Therapeutic flipper knife

KarlMaldensNose said:
XM-18 not so easy to flip? Really? I'm not calling BS on this b/c I've never tried one; I'm just bummed about it is all b/c I really want one, and flipping fun is high up there on the list of raesons why I want one. For such an expensive knife and with Rick's stellar rep one would figure the flipper would work gloriously.



Huh. Maybe statmonster had a 3" and the shorter blade doesn't have as much weight to aid with inertia, because the 3.5" seems to work fine.



Bob45 digs his XM-18 but doesn't specify the length.

Maybe I should start a poll of XM-18 owners and their opinions of Rick's flippers, b/c I don't want to spend $600 and find that is isn't perfect in every way. Am I expecting too much? At that price I don't think so... okay, so it's actually around $400 from Rick, isn't it, but still...
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I just received my first Hinderer, a 3" XM-18 flipper of the current generation. I bought it second-hand on another forum, sold in new condition.

I have to say the action is not what I would call smooth, and it will not flip without wrist action.

This is not a bash post; I am posting my observations. The only other flipper I have is an RJ Martin Q-36 and that thing flies open. The Hinderer opens about 1/3 of the way using finger pressure alone - blade up, blade down, blade sideways.

I adjusted the pivot and it did not seem to help. I went out so far as to induce blade play, then went back in until the play was gone. No better.

When I slowly cycle the blade open and closed manually it feels and sounds like there's a lot of friction in there. I don't know if it's the tumbled finish on the blade, or if there is actually dirt in there.

My next step is to disassemble, clean, lube, and reassemble. If it is not better I will send it back to the mfr. for service.

I honestly expected more from the XM-18 based on popularity and price, but I admit I bought this one second-hand and that may be a factor. Or maybe my expectations were overly high.
 
my xm-18 is a 3.5 and I bought it used, it flips easily with no wrist action and has absolutely no blade play, I was concerned that flipping it all the time would wear it out, but I wrote to Rick on another forum and he said flip away, it wont hurt it. Kind of makes me wonder why other makers say that wrist flicking voids the warranty??
 
I have 3" hinderer flipper and a 3.5" non flipper, they both open amazingly smoothly but the 3" flipper is a bit tricky since the detent for the blade does not hold it back enough to "pre-load" the flipper, i have to do it just right for it to work without a wrist flip. I do not yet have a 3.5" flipper but i am assuming that the heavier blade may help

for non assisted flippers my Les Voorhies VPD flipper with IKBS "FLYS OUT" super fast
as to assisted flipper my ZT 302 is quite satisfying
 
Bob45 said:
Kind of makes me wonder why other makers say that wrist flicking voids the warranty??
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I'm pretty sure you're alluding to the Sebenza. CRK's official words on this are right here.

As for the flicking issue, what we discourage is the continuous (almost obsessive) wrist flicking that a few knife owners do over long periods of time. An example of this is wrist flicking the knife continuously while watching NASCAR every Sunday. Chris actually encourages a bit of wrist flicking especially when the knife is new or newly cleaned. It helps the lock settle. The reason the above mentioned flicking is discouraged is because it is unnecessary and will ruin your lock. The S30V of the blade is harder than the titanium lock and the constant banging of the two will cause the titanium to wear away.

Hope that helps anyone who may misunderstand CRK's stand on the flicking thing.

Here's my take on the XM-18 flipper. The XM-18 isn't a dedicated flipper. There's no bearing system or anything super smooth about the pivot. It's made to be used hard not to really flip pretty. If I loosen the pivot on mine (3.5") enough where there is a bit of blade play I can get it to fly open, but I hate bladeplay so I tighten it and need to use some wrist action to get it to flip open fully. I don't see it as a problem. It is what it is. If I want to carry a flipper that flies open I'll carry an RJ Martin or a Tim Galyean Pro Series.
 
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the zt0200 is a great flipper, different ways to flick it, with the carson flipper equivalent, the thumb stud, or just using the wrist. real satisfying. having said that, i'm low on cash flow at the moment, so if you're interested in mine send me a pm..
 
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