Hinderer XM-18 First Impressions

[evilgreg]

If you are under 25 years old, the Hinderer is not for you. You are young and want to flip your knife constantly. That is not what the XM-18 was designed for. There should be a minimum age limit for owning Sebenzas and Hinderers: it would cut down on the complaining.

Apparently I'm young at heart then; I'm in my early 40's and I didn't care much for the Sebenzas and Hinderers I bought or handled. Maybe now I can go back to getting carded in bars again, like when I was under 25

 

[bodog]

Apparently now the claim is that they are knives with flippers, they're not flippers. Whatever that is supposed to mean? The simple answer is, as has been said, they have weak detents. Firmer detent, more energy stored before the detent is over come, good flipping knife. The one major flaw in a great design but they are not going to change it and they don't want to hear about it, so take it or leave it.

....+2

I left it because I want to carry my knife in any position in any pocket without worrying about the blade opening on its own and cutting me open during a fight with a bad guy. What LEO would risk that? They told me to pretty much pound sand because they wanted it to be that easy to open (I'd turn the knife upside down and the blade would almost fall open without much movement). It was a good knife, but not a knife for the market he was hyping it to. Had the detent been better, I'd still have the knife, but they refused to fix it, so I sold it to someone who can appreciate it without the safety concerns. And I sold it pretty cheap for what the secondary market normally demands.

 

[PURPLEDC]

Apparently now the claim is that they are knives with flippers, they're not flippers. Whatever that is supposed to mean? The simple answer is, as has been said, they have weak detents. Firmer detent, more energy stored before the detent is over come, good flipping knife. The one major flaw in a great design but they are not going to change it and they don't want to hear about it, so take it or leave it.

I think Mr. Hinder has said in the past that the xm flippers are a compromise. If they made the detents on the xm super strong then you would have half the owners complaining they could not open it with the thumbstuds. Make them too weak and people cant flip them without wrist action. I think the big mistake people make is saying the xm isnt the way it is supposed to be. It is set up the way it is to appeal to the majority of people who buy it. Some people like the look of the flipper and its usefulness as a guard yet only open it with the thumb stud. Anyone with an xm that feels it doesnt have a proper detent can have it worked on to be made stronger. The downside is Rick frowns upon it and I think it voidst the warranty. Not that I ever really here of these knives needing warranty work to begin with. I personally dont like flippers that need wrist action to get them to open fully. But I understand that knives are designed specifically for my tastes.

 

[Kowan]

Adjusting the pivot very slightly to reach no blade play and easily open with the
thumb studs or flipper is how I fine tune my XMs.

 

[RDA]

Adjusting the pivot very slightly to reach no blade play and easily open with the
thumb studs or flipper is how I fine tune my XMs.

Agreed, they are pretty easily tuned. In addition, you can add additional tension via the lockbar which can make a difference.

 

[Kowan]

Agreed, they are pretty easily tuned. In addition, you can add additional tension via the lockbar which can make a difference.

Exactly. Although I haven't needed to adjust
the lockbar on mine.