Hinderer XM-18 3.5” Lock Stick

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KimJongHealthy

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Oct 1, 2021
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I recently purchased my first Hinderer. I love everything about it, but it has fairly strong lock stick even after flipping it 100 or so times. I added a video and pic of the lock wear, is this normal? I experienced the same issue with 2 other ZT 0562s, but the lock stick on those was way worse.

I have several other titanium frame locks and haven’t experienced anything close to this. I also haven’t tried graphite yet because it didn’t help at all on the ZTs.

https://imgur.com/a/jyv4WeF
https://imgur.com/a/qmHRHmL
 
Just send it to the Ranch then (unless the seller has another knife to replace that one).

I'm obsessive about lock-stick and I know how frustrating it can be .... It's a > $400 knife and should be flawless.
 
I haven't experienced this on the two XM-18 3.5s I've owned, but I did run into it on one ZT, the 0450. I used a Sharpie to carefully fill in the spot on the tang where the lockbar engages, used and flipped the knife until the Sharpie wore off, and then reapplied it; rinse and repeat. After a week or two it broke in to be one of my smoothest, snappiest ZTs.

I've never had any luck with graphite either.
 
I've used sharpie and pencil, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. In either case, it goops up the knife, so in this case, I would just use the Hinderer warranty.
 
Sharpie or granite will work the magic. You can send to RHK as suggested but if it were me, I'd just work it out myself. Honestly, that still picture looks normal to me. I also don't see anything abnormal in the video.
 
try about about another 1,000 openings! because the two steels need to conform two each other, and will smooth out over time.
 
ferider said:
Just send it to the Ranch then (unless the seller has another knife to replace that one).

I'm obsessive about lock-stick and I know how frustrating it can be .... It's a > $400 knife and should be flawless.
Click to expand...
That’s what I’m leaning towards. I’m not even that much of a stickler for lock stick, but if other manufacturers can make Ti frame locks with minimal/zero lock stick for half the price, they should be able to as well.
 
sharp_edge said:
Sharpie or granite will work the magic. You can send to RHK as suggested but if it were me, I'd just work it out myself. Honestly, that still picture looks normal to me. I also don't see anything abnormal in the video.
Click to expand...
It requires a moderate amount of force to unlock it and makes an audible click every time. My other Ti frame locks don’t require much force and make no noise even on video. This is normal for Hinderers?
 
KimJongHealthy said:
It requires a moderate amount of force to unlock it and makes an audible click every time. My other Ti frame locks don’t require much force and make no noise even on video. This is normal for Hinderers?
Click to expand...

No.

If it would be used there are several different ways to break it in. One thing you could do, for instance (if sharpie/pencil doesn't work after many hundred flips) is to reduce the lockbar pressure. Could also be a geometry thing: I have a Fulltrack that sticks on bearings but doesn't stick on washers. You can change the centering of the blade a little, and maybe it goes away. Etc.

BTW, you are able to spydie flick it ... not all tri-ways can do this that easily. So there is an argument to keep that knife and have it fixed :)

You bought warranty for the knife. Is all I'm saying :)
 
ferider said:
No.

If it would be used there are several different ways to break it in. One thing you could do, for instance (if sharpie/pencil doesn't work after many hundred flips) is to reduce the lockbar pressure. Could also be a geometry thing: I have a Fulltrack that sticks on bearings but doesn't stick on washers. You can change the centering of the blade a little, and maybe it goes away. Etc.

BTW, you are able to spydie flick it ... not all tri-ways can do this that easily. So there is an argument to keep that knife and have it fixed :)

You bought warranty for the knife. Is all I'm saying :)
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Def agree with you! My response was to someone else. I’m new, so I may have done it wrong.
 
I've had 9 or 10 XMs of various generations, never had lock stick. it will probably work itself out eventually, but I would just have the Ranch look it.
 
KimJongHealthy said:
It requires a moderate amount of force to unlock it and makes an audible click every time. My other Ti frame locks don’t require much force and make no noise even on video. This is normal for Hinderers?
Click to expand...
Did you check the pivot screw to see if it is loose? Just another thought.
 
Had lock stick on my first xm-18. Tried sharpie and it helped, but got better after I cleaned the tang really good. No more lockstick after that. My XM-24 had stick. A little graphite (pencil lead) fixed it. None any more even without graphite. My skinny 18 didn't have any from the box. I'd say use graphite, give it a little time to break in, and if it's not better after a bit send it in.
 
It’s been said a couple times but adjust the pivot. Tighten until it effects the action then back off slightly until u find a sweet spot. Had this happen a couple times and this fixed it.
 
KAEDC said:
it will probably work itself out eventually, but I would just have the Ranch look it.
Click to expand...

Disagree.

This is like the shoe salesman saying that a pair of shoes that are too tight to begin with eventually loosen up w/wear. It just doesn't work out that way.

I've owned 2 XMs - no lock stick. I own 38 ZTs -- about 1/2 Ti framed -- no lock stick. I currently own over 130 Spydercos and have probably owned at least 200 at one time or another. Not sure exactly how many are/were Ti framed but out of all of the Spydercos that I've ever owned the only 1 that I had a lock stick problem w/was a Paysan. Too expensive to mess with. A sharpie & graphite didn't work. Just sold it and bought a Nirvana instead - no lock stick.

Also had a lock stick problem w/a Warren Thomas designed Nine Lines Sinbat that I also sold. Was able to take it apart w/o messing it up but no adjustment or graphite would fix it.

Based on in my limited experience fussing w/the Paysan and Sinbat (and comparing them w/the many other knives that I own that do not have the problem), I believe that a lockstick mainly occurs when the end of the lockbar sits too tightly against the blade end in the locked position (and/or when the end of the lockbar and/or blade end is not smoothly polished), in which case, the only thing that would truly "fix it" would be to file the end of the lockbar down to reduce the tightness of fit and/or smooth/polish the end of the lockbar and the blade end to reduce friction between the 2 parts.

The amount of filing/polishing necessary would probably be very little and it would be easy to over do it or do it unevenly, which is why I never did it and would never do it myself, especially w/a knife as expensive as an XM.

Readjusting the pivot could work if the pivot is "loose enough" to move the end of the blade away from the lockbar but, if there's that much slop in the pivot, I'd wonder about the overall quality of construction of the knife to begin with.
 
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I had this problem with an umnumzaan I had so I disassembled, cleaned, and regreased. After I reassembled it was super smooth, and never had the problem again. Not sure your comfort level with that, but it may do the trick.
 
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