New DLT Exclusive Hinderer XM-18 3.5" Spearpoint with a Swedge

JJ_Colt45 said:
I know every company has some slip through the cracks ... and we aren't talking about a $50.00 knife ...

I personally have not receieved any Gen 6s with issues but know of someone that did ... and if you are not satisfied with the one you received I would recommemd you call DLT for a return and if you are still interested in this knife talk to them and tell them what issues you have with the oneyou received and ask them to hand pick you one and they will do that and check for any issues you may have and ask them to check.

DLT is as good as it comes with customer service and they will do whatever they can to help you get the knife you want.
Click to expand...

He has taken apart the knife and sharpened it, so your advice does not stand.
 
WKFClark said:
Well what a tumultus week I've had, I finally have my first Hinderer XM-18. And what an absolute nightmare I've had to reach this point.
Sorry for the long post but I had to let some steam off.

It started with the order tracking on DLT not updating, after a few days I messaged them to find out what was going on.
They told me it was dispatched on the day I ordered it and supplied a tracking number...Happy Days!
On to the FedEx website to track, "your parcel is being held at customs awaiting further information from importer".
Ring FedEx to find out what is going on. "We need more information as to the contents of the package, it says its a knife?"
Yes its a knife..."ok you will need to email us with more details, What the item is, end use, market value etc etc"
email sent, few hours later, phone call from FedEx..."Your parcel has cleared customs however we cannot deliver it to you. We don't deliver "weapons" door to door. you need to come and collect it in the next 5 days or it will be confiscated, destroyed or returned to sender" They advised that they are open till 12 midnight and to email to arrange a collection time. Along with my photo ID and vehicle registration, so i could get through security.
Emailed, no reply, phone call, no one knew what was going on, after numerous phone calls over 2 days I finally get through to someone who was actually helpful and gave me a pick up address and time frame.
You need to go this this address between 9am-11pm.
It was a 2 hour drive away and I eventually arrived about 9pm friday night to find that the office Stanstead Airport was closed.
Spoke to security and explained the situation, who begrudgingly said ok i can try and find someone but their office is empty and if i cant find anyone i cant help you.
fortunately found someone who said they gave me the wrong address on the phone and I needed to drive to another location.
got to this new location and spoke to security there, they then found someone else and eventually after waiting around for another half an hour they located my parcel.
I signed for it and had a quick look in my car.
And I mostly don't blame anyone but myself for probably having unrealistic expectations after all the reviews and youtube videos, but after all that effort I was mildly disappointed.

For a knife of that price range, I rightly or wrongly had certain expectations.
Firstly, the blade wasn't centered, which doesnt really bother me too much, but for the price it should be.
Flicked open just fine with a strong finger blistering detent.
The action was "ok" I thought, maybe it needs breaking in. The action on my WE Knife Slipstream and Boker Damascus Kwaiken is about the same if not a tad faster/smoother.
No blade play at all when open or closed, lock up is solid, so that was good.
Next test, it wasnt even shaving sharp, it couldn't take any hairs off my arm. Most worryingly it struggle slicing paper without snagging.
Not to worry, I can sharpen it myself. But disappointing that I've had knives far cheaper with hair popping factory edges on.
Another gripe is that there is a gap at the bottom tip near the tip of the knife when closed, where the G10 doesn't sit flush with the titanium scale underneath. Makes it look a bit cheap.
Visually and the feel of it in hand, to me, is about on par with other knives in my collection which cost significantly less.
Again it's just probably me with unrealistic expectations.
Unless by pure chance, I received stellar examples from other companies, it feels much the same if not worse than my Manix 2 in Blurple for example in fit and finish, at almost 1/3 of the cost.
I took the knife apart and tried the different washers and ended up putting the bearings back in. Oiled the detent and track where it runs and the action was a little better.
adjusted the pivot and played about a bit and the blade is much more central now.
Then I spent the next 2-3 hours re profiling and sharpening the blade. I read somewhere that the factory edge is 22dps and I took it down to 20dps and put a mirror polish on it finishing with Pikal metal polish, the same stuff Rockstead recommend using on their knives. The edge is now hair whittling sharp.

What disappointed me the most out of everything though, is the card you get along with it that says who assembled and finished it etc. wasn't even hand signed. The signature on it was printed on and pixelated.
That just makes the whole thing very unauthentic. It makes it feel like I bought a Chinese clone rather than a real one from DLT.

So far I've been in the woods on a dog walk and whittled some sticks, been to work and cut up a load of cardboard and my impressions of M390 is very good.
Still hair whittling sharp. Ergos are good and I will continue to use this knife.
My wife asked me after all that if I'd do it again, damn straight I would, I wouldn't be a knife nut otherwise.
The mediocre fit and finish hasn't put me off Hinderer either maybe I just got a bad one. Anyway I'd like more from them. A wharnie and an XM-24 if i get a chance.

and of course just to add to all this I had additional import tax and handling fee due to it being a weapon, plus petrol to actually collect it, so it cost me another £90-100 on top of the sale price on DLT.
Rant over.
Click to expand...
Wow I felt like re-lived it after reading your post . But only in the quality of my Fulltrack not shipping . My thumb has finally healed “almost” and it’s been 2 or 3 weeks and for and finish was poor , centering was good and btw if you snug the piviot down it can sometimes center up . My piviot ony my 24 new gen was loose out of the box I mean blade wobble loose . Just put some loctite on it and snugged it up and no issues . Other then that exception it’s a perfect example in all areas with a sweet lockbar release . It’s a shame Hinderer is loosing the consistency like they use to have . Mine was hair popping razor sharp out of the box to .
 
Last edited:
KVT said:
I can vouch for DLT’s customer service.
Absolutely stellar.
Click to expand...
Best customer service I’ve ever experienced. Great knife guys that truly love knives like all us knife nuts here :)
 
ErocSD said:
Haha I've heard about these RHK fans, guess I finally met one. Listening to a first hand experience and learning from it is bad now ? haha some people. Since I don't have the pleasure of buying a $500 knife to see if I like it I was leaning on some other experiences. I even posted requests for reviews and no one seemed to bother, sorry that my reading comprehension bothers you. Good riddance is right.
Click to expand...
Save your butt-hurt for someone who cares.

There's a difference between learning from an experience and swearing off a brand completely, which you did. And that's sounds like a great decision, honestly.
 
ErocSD said:
Haha I've heard about these RHK fans, guess I finally met one. Listening to a first hand experience and learning from it is bad now ? haha some people. Since I don't have the pleasure of buying a $500 knife to see if I like it I was leaning on some other experiences I;m some how deserved of a good riddance....... I even posted requests for reviews and no one seemed to bother, sorry that my reading comprehension bothers you. Good riddance is right, I just saved myself a bunch of money and disappointment it appears.
Click to expand...

I can't say I saw you're request for a review ... and I don't think you should be made to feel bad for your choice ...

but if Hinderers do interest you I would hate to see you give up on them over a bad experience.

I have several and all the new Gen 6s have been great ... there will always be a few slip through QC and not be perfect ... and I hate to see anyone got a bad knife of any brand ...

but it happens ... and as I said DLT is as good as it gets with customer service ... I see my post to the member who received a less than perfect example was too late to have him return it ... if he had DLT would have taken care of him.

And hopefully if you are interested you'll still get a chance to try one out sometime.
 
KVT said:
Save your butt-hurt for someone who cares.

There's a difference between learning from an experience and swearing off a brand completely, which you did. And that's sounds like a great decision, honestly.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure i'm not the one butthurt here... How dare I not like your RHK

btw I never swore of RHK completely, just my next purchase...
 
Last edited:
JJ_Colt45 said:
I can't say I saw you're request for a review ... and I don't think you should be made to feel bad for your choice ...

but if Hinderers do interest you I would hate to see you give up on them over a bad experience.
*
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Yeah I have no doubt DLT would have looked after me and everyone only has good things to say about them, and I did think about returning it before I disassembled and sharpened it. But honestly after all the trouble I had with customs and FedEx I just simply could not be bothered to go through the return process. Plus I just REALLY liked the colour/blade shape combo and knew it was the last available.

After having it a few days now and constantly playing with it, it is growing on me massively. I'm quite happily overlooking my previous criticisms.
Unfortunately it's been a bit quiet at work so I haven't had any real world work use for it but I'm sure when things pick up it will serve it's purpose and function just fine.

ErocSD, at the end of the day, we are all free to make our own choices. I hope you find a fantastic knife whatever route you go down.
 
WKFClark said:
Yeah I have no doubt DLT would have looked after me and everyone only has good things to say about them, and I did think about returning it before I disassembled and sharpened it. But honestly after all the trouble I had with customs and FedEx I just simply could not be bothered to go through the return process. Plus I just REALLY liked the colour/blade shape combo and knew it was the last available.

After having it a few days now and constantly playing with it, it is growing on me massively. I'm quite happily overlooking my previous criticisms.
Unfortunately it's been a bit quiet at work so I haven't had any real world work use for it but I'm sure when things pick up it will serve it's purpose and function just fine.

ErocSD, at the end of the day, we are all free to make our own choices. I hope you find a fantastic knife whatever route you go down.
Click to expand...

I posted an open string requesting RHK and explicitly a XM18 survey and if the Gen 6 was justified, despite all the trouble or not contrasted with a portion of the more up to date cuts available. I likewise inquired as to whether I would be in an ideal situation with a CRK rather, I got crickets.

Much thanks to you, I concur DLT is a decent organization. In the event that I ever do get my hands on one I will remember that. As I was stating before my next blade would have been a XM18 yet in the wake of perusing various distinctive QC issues with them I was hunting down a Blade gatherings part to give a non tainted perspective situation and it at long last came. So I noticed it and I will put resources into another blade rather for next buy. I didn't state I swore off RHK forever, just for my next buy. Anyway unmistakably I am not deserving of a feeling or tuning in to different encounters.

no major ordeal whichever Dafont 192.168.l.l FileHippo
 
Last edited:
ErocSD said:
I posted an open thread asking for RHK and specifically an XM18 review and if the Gen 6 was worth it or not compared to some of the newer knives on the market. I also asked if I would be better off with a CRK instead, I got crickets.

Thank you, I agree DLT is a good company. If i ever do get my hands on one I will keep that in mind. As I was saying before my next knife was going to be a XM18 but after reading multiple different QC issues with them I was searching for a Blade forums member to give a non jaded point of view scenario and it finally came. So i heeded it and I will invest in another knife instead for next purchase. I didn't say I swore off RHK for life, only for my next purchase. However clearly I am not worthy of an opinion or listening to other experiences.

no big deal either way
Click to expand...

papa2000 said:
I posted an open string requesting RHK and explicitly a XM18 survey and if the Gen 6 was justified, despite all the trouble or not contrasted with a portion of the more up to date cuts available. I likewise inquired as to whether I would be in an ideal situation with a CRK rather, I got crickets.

Much thanks to you, I concur DLT is a decent organization. In the event that I ever do get my hands on one I will remember that. As I was stating before my next blade would have been a XM18 yet in the wake of perusing various distinctive QC issues with them I was hunting down a Blade gatherings part to give a non tainted perspective situation and it at long last came. So I noticed it and I will put resources into another blade rather for next buy. I didn't state I swore off RHK forever, just for my next buy. Anyway unmistakably I am not deserving of a feeling or tuning in to different encounters.

no major ordeal whichever way
Click to expand...
You created a brand new account, today, just now, to tell us this? Again?
 
ErocSD said:
I feel like I'm dealing with a 30 year old in his Mom's basement and way too much time on his hands Haha.... it sounds like the RHK crew is truly a special bunch, creating fake accounts just to troll someone who doesn't show undying love for their coveted brand. You sure you should be handling sharp objects let alone knives?
Click to expand...

I don't know who you are referring to, but I think you should just leave the thread - it went to shit as soon as you stepped in here. Take your other account with you.
 
ErocSD said:
The basement must be cold today, the thread actually went to shit when you personally attacked me for my response of my next knife purchase and it not coinciding with your opinion. Seriously think before you post, why would I make a fake account and troll myself? I feel stupider having to explain this. See ya and your other account around !
Click to expand...
Anyway, as I said, the thread was fine and you showed up and now it's a mess. Since you keep referring to us Hinderer owners negatively, as some collective, maybe you should just leave it at that.
Plenty of other threads to hang out in.
 
Back on topic:

ZU2yYQB.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top