A Little Help with Zero Tolerance...

N

Nephron44

Joined
Aug 20, 2015
Messages
979
So here's the story...

I once had a Zero Tolerance 0566 and really liked it. I prefer manual over assisted opening, so I gave it to my dad as his first "real" knife. Long story short, he really likes it too! So much so that he's used it on everything and beaten it hard.

Fast forward almost a year, and I'm getting ready to get married. As a gentleman's gift, my dad suggested he buy matching knives for the two of us. He suggested another 0566 as it was the model that "started it all" with his love of "fine" knives, but also suggested maybe the 0350 for something different. All in all, he trusts the ZT brand and wants to get a pair of "manly" beefy blades.

Does anyone have any input on these two or another ZT suggestion? I've never handled the 0350 and have no way to. I'm assuming he wants to keep it in the 150 range given the two suggested, but who knows? All I know is I prefer manual...

By the way, my groomsmen gifts include a Benchmade Mini Grip from the custom builder tool on Benchmade's website...my wedding is basically going to be a knife convention at this rate!
 
Wish I could help you but just want to say congrats and sounds like you and your dad have a pretty good relationship.
 
First off Congrats! I own the ZT 0350bw and the 0562CF. The 0350 while being a nice knife is assisted, and too me, feels a bit sluggish when opening. I know you can deassist them and I've heard they make a good manual knife but I'd much rather buy something that comes out of the box the way I like it. It's a hefty folder and solid but it's not my taste. Now the 0562CF is one of my favorite folders and many forum members have lots of good things to say about them. They come out of the box with a pretty strong detent and it takes a bit of time to work that down but it's a really amazing knife, although it might be out of the price range as a gift.
You might try looking at the ZT0909 it seems to be a good price and it's a manly sized folder with S35vn steel and ball-bearings. Hope this helps!
 
Pretty much only one ZT for you to consider if it must be no more than 150 dollars and manual openning. But it is a very good one: ZT0801. You will not regret.
 
If you are at all mechanically inclined, both knives can be taken apart and have the torsion bar removed, thus making them manual knives. They both work well that way. For what it's worth, Bladehq and a few other sites have the 0801 on sale for $150. Hell of a knife, elmax steel, full titanium handle, flips like a rocket on kvt caged ball bearing pivot.

If it's between the 0566 and 0350, I'd go 0566.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
A. Sounds like an awesome wedding. Waiting on my invite!

B. What do you think the budget would be? Your possibilities with ZT go up a ton if you can get to the $200 mark.
 
The ZT550 is manual opening and can still be found even though they're discontinued.
 
1st off, congrats.
I have owned both knives and to be honest my least favorite was the 0350cf. Just too wide for my taste in edc carry. The issue I have with the assisted knives is that they give a good amount of resistance when closing and have cut my finger bad in the past. The 0566 was great size, but the weight got to me. Both knives were de-assisted and were manual flippers.
If I had to chose one out of the two, I would pick 0566, but I feel that zt has better options in their line up, such as 0562, 0450, etc.
 
Get a pair of 0562's. You wont be sorry. I think its an upgrade from the 0566 but still carries a little of its spirit.
 
I have a 0562 & a 0801. I like them both, but the 0562 has always operated a little smoother. They're both hefty, well made knives. Is your future wife going to be comfortable carrying something like that? My wife doesn't like anything bigger than a SAK, Mini Grip or Native.
 
Ironbut said:
I have a 0562 & a 0801. I like them both, but the 0562 has always operated a little smoother. They're both hefty, well made knives. Is your future wife going to be comfortable carrying something like that? My wife doesn't like anything bigger than a SAK, Mini Grip or Native.
Click to expand...

My future wife won't even carry a little SAK in her purse...these are for my dad and I :P I finally got her to agree to at least TAKE a CCW course, but she won't carry...I just want her to at least be familiar with certain "equipment"
 
Nephron44 said:
So here's the story...

I once had a Zero Tolerance 0566 and really liked it. I prefer manual over assisted opening, so I gave it to my dad as his first "real" knife. Long story short, he really likes it too! So much so that he's used it on everything and beaten it hard.

Fast forward almost a year, and I'm getting ready to get married. As a gentleman's gift, my dad suggested he buy matching knives for the two of us. He suggested another 0566 as it was the model that "started it all" with his love of "fine" knives, but also suggested maybe the 0350 for something different. All in all, he trusts the ZT brand and wants to get a pair of "manly" beefy blades.

Does anyone have any input on these two or another ZT suggestion? I've never handled the 0350 and have no way to. I'm assuming he wants to keep it in the 150 range given the two suggested, but who knows? All I know is I prefer manual...

By the way, my groomsmen gifts include a Benchmade Mini Grip from the custom builder tool on Benchmade's website...my wedding is basically going to be a knife convention at this rate!
Click to expand...

As has been said before, get the 0566 and remove the torsion bar. It still operates flawlessly without it and makes me question a little bit why they put one in there to begin with. One of the better EDC knives I've come across, especially without it being an assisted opener. It's very easy to remove the bar. You can also get a set of matching custom scales to kind of commemorate the occasion.
 
Nephron44 said:
My future wife won't even carry a little SAK in her purse...these are for my dad and I :P I finally got her to agree to at least TAKE a CCW course, but she won't carry...I just want her to at least be familiar with certain "equipment"
Click to expand...

OK. I misunderstood. I thought he was buying matching knives for you & your future wife. In that case how about a pair of matching 0801BW's:

Overbuilt, yet elegant.:)
 
Ironbut said:
OK. I misunderstood. I thought he was buying matching knives for you & your future wife. In that case how about a pair of matching 0801BW's:

Overbuilt, yet elegant.:)
Click to expand...

No worries! That looks like a nice knife! How's the grip?
 
I have several ZT's and fall in and out of love with the various models as I carry them and switch them around. My first ZT was a 560, nice beefy cool looking knife that I carried extensively when first purchased, and although I really liked it and never found it to be a problem at the time, it is a heavy knife and it flips less successfully than any of my ZT's, as it takes a small flick of the wrist to really open nice. My next ZT was a 562CF, I found this knife to have great ergos and a little less bulk and weight in the pocket. Another ZT that I really like is my Rexford 804CF and although I haven't brought myself to carry this knife yet it has been handled/played with quite a bit and is a beautiful knife in every way and I am still surprised I don't hear much about this knife on the forums. To finish off my ZT collection I have the 462CF and the 450CF, again both amazing knives IMO, but the 462 seems to scare people a bit when you pull it out in public. So the ZT that I carry almost everyday, usually with a companion knife of some sort, is the 450CF, it's light, small enough to be unassuming yet large enough for most daily tasks, flips the best of any of my knives and for me is the perfect edc. I have several Benchmade, Spyderco,LionSteel and also the so called "grail" knife a Chris Reeve large Sebenza 21 and if I had to pick only 2 of these knives for my EDC needs, it would be the 460CF and the 804CF. Not sure of your budget but that's my 2 cents anyways.
 
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