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Hinderer’s 3 New Knives and Easy Mod Invention

April 2, 2016

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It’s been a little over eight months since Hinderer Knives moved into to a new, larger facility, and they’re about to flex that expanded capacity with two brand-new folding tactical designs and a new neck knife: the MP1, Halftrack, and Ember. With news of the MP1, Hinderer announced a patent-pending modular backspacer system that allows the user to swap out the backspacer without having to take the knife apart. Not only will you be able to customize the look of the knife, but also change its functionality: Hinderer promises options like a interchangeable tool attachment or bottle opener.

Going into production alongside his Eklipse and popular XM-18 models, the new knives will double the number of folders coming out of Hinderer’s Ohio, USA based shop. The MP1 – which stands for “Modular Platform 1” – features a flipper, a sheepsfoot-style blade, full titanium handles, and hidden shouldered stop pins. The Halftrack shares the same construction but is smaller with a wide-bellied blade, and a brick pattern milled into the handle inspired by the knife’s burly construction. Bricks just seemed right for the Halftrack: “When I was designing this knife,” explains Rick Hinderer, “I thought: ‘this knife is built like a brick s***house.'” Both knives apparently received such a positive response from customers who got a chance to handle them that Hinderer decided to put both into production without delay.

Hinderer has already left his mark on the knife industry: his knives are uniquely popular, combining graceful ergonomics and an ‘overbuilt’ look and feel that has inspired countless knockoffs and ‘me-too’ designs. Innovations like his lockbar stabilizer are now widely used, and his famous XM-18 design helped popularize the framelock flipper style that is so popular today.

There’s no shortage of Rick Hinderer designs on the market – the celebrated knife maker has collaborated with Gerber, Zero Tolerance, Ka-Bar, and Kershaw. Finding a knife made in Rick’s own shop, however, is a different story. Though supply has caught up with demand recently, it wasn’t long ago that buying an XM-18 required patience, attention, and deep pockets. Even today, availability of certain models is sporadic, but Hinderer promises that these new designs will be entering full-scale production soon.

Knife featured in image: Hinderer MP1

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