I have kept mine of the bearings since my needs don't necessitate the strengths of washers. But I have had zero problems with the Teflon washers that my older Hinderers have. I think I might try to swap my Vintage Series XM-18 to PB since I think it's more appropriate.
Most on bearings, I put one on Teflon, it works great for thumb stud use, less so as flipper which is what I was after. I put the bronze ones in and I couldn't open it one handed, just too tight so I didn't even bother trying with any of the others. I've tried replacing them on a 3" but both teflon and bronze were too tight for me.
I would prefer Bronze washers if they are done right. Bearings seem to operate smoother on flippers for me.
I like both. Right now I have a mp-1 on Teflon and I love the way it closes. I also have a skinny 3.5 I just picked up and the bearings are definitely top notch and the gen 6 detent on mine is absolutely how a flipper detent should be imo.
I run an washers on my HalfTrack Gen.2 It is one of my best flippers and I don’t feel the need of the more « robust » pivot system on this size of knife i have had an XM-18 3.5 with the tri-way system and I have not been convinced It was intended to be a user but the action was good only on bearings and IMO not acceptable for the price I paid on the other systems Disclaimer: Please note that is only based on my experience on one particular model ! I got a second hand non-flipper XM-18 gen.4 on PB washers and it is great i think my conclusion would be that the pivot system is good, but I am not a fan of the flipper on the XM-18
I can echo. I also have a tri-way xm-18 that has great action with ball bearings but just so-so on PB washers. Maybe it needs more tuning IDK. Never tried teflon washers on it yet.
That is my experience with the XM-18 tri-way system, too. I had three, and they only flipped worth a damn if you installed bearings, which feels contrary to the idea of owning a Hinderer in the first place.
The PB washers work better on some models than others. I stopped fiddling and just leave the bearings in, which are fine for my uses currently. Overall, I do prefer perfectly tuned PB washers when possible.
