Benchmade, Cold Steel or ZT ?!

O

OVM

Joined
Jan 18, 2017
Messages
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After I read a lot of reviews I deduced that I have to choose for my needs ( I not collector) between :
1.Benchmade 275BK Adamas Black D2 Plain Blade,
2.Cold Steel Recon 1 Clip Point Plain Edge
3.ZT 0095BW
4.ZT 0566BW

I hope that all these knives are not made in China.

My question is which one ?!
I am counting again on your advice in my choosing.

Thanks
 
You are looking at three different lock types, three different blade steels and three different categories of knife as far as weight is concerned. Without knowing specifics of what you will be using this knife for it is hard to make a recommendation based on your needs.
 
It depends what you're looking for. The ZT 0566BW is my favourite and most carried EDC. It is thin enough and small enough to make it not hog up space in the pocket, but can handle tasks as good as any full size knives. The knife is a tank in a small package, amazing ergonomics and was recently upgrade to S35VN from elmax. It is the most carry able of the bunch. But, as I stated... what do you plan on doing with this knife for?

EDIT: just saw the knife is for camping... the knife could handle all those tasks. However the 3.25inch blade doesn't make it ideal since you can easily carry a larger knife out in the wild.
 
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The pocket knife must have to satisfy these needs: help me to cut branches for firewood, to cut well the meat for steak and easily cut the fishing tippet. Also I want to have a resistant blade and the blade locking mechanism to be sure and large or XL size.The pocket knife which I am looking for should not be regarded only as an accessory for fishing, just as a necessary tool fishing fisherman who makes his camp in the wild.
 
OVM said:
The pocket knife must have to satisfy these needs: help me to cut branches for firewood, to cut well the meat for steak and easily cut the fishing tippet. Also I want to have a resistant blade and the blade locking mechanism to be sure and large or XL size.The pocket knife which I am looking for should not be regarded only as an accessory for fishing, just as a necessary tool fishing fisherman who makes his camp in the wild.
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Look into the ZT0909, probably my favorite heavy duty hard working knife and more in line with the Adamas or the CS.
 
Myself, I'd pick the Adamas from these choices.

Weighs in at about a half pound. Benchmade does D2 steel right. Axis lock is great, easy to use with either hand, gloves or not.

I'm not a Cold Steel guy, but the Recon 1 is a big beefy piece with CTS-XHP steel and a strong lock.

I doubt there's anything with either of your choices that would make it unusable or unenjoyable for you.
 
Adamas -If you want a big folder that carries like a big folder.
ZT 566 -If you want a little folder that is big enough to handle most of the abuse the bigger ZTs were designed to take.
Recon 1 -If you don't want to spend more than $100.
 
OVM said:
After I read a lot of reviews I deduced that I have to choose for my needs ( I not collector) between :
1.Benchmade 275BK Adamas Black D2 Plain Blade,
2.Cold Steel Recon 1 Clip Point Plain Edge
3.ZT 0095BW
4.ZT 0566BW

I hope that all these knives are not made in China.

My question is which one ?!
I am counting again on your advice in my choosing.

Thanks
Click to expand...


IIRC, the Cold Steel is made overseas. So, that's out. Both of the ZT knives have metal scales. Not the best idea when dressing fish or use around water. Not a real big fan of metal scales on bigger folding knives, anyway. They're out.

That leaves the Adamas. It is the one I would have recommended from the start. I am a big fan of the Axis lock, myself. I guess it is no big surprise that I would pick the only BM on the list because of that.
 
Me personally i know the struggle of finding the "right knife" but honestly ive had so many benchmade knives that are not high enough quality to justify spending 120$+ on. Also me personally i think ZT knives are just WAY to over priced, not saying they are bad just saying they are over priced. However I highly Highly recommend the Cold steel Recon 1, i have carried it for over a year now and for 82$ on amazon you CANT beat it! But ultimately get what ever you think is the right knife for you! Cheers! ;)

[link to non BF-Dealer removed]
 
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EDCanAdamas said:
Adamas -If you want a big folder that carries like a big folder.
ZT 566 -If you want a little folder that is big enough to handle most of the abuse the bigger ZTs were designed to take.
Recon 1 -If you don't want to spend more than $100.
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I've had two Adamas and one ZT 0566. I've had ColdSteel, but not much interest.
Get Adamas if you want big, heavy-duty folder (perhaps woods-carry); get ZT 566 for smaller, lighter-duty...great quality. These two knives are both very excellent, but one is very large; the Zt is much smaller and perfect for EDC.
 
bladeboy61 said:
Me personally i know the struggle of finding the "right knife" but honestly ive had so many benchmade knives that are not high enough quality to justify spending 120$+ on. Also me personally i think ZT knives are just WAY to over priced, not saying they are bad just saying they are over priced. However I highly Highly recommend the Cold steel Recon 1, i have carried it for over a year now and for 82$ on amazon you CANT beat it! But ultimately get what ever you think is the right knife for you! Cheers! ;)
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I see this is your first post. Welcome. You need to edit your post to remove the link to Amazon. They aren't supporting members here and linking to them isn't allowed. Cheers.
 
Velitrius said:
Myself, I'd pick the Adamas from these choices.

Weighs in at about a half pound. Benchmade does D2 steel right. Axis lock is great, easy to use with either hand, gloves or not.

I'm not a Cold Steel guy, but the Recon 1 is a big beefy piece with CTS-XHP steel and a strong lock.

I doubt there's anything with either of your choices that would make it unusable or unenjoyable for you.
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But that Recon is the lightest from them all, and has hollow grind.
 
I EDC the ZT 0095BW and use the Adamas as my hard-use/work/outdoors knife. These are probably the two knives I carry most often. For camping I would definitely go with the Adamas.
 
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I've got all of those except the Cold Steel.
I think the ZT 0566 is the best all-around knife of those listed but I would describe it as medium, not large or XL.
The Benchmade 275 is definitely a large to XL folder and might be better if you plan to process firewood with it.
 
Gideons said:
It depends what you're looking for. The ZT 0566BW is my favourite and most carried EDC. It is thin enough and small enough to make it not hog up space in the pocket, but can handle tasks as good as any full size knives. The knife is a tank in a small package, amazing ergonomics and was recently upgrade to S35VN from elmax. It is the most carry able of the bunch. But, as I stated... what do you plan on doing with this knife for?

EDIT: just saw the knife is for camping... the knife could handle all those tasks. However the 3.25inch blade doesn't make it ideal since you can easily carry a larger knife out in the wild.
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I don't think s35vn is an upgrade to Elmax....
 
ourgon said:
But that Recon is the lightest from them all, and has hollow grind.
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Recon 1 I looked at weighs in at 7.85 ounces. The two ZT's look to be in the neighborhood of 5 and a half.

Perhaps I'm looking at the wrong spec sheet, but that's my read.
 
Only go Cold Steel if you want to support a CEO who goes around suing every knife company he can. On top of that Cold Steel has horrible fit and finish.
 
cowboys.spurs.12 said:
Only go Cold Steel if you want to support a CEO who goes around suing every knife company he can. On top of that Cold Steel has horrible fit and finish.
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There's always one of you guys around. Horrible fit and finish? That is seriously incorrect, sometimes I really feel like posting Hi Def images of the fit and finish on some CS knives just to disprove mis-information like this. The Recon 1 is one of the most capable knives for the money on the planet, and now in CTS XHP the new models have seriously stepped it up in the fit and finish and steel dept. I've had better luck on fit and finish on my CS knives than i have on my Benchmades and they are easily on par with Spyderco these days. The CEO is an easy guy to hate, but the knives are fantastic hard working tools.

Anyway, back to the question. I've owned all those knives, multiples of the Adamas and Recons, they are all very capable and you won't be disappointed with either. Personally i'd go for the Adamas or Recon 1, just because i trust the lock more for outdoor use and camping. The Hollow grind on the Recon is an amazing slicer, the Adamas has a very easy to actuate lock with plenty of strength, the ZT is easy to use with a strong blade and good feel in hand also.
 
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