I am so happy with my 3" XM-18 and I have a small non issue that is pretty amazing to say the least. I do not know if I like flipping it open with the "flipper,"or flicking it open with the thumbstud better....Decisions decisions.
I have a custom knife that likes to be just flipped and I have a Benchmade that just likes the thumbstuds to open...the XM-18 likes both well; after I lubed it up like a prize pig with fluorinated grease of course. I was pretty amazed at how much difference it made. Now I can't figure out what acton I like better and very thankful I can mix it up after my finger gets sore playing with it. I had to stop bringing it to work because I played with it under my desk so long I was not productive. I love this thing...It made a lot of my older knives obsolete. I don't know how you would improve on the XM-18...if you made the detent ball stiffer... would flip better? Not sure but the thumb studs would not be as easy to flick open for example after that. So I would change nothing.
I think its very balanced kind of like a linebacker that is fast enough to cover a receiver, strong enough take a block from an o-lineman and smart enough to make the play calls. There is no perfect knife...however nothing I found can come close to this things usability, versatility and the fact I do not have to baby it like my custom knife with MOP scales. I even dropped today(by accident) and was proud the G-10 side that hit the ground looks as good as new...amazing stuff!!
I have a custom knife that likes to be just flipped and I have a Benchmade that just likes the thumbstuds to open...the XM-18 likes both well; after I lubed it up like a prize pig with fluorinated grease of course. I was pretty amazed at how much difference it made. Now I can't figure out what acton I like better and very thankful I can mix it up after my finger gets sore playing with it. I had to stop bringing it to work because I played with it under my desk so long I was not productive. I love this thing...It made a lot of my older knives obsolete. I don't know how you would improve on the XM-18...if you made the detent ball stiffer... would flip better? Not sure but the thumb studs would not be as easy to flick open for example after that. So I would change nothing.
I think its very balanced kind of like a linebacker that is fast enough to cover a receiver, strong enough take a block from an o-lineman and smart enough to make the play calls. There is no perfect knife...however nothing I found can come close to this things usability, versatility and the fact I do not have to baby it like my custom knife with MOP scales. I even dropped today(by accident) and was proud the G-10 side that hit the ground looks as good as new...amazing stuff!!
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