Gen 4 action?

kalan850

kalan850

Joined
Aug 6, 2015
Messages
709
Finally pulled the trigger on my first xm-18 3" love the ergonomics and the overall form but Is there any way to improve the action of the knife? It's on Teflon washers.

I can't get it flip without some wrist action and thumbstud open is the same. It's pretty rough on the fingers.
Anything I can do to adjust the detent?
Can the Teflon washers be swapped for copper bronze or bearings?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks.
 
I'd check if the pivot is too tight, however, the smaller and lighter blade, mixed with the generally weaker detents in the gen 4 meant they weren't the greatest flippers. You might be able to find some custom PB washers, however not sure if that would help the action and you can't swap teflon washers for bearings. The gen 4 don't flip nearly as well as the gen 6 due to the weaker detent and not having the "tri-way" pivot that can use bearings.
 
With Gen 4, you might have better luck preloading the flipper. Build up some pressure on it with your finger before push-buttoning it, and you shouldn't need any wrist.
 
Switch to pb washers with a little nano oil and break it in. I sold my smaller hinderer blades in older gen but kept my older xm24. It is very nice and smooth. Go to center blade best u can and back off pivot approximately quarter turn worked for me. Just need to find the sweet spot.
 
Most of my Gen 4 (all 3.5) flip _very_ well on PB washers. A couple I never was able to get right, event after increasing lock-bar pressure. It has to do with the detent ball/hole fit. Note that I had one Gen 4 XM-18 3.5 that had a visibly flattened detent ball, that happens too.

So it depends on your knife.
 
Update: well as long as I have the knife downward gravity works with to action to allow it to come open without wrist movement. Also reverse flick seems to work without fail even holding the knife high. Thanks everyone
 
Getting the detent just right for Gen 4s was an on/off affair for Hinderer compared to today's Gen 6s. However all is not lost. After the release of Gen 6, a lot of Gen 4s hit the resale market at substantially reduced prices, with many owners claiming a soft detent as an issue. That became a boon for modders who knew how to fix the issue. Check out the video below. I used his method (enlarging the detent hole) on my Gen 4 (as well as on a ZT and a Bestech) with great success. Key is to work incrementally. Do just a touch, reassemble and test. If more is needed disassemble and repeat the process.

He also covers adjusting the detent ball in great detail. I haven't had to do this.


I also switched to polished PB washers. By polish I don't mean simply using a polishing compound. I polish by starting with an 800 or 1000 grit stone or lapping film, then work up the grit progression to something like 1200. Bronze is soft so it only takes a couple minutes per washer.
 
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