Well, I did it!

[poco]

The wife has been nudging me to find a nice birthday present. So, after a lot of research on the net, I finally convinced myself to order a ZT561.

I'm a bit nervous about it since this will be the most expensive knife I've ever purchased and it wipes out my discretionary funds for at least a year. I like frame-locks and since it's cold here six months out of the year, my hope is that this stout knife will be the perfect edc for use while wearing gloves, should the need arise.

I've carried Emersons and Spyderco's Military quite a bit so I don't think the 561 will be too much of a good thing in my RFP. We'll see.

If it turns out that my expectation is greater than the realization I suppose I could always put it up for sale, though I would have a difficult time doing that. Once I commit to something, I'm pretty stubborn when it comes to giving it up.

Wish me luck.

[sticktodrum]

The 0560/1 is an amazing knife, and a beautiful design. I love[d] mine, and barring any issues, I think you'll absolutely love yours. It's fun, it cuts amazingly, and inspires confidence. Enjoy, and congrats on the pickup.

[CLICKBANGBANG]

You won't like it. Just forward the package to me when you get it.

[BrentD86]

I have the 550 and love it, was going to get a 0560 next week but considering my clutch pedal bracket broke on my car this evening my funds have temporarily been reallocated

[bad_juju]

I have the 550 and love it, was going to get a 0560 next week but considering my clutch pedal bracket broke on my car this evening my funds have temporarily been reallocated

Don't you just love how that happens. Seems like that always happens to me too.

[kershawguy]

I have the 550 and love it, was going to get a 0560 next week but considering my clutch pedal bracket broke on my car this evening my funds have temporarily been reallocated

Be a man and drive without the clutch, sheesh, Knife, hello !!!!

[chester22]

I think Dave should hook you up so you can afford both!

[TriviaMonster]

Fine choice on the 0561. I have been carrying mine since April maybe? I have serial #0250 so I have had it awhile. Its proven to be a very capable knife. And, its 2x the knife the 0560 is. The 0560 doesn't even come close IMHO to the 0561. All you 0560 sissies need to step up to a mans knife! Brown Power!

I have been rough with my knife and have been rewarded with a knife deserving of its $260 price tag. Smooth as glass and zero play or lock rock. Plus, ELMAX has been a great steel. Its strops back to hair whittling every time and I have never rolled, dinged, or chipped even the tiniest part of the edge. It feels like 1095 on steroids.

[BrentD86]

Don't you just love how that happens. Seems like that always happens to me too.

Ya it is one of those cars that is a lot of fun but I have had so many problems with it I will never own another from this manufacturer, hoping to get it paid off early and say goodbye to it within the next 6 months.

And Dave, don't worry my order is simply postponed not forgotten hahaha.

[Buck_Fan]

I agree with Dave. I drove one of my cars for a while without a clutch. But it was because I was buying an electric guitar. I got the guitar first.

Bill

[BrentD86]

Well its the clutch pedal bracket that broke so it wont even let you pull it out of gear. When it happened, luckily I was only in second I had to get out of traffic and stall the car to stop it.

[Ares1307]

I have the 550 and love it, was going to get a 0560 next week but considering my clutch pedal bracket broke on my car this evening my funds have temporarily been reallocated

Ouch that sucks bro. I was hours away from ordering my new ZT 30X from Dave, and a family emergency came up. My daughter got really sick and was sent out to TMC, which is a couple of hours away. Shes doing great now, fully recovered. I had to email Dave before I left that I was going to have to wait, but in a week she will be all mine! Dave is a great person to work with, great prices too! He was even nice enough to assure me that he had plenty of stock of the knife I want, I was affraid he would run out before I was able to come up with the funds. I hope you are about to get your car fixed and get your knife, even if not at the same time, I hope you end up with both working good for you!

[BrentD86]

Wow Ares I am glad your daughter is doing well now that sounds like a terrifying situation. In the end it just comes down to priorities, as much as I don't like to I can make myself wait another two or three weeks to order my knife, and when I finally do get it I will be all the more excited for having to wait the extra time lol.

[Cicatriz]

That's one reason I always have some baling wire, a roll of duck/duct tape, and a few zip ties in my vehicles.
I never know when I'll have to make due until the new-knife-bug goes away to bite somebody else for a little while

Just curious--What brand of vehicle is it?

[BrentD86]

Mazda RX-8, Fun to drive... expensive and disheartening to keep running great. Needless to say I am working on paying it off early to trade it in for something more reliable.

[Ares1307]

Wow Ares I am glad your daughter is doing well now that sounds like a terrifying situation. In the end it just comes down to priorities, as much as I don't like to I can make myself wait another two or three weeks to order my knife, and when I finally do get it I will be all the more excited for having to wait the extra time lol.

I can honestly admit, I have never been that scared in my life, and hope to never be again. She is doing fine now, thanks to the Docs of TMC and the prayers from my BF brothers and sisters, but she really had us scared for a while. I was going to pay for my knife before I left for work that day, but I didnt have time to make it to the bank before work and get back with enough time to pay for it and head back to work.. Im very glad that I didnt pay for it before work, because hours later I was in a different city and had to pay for gas, food, and a hotel for a couple of nights. I didnt use all the cash I had, but Im glad I didnt have to worry about how much I spent.. I was able to focus on the important things like my Daughter being sick, my Wife being scared and exhausted, and my younger daughter needing her daddy to take care of her while her mommy would stay the night in the hospital with her sister. Im just happy everything worked out for my daughter, she is back to her healthy fearless self.

I ended up having to email Dave, who I had emailed earlier that day telling him I would be sending payment soon for the knife, and telling him I had to delay my purchase for a couple of weeks.. he being the good guy that he is just said not to worry about it and just to email him when I wanted to buy it.

Now my family is back home, my daughter is 100% recovered, and Im a few days away from ordering my knife.. which wasnt even an after thought last week.

[poco]

Thanks to Dave's promptness, my 561 arrived Monday and I've been fooling with it ever since. This is quite the knife. Initially, I was a bit luke-warm towards it as it seemed a bit slow on opening and, once open it was a challenge to get the lock bar to move laterally so that I could close it.

I disassembled it and could find no tell-tale rub marks, so I cleaned off all the visible grease and lubed it with a few drops of CLP. While I had it apart I decided that it would be a good time to replace the lock stop with a cartridge case head. That took about 2.5 hours of work involving a great deal of problem solving along the way. Wouldn't have taken so long but just as I was putting the finishing touches on the first one it slipped out of my hand, bounced off the bench top, dropped to the floor and then disappeared into a different dimension. I know that's what happened because after spending a great deal of time on my hands and knees searching with a flashlight, it was no where to be found.

Looking for it was a bit frustrating as I had to move all sorts of accumulated junk while conducting a thorough "CSI"-like search. Even more exasperating was trying to get up off the floor. This took a multitude of rocking motions to accomplish. My knees are not what they used to be, that's for sure.

Upon reassembly the knife worked much smoother though I still have to flick it a bit to get it to "snick" open. While I was at the bench, I remembered something I had read in one of the many threads about this knife and I moved the pocket clip to a tip-down position. This has made all the difference in the world when it comes to closing it. The lock bar moves much easier now.

I'm going to use it a bit and see how well it cuts what I need cut. I suppose I've been spoiled by my PM2 and have developed a penchant for "slicers." If I can get this 561's edge to a similar balance of slicing ability while maintaining it's toughness I will be pleased indeed.

[bad_juju]

Wouldn't have taken so long but just as I was putting the finishing touches on the first one it slipped out of my hand, bounced off the bench top, dropped to the floor and then disappeared into a different dimension. I know that's what happened because after spending a great deal of time on my hands and knees searching with a flashlight, it was no where to be found. Looking for it was a bit frustrating as I had to move all sorts of accumulated junk while conducting a thorough "CSI"-like search.

Hahaha, You'll find it in the middle of the floor tomorrow! I have had things fall and disappear that were harder to find than bigfoot! yeah i never found them again!
nice pair and nice pics by the way!

[Ares1307]

Gorgeous knives! I too have had objects that seem to fall into some sort of wormhole to the far reaches of the universe.. and I spend days looking without success... Then a week or so later it pops out of nowhere right in front of me in a place where there is no way I could have missed it, as if to laugh at me.

Im glad you have your knife working smoothly, and I hope you love it!

[chester22]

Gorgeous knives! I too have had objects that seem to fall into some sort of wormhole to the far reaches of the universe.. and I spend days looking without success... Then a week or so later it pops out of nowhere right in front of me in a place where there is no way I could have missed it, as if to laugh at me.

While Polishing the screws for my ZT0561, one slipped out of my pliers and went flying (thank god I was smart enough to pull my car out of the garage) and I heard it land in a box....well by golly if it wasn't the 1st place I looked I found it...knife gods were helping me that day.