Been looking for one of these and Bear made my day and found it for me. This knife is built like a tank and near indestructible. The lock up on the blade when open makes it feel like a fixed blade. Tight! I've opened and closed it so many times this weekend that my thumb is raw... I used to have a bunch of knives and after finding this one decided to move most of my collection and pick up a couple of these. They will probably be the last knives I ever buy. wow. Mine has a "flipper" tab on the blade that aids in opening and becomes a guard on the open knife. The pics below were cool though so i included them anyway.Bottom pic shows a flipper. From Ricks site: http://www.rickhindererknives.com/ Below is just a summery of the many features found on the new XM-18 fast becoming a standard in hard use folders I’ll start with the blade. The standard Spanto blade is again the best of both worlds with maximum cutting potential in a blade with a durable tip for prying; the blade thickness is a full .165 retaining its thickness right out to the tip. The oversized choil permits “chocking up “on the blade for more delicate work. The blade locks up on the solid ¼ in dia. thumb stud which is press fitted into the blade. This makes for a very strong lockup as there is no loosening of the thumb stud which can happen with two piece thumb studs, and it is a solid bar. The fact that the thumb stud locks up against the frame adds an incredible amount of strength to the sideways torque of the blade as the sideways stresses are being stopped by the whole handle side, thus relieving the stress that would normally be put on the pivot. Speaking of the pivot, I make my own pivots on a new state of the art CNC turning center thus guarantying precise accuracy and using superior material for these pivots. The pivot is a ¼ in barrel diameter with 3/8 in heads. The pivot is drilled and tapped all the way through and I use my own designed and made pivot screw. This system makes an incredibly strong pivot that is easy to adjust in the field. The handle shape is designed to be very ergonomic and comfortable in a wide variety of user’s positions. Not everyone uses their knife the same so I designed a handle that is close to fitting everyone’s method of holding and using a folder. I also designed a texture pattern that while is grippy does not “bite’ the hand while using. The 3-d type texture is designed to flow liquids (such as sweat,oils,blood, ect.) away from your skin and into the “valleys’ of the texture. The lockside of the knife is .165 thick titanium with of course my Hinderer Lockbar Stabilizer and the knife is set up for either tip up or tip down carry. I use a tab as a filler for the slot that is not being used. The non-lock side is set up with G-10 or micarta being the handle material and using a full titanium liner under the material to add strength and pretty much tie the whole handle case together. The handle construction is a open back design using my own design of “monster” standoffs. These standoffs are designed to add the most strength for lateral crushing of the handle case while still allowing the blade to nestle into the handle without touching the standoffs. This gives the knife the same strength as a solid back folder while still having the ease of cleaning that a open back style gives. The lanyard slot gives the user a lot more options on the style of lanyard he or she chooses. These are some pictures of the XM-18 as well as Pictures of the inside of the knife and of the hardware. These are the specs of the XM-18 Overall length open : 8.24 inches Length closed : 4.72 inches Blade length : 3.5 inches Cutting edge length : 3.16 inches Blade thickness : .165 inches Handle thickness : .515 inches **When ordering please specify blade length of either 3 in or 3 1/2 in** The price of the XM-18 is $385.00 plus shipping Options include your choice of g-10 color’s such as: Black Orange Green Blue Blue/black Green/black Choice of finishes for blade and Ti side of handle include: Tumbled finish (shiny) Bead blasted (Matte) , and sandblasted (darker matte) Look for more pictures soon of the new XM-18!!Check out the new XM-18 testing page!!
Here's a couple more.... the Blue and Orange are XM-18s.... the all titanium is a Flame Gen II..... The knives are shown with a piece of Tamahagane Kera from Bizenosafune Master Swordsmith Yutei Ueta.... Or the steel that the Japanese Swordsmiths use to make their legendary blades....
Melbo let me handle his XM 18 at Knob Creek this weekend. What a great blade. Ergonomics are fantastic, blade shape and thickness I really like, locks up like a bank vault, and is smooth when opening. Now to decide which kidney to sell...... phishi
Yes, but can it outperform the awesome Schrade cutlery folder from Wal-Mart, found to be a whopping $12.99 plus TAX? HUHn CAN IT??? Sweet blade. Reminds me of my Coldsteel Gunsite folder a bit.
I really like the Orange one Bear..... and, does the Flame have the same 3D pattern on that the G10 has? Looks cool. phishi, it was a little hazy that night but I think I remember you saying that you didn't care for the 'flipper'. was that right? It's an option.
The flipper is great. It works better than the ones on CRKT blades. It also serves as a hand guard when the blade is open. What I don't care for is the potential amount of damage that it could do to my pockets. It looks like it could wear a hole pretty quickly and might get snagged on the draw. That being said, if melbo gave me his, I wouldn't gripe too loudly about it. Hey, its nothing that an afternoon with a hacksaw couldn't fix........ Before making a final choice, I think I would like to hold one without the flipper. The issue might not be as great as I would think (It was kinda fuzzy that night, but I don't remember putting it in my pocket), and the grip might not feel as secure in my hand without the flipper deployed. I was on Gerber's web site the other day and saw that they have a production version of a Hinderer blade called the Firestorm. I don't know what it is going for, but might be worth taking a look see. http://www.gerbergear.com/product.php?model=7179 phishi
Checked out the Gerber link... they said maelstrom I'd think that if I had a maelstrom in my pocket and got pulled over, i'd have a lot of splainin to do
Cool beaded finish... I've got one just like it... Phishi... if you wanna check out a non flipper... PM me if you're really interested in these knives... tough as hell....
Very similar design but a bit more blade at 4.5" and the locking device is a little more positive design. It is a very large folder.
I finally found a store that had a Benchmade Apparition in stock. I started looking at these back in 05'. http://www.survivalmonkey.com/forum/blades/244-daily-carry-folders.html I was really impressed, it takes "assisted opening" to a whole 'nother level. It is built very stout too, it looks a lot smaller in the pics. I started to buy it, but I thought I would "encourage" my family to buy me one for "Father's Day" if not then I will just buy one myself. I was really impressed. This is one I am looking at. <FIELDSET class=fieldset><LEGEND>Attached Images</LEGEND> </FIELDSET> __________________
Update. I have carried this knife everyday for the past ~3.5 years. It keeps an edge well and is easy to sharpen and has not lost a smidge of it's tight lock up. I also use it to open beer bottles with the thumb lever method. Perfect folder!
I have quite few folders, and I use them for EDC, but not for camping...I don't trust forders. Good for pockets and everyday city use...
