after my first day with the zt0550

R

rxavage

Joined
Aug 16, 2014
Messages
1,312
So, I recently came here for advice on a new edc and decided on the zt550, I bought one and it arrived 2 days later, and after a full day with the knife all I can say is my thumb is sore and I will probably be buying a 561 tonight if I can find one for the right price. I'm glad I decided to go with zt after dismissing them very early on in the hunt for a new knife, they have a new customer/fan here. Anyways back to the 561, what do y'all have to share about this particular knife? Thanks.
 
Once it breaks in your thumb won't hurt, and you'll also build up a callus and it won't hurt at all anymore with any knife :thumbup:
 
Spyder328 said:
Once it breaks in your thumb won't hurt, and you'll also build up a callus and it won't hurt at all anymore with any knife :thumbup:
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the existing callus has been shredded and the skin under my thumbnail has separated from the nail. I guess I may have been a little over zealous with the advice to break it in.
 
rxavage said:
the existing callus has been shredded and the skin under my thumbnail has separated from the nail. I guess I may have been a little over zealous with the advice to break it in.
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Thats exactly what happened to me lol Over time it does get better
 
If you like the size of the 0550 try and find a 0562 since they just came out. I handled the 0562CF at blade and it was very nice.
 
I'm sure you've probably already heard, but make sure you are not pushing too hard on the lock bar when trying to deploy the blade. My zt's detent was actually too soft for me, so I sent it to zt and they made it perfect! Blade won't shake out of the handle anymore and it rockets out with a light flick.

If you like the knife, and the detent doesn't soften up, I would definitely send it in. When I did it was back in my hands within two and a half weeks. Zts customer service was awesome to me.
 
I use the tip of my thumbnail and it flies right out. No issues with deploying my 550 at all. I have heard about people doing what Benja mentioned. If you are squeezing the handle too tight then you could be binding the blade with the lock bar. No thumb calluses here btw. Just a slight learning curve for some it seems.
 
Yes, it could be your grip and/or the angle that you are pushing the thumbstud out. On the 0550 it is more upwards than outwards. It should fly open with ease.
 
I had the same thing happen.
Except mine started to callous over.

So I did this.
[video=youtube;8MmNNVaKX5s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MmNNVaKX5s[/video]

It was better but still sucked.

So I traded it for a PM2. And I'm very happy
 
benja510 said:
This is also great advice. 560 is a big knife, 562 hits that nice 3.5in sweet spot. I have the G10 version on the way! :)
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To the op, 0561 is a big knife, plus EDC size. For me it is not carry friendly.

I handled the 0562 this weekend and it was super smooth and of course the size is perfect. Note ZT changes the thumbstuds / blade stop so they are only functional as blade stops. 0562cf will probably be awesome but it isn't available yet.

Also my 0550 took 3 weeks to break in and smooth out.
 
My 0551 was a bit stiff at first but it's now buttery smooth to deploy.
 
Adrenaline_6 said:
Yes, it could be your grip and/or the angle that you are pushing the thumbstud out. On the 0550 it is more upwards than outwards. It should fly open with ease.
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This +100! I almost hated my 0550 because I was trying to push the thumb stud 'out' not 'up'. Once I figured that I fell in love!

FWIW, I had the 0561 and much prefer my 0550. Just my experience...

Enjoy your knife!

Ben
 
Thanks guys. I think it's is me trying the wrong angle excessively in combination with being new.
 
Break it in faster by pressing on the lock bar and opening it just past the detent a bunch of times. I have had to do this with a few knives that had overly stiff detents, and it works great. Just be sure to not wear it too much, otherwise you could actually ruin the detent, or prematurely age the knife to near the end of its life.
 
You have just begun the ZT journey. 0550, 0560/1, 0562, 0566....... They are all good.
 
benja510 said:
I'm sure you've probably already heard, but make sure you are not pushing too hard on the lock bar when trying to deploy the blade. My zt's detent was actually too soft for me, so I sent it to zt and they made it perfect! Blade won't shake out of the handle anymore and it rockets out with a light flick.

If you like the knife, and the detent doesn't soften up, I would definitely send it in. When I did it was back in my hands within two and a half weeks. Zts customer service was awesome to me.
Click to expand...

This is huge... i would check your grip.
 
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