Birthday Blade

[GundaManiac]

Greetings herders! Let me start by saying I have liked Hinderer designs since I first laid eyes on them. I'd first heard of Hinderer when the ZT0560 was announced; I looked up the designer, Rick Hinderer, to see what all the fuss was about. Then I saw the XM-18 and knew I had to have one. I didn't manage to score one until late last year, when I picked up a ZT0562CF. Having that knife pushed me over the edge to purchase a used 3.5" spanto in s35vn. After giving it some TLC and tuning it a little, the knife opened as smoothly as any of my bearing flippers and locked up solid with no bladeplay. I loved everything about that knife except the soft detent (but I knew about that already, so I didn't mind; besides, I already employed the "pushbutton" technique on most flipper knives so it wasn't a big deal for me).

Fastforward a little to when the new spearpoint grind was announced. I wasn't all that interested because I preferred the classic spanto grind and considered the spearpoint a bit boring, too similar to the grinds used on the ZT0560/0566. But I was interested in trying out 20CV in a hinderer (because I really liked the m390 in the ZT0562CF I was EDC'ing). On St. Patrick's Day, I sort of just absentmindedly checked social media and found out my local knife store had just gotten in a shipment of green spearpoints! So I hightailed it over and managed to snag the last one they had left. That makes this knife a really special blade to me, almost as if fate arranged for me to obtain a green Hinderer on my birthday

I've tuned the knife to center the blade while maintaining a smooth action. The detent on this one hits the sweet spot, being a fair bit stiffer than my spanto, but not nearly as stiff as the skinners I had a chance to handle a few months ago.

I waited until today to post about it because I subsequently ordered a set of brass standoffs and LBS, which arrived today. I thought the brass would complement the green scale nicely, and it does :thumbup:.
Every thread needs pictures:

The spearpoint has kicked my ZT0562CF out of my pocket as my EDC since I got it. I'm really digging this knife, especially after getting the brass accents. For a while, I was debating swapping out the scale for textured CF (my favorite), but part of what makes this knife so special to me is the story of how I acquired a green knife (and not just any knife, a Hinderer!) on St. Patrick's day.

Do any of you have Hinderers that are special to you for personal reasons (ie, not necessariliy just because they're rare/custom grinds or finishes)?

 

[RubiconSS]

Happy belated Birthday and Congrats! Ha! Special Knife because of a special story! Not Me

That is a Speacial one for sure, Enjoy it. That is Good Stuff.

 

[RubiconSS]

For those who may not be familiar...... I Love special knives because of a story.

 

[evolution80]

awesome - like the standoffs combo!

 

[bigmark408]

Good stuff.

 

[GundaManiac]

The collection thus far. Can you tell I really like Rick's designs?

 

[xxfalconxx]

Fantastic Herd....and congratulations on the Spearpoint.....such a great looking blade......
And the brass with the green is looking :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[GundaManiac]

In a totally boneheaded move today, I dropped my knife on concrete. I'm not averse to "character", but I hate it when it's my stupidity that scars the knife and not regular wear. Got a few pits in the ti near the lanyard hole, gouged my pocket clip, and got a couple pits in the blade on the swedge. Argh.
Edit/Update: I took one piece out of my jar of ceramic tumbling media and tapped on all the pitted areas to give a sort of localized stone wash effect. This knocked off the high spots from the deformed metal from the drop and has greatly masked the appearance of the pits. They're still visible, but much less noticeable than before. I can live with this amount of minor scarring. I know it's just a knife, and it's a tool not a one of a kind custom display piece. Go ahead and laugh at my OCD


Some other thoughts I had prior to dropping my knife this morning: going off pure specs, my ZT0562CF should match or exceed my new XM in all aspects - same size, slicer vs spearpoint (tossup based on personal preferences), m390 vs cpm20cv (from my understanding, basically identical steels), bearings vs nylon washers, steel insert vs standard ti framelock, carbon fiber vs g10 scale, more affordable, etc. The 0562 even has a deep carry pocket clip, which I've always preferred in the past. So just going off specs alone it seems like the 0562CF should be the clear winner.

And yet...there's just something about the XM-18 that makes me keep coming back to it. My spearpoint has been my EDC since I got it, and I'm absolutely enjoying the knife very much. I never really understood when people posted about the ZT collabs vs Hinderers, saying that the ZTs were good knives but they weren't Hinderers...but now that I own both and have been carrying my Hinderer, I agree there is just something about Hinderers that really appeal to me in a way that even the Hinderer/ZT collabs don't.

 

[Loulasher]

I know what you mean about the zt vs hinderer. I know it sounds weird but they always felt "warm" to me, almost like how i would much rather use a snap on wrench vs a matco or mac. I dont know i guess Rick has just perfected the folding knife.

 

[GundaManiac]

The upshot of scarring the knife is that I am no longer afraid to mark it up while using it. All my knives go through a period where I want to baby the heck out of them to keep that pristine fresh out of the box look...some guys can use their stuff hard right away, but for me that first mark is always the worst. And then I get over it and use the hell out of it.

Here's some pictures of the damage (warning! Graphic content below! ).

Notice the pits from the middle handle nut to the lanyard hole and the gouge at the very tip of the pocket clip:

Notice the little pit where the swedge meets the main grind. There should be two pits but I could only capture this one on camera:

As for my thoughts on my ZT/collabs vs my Hinderers...that feeling I have even extends to the Eklipse line. I don't actually own an Eklipse (yet), but I have handled one (didn't have the budget to buy it at the time), and I do have the 0392. It's a brilliant knife, and for a while I was sure it was the knife I wanted - an almost exact copy of the new Hinderer production Eklipse pattern, full ti handles, the non-tanto blade shape similar to the first Eklipse customs that debuted, bearing pivot, m390, and blue hardware! But again, there's just something about it that doesn't feel the same, aside from the obvious differences like full ti construction and a bearing pivot. I'm not sure what it is. There's little things like the modified jimping for the flipper and thumb ramp, the very slight change in the shape of the handle by the pivot to accomodate the bearings, the ZT style LBS (which I know can be replaced with Hinderer hardware), the non-philips clip screws, the crisper lines on the knife (Hinderer's edges tend to be more rounded from, I assume, the heavy stonewashing), and the modified location of the lockbar cutout which snags my pocket like crazy in tip up carry which the Eklipse did not do. Ignoring that last point, all the other details I just mentioned aren't really minuses against the 0392, but it does feel different somehow from an actual Eklipse.

In short, even when ZT makes what basically amounts to their version of the Eklipse, it still doesn't feel the same way a Hinderer does. And once again, although the specs show that the ZT is equivalent to or perhaps even better in some aspects (depending on your perspective, like blade steels, handle materials, pivot styles, etc), I still prefer the Hinderer. And I'm still not sure why. Hats off to Rick and his team; whatever magic you guys work in your shop, it works!

 

[GundaManiac]

Went to the beach today. Saw a patch of what looked like startlingly bright green seaweed on the side of a cliff and thought it'd make for an interesting background:

 

[prelude92]

Nice pic, GM. I remember a time last year when I dropped a brand new "mint" XM-18 days after receiving it on the driveway from my lap after getting out of the car...just days later! I wouldn't have been as devastated as I was, if it wasn't a super-rare, all blue anodized, beadblasted frame...with yes, a matching beadblasted textured Ti scale...put a lovely little "love" mark on the top corner of the lockside. Luckily, it didn't land on the textured Ti scale...

 

[Loulasher]

Went to the beach today. Saw a patch of what looked like startlingly bright green seaweed on the side of a cliff and thought it'd make for an interesting background:

Just need to score a pond scum scale to go with that backround!

 

[Need2Know]

User scars..:thumbup:

 

[GundaManiac]

Thanks for sharing the picture and anecdote about your dropped Hinderer; I don't feel so bad anymore, knowing others have done the same. Maybe I need a lanyard

This weekend I helped a buddy clear out some junk from a house that's being renovated. Even though it shouldn't any more, it still surprises me how much cardboard dulls knife edges. Broke down a recycling bin's worth of cardboard, chewed up the edge, put one slightly noticeable scratch on the blade (only noticeable because it's a long scratch and it doesn't blend with the shorter stonewash marks). Did it without gloves, so the jimping and the corner of the flipper gave my baby soft city boy hands a small blister and a couple hot spots. Aside from that, the shape of the handle was very ergonomic and comfortable, and the knife felt nice and solid in use, even after the edge became duller and I was just brute forcing the thick blade stock through the cardboard. Gave the cardboard and some styrofoam a few good stabs just for fun

My spearpoint after a nice cutting session, along with the bin full of cardboard that it cut up:

Dulling the knife meant I got to make it mine in another way - putting my own edge on it. Went to work with some Spyderco ceramic benchstones and my strop, and while I was at it I used the ceramic stones to soften the corners of the flipper to help with that hotspot. The edge isn't a full mirror, but it's pretty shiny:

I'm really enjoying this knife :thumbup: