Hinderer XM-18 passaround (Picture heavy)

amroc

amroc

Joined
Jan 4, 2009
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433
I'm so glad I got to be part of this pass around. Seriously, it was a great knife that I now want to own...

Now to the review!

UNBOXING!

Sitting on my cutting board waiting for me to get home from a final. My little brother/roommate had to sign for it.
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I pulled out my Korth Stinger that was sitting my my pocket to get to the XM-18.
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Wonder whats in here...? :D
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The hell?? I thought I was getting an XM-18
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OH! There it is!
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Now, review.

Lockup: Solid. If this knife is as old as I'm lead to believe (first gen?), then it has an amazing lockup still for being a Ti frame. It wasn't difficult to open or close for me, aside from just getting the thumb placement right (although I do close liners and frames with my index or middle fingers sometimes, but I'm weird.) My little brother, who's a lefty, had trouble opening and closing this knife. He carries a BM 551 and has no issues with that, but he doesn't have the experience with knives that I have, so that might be part of it.
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With my Gayle Bradley
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(Continued...)
 
Fit and Finish: Overall, great! The only true issue I had with it was that the blade rubbed the G10 scale when closed. Not an issue for a work/user knife IMO, but still something that could bug someone. I did read somewhere on here that this might be due to the wear differences between G10 and Ti, but who knows? Scale was amazingly grippy without being over done. I really like Hinderer's grip pattern. not a checker, but straight up and down lines, with waving up and down depths. Gives it a slight optical illusion appearance, too.
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Size: I totally forgot to get a picture next to ruler, but I did get it next to my Korth and my Gayle Bradley. The knife is bigger, but it's a GREAT size for me. I like to carry big tanks of knives and this one fit the bill. It wasn't too big like a Strider AR can be, but it wasn't to skinny like a BM710 can be (to me.)
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Clip: I liked the clip. Not overdone, not too small either. I really like how you're given the option of tip up or down, with a little piece to cover the empty hole. Helps prevent any grit, grime, sand, dirt, etc, from getting into it if you're using this knife in a hostile environment.
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And... I forgot to take pictures of it in hand.

Ergos: This knife is AMAZING in the hand. The choil is placed well for my hand, and makes it feel more secure. I did notice that on the butt of the handle, it has the slightly Strider ish feel with the straight part, heavily jimped. (The top back part of the butt, kinda seen when the knife is in my hand up top) The handle also is a great thickness for the knife. With as thick as the blade is, you can run into issues with making the knife just too fat. This isn't an issue here at all.

Blade: With either S30V or ?20CV? steel, this held a great edge. It was convexed before the passaround, and I only had to lightly strop it when I first opened the package. It saw a good amount of use slicing cardboard and other random crap. It also saw some use cutting fishing line when I got my hook caught on a stupid log. :mad: The convexing and the steel held up great.
The Spanto blade was an interesting design. It had a swedge on the back, but then went back to a full thickness near the tip as part of the Tanto. The regular part of the blade was hallow ground, and provided a great cutting edge. I used it to open envelopes and didn't have any issues. With the blade as thick as it is, I couldn't be afraid to use it HARD. I want to go into law enforcement or the Military and I could see myself using this knife over a Strider SmF that I've wanted for that use.

Other:
The lanyard hole is cool, very Hinderer, but kinda useless for me. It's too low on the handle. My only knife with a lanyard is my CQC-13, and that's because the lanyard hole is above the clip, not beside, or below.

The pivot seemed to be pretty beefy, no play in it at all. I just wish that beefy pivots could be adjusted without a spanner.

There was a random pin on the inside that looked like it stopped the blade when it closed, but that's all it did. It didn't go all the way across, and just kinda looked out of place and weird to me.


Overall Rating
I'd buy one. I doubt I'd go for a first gen, collectors, or hand made, but I'd buy an XM-18 to use. It'd be a great knife for someone who likes to be able to slice through cardboard and other finer items, while still being able to stab into a car door. I wouldn't pay the aftermarket price for it either. The normal Hinderer price is a great point for it.

Thanks for reading!
 
Nice review being lefthanded i was wondering also about the xm-18 being lefthander friendly or not. Or just waiting for Hinderer to release a true lefty model. Thanks, :thumbup:
 
That looks familiar! I also had a blast carrying this knife for a week. The lockup looks just where it was when it left me a couple months ago.
 
good review, thanks for the pictures :thumbup:
the half pin is the stop pin for the blade when closing up.
 
How is the cutting performance compared to the GB? I know that is an unfair comparison but in particular I'm referring to the hollow ground portion of the blade. I realize that because it's so thick it will eventually bind up when cutting through certain materials. I own an SnG and even after changing the angle of the edge it still is pretty crappy at slicing... I'm just wondering if the XM-18 is another overbuilt knife that doesn't cut well.
 
Nice review and pic's. The newer XM-18's have better thumb studs IMO. I also agree with MoreToasties, that Korth clip is sweet.:thumbup:
 
The hallow grind is not as amazing of a slicer as the Gayle Bradley, but it does slice well. I cut a ton of cardboard with the XM-18 and it wasn't that bad. It cut better than others I've used. If it's sharp, it'll sail through comparable to a BM 710 IMO. I really like how it works, and I'd love to own one.

I got that clip added for free when I sent the knife to the Lala brothers in Brazil for some repairs. It's hand carved by Rudy Lala and is signed on the shoulder of the clip above the screws. It was their way of saying sorry about the minor repair is my guess.

Thanks!
 
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Thanks man, that's kind of info I was looking for. While, I have a weakness for "hard-use" knives, I've been finding in real world use and (sometimes) tactical applications that a sharp slicer is best... even if it means giving up some strength.
 
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