Recommendation? Sliciest Hinderer Blade Shape

Berickson47

Berickson47

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What is the sliciest Hinderer XM-18 blade shape? I’ve owned a spanto and a spear point and they didn’t cut very well. I know the obvious answer is the slicer grind, but are new shapes like the wharncliffe and sheepsfoot better? Should I just go with the new Firetac since it’s thinner all the way around. Thanks for the info!
 
Honestly, I would bet that the slicer grind is still the most slicy of the bunch, as it's the only one that becomes essentially a full flat grind. They're all fairly thick blades and they all are ground thick behind the edge, so I don't think there's anything Hinderer can do otherwise to make his other shapes outcut the one that's got more acute primary bevel geometry.

The firetac is only 12.5% thinner in blade stock and doesn't look to have a significantly more acute grind, based on the primary bevel height up the side of the blade. I wouldn't bet on it being a better cutter than a slicer grind XM-18.
 
Hinderer knives can cut well enough, but they really aren't slicers-pretty thick blade stock. I guess you can try to pick the best of the bunch and of the 3 I have tried , slicer, spanto and spearpoint I would pick slicer, but it really isn't what I think of as a slicer.
Even the customs I have owed which have a thinner hollow grind really don't qualify as slicers. Eventually you have significant stock to plow through.
 
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The xm’s are wonderful knives for what they are built for. But what they are built for isn’t slicing. If you want a one tool to do it all, the slicer will be it. But, if you really need a slicey knife and a hard use folder, then you might consider carrying two knives. Something like a traditional style folder with a nice thin ground blade would outslice the best hinderer slicer by a large margin. I have succumbed to carrying 2 knives for this same reason (a hinderer is sometimes 1). I have up on using a hinderer as a onion, tater and cardboard slicer a long time ago.
 
Just bought a slicer of the exchange and it my favorite, had spantos and sold cause they wouldn’t cut Jack! Slicer is still quite thick but can be reprofiled to cut well. They’re just very low degree edges from factory.
 
I don't know, I've had slicers, spantos and spear points. This sheepsfoot blade has been the best "material parter" for me. The grind is taller on the sheepsfoot, than it is on any of the other grinds, so it's going to be slightly thinner in the primary grind.
 
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Dallas T said:
Just bought a slicer of the exchange and it my favorite, had spantos and sold cause they wouldn’t cut Jack! Slicer is still quite thick but can be reprofiled to cut well. They’re just very low degree edges from factory.
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What did you sharpen it to? 18 degrees or so?
 
I have heard some say the new sheepsfoot grind is not as thick behind the edge as older grinds (no first hand experience here).
 
Berickson47 said:
What did you sharpen it to? 18 degrees or so?
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I use spyderco sharp maker and thined back the edge on the lansky 20 degree so it matches touching it up on sharp maker. Took about 40 minuets and now it cuts way better. I don’t have one of the fancier systems.
 
So far the sliciest Hinderer we have seen come through our shop has been the Gen 2 Eklipse Harpoon Spanto. The incredible edge put on all of these has been a big topic in a lot of Hinderer groups. The Firetac seems to be getting the same reputation but I honestly have not had much of a chance to test one out. The newest Wharnie Gen 5 and 6 are also being highly touted but we have not been able to keep one in the shop long enough to do much more than look at it. They seemed wicked slicey as well.
 
91bravo said:
Never owned a harpoon spanto, I'm tellin' yall, my sheepsfoot parts material with more ease than the slicer, spanto and spearpoints in my experience!
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Hate to say I forgot about the Sheepsfoots in Gen 5. Those sold out so fast we barely even got to think about them. More are coming pretty soon I believe.
 
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