Hinderer XM-18 Review

[SSonnentag]

This is my honest review of the 3.5" XM-18. I have both a flipper and non-flipper in 3.5" with orange G-10. Both are version 3 knives.

• Aesthetics: Nicely proportioned - no complaints here
  
• Build Quality: Again, nothing to complain about. Everything fits tightly. All edges are nicely rounded and tolerances are close.
  
• Materials: Nothing but the best. Thick titanium framelock and a grippy G-10 scale.
  
• Finish: My copies both have a tumbled finish on both the frame and the blade. I love the finish as it doesn't show wear. It looks great to me.
  
• Blade: Great shape and Duratech 20CV steel is some of the best. The knives come with a really good edge on them as well.
  
• Clip: Probably the best clip I've ever used. It holds tightly to your pocket and doesn't stick out to snag on arms of chairs or doorways. As far as I'm concerned, it's the perfect pocket clip.
  
• Ergonomics: The knife is very comfortable to carry in a front pocket. I haven't tried rear pocket carry as I can't imagine sitting on a knife to be a very pleasant experience. With it's wide and thick frame, the knife is also comfortable to hold and use.
  
• Lock: The lock engages securely. Not too far, yet far enough to make the user feel comfortable that it will hold under heavy use. The lock does not grab or stick, so it disengages easily and allows the blade to close smoothly one handed.
  
• Thumbstud Opening: This is where my love for the XM-18 ends. When I use the thumbstud to open the blade, my fingers exert pressure on the lockbar on the side of the handle. This creates so much drag on the blade that opening is difficult. I've tried several different grips in an attempt to get the blade to open easily, but my natural grip always causes the lockbar to press against the blade,
  
• Flipper Opening: This has to be the absolute worst flipper in the world of flippers. I can flip the non-flipper XM-18 just about as easily as the flipper version. This knife is in dire need of an IKBS. To say that this knife requires some wrist action is a MASSIVE understatement. It opens entirely by wrist action. The flipper will only open the blade an inch or so if flipped like most other flippers. If you concentrate really hard and give the flipper your quickest flick the blade still only opens half way at best.

 

[Hornady]

Good review!
Nice and clear.

As for the remark of hard opening, give it some time.
I've read this complaint often here, and like Rick said himself, it needs some time to ''break in''.

Btw, love the orange handles!!
Damn, if I ever find a XM-18 for sale, I'm gonna be all over it..

Have fun with it!

Ps, I've sent you an email.

 

[13ninjas]

[*]Blade: Great shape and S30V steel is some of the best. The knives come with a really good edge on them as well.

S30V??? On a Gen I maybe. I'm pretty sure Rick didn't use S30V on the XM-18 Gen III. It was Duratech 20CV and just recently, CTS-XHP.

 

[brownshoe]

A flipper that "needs some time to 'break in''' is not functional, no matter who made the knife. A flipper should flip or the pivot assembly should be adjusted or redesigned.

 

[SSonnentag]

S30V??? On a Gen I maybe. I'm pretty sure Rick didn't use S30V on the XM-18 Gen III. It was Duratech 20CV and just recently, CTS-XHP.

Yep, they are Duratech 20CV. I didn't know what type of steel was used and did a quick Google search and must have pulled up the specs for an early version. Thanks for the info.

 

[BBQ BOY]

My Flipper XM-18 was tight too. I loosened the pivot screw just a touch and that helped a ton. It was still just a little stiff but after about 50 flips it hase brogan to flip much easier. Now I hardly have to apply much wrist flip at all.
I can over look that quality of the knife considering every other quality puts a smile on my face.

 

[Kaizen1]

I've owned two flippers in the past (Gen 2 & 3) and now own a Gen 3 non-flipper. I've also handled other XM-18s and I found the smoothness of the opening can vary with XM-18s. The non-flipper I own now is the smoothest of the 3 that I've owned. The two flippers I had before were somewhat difficult to open without wrist action. In all fairness, Rick makes it very clear that that's how it was designed. However, the xm-18 flipper that I played with (that I didn't own) flipped open very smoothly with no real effort. Also, if my non-flipper had a flipper, I'm sure it would open just as smoothly. All in all, if all the flipper needs is a little wrist action and the maker says that's how he designed the, I see no need to complain about the flipper function.

BTW, I carried my XM-18 in the back pocket for a few weeks, until my girlfriend pick pocketed it from me without my noticing it. Since then, it stays in the front pocket. One thing that I'm sure contributed to my girlfriend being able to successfully take it out of my back pocket was that I'm comfortable being in close proximity with her. But still, I couldn't feel anything when she grabbed it.

 

[the kid]

The flipper version is a really beautiful looking knife.

Sorry to read about the faults in the design.

 

[brownshoe]

Kaizen1 Per, "Rick makes it very clear that that's how it was designed."

Please help me out, I don't understand why. Seems counterintuitive to me to have a flipper that isn't smooth from the get go.

 

[Kaizen1]

Kaizen1 Per, "Rick makes it very clear that that's how it was designed."

Please help me out, I don't understand why. Seems counterintuitive to me to have a flipper that isn't smooth from the get go.

Any explanation on my part about why he would make it that way would be pure speculation. Maybe he prefers it that way. Maybe making it smoother is beyond his skill level (which I personally doubt). Who knows? But when a maker is as open as he has been about what to expect, buyers really have no one else to blame when that's what they get.

 

[ibewno3]

I have been Fortunate enough to own a bunch of XM-18's. On Most of them , I have adjusted the pivot screw , to make the flipping action easier. Once this was accomplished. The blade flew open with minimal pressure to the flipping lever, and no wrist action. It did take Me a little while to get the feel for flipping the XM-18 , But Once I got it , it was an effortless action from that point. Rick Makes a Great Rugged Knife.

 

[Socom Elite]

Kaizen1 Per, "Rick makes it very clear that that's how it was designed."

Please help me out, I don't understand why. Seems counterintuitive to me to have a flipper that isn't smooth from the get go.

I doubt it was "designed like that" more like ended up like that. I am sure it will break in over time, just don't feed me a line of BS

 

[MiG Angel]

I doubt it was "designed like that" more like ended up like that. I am sure it will break in over time, just don't feed me a line of BS

I dislikes the detent and flipping action so much on mine I had to send back to him to get the detent strengthened.

I like my flippers to have a really strong detent. Not just so they flip well but for safety reasons. I don't like my knife opening unless I want it to.