Folding knife ”proper use”

M

masu

Joined
May 25, 2019
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I ordered a Hinderer XM-18 3.5” to be my EDC. I consider it to be a ”heavy duty” folder. In the Hinderer warranty info it says that it’s valid ”when maintained and used properly” but there is no definition of ”proper”.

I tried to look for videos of people testing the knife but mostly found different kind of reviews where the knives seemed mostly unused.

Can I for example use the knife for light wood work on camp fires (to chop small wood by hitting with another wood)? Or is it more like cutting cords and whittling?

Thanks!
 
Proper use is using it to cut and slice stuff. Not personally a fan of batonning with a folder, no matter how overbuilt it might be, I have better tools for that. In an actual emergency, sure, no problem. But for routine heavy-duty chores, I prefer a fixed blade. But, your money, your knife. If you find yourself in need of warranty work, you'll likely find that the company's definition of proper use is somewhat different from your own.
 
You can whittle and make fire sticks all you want but if you plan on batoning wood I would buy a $20 dollar fixed blade camp knife for that. Sure a Hinderer XM-18 could take it for a while but in the end you would be putting un needed stresses on the pivot bolt and stop pin.
 
Proper use is don’t break it. My delica was used to baton wood. Hammered it through steel braid brake hose lots of concrete bags. Throwing knife. Pry bar. Only times it broke were use as a screwdriver or nail puller. reground the tip a few times. So avoid heavy tip use and you shouldn’t break a hinderer
 
Just use it as a folding knife should be used (to cut stuff) and you should be fine.

What you’re talking about are tasks much better suited to fixed blades. Carry your folder for cutting things and your fixed blade for chopping and batonning.
 
If there is a better tool for the task than your pocket knife, then using it for that task would probably not be proper. Splitting wood, for example, would be better accomplished with an axe, maul or froe.
 
Neither you nor the knife will be happy using it to baton wood. There are better tools for that.
Basically use it for cutting, but I doubt light prying will void the warranty. It is a strong tool, but not indestructible.
They likely will cover most things under the warranty(and most things are not going to break them), but need to put a disclaimer or some internet jerk will try to find a way to break it at their cost.
Bottom line they decide after you move from cutting.
 
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If it seems like a bad idea, it is. If it seems like possibly a bad idea, it is. If it requires any force beyond what you can supply with one hand, it's a bad idea. If it is a cutting (not chopping) task, it's OK.

Zieg
 
AntDog said:
Just use it as a folding knife should be used (to cut stuff) and you should be fine.

What you’re talking about are tasks much better suited to fixed blades. Carry your folder for cutting things and your fixed blade for chopping and batonning.
Click to expand...
^Exactly
 
Proper use = Common Sense.
If you need a chopper, get a chopper.
If you need a hatchet, get a hatchet.
If you need an axe, get an axe.
If you need a brain.......good luck.
 
To say not to pry with a XM-18 is funny it was clearly designed to be able to pry. People scream about it all they want but you can tell it was designed to do it
 
Thank you for all the answers. This is the kind of videos I was looking for:


Someone rich or well sponsored should make a standard test and put different folders through it. I bet it would be a popular channel ;).

I had a nice looking folder once, I didn’t have anything else with me and had to do a fire ”unplanned”. Very light chopping broke the knife but at least I still got the fire started. Hoping XM-18 would have survived. Well, anyways, I’ll try to avoid that and rather use a fixed blade.
 
Warranties are there to take care of defects that are overlooked. They are not there as a ticket to beating the hell our of your knife and expecting the manufacturer or maker to fix it or replace it on the chance you break it. If you break a knife using it "improperly", be responsible and accept that you made a mistake and buy a new knife.

Just remember "improper use" goes both ways..... manufacturer and owner/user. It is meant to be subjective.
 
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