Hinderer 3" spanto or recurve?

Dallas T

Dallas T

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wanting to pull trigger on one of the above grinds, I never had a hinderer so any who has experience with either or both please way in. Pros or cons to either?
 
I'd go for the recurve. Better cutting by a lot. And more attractive, IMO. But for 3" my favorite is definitely the Slicer.
 
If your sharpening skills are better than novice level, I say go for the recurve as well!
 
I'm no sharpening master but id say better than average. Most of my blades stay able to shave arm hair.
 
Recurves are not that big of a deal to sharpen you just have to get used to them. With that said I would have to go Spanto for me just because I like the look a little better. Either will be a great knife!
 
I'm a slicer fan though Irma is keeping a 3" spearpoint from me.
 
Ok thanks everyone for feedback! I went with blue recurve. Its a beautiful and well made piece, very sturdy and perfect edc size for me. However I need more opinions. It doesn't flip well at all, if u use studs its a rocket but with flipper it sucks. And won't even slice paper! Is this normal?
 
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Dallas T said:
Ok thanks everyone for feedback! I went with blue recurve. Its a beautiful and well made piece, very sturdy and perfect edc size for me. However I need more opinions. It doesn't flip well at all, if u use studs its a rocket but with flipper it sucks. And won't even slice paper! Is this normal?
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I'll say it's not uncommon. I went though a Hinderer phase, rather quickly, a couple years back.
 
ScooterG said:
I'll say it's not uncommon. I went though a Hinderer phase, rather quickly, a couple years back.
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Is this why ur experience was short lived? I'm just confused as to why once again my mini grips are out performing these knives?
 
My experiences included poor lock up, poor flipping (even with free dropping blades) and poor edge geometry for most EDC cutting tasks...too "over-built".
 
Dallas T said:
Ok thanks everyone for feedback! I went with blue recurve. Its a beautiful and well made piece, very sturdy and perfect edc size for me. However I need more opinions. It doesn't flip well at all, if u use studs its a rocket but with flipper it sucks. And won't even slice paper! Is this normal?
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Sometimes there's a break in period with Hinderers and the flipper action. Or this particular one may just have not as snappy of a detent.

A less than ideal edge from Hinderer is, sadly not unusual, but that can be fixed. Sending you a PM with more info.
 
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Dallas T said:
Is this why ur experience was short lived? I'm just confused as to why once again my mini grips are out performing these knives?
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The blue recuve you posted does not seem to have a flipper.Or is it not the one you actually bought?

Also, what do you mean by outperform, with what tasks? If you are talking about peeling apples, I am sure a $20 SAK will outperform your mini grip (and your hinderer of course).

There are a few reasons that I choose Hinderer (over others): the knives look beautiful, fit and finish is top notch, the knives are hefty and built like a tank. Cutting paper, opening mails, peeling fruits and such are not the reasons I bought them.
 
sharp_edge said:
The blue recuve you posted does not seem to have a flipper.Or is it not the one you actually bought?

Also, what do you mean by outperform, with what tasks? If you are talking about peeling apples, I am sure a $20 SAK will outperform your mini grip (and your hinderer of course).

There are a few reasons that I choose Hinderer (over others): the knives look beautiful, fit and finish is top notch, the knives are hefty and built like a tank. Cutting paper, opening mails, peeling fruits and such are not the reasons I bought them.
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You just can't see the flipper because the knife is half open. It's inside the handle in the pic.
 
sharp_edge said:
The blue recuve you posted does not seem to have a flipper.Or is it not the one you actually bought?

Also, what do you mean by outperform, with what tasks? If you are talking about peeling apples, I am sure a $20 SAK will outperform your mini grip (and your hinderer of course).

There are a few reasons that I choose Hinderer (over others): the knives look beautiful, fit and finish is top notch, the knives are hefty and built like a tank. Cutting paper, opening mails, peeling fruits and such are not the reasons I bought them.
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These knives cost about the same. Guess which one also opens the mail, peels fruit and slices your potatoes? :D

IMG_0073.JPG
 
And yes the flipper is hidden by handle just by where it is! Its a flipper and yes I bought this one it was on my leg while I took picture!
 
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Dallas T said:
Ok thanks everyone for feedback! I went with blue recurve. Its a beautiful and well made piece, very sturdy and perfect edc size for me. However I need more opinions. It doesn't flip well at all, if u use studs its a rocket but with flipper it sucks. And won't even slice paper! Is this normal?
Click to expand...


A few quick questions.

1. Did you buy it second hand or through a dealer?

2. It looks like stonewashed, I just want to make sure that is correct?

3. Was it new? This will most likely be answered by the 1st questions.

4. If you use both hands and try to pull the blade out is there much resistance from the detent?


The reason I ask these questions is because as of the past couple of years stonewashed blades have typically come out of the box flipping great. If it is working finish then it does have a bit of a break in period.

A few other things to note. They put a new guy on sharpening about a year ago. I personally think he does a fantastic job. He does test every blade on phone book paper before it goes out the door. We do get a few from time to time that have a little bit of a wired edge left on them. This happened a little more often with the 3" recurves. Typically 15 seconds on a strop and it was wicked sharp. I know some will say it should not be an issue on a $400+ knife but this is not something that is just limited to Hinderer. I have seen this on many knives from many makers in the 400+ range. This is one of the reasons we send a free strop out with knives in this price range. They work miracles on stuff like this with very little effort.

If you are getting little resistance when using 2 hands to pull the blade out then it is definitely a weak detent. If bought from a dealer I would send it back and ask for a replacement with a stronger detent. I don't think I have seen a weak detent on a Hinderer 3" in the past 2 years but just like anything that is made in any form of volume, I am sure there are some out there. If there is resistance then give it time. It will break in with in the next 7-14 days depending on how much you flip/use it.
 
Dallas T said:
By outperform I mean it cuts better, what a knife is for
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Well, that also depends on the materials to be cut. If they are thick cable wires, PVC pipes, and in rare cases car doors, the Hinderer could outperform the mini grip.

Dallas T said:
And yes the flipper is hidden by handle just by where it is! Its a flipper and yes I bought this one it was on my leg while I t
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Sorry - I overlooked the flipper. Unless the detent is too weak, try a firm and quick push/pull on the flipper tap to see if the blade flips better.
 
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