What was the most important or influential knife of the decade (2010-2020)? It is an interesting question, one that this site can answer pretty well because, well, it grew up in the 2010s (pronounced “twenty teens” right?). At the time the site was founded the world was ablaze for a series of increasingly expensive “IKC babies.”

There was, of course, the Sebenza. Everyone that was anyone had a Sebenza (please read that line with a snooty voice in your head). But some folks thought that the Sebenza was too genteel, too refined. No, for these folks, a Strider was the real deal. The debate over Sebenza v. Strider raged like only forum-based debates over minutiae can. For my money the Sebenza was the easy winner, considering, at the time, the SNG had a lanyard hole in the cutting path. Things got better in Striderland, but only the Sebenza is still in regular production. Hindsight settled that debate.

But there was another knife, after the Sebenza craze and the Strider craze. It was the Hinderer XM-18 and it was different. Sure it was a framelock but it was a flipper. There were production flippers before, namely the CRKT M16, but they had never really taken off. But with the XM-18 there was a decent action (comparatively speaking). That was one part. But then there was the Humvee aesthetics. This was a brawny knife that looked brawny (as opposed to fat, a curse many “hard use” knives suffer from…). The blade finish is also an important part of the equation. The mirror stonewash that Rick used was, at that point, unique, and it was brilliant. There was a gleam there but none of the worries associated with a high polish finish. I think, even to this day, the mirror stonewash is my favorite blade finish.

All that explains why the XM-18 was a hit. The reason I think it merits being the Knife of the Decade is the fact that it grew from there. The growth was in three directions—it influenced the production market, it improved over time, and it served as the foundation for the growth of Hinderer Knives, the company.

While the hunger for the XM-18 was at its peak (and direct sales were limited to LEO/EMS/Mil only) production companies started sniffing around. While Buck and a few other brands had Hinderer designs, it was KAI that most benefited from Hinderer’s work. From the ZT0560 to the controversial Cryo (see here for the good Cryo still a great knife for the money, BTW), Hinderer invaded production knives and all of these collabs borrowed heavily from the XM-18. Oddly, while lots were good, nothing, in my mind replicated the feel of a good XM-18.

And that was another reason why the XM-18 was more than just a hit. It got better over time. I have owned three different XM-18s and each was better than the last. The original flipper action was, while decent at the time, pretty awful objectively speaking. The last version I had was dead on perfect. And so too with the centering and the lock stick and the lock disengagement. The XM-18, like all of Hinderer’s products got better over time to the point that now they are easily among the best production blades available.

Finally, there are the off shoots, variants, kissing cousins, and most of all accessories that the XM-18 spawned. Rick has wisely iterated on his success in a myriad of smart ways. This iteration has been great for knife knots that are always looking for something new or some new bauble. And it has been great for his business. The XM-18 made Hinderer like the hamburgers made Ray Kroc.

With all that success and fit and finish improvement, the XM-18 was in the running, but in the end there is this—the XM-18 is a GREAT knife in hand and in the pocket. I’d like to see the spine jimping and flipper tab jumping disappear but I am not the target audience for this knife (and part of its success is that about 90% of the owners aren’t either), but aside from that there is nothing I would change. This is an absolutely superb design and that, along with the other things, makes it a pretty easy choice for Knife of the Decade.

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Cryo G10