Help with Hinderer choice

Generous of him to do that but not unusual on here ...

you asked about the 3.5 XM compared to the ZT566 ... they are about as close in hand as any two knives I have with two major differences ...

the XM 3.5 s flipper tab the way it is built slants slightly back into my index finger which gives the feel of the handle being slightly shorter ... but virtually the same length ...

the second is the width of the knives ... the XM 3.5 if a wider knife ... and as far as cutting edge the ZT566 almost seems to have a slightly longer cutting edge as the choil on the XM 3.5 loses some cutting edge ...

but if you like the ZT566 ... I definately think you'll like the XM 3.5 far more than the XM 3
 
JJ_Colt45 said:
Generous of him to do that but not unusual on here ...

you asked about the 3.5 XM compared to the ZT566 ... they are about as close in hand as any two knives I have with two major differences ...

the XM 3.5 s flipper tab the way it is built slants slightly back into my index finger which gives the feel of the handle being slightly shorter ... but virtually the same length ...

the second is the width of the knives ... the XM 3.5 if a wider knife ... and as far as cutting edge the ZT566 almost seems to have a slightly longer cutting edge as the choil on the XM 3.5 loses some cutting edge ...

but if you like the ZT566 ... I definately think you'll like the XM 3.5 far more than the XM 3
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:thumbsup:
 
Finally got home last night at 10 open the box a whole day of anticipation was killing me. I like them both. The 3.5 is the best hand filling knife I've ever held feels like you could do anything with it. Very smooth the working finish looks real nice and both of his are extremely sharp. Going to have to have the 15 degrees on each side done like his it's wonderful. Where it's so thick you can feel it for sure in your pocket but I don't really care. I think I like my 561 better tho so don't think I'll get it.

The 3" on the other hand is perfect for the size to me. It's just the right size for being small. Flips great fits my hand great my finger fits great in to the choil. The thickness of the handle is good for me it's not too thin like I thought it would be. Both have super smooth actions and the smoothness and ease of disengaging the lockbar is a pleasure. Both are perfect for their roles. Might end up getting a 3.5" later.
 
Glad you found what you wanted and a :thumbsup: to Dale for being so generous ... most the community is ... but it's always good to see.
 
Glad you got to handle both. Hope that helped you make up your mind. I have to say that the 3" is my preferred carry for an XM-18 as well. At some point you may want to try to handle a Jurassic. I was very surprised when I played with one at Gear Barrel in FL a few weeks back. That knife just seems to melt right into my hand. It looks kinda odd but once I held it, it was a perfect fit for using.

It falls in between the 3" and 3.5" XM-18s like the MP-1 does, but it's not as square and blocky as the MP-1. It may actually be my favorite Hinderer.
 
dalefuller said:
Glad you got to handle both. Hope that helped you make up your mind. I have to say that the 3" is my preferred carry for an XM-18 as well. At some point you may want to try to handle a Jurassic. I was very surprised when I played with one at Gear Barrel in FL a few weeks back. That knife just seems to melt right into my hand. It looks kinda odd but once I held it, it was a perfect fit for using.

It falls in between the 3" and 3.5" XM-18s like the MP-1 does, but it's not as square and blocky as the MP-1. It may actually be my favorite Hinderer.
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All the hinderers are sweet feeling it seems. I'd like a larger half track it looks great and I love the blade shape. You may have fueled my hinderer addiction to were buying the ZT ones just won't due anymore
 
My XM-18s are back home safe and sound. Thanks for lookin' out for 'em. Hope they helped you make the right choice.

And thanks to OM for the kind words.
 
sXePhenomenal said:
All the hinderers are sweet feeling it seems. I'd like a larger half track it looks great and I love the blade shape. You may have fueled my hinderer addiction to were buying the ZT ones just won't due anymore
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Have you gotten to handle a Half Track? They feel much bigger in hand than you might expect.
 
image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg Full Ti working finish with WF screws as well bronze hardware on the lockside and bronze standoffs. Think I should add a bronze clip to it?
 
Surprised at how well the Ti side and everything goes together very high quality. Only thing is I can't get it centered. Even tho the action is good I ordered some bronze washers from eBay that's didn't fit at all dudes a liar. Where can I get some good ones?
 

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sXePhenomenal said:
Surprised at how well the Ti side and everything goes together very high quality. Only thing is I can't get it centered. Even tho the action is good I ordered some bronze washers from eBay that's didn't fit at all dudes a liar. Where can I get some good ones?
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For centering, first try opening your knife, hold the blade show-side down fully on the kitchen counter with the handle cantilevered off at a right angle. Holding the blade down hard (and carefully :eek:), push down firmly on the handle to shift the clip side scale forward to change the pivot axis. If this doesn't help, slightly loosen the body screws, repeat the above, and re-tighten. For more control, a bit of an explanation, and possibly better results see this thread re Centering a Benchmade Blade.

I know some guys like to replace Teflon washers with Phosphor Bronze, but I've never seen the need of it. My Hinderers, lionSTEELS, and other Teflon-washered knives run fine. I usually add a drop each side of liquid TriFlow to them and they're smooth as heck and fire out fine. RHKs are such hard-duty knives it would strike me as odd if Rick chose to use washers that might substandard in strength or performance.

There's no shortage of liars on that Big Auction site, though I've been pretty lucky so far in any dealings over there.

Finally, dalefuller dalefuller , is your Hinderer actually sharpened at 15 DPS? That knife appears to be a slicer grind, though it's hard to tell by the OP's pics, which would make it quite a bit thinner behind the edge and I guess make that pretty acute angle workable. My XM18 is a Spanto--a grind I'm not crazy about--and came sharpened at around 23 DPS. I re-profiled it to a polished 20 DPS on the EdgePro before I had my diamond hones. It took a long time, but came out great. I should think a 15 per side edge would take a week to re-profile on a Spanto and would pretty closely approximate the primary grind. ;)

Your new knife is really sweet looking, OP. :thumbsup: Hope you get some great use and enjoyment out of it.
 
Does look good. I might leave the clip like it is... makes the bronze already on there stand out a bit more. I can't help with the washer size. I like teflon so I don't change mine. Some folk on here have done that, though. Just need to wait for one of 'em to check in, or start another thread in general asking about the washer size for a 3" XM-18.

As far as centering goes, was it centered with the liner & G-10 scale? There are some You-Tube videos and some threads on BF about centering Hinderers. Those techniques sometimes work.
 
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