A inside out review of the ZT 300 (TONS of pics)

I also bought recently a ZT 0301 and I totally agree with you So-Lo: the ZT 0301 is an excellent knife, well build & cost-effective.

I also reviewed mine here (sorry all in italian, but there are several photos and deployment videos, maybe you can translate the review with a program):
http://www.coltelleriacollini.it/community4/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=8015

The only main problem with the 0301 is the speedsafe, don't get me wrong is a good system, but I prefer a lot more 100% manual folders (like Manix :cool: , more reliable & I am fast in opening them, with various techniques, so I really don't need/like the speedsafe even if it works great) and I was hoping that the 0301 was a manual folder with the speedsafe, but sadly if you remove the Speedsafe (really easy:thumbup:) your ZT will have an extremely low blade retention, because sadly Kershaw didn't put the retention hole on the blade to block the the little steel ball of the liner, when the knife is closed.
The retention of the 0301 without the speedsafe is so bad that forced me to modify my 0301 (I added the hole by myself, it works decently but not as good as my Alias that has a perfect hole by design, as most of the others frame-lock), this in my opinion is a little detail that Kershaw has to fix on this line of folders, I doubt that adding the little retention hole will interfere with the Speedsafe, but it makes the knife ready for the manual asset.

In conclusion I love my 0301 is an awesome "medium-duty" knife (sorry but if you want a "heavy-duty" knife IMO you need a front-lock with a choil, like Manix, just my 2 cents:D), but the absence of the retention hole makes the 0301 a Speedsafe dependant knife, this is IMO a serious limitation, I hope that Kershaw will fix this aspect of the 0301, so any customer will be happy and the Speedsafe will be see as a resource not as a limitation.

Extra observations:
-the warranty is completely standard, it is not "Stryder-like"/"total" as said officialy on youtube
-the liner under the G10 is made of steel, I have no problem with it, but on some of the reviews on youtube the reviewers said that it was made of titanium (like the main liner)... just a curiosity.
-I love that the holes for the clip in the G10 handle have metal treads, so you can't damage them by over tightening the screws or by several disassemblies of the clip, nice attention to details:thumbup: (except for the retention hole:foot::thumbdn:).
 
I gather this does not have a safety can this open accidently in your pocket easily or is the initial phase of opening good and stout (requiring a firm push which is what I would like) before reaching it's assisted opening point.
 
greater said:
I gather this does not have a safety can this open accidently in your pocket easily or is the initial phase of opening good and stout (requiring a firm push which is what I would like) before reaching it's assisted opening point.
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If you leave the speedsafe in the knife, it acts as a detent. If you carry it tip-up, you will have no problem. I have never heard of this folder opening in someone's pocket while in the tip-up/down position. The thumbstuds require deliberate force, and the flipper requires a decent pull.
 
My views on this knife. Lockup is excellent as well as fit and finish. The grips are great and it's one of the few that gives real tactile feedback coupled with a real secure grip.

It looks beautiful (coyote tan with tiger blade) cuts very well. I actually like the extra weight and the fact that the G10 is backed by a blackened stainless steel liner. I also like the sculpted thick titanium frame lock on the other side as well as the extra thick pivot pin with a nut.

The flipper works fine as well as the assisted opening however you may need to lubricate to get the full effect of it's assisted opening since the blade is somewhat wide and heavy. Everything on this knife is easy and smooth. For one hand closing fanatics the lock releases quite easily and the flipper which doubles a a guard will provide limited protection to your fingers when closing one handed.

The way this is made makes it a pleasure to use and open, in fact opening and closing this thing is something I can enjoy doing all day which I am sure will eventually wear out and break the torsion bar. The torsion bar is a simple piece of spring that I am sure would be easy to manufacture if replacements became unavailable. However as far as I know replacements are plentiful from what I read.
This knife has a minimum of moving parts (one piece of wire spring and blade pivot with frame providing very very simple lockup) and although the torsion bar can fail it will not render the knife unusable the lockup will not be affected at all.
Despite it being an assisted opener this knife can still remain fully usable in rough conditions such as combat even if grime and dirt renders the assisted opening feature useless. It can still be opened manually.

Unless the torsion spring is removed and the knife used as a manual opener with sufficient tension on blade pivot to keep blade closed this is not something you would carry in your pocket in rough and tumble conditions such as combat. If that assisted feature is something you insist on in these conditions then you will have to get something like a belt mounted sheath/case to secure it. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that eventually this thing will trigger in your pocket during a tumble as it has no safety (a compromise for less parts to malfunction.) I find the pocket clip somewhat amusing considering the type of knife this is however if you don't anticipate any tumbling I suppose it can be carried clipped for a typical EDC utility knife.

Although it can fully function without the assisted opening feature working (which also plays a great part in holding the blade closed) please do put a ball detent in the blade it already has a ball bearing in the frame lock, why go half way. That simple action would make it as good as any manually opened frame lock as the blade would be held closed better if the assisted opening spring were to fail or if someone chose to remove it then you would not have to tighten the pivot to compensate. This would also allow easy use of the flipper to assist in manual springless opening.

If you are the type of person who is used to fully controlling the opening of a manual knife by thumbing open the blade all the way (sliding your thumb along the side of the blade) without using inertia then don't use the thumb studs on this as you will find the blade will spring open way before your thumb moves any further, presenting you with an upright edge waiting to bite your sliding thumb. In fact just use the flipper period if the torsion spring is active (ie assisted opening feature.)

Here is where I will be clobbered by popular vote. The knife is a pleasure to open and close (fun to play with) action is smooth and lock disengages quite easily (a necessity for those who require easy one hand closing) opening is quite easy as well. Keep in mind that I could do just fine with it's current action although I wouldn't mind a stiff lock, however a stiff lock would probably make the knife less popular.

I like locks that require strong pressure on the unlocking mechanism to disengage. Are these changes necessary, probably not, however do make a ball detent in that blade please.

Considering all, this could easily still be my favorite knife yet. Great tool, strong good design, great ergonomics, reliable (if spring breaks just flick open), good looking, cool, easy to maintain. In a city environment this would kick ass in a rough environment such as combat you can still use it at it's primary function (a folding knife) even without the torsion spring.
 
I hate to say this, but my opinion of the 0300 just went WAY down after seeing it taken apart. That big sturdy pivot bolt is just meaningless show once you see how paper thin the little 'tab' in the blade is that rotates around it. The cutout for the opening mechanism around the pivot point looks like it creates a potential weak spot in what would otherwise be a strong knife.

Can someone from Keshaw comment on any failure testing they have done on these blades? I wonder if they all fail around the pivot before the lock fails?
 
Elkins45 wrote "That big sturdy pivot bolt is just meaningless show once you see how paper thin the little 'tab' in the blade is that rotates around it. The cutout for the opening mechanism around the pivot point looks like it creates a potential weak spot"

That little tab is a phospher bronze washer which is used to keep the blade opening smooth it does not serve to reinforce. The sturdy pivot bolt goes through solid titanium of good thickness on one side. The milling of the stainless steel liner on the other side shouldn't weaken the design enough to cause concern because it is backed up by G10 which is not weak by any means. Yes the G10 is milled also for the torsion spring however the overall pivot area on that side is further reinforced by that extra wide bolt nut.

In order to cause what you are describing that extra wide nut would have to ripped through both the G10 and the stainless. Thats not going to happen. The overall design of the knife compensates for that milling. The pivot area is not weak.

If that bolt nut was not as wide as it is I would see your cause for concern so I suppose that extra wide nut is not an advertising gimmick but is in fact necessary in the design of this knife.
 
Hi Guy, I just got my ZT 302 a few days ago I have to said it is a very impressive knife but I notice the tip seems a little blunt when compare to my Kershaw Speedbump. Is that normal for the 300/302? Thanks
 
greater said:
Elkins45 wrote "That big sturdy pivot bolt is just meaningless show once you see how paper thin the little 'tab' in the blade is that rotates around it. The cutout for the opening mechanism around the pivot point looks like it creates a potential weak spot"

That little tab is a phospher bronze washer which is used to keep the blade opening smooth it does not serve to reinforce. The sturdy pivot bolt goes through solid titanium of good thickness on one side. The milling of the stainless steel liner on the other side shouldn't weaken the design enough to cause concern because it is backed up by G10 which is not weak by any means. Yes the G10 is milled also for the torsion spring however the overall pivot area on that side is further reinforced by that extra wide bolt nut.

In order to cause what you are describing that extra wide nut would have to ripped through both the G10 and the stainless. Thats not going to happen. The overall design of the knife compensates for that milling. The pivot area is not weak.

If that bolt nut was not as wide as it is I would see your cause for concern so I suppose that extra wide nut is not an advertising gimmick but is in fact necessary in the design of this knife.
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You completely missed what I was talking about. My concern isn't that the pivot will pull through the scales: the problem is with the blade itself. The hole in the blade where the pivot pin passes through is surrounded on one side by the full width of the tang, but on the side where the arc is milled in it there is only a thin line of steel between the pivot hole and the cutout. I think the blade itself will fail at the pivot point much more easily than the the rest of the system.

I wasn't talking about the washers or the scales, only the blade itself.

It just seems like this one part is MUCH weaker than the rest of the setup.
 
E45,

Don't know if it eases your concerns, but we haven't seen any trauma at the pivot point in the years that the 0300 series has been on the market.

I guess it's possible, but can't imagine what one would be doing to cause that type of fracture.
 
Elkins45 wrote "on the side where the arc is milled in it there is only a thin line of steel between the pivot hole and the cutout."

Oh I see what you mean you're picturing the pivot pin tilting at an angle during stress causing the thin part of the stainless inner liner to break. You do have to take the G10 reinforcement into consideration even though it is also milled it does add extra support but thats not the whole story.

The same solution that keeps the pivot pin from pulling through (the big wide nut) also keeps it from moving/tilting side to side.

The reason for this is the G10 is recessed to allow the wide portion of the nut to be seated flush. This also reinforces the pivot pin preventing any easy side to side movement of the pin that is threaded through it, thus it is not the stainless liner that provides the major support for holding the pin straight on that side, but it's the way the bolt (recessed into the G10 scale) and pivot pin are set up (design.)

Another thing to consider is the thick titanium on the other side that the thick pivot bolt slides through also provides support against any tilting of the pivot pin. When this whole sandwich is bolted together you still get hell for strong.

All these combined together compensates for the milling in the G10 and the stainless liner.

Overall the strength of the pivot area is still quite strong.

Does that make sense.
 
There is no arc milled in the blade. Just the pivot hole and torsion bar hole. The arc cutout you see is on the liner, not the blade.
 
greater said:
Oh he thinks the liner is the blade? LOL Then I guess this is all moot
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Yeah, it is moot. Or, as Joey on Friends says: "It's a moo point. It's like a cow's opinion. It just doesn't matter. You know: mooo."

My knife has a black blade, so when I glanced at the picture I didn't look to see that it was the liner I was seeing and not the shiny, uncoated blade.

I'm usually not this stupid:(
 
Did you have trouble taking out the pivot pin? I'm trying to breakdown a zt0200 and can't seem to take the pivot pin out. Looks like some thread lock in their and it won't budge and I don't want to brute force it out. Just wondering if anyone else has tried to take it apart.
 
Excellent review and photos. I was pretty much decided on the ZT 0200 but I'm thinking this may be worth the extra $120.
 
NaOH said:
Excellent review and photos. I was pretty much decided on the ZT 0200 but I'm thinking this may be worth the extra $120.
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I've ordered the ZT0200 and intend getting the ZT0301 when I can afford it as well! ;)

Great review and photo's btw, and the discussion here ended concerns over the strength and quality of the knife! :thumbup:
 
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