Spartan Harsey Folder vs. Hinderer XM-24.

el gigantor

el gigantor

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It’s yet another versus thread. Hurray!

I currently have an SHF in my collection and I really like it. But for some reason I’m haunted by the XM-24. It seems so much more beastly and fun. Maybe because it’s a flipper. Not sure really.

The Hinderer also seems more hand-filling, which is beneficial for a giant like myself. The steels are 20CV vs. S45VN, and the Hinderer blade shape is the bowie variant.

I can’t afford both, so if I bought the XM then the Spartan would have to go. I don’t have the option of trying the Hinderer before purchase either.

I know a good number of you will say “Use what you have!”, and that’s good advice except I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the XM for more than a week now. Like I said, I’m haunted!

I’d love to hear any input. Thanks!
 
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I have never really been a Hinderer guy, the flipper tab that comes on 95% of them just doesn't agree with my finger. But I would say give the XM-24 a try, Spartan's can be found in stock relatively easy, XM 24's on the other hand not so much. So if you can get one I would say go for it. If you decide you don't like it the Hinderer would be easy to flip almost immediately, and just buy another Spartan..
 
I've handled a SHF, and I think it feels far more refined than the XM-24. In fact, I think Hinderer makes far better large knives than the XM-24. I sold my 24 after getting my FullTrack, because the FullTrack was so much better. The 24 just felt like a chunky, oversized XM-18 to me, and it felt less useable and carryable than the XM-18 or other large knives to me.
 
I prefer the Spartan SHF myself. I've never owned a Hinderer but I carried one for a week on a passaround about 5 years ago. I'm not exactly sure what it was but I just didn't mesh well with it. Maybe it was from a preconceived notion I already had going in though, I'm not sure. I just have never been a Hinderer guy. That said I do really like the looks on their wharncliffe models, the grinds on those are crazy. I do have a Spartan SHF 3.25" that I got here from someone for a very good price and it's a fantastic knife. However, similar to the Sebenza, I wish they had a model sized in between the large and small version. the small fits my hand like a glove and is very ergonomic, but if it were just a quarter inch longer it'd make me very happy. It kind of just feels like my hand gets trapped in there and can only hold it one way super comfortably.
 
Just an opinion

Spartan Harsey - better in a few ways.
Realistic size for carry, no useless choil, better cutting geometry, ambidextrous, easier to get in and out of pocket, you can still use your pocket for other stuff, better heat treatment in my experience. I had 3 of them - they work well.

XM24 - too much bulk, handle heavy, Carrying it is annoying, poor cutting geometry, heavy, a worthless choil that wastes almost an inch of blade, takes up entire pocket. I had about 4 of these too. I thought they cut about as well as a screwdriver from factory. Hit / miss heat treatment.

The SHF breaks in well. Fit / finish is better on the 24. The SHF actually cuts. The Hinderer can be decorated with aftermarket crap.

I’d go for the SHF without hesitation. Great knife.

**sorry for my rant on choils - not a fan of snag points on a cutting tool that’s actually used.
 
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Have both and I favor my 24 harpoon. More substantial in hand with better action as resulting from the tri way. Spartan is still a great knife on washers. Also a plus to come in full ti. Fan of both but I put the 24 on top. Also comparable here is the zaan and the smf
 
If I could only have one it'd be the shf. Top 5 all time for me. Buuut... the 24 has all the things you described, but frankly I'd take s45 over 20cv but thats personal preference. If you're patient, you could save your pennies and get a project x hinderer when they're more available. Then you can keep the shf too
 
Kmikaz3 said:
The giant choil kills it for me but if you like drop shut feeling over super smooth hydraulic CRK like, XM-24 is for you. If you prefer the latter, the SHF is for you.
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I swapped to pb washers in my 24. I couldn't be happier. Just like my gen 4 xm18 I put pbs in. I hear a lot of noise about the washers not working well in the triway, but my experience hasn't been like that at all
 
Wel, the only logical thing to do is sell the Spartan and get the Hinderer. If you don’t, you’ll always have a degree of frustration for not getting one. I’ve been eyeing the XM24 Bowie since it came out. But, since I’ve got two Hinderer’s that I don’t carry, I can resist the urge to get a Bowie. I do have two SHF’s that I do carry.
It’s a hobby, don’t beat yourself up wondering about if you’ll like a knife. Be like Nike, just do it. Both will sell without worrying about it.
 
I've got over a dozen Hinderer's and now 4 full size SHF's and a 3.25.

It's a tough one for me. I do like Hinderer's quite a bit but am moving away from flippers all together so no project X for me. I told my son the other day if I could only keep 1 knife it would be my XM-18 non-flipper fullered spear, it's just a fantastic knife. The big choils don't bother me, I have both style of Hinderers. I've never had an issue w/lack of blade on a choiled knife. I do have a bit of an issue w/no sharpening choil on the SHF as they start to recurve almost immediately. I've started adding them w/a small round diamond file though it seems like an oversight from the Spartan not to add one. I'm not a big fan of the sometimes pretty late lock-up on an SHF, not that it's a deal breaker (similar to a CRK Umna or Inkosi) but it makes the lock side scale sit lower and you can feel the sharp cut out of the lock bar a little more. I'm a big fan of washers, most of my Hinderer's run on washers. An XM-18 Wharnie is hard to beat, I've got a 3 and 3.5. I like the diversity of blade grinds available on Hinderer's. I am a fan of the Spartan pivots, I don't appreciate Hinderer's but once adjusted and blued it's a wash.

As far as the XM-24 goes, I've got no desire to own one. The 3.5 is a pocket filler, I don't see any gain going w/the 24, the 3.5 has enough blade for me personally, the SHF has more.

If the choice is between an XM-24 and an SHF I'd go SHF, if it's between an XM-18 3.5 and an SHF I think it would depend on the day you ask me. I've used the heck out of my Hinderers with nary a hic-up, I haven't spent the same quality time w/the SHF's yet but I expect they will hold up just fine. Really though, most of my SHF's are too pretty to use hard, I have 1 PJ SHF that will get used but the other ones probably not. I don't want to mess up the nice laser engraving, the colors on the Ti or scratch them up. IMO w/the SHF as a user you get 1 flavor, plain Ti and 1 blade grind.
 
I know it's not a rational reason (but hey, this hobby is full of irrational reasoning), but Ti-on-Ti locking surfaces have caused more problems for me on expensive knives than any other sort of lock-up -- and for that reason I've avoided trying a SHF. In every other respect, it's a knife that's 100% up my alley.

The XM-24 pretty much ended my hunt for larger knives. I love this knife, and it's an easy one to recommend if you like Hinderer aesthetics and edge geometry. :thumbsup:

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One more minor thing about the SHF. The recent gen has eliminated one body screw/spacer, and the hidden overtravel stop on the inside of the lock scale was replaced by the large pivot on the lock side which acts as an overtravel stop (great idea). Basically they reduced milling cost and eliminated some hardware but kept the same price point without adding any value to the buyer. These knives would benefit from some internal milling to reduce weight. The lack of a steel lock-bar insert doesn't seem to be an issue, I've had much worse lock-stick on a couple Hinderers w/the insert, in fact none of my SHF's (5) have any lock-stick.

One of my favorite Hinderers is an older gen XM-18 Wharnie that has no lock-bar insert, super smooth, no stick. My LG VECP's and Terrain 365 knives have no insert either and are very smooth with virtually no stick (one of the Terrain's has a tiny amount).
 
Dadpool said:
I know it's not a rational reason (but hey, this hobby is full of irrational reasoning), but Ti-on-Ti locking surfaces have caused more problems for me on expensive knives than any other sort of lock-up -- and for that reason I've avoided trying a SHF. In every other respect, it's a knife that's 100% up my alley.

The XM-24 pretty much ended my hunt for larger knives. I love this knife, and it's an easy one to recommend if you like Hinderer aesthetics and edge geometry. :thumbsup:

kVTqYwG.jpg
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For what it's worth, I have had four SHFs (now down to my two favorites), three of them were brand new (one was the last gen, both others are current gen, one was "new to me", and none of them had so much as a lick of lock-stick. Just wanted to share my experience with that particular concern.
 
Quiet said:
I do like the XM-24s, but I feel like the SHF is a bit more refined overall.
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Hmm....not sure a side by side comparo would bare that out.

The jimping on the XM's scales is more refined (eliminated the sharp edges but retained the grip). The body screws/stand offs are flush w/the scales on the XM. Hinderer uses 2 screws to hold the optional clip position cover down while Spartan uses 1 which causes the cover to be proud on one side. The body spacers are a larger diameter on the XM and there are 3 instead of 2. Hinderer uses a lock-bar insert and I personally like the thumb studs on the Hinderer better. The clip is thicker on a Hinderer. Spartan lock-up varies considerably IMO whereas on a Hinderer it's always pretty much the same. Hinderer also offers 3 different bearing/washer combinations with each knife and charges less $$.

Of course that's just my opinion, I like them both very much.
 
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