did Hinderer knives lose popularity?

Gideons said:
I do agree with you, using the word "liers" may of been a little extreme. However, from the multiple Hinderers I've owned and many others I've handled none have the week detent of the old hinderers. I do wonder if people are just making judgements of old hinderers they've held, or just repeating stuff they've heard from others with no personal experience. For example, a loved knife by many, the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 is an amazing knife, but it is not for me. So you could say I was "dissatisfied" with the knife. However, the difference is the people I was referring to hinderer may not be the knife for them, but there is no need to discuss a problem that was resolved years ago that is no longer relevant.
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Yeah- That happens quite a bit with every brand-
I have only handled 1 Hinderer and decided it wasn't for me..Beautifully built knife, but wrong for my uses. That doesn't mean I won't own one because my tastes may further evolve.
For the most part, we see complaints about every brand- Some of those complaints come from people who have never even handled one..Not sure how anyone can formulate an opinion based on pictures or reviews on Youtube or elsewhere..but that is the choice that they make.
That's OK- We all have our favorite brands and oftentimes, defending our position is something we like to do, but mostly it falls on deaf ears (or eyes in this case).
 
bhyde said:
Yeah- That happens quite a bit with every brand-
I have only handled 1 Hinderer and decided it wasn't for me..Beautifully built knife, but wrong for my uses. That doesn't mean I won't own one because my tastes may further evolve.
For the most part, we see complaints about every brand- Some of those complaints come from people who have never even handled one..Not sure how anyone can formulate an opinion based on pictures or reviews on Youtube or elsewhere..but that is the choice that they make.
That's OK- We all have our favorite brands and oftentimes, defending our position is something we like to do, but mostly it falls on deaf ears (or eyes in this case).
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Very true. It is disappointing but from my experience online I have seen many people form strong opinions on products without ever using or even holding them. I was just trying to explain that to the user here as I saw a surprising amount of negative comments toward Hinderer and that could affect what he purchases. I wouldn't want him to disregard or dismiss the opportunity to buy a hinderer based on questionable comments in this thread.
 
Gideons said:
I do agree with you, using the word "liers" may of been a little extreme. However, from the multiple Hinderers I've owned and many others I've handled none have the week detent of the old hinderers. I do wonder if people are just making judgements of old hinderers they've held, or just repeating stuff they've heard from others with no personal experience. For example, a loved knife by many, the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 is an amazing knife, but it is not for me. So you could say I was "dissatisfied" with the knife. However, the difference is the people I was referring to hinderer may not be the knife for them, but there is no need to discuss a problem that was resolved years ago that is no longer relevant. It would be like, since the Paramilitary 2 isn't for me - if on threads about the PM2 I would bring up issues that spyderco has had in the past with replicating and producing the pivot they use in it or other issues that have happened. Even though I never had an issues with the PM2 or spyderco has fixed the issues I keep bringing up. It may not be lying, but it is projecting your own bias or false information on a product.
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As long as there are Hinderers that have very weak detents, then the problem is not resolved and still exists. Granted, Hinderer has moved forward and has addressed the detent issue with the newer models, but has not resolved the issue with the older models. It's been said many times by different people that the Ranch will not alter the detent in any way. I highly doubt that's false information.
I have two earlier XM's with weak detent, so I'm not being bias at all, just factual. And yes, if you put it in your pocket, it will open up. This has forced me to carry with the clip which I'm not a big fan of. But the issue was evaded not resolved. I've given up on trying to use the flipper tab, but they flick with the thumb studs like there's no tomorrow.
How can your statement not be bias if you've never handled a Hinderer with a weak detent????
 
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Ajack60 said:
As long as there are Hinderers that have very weak detents, then the problem is not resolved and still exists. Granted, Hinderer has moved forward and has addressed the detent issue with the newer models, but has not resolved the issue with the older models. It's been said many times by different people that the Ranch will not alter the detent in any way. I highly doubt that's false information.
I have two earlier XM's with weak detent, so I'm not being bias at all, just factual. And yes, if you put it in your pocket, it will open up. This has forced me to carry with the clip which I'm not a big fan of. But the issue was evaded not resolved. I've given up on trying to use the flipper tab, but they flick with the thumb studs like there's no tomorrow.
How can your statement not be bias if you've never handled a Hinderer with a weak detent????
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Lol...so a company cannot improve existing design? I believe Spyderco calls this CQI. (Constant quality improvement).
 
BTW, did Chris ever regain control over manufacturing, or did he lose that entirely after the divorce? If not, I'd love to see him start producing again.
 
jalcon said:
ZT makes great knives, but the F&F on the XM-18 is miles above IMO.
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Never seen an issue with zt hinderers and I've taken apart and put back together more times than I can count. Miles above? Really? Things people say on forums (myself included lol).
 
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Ajack60 said:
As long as there are Hinderers that have very weak detents, then the problem is not resolved and still exists. Granted, Hinderer has moved forward and has addressed the detent issue with the newer models, but has not resolved the issue with the older models. It's been said many times by different people that the Ranch will not alter the detent in any way. I highly doubt that's false information.
I have two earlier XM's with weak detent, so I'm not being bias at all, just factual. And yes, if you put it in your pocket, it will open up. This has forced me to carry with the clip which I'm not a big fan of. But the issue was evaded not resolved. I've given up on trying to use the flipper tab, but they flick with the thumb studs like there's no tomorrow.
How can your statement not be bias if you've never handled a Hinderer with a weak detent????
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Few things... I did state that the old XM-18's had a weak detent and I clearly stated that the new XM-18's have good detent in my original post on this thread. It says on Rick Hinderer website they don't adjust detent, that is kind of a shitty thing not to do, but they don't. So if people said older generations had weak detent, that isn't biased - also once again... I said that in my original post. Also, about your bias comment - really? The definition of bias is "a particular tendency, trend, inclination, feeling, or opinion, especially one that is preconceived or unreasoned". It would be considered a bias if I handled a XM-18 with a weak detent and failed to report it or ignored those results. I cannot comment on something that I have not experienced, I have handle like I said MANY new production XM-18 all have had good detent. The people I know who have the newer generation XM-18 also have not had any issues with the detent. Learn what bias means.
 
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Hinderer makes a fine knife that will serve its owner for years to come.
But IMO, the selling of his designs to other manufacturers to produce thirty dollar knives dilutes the Hinderer brand.
It happens.
 
Mo2 said:
Never seen an issue with zt hinderers and I've taken apart and put back together more times than I can count. Miles above? Really? Things people say on forums (myself included lol).
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Well...not saying anything wrong with ZTs, just my opinion. ZTs are great knives too..i just think the real Hinderers feel a little more solid and are a cut above in fit and finish. Maybe "miles ahead" isn't the best choice of words.
 
So many have written that the newer hinderers have a better detent. Something that is quite important for me. From what production year did they make their XM-18s better?
 
I really like my XM-18. I liked the two I had before my current one. I don't care for any of RHK's other knife designs. The XM-18 is a very well designed -and made- knife. It is not just S35VN, Titanium & G10. The fastener's material & the way they are designed and used alone sets the XM above many other knives.
 
User17 said:
So many have written that the newer hinderers have a better detent. Something that is quite important for me. From what production year did they make their XM-18s better?
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It really started improving around the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015 when the Bowies and Skinners came out. Everything since then has had at a minimum a decent detent. There is still some variation but not like the days of ole. If you are ordering from a dealer just ask them to check the detent for you and let you know how strong it is. Most dealers do not mind providing this service. We get asked multiple times a week.
 
whitty said:
It really started improving around the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015 when the Bowies and Skinners came out. Everything since then has had at a minimum a decent detent. There is still some variation but not like the days of ole. If you are ordering from a dealer just ask them to check the detent for you and let you know how strong it is. Most dealers do not mind providing this service. We get asked multiple times a week.
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That are some good news, I want the bowie. Any difference between 2014-2017? I will ask the retailer when the knives he is selling were produced. Can the XM 18 be called a 'semi custom' or is it already a production knife?
 
User17 said:
That are some good news, I want the bowie. Any difference between 2014-2017? I will ask the retailer when the knives he is selling were produced. Can the XM 18 be called a 'semi custom' or is it already a production knife?
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Some call them a midtech but they are production with a lot of Hands on finish work. As for differences between 2014-2017? I honestly think so. It is hard to notice unless you are a Hinderer nut. I honestly just think Hinderer has everything dialed in right now to pretty much perfection. Their knives are flipping perfect, locking up early but tight, never any blade play and just seem to keep getting better. When they came out with the Half Track I declared it the best flipper Hinderer had ever done. Now the new 3" Spanto and Harpoon Tantos flip even better than the Half Tracks. They just seem to be very dialed in right now. It is a lot of fun for Hinderer nuts!
 
Why don't you see more of the xm 18's without a choil, a spearpoint slicer grind or spanto. I look around a lot and you hardly ever see them come up for sale and when you do poof their gone pretty quick, especially the blacked out versions.
 
d762nato said:
Why don't you see more of the xm 18's without a choil, a spearpoint slicer grind or spanto. I look around a lot and you hardly ever see them come up for sale and when you do poof their gone pretty quick, especially the blacked out versions.
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I wanted xm-18 3" with a slicer grind in 20CV DLC blade. I wish they did custom orders.
 
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