

Here’s some eye candy 👍

68EC2996-5CDC-4C8B-A835-4E9C570FF540.jpegD9A64862-D00F-4246-A78B-004B476C090F.jpeg4879D27F-84B9-41F0-85DD-CE8724DB20E7.jpeg
 
ferider ferider Gave me some great advice on checking out the pre Tri-way ( Gen 4) XM-18 and I’m in love. Bought a Harpoon spanto, old school Teflon washers, built like a tank and ready to be used.
Loved it so much that when he taunted me with a pre Tri-way ( Gen 2) Eklipse I had to find one of those as well and it’s inbound right now.
 
Last edited:
Our friend luethge luethge has a great collection of xm-18s. I believe ferider ferider also has a great collection of RHK knives. I echo what everyone has said. I'd start with an xm-18 3.5" triway regular or skinny and go from there. As for fakes, I won't worry too much because not like other brands, fake Hinderers are very easy to tell.

I do want to suggest to the OP not to buy from flippers who sell xm-24 bowies (available Just a few days ago but sold out quickly) for a $200 markup.
 
Right now, it seems that some knives are in short supply. Have patience to hold on until one comes available at a reasonable price. I know it’s a difficult decision to make, but you’ll be better off if you don’t like the Hinderer. It’s easier to swallow a little loss and damn hard to eat $100+ in loses. Who knows, you may take a liking to something else on your hunt for a Hinderer. There’s a plethora of knives that’s available that may catch your eye.
Even here, the market for Hinderers have increased in price. They offer a wide selection of model, you’ll have to find the one that stands out over the others. Go for the latest generation since there’s more options to fiddle with it, if that’s your thing.
 
Last edited:
Leo Greer said:
For my vague preference on blade shape and model, I really like the 18 with spear point, spanto, or the harpoon spanto, and then the full track. I’ll take a look at that thread…
Click to expand...

That helps.

I would buy new if I were you, to avoid flipper prices - which are basically the norm these days. RKH releases a new batch of XMs about once a month, and if you get your email on a mailing list - say at DLT - you’ll be able to but one.

The XM18 skinny harpoon spanto is available new right now, if you PM me, I can let you know where.

Project X is basically - from a user perspective - a modified Fulltrack, that one you should be able to buy new soon as well.

Good luck,

Roland.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top