Hinderer to Unveil Slipjoint on XM-18 Platform Friday

“I was told by some of my European dealers not to bother coming to Germany if I didn’t bring a slipjoint,” Rick Hinderer jokes. IWA Outdoor Classics, the most important show outside the USA for knife companies, kicks off in Nuremberg, Germany on Friday and Rick Hinderer Knives won’t be disappointing its European dealers. They’re coming prepared with a brand new non-locking folder called the XM-SLIPPY.

The knife is the latest spin-off of the storied XM-18, which also inspired the ZT 0562 and the Kershaw Cryo, one of the best selling one-handed opening folders of all time. “It made sense to build the slipjoint on the XM-18 platform,” Hinderer tells us. “It’s tried and true and it’s what our customers have been asking for.”

The new XM-SLIPPY is geared to multiple audiences, not the least of which are European consumers. “We’re moving more and more into the worldwide market,” says Hinderer. “We heard fans around the world say ‘we love your designs, we just wish we could actually carry one.’ ”

The 3-inch XM-SLIPPY will be legal to carry in the majority of jurisdictions around the world. Hinderer designed the knife with a removable thumb disk so the user can operate it as either a one- or two-handed opener depending on local knife laws.

XM-SLIPPY Colors

The thumb disk rides on an innovative track milled into the blade. The user can adjust the thumb disk and move it into the position that fits their hand the best. Remove the thumb-disk and the track functions like a nail nick for two-handed opening. “I wanted to do it so if you removed it you really wouldn’t even know something was missing,” Hinderer explains.

The new knife should also appeal to North American buyers hungry for something other than a titanium frame lock flipper, a format Hinderer acknowledges has grown tired. “Knife people want some change and sometimes it’s just kind of cool to carry a slipjoint,” he says.

XM-SLIPPY Assembly

The knife keeps the ergonomics of the XM platform but abandons the standard mechanism of a traditional slipjoint in favor of an internal stop pin. “We wanted to improve upon the slipjoint and make it a little different,” Hinderer says. The XM-SLIPPY does include a spring, but its only function is to snap the blade into the closed position.


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The XM-SLIPPY will feature G-10 handle scales. Buyers can also expect the new knife to come in a super steel like 20CV and retail for under $300. Hinderer forecasts a first batch of the new XM-SLIPPY to be ready by May.


Knife featured in image: Hinderer XM-SLIPPY