Reviews > Knives > Folding > Xikar 138 Excel Knife > Dennis Shubitowski > Initial Report

Initial Report - Xikar Xi 138 Excel

Report Outline

Tester Information <back to top>

Product Information <back to top>

Product Information <back to top>

The following table is information provided by the manufacturer. From my measurements, all dimensions are exactly as stated by Xikar. I do not own a micrometer for any further verification.

Background <back to top>

My knife knowledge is really quite lacking as far as terminology and what constitutes a "good" knife. My experience is mostly limited to inexpensive pocket knives, Swiss Army-type knives, or multi-tools. I own some very nice knives including a set of German kitchen knives and a Buck hunting knife which were both received as gifts so I do know the benefits of a nice knife. I stated in my application that I would endeavor to learn more about knives, and I have tried to do just that. The world of knives is actually pretty complicated and good, basic knowledge was hard to come across easily. I have tried to answer all the basic questions I would have about a new knife and I leave the reader with a few additional web resources if they would like to read further about this topic.

Initial Impressions <back to top>

The knife arrived in a plain manilla envelope, well-sealed, with a packing slip in the outside pocket. It was one of those packages where I thought it would be nice to have a knife handy... I normally do not spend much time describing the "packaging" that a test item arrives in for these reports, but this knife deserves a special mention as the box the Xi 138 Excel arrived in was a pretty fancy affair. The box is heavy, textured, black stock with the raised, diamond-shaped Xikar logo "XI" emblazoned on top in silver. There is also a sticker on the side that says "Xi138AK/Knife made in Italy/Box made in China." To open the box, you orient the XI logo so it reads correctly (i.e. "XI" not "IX") and open the top flap toward you. When the top flap opens, there is a cut out hole in this flap around the diamond logo, and below the top flap is a solid second layer with the raised diamond logo affixed to it. The second flap now opens away from you and reveals the knife along with the Torx wrench tool. The "Xikar" label is emblazoned in silver on the bottom of the second flap just to remind you what brand of knife you are looking at. The knife and tool are solidly set in a heavy, neoprene-like foam rubber. Below this neoprene foam is the instruction manual/product pamphlet, and that is resting on a layer of open cell foam that is on the bottom of the box. The pamphlet is printed on paper with a blue background and white lettering. The pamphlet contains descriptions and images of their complete line of knives, cigar cutters, and multi-tools. There are instructions for general care, product guarantee, and warranty/registration information. The Torx wrench is an "L" shaped Allen wrench-like tool, with a different size at each end of the "L," that can be used to adjust, loosen, or tighten the corresponding screws/bolts on the knife.

The knife appeared to me exactly as represented on Xikar's website. All measurements and weights for this knife are listed in the above table and are directly from the information provided about the knife through the website. The knife I received was anodized in flat black and has a black handle made from material Xikar calls "G10" - the knife looks very classy and functional. The G10 handle material is slightly textured synthetic and looks and feels almost exactly like a very fine woodworking rasp. According to web resources, G10  is an epoxy filled glass composite that is woven with glass fiber - it is very strong and resistant to fracturing and changes from extreme temperatures. The frame is anodized in a flat black tone - there are slight recesses for the G10 handles and one artistic "gouge" on the "flat" side of the frame. On this flat side of the knife (the side without the clip), the G10 textured handle is secured by two small Torx-head screws and there is one large Torx-head screw for the pivot point of the blade. There are two "scoops" to the knife frame - one scoop lines up with an elongated hole on the knife blade and the other, smaller scoop is where the thumb post for one-handed opening is located. The knife blade is labeled with "Xikar USA" on this side. The opposite side of the knife (the clip side) has the same configuration with the addition of the stainless steel clip that is secured by three of the small Torx-head screws. The knife blade on the clip side is labeled with "Built in Italy, Lion Steel." The clip is solid except at the end where the "Xi" logo is punched through the end. This is common for folding knives with clips as it allows the company logo to be visible against the fabric of your pocket when the knife is "pocketed" while using the clip. The clip is really tight, but I can pull it out enough to fit around the fabric of my pants pocket or on my belt. The knife frame is separated by three spacers along with the pivot point of the knife blade. The spacers are on the sharp, or "belly" side of the knife frame (when closed), but the blade does not contact these spacers. The spacer closest to the pivot point corresponds to a recession or indentation on the base of the knife blade that prevents the knife from closing any further

The knife can be opened with one hand using the thumb post on the knife blade. The knife pivots very smoothly and easily, and it is an easy action for me to open the knife like this. Obviously, two hands could also be used to open the knife. I used the knife blade to slice open the packaging list on the outside of the envelope - the blade was exceedingly sharp. This knife utilizes a "liner-lock" to prevent the knife from accidently closing. When the knife blade is fully opened, a recess in the blade allows the tensioned lock to pop out and wedge itself against the base of the knife. This lock has a serrated top and sticks up just a few millimeters above the cut out in the thumb post area when the knife is closed. The frame on the flat side of the knife is also slightly lower to allow easier access to the liner-lock. To close the knife, the lock is pushed back using your thumb. The blade can then be closed by folding the knife back - the liner-lock will be held back against the side of the frame in the unlocked position once the base of the blade is rotated just a few millimeters.

Initial Testing <back to top>

Liner-Lock/Knife Testing:

 This knife is described as a "gentlemen's folding knife," and there are some basic tests and mechanisms to check when evaluating folding knives and locking mechanisms. This knife has a "liner-lock" which acts as the locking mechanism for the blade to keep it open (see picture to the right). The knife blade should never close except when I want it to, therefore I consider testing of the liner-lock to be very important. To evaluate the liner-lock, I employed several tests. I opened the knife very, very slowly and allowed the liner-lock tension itself to lock the knife. I was unable to close the knife with very firm pressure from the palm of my hand (this is very good and very expected). I closed the knife then opened the blade extremely fast; the pressure needed to open the liner-lock was considerably higher (this is not so good). It does not appear to me that the tension of the liner-lock can be readily adjusted from the "outside" of the knife using the provided tool. It should be possible to adjust the liner-lock by taking the knife apart, but I would rather send it in for service if I felt this was a serious problem. Next, the knife blade should snap back into the frame when it is opened slightly and let go (or when it is almost closed, as the case may be) and with good seating into the indentation ball. The closing action on this knife is very slight, and the blade does not really "snap" back into the frame with any significance (this is not great but not too bad either). As I opened and closed the knife, I checked the blade for any movement up, down, or sideways and for any looseness during the pivot - there is none (this is very good). I then opened the knife, allowed the liner-lock to lock, and then thumbed the liner-lock back open. I checked for any movement in the blade when it is fully opened and found some very slight movement (there should be none, but this was pretty darn good). This movement should be able to be adjusted or tightened using the provided Torx wrench. The final test is a "white knuckle" test that is performed by gripping the knife handle very firmly (i.e. with white knuckles) while moving and/or squeezing your fist. This is to simulate if the knife was used in a "tense" situation. I could get the liner-lock to move slightly but it did not seem to be enough to unlock the blade (this is good). The liner-lock is pretty easily accessible through the scoop in the handle, and it has a serrated top edge to provide grip or friction to close the mechanism. The height that the liner-lock sticks up seems to be a good compromise between being too recessed or being too high Obviously though, and true of any knife, I will need to be careful with it when opening, using, and closing it.

Blade Steel & Hardness:

Xikar promotes the Xi 138 Excel blade as being made from "Z60 Stainless Steel." I had quite some difficulty trying to determine exactly what "Z60 Stainless Steel" is. In terms of steel, I could only find reference to "Z60" in a list of the weights of zinc coatings on various galvanized steel products (which is not applicable to this blade). The only references I could find via web searching for Z60 stainless steel referred back to Xikar-related products. I found pretty complete lists of the various types of steel and their names on several steel manufacturer's web pages, but Z60 stainless steel is not listed under any of these tables under that nomenclature. I ended up writing Xikar through their customer service contact through their website. I received an excellent response from Xikar within 12 hours that described the blade steel and answered my other questions I had regarding the knife as well (concerning blade geometry and blade grind). The following tables are directly from the reply from Xikar customer service; this blade steel is quite similar to AUS8 stainless steel (a very common stainless steel used in high-quality knife blades) with some slight differences in the exact composition:

The term "HRC 57," on the other hand, was a little easier to research! HRC stands for the Rockwell Hardness C-Scale. The Rockwell Hardness test is done by pressing a diamond penetrator/indenter into the test specimen at certain predetermined forces and measuring the indentation depth. The harder the test specimen, the higher the Rockwell Hardness scale reading (HRC in this case) will be. Knife blades in general seem to have a range of around HRC 55-63 hardness units. According to various web resources and forums, HRC 57 is a very common but not a particularly hard steel for knife blades. This blade should be easy to sharpen but may dull more quickly depending on usage and steel composition or treatment just based on the hardness value rating. Many custom or factory knives tend to have HRC numbers of 59-60 from looking at various comparable manufacturers, but knives of varying hardness scale values can be found from most all manufacturers. This is a useful value, along with blade steel composition, when comparing knives.

Blade Shape & Geometry:

Since my knowledge of knives was really, really basic, I tried (mostly in vain) to research the various styles and designs of knife blades and geometries as well. There are a lot of text descriptions about knife characteristics on both the internet and in print resources, but nobody seems to make a basic, idiot's guide to knives (I did check, too - there are no Dummies or Complete Idiot's guides for knives). I was looking for the visual differences between, say, a "tanto" blade or a "drop clip" blade, or the visual differences for the different grinds used to form the blade (sabre, hollow, chisel, and flat grinds among others). These terms do not mean much to me, and nearly all knife descriptions I found are written in a way that they presume you already know what they are describing and do not use pictures - it was very frustrating. I ended up writing Xikar, as mentioned above, to ask them to describe the knife blade shape and geometry. Scott Almsberger, Xikar Vice-President, replied, and it is better than anything I can summarize so I will quote it here. If I had tried to describe the blade shape and grind based on my research, I would have been completely wrong::

"The 138 has a Modified Spear Point blade with a Flat Grind. A "real" spear point is what you would find on a spear - point exactly in the center of the blade, both edges sharpened. But when knives are described as "spear point", this describes a special case of a drop point. In a drop point, the point drops slightly from the spine of the blade. In a spear point, the point drops all the way to the center of the blade. Point controllability is excellent, and the point is strong (but dull if not double-edged), and with the point so low the belly is rather small. The flat grind endeavors to provide an edge that is both thin and strong, and leaves a strong thick spine. The grind is completely flat, going from the spine to the edge. This grind is harder to make, because a lot of steel needs to be ground away. However, the edge ends up being fairly thin and so cutting very well. Because the bevels are flat, there is plenty of metal backing the edge, so it's much stronger than a hollow grind. It is not as strong as a sabre grind, but will out cut that grind. The edge on this design also penetrates better for slicing and chopping. The hollow grind expands non-linearly as you go up the blade, the sabre grind expands linearly but very quickly. The flat grind expands linearly and slowly. Kitchen knives are usually flat ground, because when chopping/slicing food you need to push the blade all the way through the food. This grind is an outstanding compromise between strength and cutting ability, sacrificing little for either."

Testing Plan <back to top>

Since this knife is presented through BackpackGearTest for backpacking use, that is how I will approach the remaining reports instead of a more "clinical" knife evaluation like I have done here. I plan to carry the knife with me nearly everyday and have done so already since receiving the knife. All of these activities are likely: cutting/slicing/chopping cord, twine, rope, cardboard, vegetables, whittle wood or make wood shavings, opening packages, or any other appropriate materials or uses I can think of using or doing. I am interested in the balance and feel of the knife, how it fits in my hand, and my comfort in using it. I would like to check how often the many screws on the knife need to be adjusted (if ever), and also note how easy the knife is to clean and maintain. I plan on sharpening the knife with both my Lansky sharpening kit and a diamond flat stone, but I am not the most skilled sharpener in the world. During the test period I will likely mail the knife in to be professionally sharpened to see if there is any difference in that regard. Obviously, I will monitor how long the knife seems to hold an edge before it needs sharpening, but this will depend most on daily usage and the types of material cut. I will continue to monitor the clip to see if it loosens or needs tightening as well.

I am looking forward to the rest of the test series. This knife will see usage from fall through next spring so it should see a variety of testing and backpacking situations. Thanks to Xikar and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test this fine product.

Biography <back to top>

I was born, raised, and currently live in Michigan. I have been camping with family since I was a young tot (and probably before that) along with scouting activities. I have been backpacking since the early 1990s and have gotten out much more over the last several years as life has settled down. I also hunt, geocache, horseback ride, ski, orienteer, and canoe. I backpack in every season - rain, snow, or shine. My hiking philosophy has definitely moved toward lightweight to ultra-lightweight backpacking over the past couple years from my "backbreaker" days. I now sleep under a homemade tarptent shelter or in a hammock, I usually wear a frameless backpack, and I cook on a homemade alcohol or Esbit stove with a titanium pot. My average three season load for a multi-day trip, including food and water, is less than 25 lbs (11.3 kg).

Reviews > Knives > Folding > Xikar 138 Excel Knife > Dennis Shubitowski > Initial Report