More votes for the XM-24 are never a bad thing, though. It really does tick all of these boxes, hampered only by availability (like a lot of these knives!). But patience and the hunt are also fun!Three Sisters Forge Gorgon if you can find one.
4" blade.
If you can handle the level of bling involved, the Begg Steelcraft Bodega (made by Reate) is a beast of a knife. At six ounces and feeling solid as a tank it's bedazzled with fullers, speed holes, pretty texturing and a fancy clip to boot. There is no part of this knife that doesn't have some kind of embellishment, but it's also incredibly stout. Oversized handle, thick blade that actually cuts pretty well thanks to a relatively deep hollow grind. I have the smaller model in black and gold and this full sized gold one that I recently acquired from the Exchange (seller has another in blue at a sweet price, incidentally) and they're two of the best made knives I've handled, and I own or have owned customs and knives from most of the popular production companies like CRK, Shirogorov, Olamic, etc.
I'd also jump on the "check out Olamic" bandwagon. They make great knives and have a million options for customization. I like their Swish a bunch. It's smaller than the Bodega above when closed by a fair margin, but they both have the same (3.75") length blade. In light configurations it's under four ounces, but you can also go heavier with the handle slabs unmolested. It can look totally different depending on how you want it, here are some of mine to give you an idea what I'm talking about, color, texture, holes, coatings . . . everything is possible.
I better start fact checking myself before posting any more on this thread!
Looks like you're right about the 0300 which apparently has both G10 and Ti machined scales. Thought they were just G10, like the 0200 that I think are only G10 (at least I don't see a Ti reference to them) but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong about that too. LOL!
Anyway, guess you can add an 0300 (and 0301, if it was made in the same way) to your list of Ti flippers, which IMO is a "good thing" since you've never owned one yet.
Three Sisters Forge Gorgon if you can find one.
4" blade.
While there are some good things about the 0308 (primarily blade steel and grind), when I brought in the ZT 0308 and compared against my ZT 0301's and it was like Fury vs Wilder 2... The ZT 0308 looked like an amateur against the beast that is the ZT 0301.Yeah, the rock sculpted handles are really cool-looking! I bet they feel amazing in hand, too.
I forget what knives I own, never mind what they're made of -- no worries!
I got pretty familiar with my 0200, and you're right on that one. Big ol' G10 slabs on both sides.
I wouldn't kick an 0300 out of bed, but the days when they were priced like that are long gone -- and it'd have to fight my 0308.
Oh, I get that. The Begg design aesthetic is something I'd describe like this: "gas station, but with the best materials and the finest craftsmanship". That said, these Reate-made versions are truly amazingly well crafted. The mini has grown on me over time and I carry it semi-regularly. The large is quite large, but I'm already pretty fond of it. Don't expect them to drop shut, though--both of my have stout detents that make for great flipping action but the pressure mean no free fall on close, which I'm fine with. Both the mini and the full size feel so sturdy they might as well be integrals, helped to that by the sizeable backspacer. The details are all there, everything on the handles that should be rounded off has been and so forth. Quality that you can feel, if you know what I mean.
I'm also pro-Rainmaker, incidentally. Here's mine:
I’ll echo the votes for the Olamics and Cheburkovs.
Another option is the Berg Iron Wolf which pops up for sale every now and then.
Speaking of the Begg/Reate aesthetic, the larger Field Marshall may be worth a look as well.
The big one is a big knife, I was a little surprised when I received it. They're like a pronghorn and a bison, ones small and dainty the others a tank.
I too have both sizes of the Reate Bodega however both of mine drop shut very smoothly. One of the things I like is the fuller, it's probably the only way I open them anymore, perfect depth for a nice finger flick. They are extremely well made knives, I purchased before I went full on USA or I would probably still be looking at Reate. The IKBS bearings can be a bear if you want to open them up for any reason. The blade shape is a very usable profile though I can't get myself to use them as they're too pretty and I don't want to mess up the DLC
I don't have a pic but just did a side by side of the large Bodega vs an XM18 3.5, the Bodega is considerably larger IMO. Handle is only about 1/4" longer but there's probably 3/4" more useable blade on the Bodega (choiled XM) as it's about 1/2" longer than the XM 3.5.
(Torx always makes me happy, but I have a fair number of oddball screws among my collection and those don't bother me.)
I got ya, fam (Field Marshall included for good measure
-the handle is actually about the same as the Bodega but the blade’s larger.)