Review of the Hinderer XM-18 Skinny in Battle Black DLC

It’s been just over 10 years since I’ve written an article here on ThruMyLens about a Hinderer knife.  My last article in October of 2014 compared the ZT 0562 to the XM-18.  Interestingly enough, the article on ThruMyLens which gets the most views year after year is the article I wrote back in 2012 on why I sold all my Hinderer knives.  For two years, I looked for another EDC knife with defensive capability I liked better than the XM-18.  I didn’t find one.  So by 2014 I had another XM-18 – a used Gen 5.  When the ZT 0562 came out, I gleefully ditched by XM-18 – and pretty much carried Zero Tolerance knives for about the next six years or so.  Fast forward to 2020.  The Gen 6 XM-18 was on the market and supply was reasonably plentiful.  The Gen 6 design remedied many of the issues I historically had with the design of the XM-18.  And I essentially decided that if I like the knife but not the maker, the only one I was hurting by not buying the knife I liked was myself.  I did a story time video explaining why I decided to set the past aside and start buying Hinderer knives again.

In 2018, Hinderer released the first “skinny” version of the XM-18, and I picked up my first skinny XM-18 in 2020 – a Skinny Sheepsfoot which I still have.  Later that same year I picked up another XM-18 skinny – this time with a “slicer” blade grind.  With the addition of this most recent skinny slicer grind XM-18 in battle black finish, I find myself with four different skinny versions of the XM-18, and two of the standard version of the XM-18.

WHY SKINNY?

For most users, the skinny XM-18 is going to be a better choice for EDC.  As the name suggests, it’s both thinner in profile and lighter than the standard XM-18.  It’s simply going to be an easier knife to carry – particularly if you carry inside the pocket (as many do during the work week) vs. clipped the pocket.  The thinner blade stock used on the skinny XM-18 models will also provide a better knife for EDC cutting tasks than the standard XM-18 which, depending on the grind used, isn’t always a great choice in this regard.  The standard XM-18 is designed to be an extremely robust knife that can be used by first responders and LEOs for a variety of tasks not typically associated with knives.  Prying for example – try to do any significant prying with you’re thin, slicey Spyderco knife, and you’ll snap it.  So the standard XM-18 somewhat trades “sliceyness” for robust toughness.  It also creates a bit of a bulge in your work pants when you carry it in your pocket.  The Skinny XM-18 is a considerably superior cutting tool, and is much less noticeable when carried inside the pocket.

THE CONTROVERSY OVER HINDERER MAGNACUT

CPM Magnacut has emerged in recent years as a preferred knife “super steel.”  To understand why, you need to understand the five essential properties of knife blade steel:  Hardness, toughness, wear resistance, edge retention, and corrosion resistance.  MagnaCut was introduced in 2021 and the brainchild of knife steel guru Larrin Thomas who designed the steel specifically for knives.  Like most knife steels, the properties of the knife will depend greatly on the heat treat applied to the steel.  But when properly heat treated, MagnaCut put is a top tier knife for toughness and edge retention while exhibiting exceptionally good corrosion resistance.

The recommended heat treat of MagnaCut is 63 to 64 Rockwell in order to optimize both hardness and edge retention. Hinderer Knives doesn’t do that. Let me provide a direct quote from an Admin on the official Hinderer Knives Facebook group:

“Jefferson LÆngstaff Larrin Thomas (who created the steel) literally has a video outlining why someone would run it in a lower range as we do. He mentions toughness and that is why we run it in that range. We don’t base what we do around what other companies do. We go off metallurgical recommendations and after speaking with 2 of them, we choose to run it lower. Not to mention Crucible (who manufactures the steel) recommends 60-63.”

What Hinderer Knives is saying here is that they value hardness over edge retention and have heat treated their knife steel accordingly. This is a conscious decision to achieve the properties that they are looking for in the knife steel and I don’t necessarily have a problem with that. But here’s where I think Hinderer is missing the boat. Clearly there is a segment of the knife using community that would prefer their Magnacut knives heat treated to optimize both edge retention and hardness to the recommended 63 to 64 Rockwell. So why not make some runs of Hinderer knives Rockwell treated to 63-64 for those customers, and some heat treated at 60-63 Rockwell for optimizing hardness? From a business perspective, this makes perfect sense. But I doubt you’ll ever see that from Hinderer Knives. Why? Because Rick believes he knows best. Period. It’s the same reason why when you open your box that contains your brand new Hinderer XM-18, the first thing you have to do is move the pocket clip from the tip down carry position to the tip of carry position. Because Rick Hinderer thinks the pocket clip should be in the tip down position and dammit Rick Hinderer knows best. Never mind that the vast majority of knife carrying consumers prefer tip up carry. It’s this sort of dogmatic adherence to choices which quite honestly alienate customers that I find baffling. But that’s Rick Hinderer – love him or hate him.

BATTLE BLACK DLC

This version in Battle Black is my fourth skinny XM-18, and my second in CPM MagnaCut.  While I’d prefer Hinderer optimized their heat treat for edge retention over hardness, it’s not a big deal for me.  Admittedly, I don’t often cut with my Hinderer knives as I usually carry a small Victorinox Cadet Swiss Army Knife that handles most of my EDC cutting needs.  And I certainly don’t sharpen them.  I do cut with them from time to time, and when they get to a point where they might need sharpening, I’ll happily send them to Hinderer to put a factory edge back on the knife.  Sharpening knives is a perishable skill.  I can do it…but I was never great at it.  Primarily because I didn’t do it enough.  Maybe when I’m retired I’ll try to get back in touch with and develop my knife sharpening skills.  If you’re looking for a really good MagnaCut EDC knife that’s quite a bit cheaper than a Hinderer, the Hogue Deka remains a really compelling choice at about a hundred and fifty bucks.  I have one but don’t often carry it.  At a blade length of 3.25″, it’s just a bit smaller than what I like to carry in case I need to use the knife defensively.  But Hogue does heat treat their MagnaCut 63 to 64 Rockwell.

I probably needed another skinny XM-18 like a hole in the head.  But I’ve always wanted a black blade XM-18 variant.  So when I happened to catch an email from DLT Trading that they had a run of Battle Black skinny XM-18’s in, it was impossible to pass up.  Hinderer makes three different “black” variations – Matte Black DLC, Stonewash DLC, and Battle Black DLC.  They don’t come around often and seem to command a premium on the secondary market.  I can recall seeing all three of the Hinderer black variations at Blade Show one year and I seem to recall liking the shinny Stonewash DLC variation the best and the Battle Black DLC variation the least.  I generally don’t care for any of the Hinderer “Battle” finishes…Battle Bronze…Battle Blue…etc.  They have a “distressed” look.  I prefer clean and pristine over “beat up.”  That said, I’m not terribly disappointed with this knife.  In fact, I do like it.  Depending on the light, it essentially looks just…black.  If you look closely you can see the battle finish…I’m assuming it’s achieved with some light tumbling in media. And it will probably hide wear marks well, so to be fair it’s likely the best choice in a black finish to EDC.  I was half way convinced I’d be flipping the knife but I’m pretty pleased with it.  Fortunately, I like the contract of the silver metal finishes like the pivot, screws, and thumb studs against the black.  Much like the silver logo and lettering on the knife.  I say “fortunately” because as of this writing there is no Battle Black skinny XM-18 hardware to be found. About the only hardware I want to add to this one is a new filler tab.  One a year Hinderer drops filler tabs with the year marked on them and I’ve been pretty lucky the last few years in getting some for my knives.  I was able to source a Battle Black 2024 filler tab on the Facebook Hinderer B/S/T group, and it’s currently in bound.

Say what you want about Rick Hinderer but he still makes a consistently great knife.  The quality is right up there with the others in my collection.  I swapped the tan/brown G10 handle scale out with the black G10 scale I had on on one of my other skinny XM-18s.  When I did so, I applied my usual KPL knife oil and adjusted the pivot to get the perfect resistance while maintaining a centered blade.  After about 100 flips the detent is perfect and the blade drops shut every time.  The retail price of my skinny XM-18 in Battle Black DLC finish was $465.00 – just 40 buck over the standard price for an XM-18 of $425.00.  Not a bad deal.  And a nice addition to my XM-18 collection, and my EDC.