Recommendation? Help making a Midtech Knife purchase

Please pick which knife you would recommend

  • Rick Hinderer Jurassic flipper 3.25"

    Votes: 2 3.8%
  • Darrel Ralph Designs DDR Dominator D35 V2 Flipper Flag 3.5"

    Votes: 7 13.5%
  • Olamic Wayfarer Harpoon 3.5"

    Votes: 35 67.3%
  • Rick Hinderer Fatty XM-18 3.5"

    Votes: 7 13.5%
  • Rick Hinderer XM-18 3.0" Tanto

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • Total voters
    52
Joined
Dec 3, 2017
Messages
5
Hello all,
I would like to purchase one mid tech knife.
The choices are in no particular order:

Rick Hinderer Jurassic flipper 3.25"
Rick Hinderer Fatty XM-18 3.5" tanto
Rick Hinderer XM-18 3.0" tanto
Darrel Ralph Designs DDR Dominator D35 V2 Flipper Flag 3.5"
Olamic Cutlery Wayfarer Harpoon 3.5" (247H)


Opinions?...
Thanks much in advance
 
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I'm going with the Wayfarer, solely because of looks and the fact that'd I want to get an Olamic sometime myself when I can convince myself to make overseas purchases again , they are really rare here and stupid expensive.(long story there, horrid experience with our local customs office, so I am relying on European Shops).
 
Are you talking the Wayfarer 247 or the compact? I was actually really surprised by how practical the 247 is. Not bad at all in the pocket and you get a lot of blade for the package. I’m really not a fan of flippers, but my 247 will be sticking around. I can’t speak for the others, though.
 
Are you talking the Wayfarer 247 or the compact? I was actually really surprised by how practical the 247 is. Not bad at all in the pocket and you get a lot of blade for the package. I’m really not a fan of flippers, but my 247 will be sticking around. I can’t speak for the others, though.
yes thanks the 3.5" 247H...post updated
 
I first read that as "Help making a MTech knife purchase" with a poll added. I almost crapped my pants.

All out of my price range so no firsthand knowledge on this lot.
=I don't like the look of the DDR myself. That blade looks awfully tall from top to bottom. Dimensions seem odd to my eye.
=XM-18s pop up all the time in the forum here. Personally not a tanto fan.
=I voted Wayfarer. The scalloped blue handles + black blade looks nice.
 
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Okay, I'm gonna piss some people off now... ;)

Before you buy a Darrel Ralph knife, read about how he treats his customers. The story of Darrel's transaction with Vininull was the end of DDR for me.
3lVKFt1.png


Before you buy a Hinderer knife, recognize that they run on teflon washers, have wildly inconsistent detents from sample-to-sample, and many of them don't have good action out of the box. Yes, you can "break it in" and "learn how to flip it" — just ask yourself first whether those are reasonable demands in a world of reliable easy flippers that don't need breaking in. I went to the Hinderer table at a show recently and handled a dozen samples. I talked to Rick and pointed out a Half Track that seemed to have no detent at all. He said he made it like that on purpose. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

At the same show, I went to the Olamic table and every knife performed perfectly and identically.

Just my three cents!
 
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Okay, I'm gonna piss some people off now... ;)

Before you buy a Darrel Ralph knife, read about how he treats his customers. The story of Darrel's transaction with Vininull was the end of DDR for me.

At the same show, I went to the Olamic table and every knife performed perfectly and identically.

Just my three cents!

Wow, somebody with that signature surely has a medical degree, no? Mine looks even less legible but if it's on a blade like that....damn.
 
I've owned Darrell Ralph's custom and several XM-18's. I don't own them now.
You want a decent mid-tech? The best I ever owned was Brad Southard's AVO model.
I carried it two solid yrs and was a darned fool for selling it.
 
Or just doesn't give a damn. Full ugly thread here.
Yeah I found it after a little googling. I'm gonna stay away from him/his company. I would have bought a Bali from him if they were legal here, but now I wouldn't even if they were legal.
 
You mentioned you want a midtech knife, but listed Hinderer. I don't think most people would list the $500-range Hinderers as midtech - they're usually considered production knives. There are some $2000 "custom" Hinderers out there, but I really wonder how much of that is really custom made, vs. Rick grabbing parts off the assembly floor and putting some personal touches on them.

Just nitpicking, of course. Nothing wrong with Hinderer per se, other than the caveats vanadium mentioned above. Personally, I like the Maximus - completely impractical but cool nonetheless :).

Regardless, go with Olamic. Can't go wrong with them. Check out their Instagram feeds - there are two: the official one and another run by Eugene's father, Ilya Solomonik, showing the latest stuff they're working on in the shop. You can see the latest and greatest customization options before they're even listed on the site.
 
Olamic or Koenig. Both are amazing midtech knifes, and you won't be disappointed with the purchase regardless of which one you pick.
 
thanks again guys, going olamic but now not sure which model....know that i dont want to start with a busker...may need to start a new olamic thread for more advice
i think the rainmaker is too big and not totally sure about the style of the gambit blade
 
Try the midtech Wayfarer 247 for a starter blade. Those are mid-tech and can come in at a relatively low price to begin with if you choose not to customize it. It'd be a good opportunity to check out the Olamic brand without jumping into a full custom knife that you might later find yourself displeased with. Something that I personally have noticed is that the 247 model has a good blade for easy sharpening, while the more customized 247H has a slight recurve to it that could make sharpening more difficult (just my opinion-others may very). You can also get the 247 in a standard blade or in a harpoon blade for a bit more uniqueness, though I'm uncertain if the harpoon blade runs you more or not, having never purchased that varient before.

Anyways, if you start with the Wayfarer 247 and decide you like it, you can always come back and exchange it for a bit more of a customized knife designed more for your liking later down the road.
 
Okay, I'm gonna piss some people off now... ;)

Before you buy a Darrel Ralph knife, read about how he treats his customers. The story of Darrel's transaction with Vininull was the end of DDR for me.
3lVKFt1.png


Before you buy a Hinderer knife, recognize that they run on teflon washers, have wildly inconsistent detents from sample-to-sample, and many of them don't have good action out of the box. Yes, you can "break it in" and "learn how to flip it" — just ask yourself first whether those are reasonable demands in a world of reliable easy flippers that don't need breaking in. I went to the Hinderer table at a show recently and handled a dozen samples. I talked to Rick and pointed out a Half Track that seemed to have no detent at all. He said he made it like that on purpose. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

At the same show, I went to the Olamic table and every knife performed perfectly and identically.

Just my three cents!
No arguments here... Olamic’s are great :D
 
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