Blasphemy or just customafied my ZT 500

J

jefff

Joined
May 27, 2005
Messages
747
I don't know what it is about me and knives.. I have to do something to them to make them feel more mine.. This one was not even a day old and had it already torn down and started doing some subtle mods to it..

Also there are some detailed pics on the hawks lock for those of you that were wondering how it worked..

I like it. But not sure if I am going to get flamed for messing with the stock nature of it.. I just can seem to get that "Darth Vader's" knife comment out of my head from one of the other threads about it lol. One thing is for sure this thing is built for abuse and I can't see anyway for muck to get into the works or action of this knife ever. .. I wish there were other color options on the G-10 scales maybe an OD green would really set this thing off.. but the patern on the scales is so technical I think it would be pretty hard to make a set.. And another thing is the rubber switch boot is glued to the G-10 from the under side and that would be a bugger getting off with out tearing it up.

Anyway Here are the pictures.. This thing has not left my hand since it arrived the other day..

Lock with button switch removed
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Maybe this will clear up some of the, how does it work questions.. Also you can start to see some of the screw heads I polished up..

Here is a picture of the blade seals.. This thing has 4 phospher Bronze washers in it too... 2 on each side
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All of the knife apart
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Now time for a nice bath and lube with "super lube" grease .. I was supprised at how much tiny metal shavings and gunk came off in the alcohol bath.. Everything went in except for the seals I just washed those off in the sink with soap to keep them from drying out too much..
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And now all back together with polished pivot and screw heads and a differnt clip end.. and modifed button switch .. I like the knurling it really grabs my thumb alot better now.
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i would call it a tasteful modification. the original design is just out there enough to be cool, but this one has a certain pop to it. question though, is that glass breaker on the back stock? i have been debating dropping the cash on a ZT, may just have to be this one. i buy knives for use, hard use, and having sealed components may just keep out the nastiness that makes me tear down and clean my TiZDP cyclone every other week. as soon as i have some time with the new R.A.M. i may just be looking for a M.U.D.D.

nice work!
 
Hey thanks for the reply.. No the glass breaker thing is not the stock one.. The stock one is a little small round one.. This is just a screw on spike like for a dog colar.. I am searching for a better option I just thought this one made it look kinda neat.. but I doubt it would break glass.. it is nickel plated brass.. Here is a pic of the stock one..
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Sweet lookin'. mmmmmm, Super Lube, my favorite.


(for knives folks, for knives)

mike
 
Great pics! Thanks for sharing.
The polished parts look great!

I think the dog collar spike is just too big, if it were closer in size to the original piece, I think it would work.

The knife already opens so smoothly, do you think the polishing cleaning and lubrication made a big difference?

By the way, did you use a spanner to get the pivot off?
 
Hey guys thanks for all the replies! Much appreciated
Yeah after looking at the spike thing it just isn't working for me.. I am putting the original one back on it, but also polished... until I can find someone to make a better material one that is smaller.. Like what the Micro techs have on them. I think even dual ones would be cool.. But the spike thing reminds me of something a goth person would carry around lol..

And to answer about if I think the lube and clean made it open better.. I have to say yes! hard to believe because this thing was silk from out of the box... But the lube on the hawks lock and switch made a big difference in the action and it is super quiet now.. I also put a dab on each seal, the 2 pivot seals and the blade seals and man it is oh so sweet to open it and close it.. First it felt like a $400 dollar knife out of the box.. now it feels like a $900 one,,, you can feel the love in it lol.. If that makes sense.

And lastly here is what I used to open the pivots.. Kinda primal but it worked.. I took 2 very small torx bits and they fit right into the holes oposite of another.. and I just twised them and it worked..

Thanks again
 
Jefff...how does that lock perform on this knife?

I'm always a bit hesitant to through down for a knife having a side release lock button...it always seems a little too scary to have your hand that conveniently close to the "trigger" when you are working with it.
 
Great thread. Very nice pictures, Thank you for showing us this breakdown.
Am I to assume the big pivot disc with 4 holes in it comes off with the scale, and the pivot screw is under it?



Tom
 
I have the same question as Ben. Do the large, now polished, discs cover the pivot screw, or are those discs the pivot screws themselves? I went ahead earlier today and placed an order for one from NGK, even having it sent using Next Day delivery so that I will get it on Tuesday. Was not real high on this knife when I first saw it, but as I look at it more and more, I really am coming to like it.
 
Hey there .. The big round pivot disc things are the pivot screws.. it is kinda weird and hard for me to explain... but the actual pivot is seperate peice from the 2 of them that rides in between the aluminum scales and in the center on the blade .. and these are not part of the scales or just cosmetic buttons.. but they do seperatly seal into the G-10 scales with rubber o-rings on them and into a recessed portion of the g-10 scale helping to hold the scales on beside the other little screws .. They are hard machined special large head screws more or less... I really hope this helps out.. for some reason I can't quite put this to words very well.. lol
 
headroom said:
Jefff...how does that lock perform on this knife?

I'm always a bit hesitant to through down for a knife having a side release lock button...it always seems a little too scary to have your hand that conveniently close to the "trigger" when you are working with it.
Click to expand...

The lock operates very well.. I don't see an accidental closing happening even under stress.. reason being is that the lock has to travel a very long way to clear the breach pin to let it close.. and has to be purposefully moved there.. I like it better than the BM axis lock as far as safety is a concern. IMHO
 
... the lock has to travel a very long way to clear the breach pin to let it close.. and has to be purposefully moved there.. I like it better than the BM axis lock as far as safety is a concern. IMHO[/QUOTE]

YEAH! Thats what I;m lookin for.


Jefff: Does the blade operate like the axis blade ?
With the longer release pull, is it as fast as the axis lock?

First the RAM now I'm like'n the MUDD

If I like the RAM as much as I think I will, now I'm thinking I will be buying a MUDD also. I do want to get at least one Z.T. knife, but i'm trying to decide which one. Maybe this one:thumbup:

edit: Thanks for the great pics, and nice "detailing on the knife btw.
 
Thanks for the info jeff. I just asked the very same question under the thread I started dealing with the ZT MUDD, so don't worry about answering it as I now have what I needed to know. I also asked if there was anything I needed to know before I took it down, and still need an answer for that :D:thumbup:one!
 
Jefff: Does the blade operate like the axis blade ?
With the longer release pull, is it as fast as the axis lock?
Click to expand...



Well as fast as the axis lock.. hmmm... I think the axis lock is a bit faster just because of the location of it and ease to engage and disengage it.. Also the axis can be accessed from both sides of the knife.. But this knife is very easy and fast to open and has more detent hold to it than a liner lock does in the closed position..

I guess you could say yes to the other question about does the blade operate like an axis lock blade.. Kinda but they are nothing alike in design..

Also on a side note as mentioned in another thread, If I can figure out how to draw the knife from my pocket fast enough it does Wave open.. That is gonna be a big +plus+ as soon as I get the first part of not letting it hang up in my pocket on the draw solved...

I am really thinking that the very aggressive pattern and the screw recess corners of the G-10 is keeping this thing in my pocket,, I am wondering about trying to distress and smooth this down a bit on the clip side to see if that helps .. but on the other hand I really like the way this sucker grips my hand and don't want to loose that benefit.. But if I can't get it out in time to use it if needed, whats the point .. Any ideas or tips?
 
Well jeff, I sorta had to follow your lead and a few cosmetic touches to my 0500. I polished the screw heads, on the pivots I polished the flats but left the center depression black, but did use polishing compound to get a glossy black appearance. Finally, I polished the flats of the thumb discs, leaving the outside grooved section black. Really like the look it gives the knife, plus, and the best thing, it gives me a reason to buy a second ZT0500, you know, to have a stock version!!!
 
Hey there sorry for getting back to your reply so late.. Been busy cutting stuff with this thing lol j/k

Anyway sounds like your enjoying it as much as I am .. about a day after I posted this I was looking at it and really not liking the mirror polish so I took some scotch bright pads and chucked up the pivots in my drill and gave them a round scratched finish.. Then I used a dremel arbor but and chucked up the thumb studs and did the same to them in my drill.. I love the brushed look it gave them and now my finger prints don't show so much.. I went ahead and put the stock button back on it as well..

And I too had the same problem with the flimsy clip issue and thought also that it might be causing it to hang up on my pocket because it was riding a bit high from the frame of the knife allowing the pants to get snagged in between it.. So all I did to my clip was buzz about 5/16ths or 3/8ths of the screw on part of the clip to let it set down into the rear saddle of the frame and then opened up the screw hole with a diamond bit and re attached it.. Then hit the edges of the G10 with a barrel sander and took off allot of the edges.. Now she waves right out of my pocket just fine.. edit to add doing this to the clip also gives the "glass breaker/pressure point hurter thing" a backing support from laying right up against the rear frame of the knife making it more ridged. I am wondering why they didn't do this from the factory..

Also that chiol was really nagging me so I took care of that also and kept the born on date as well and now I love this knife even more than before lol ..
Here are some updated pictures..

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jefff...

I have to admit that I really wasn't excited about the look of the stock ZT0500, but what you've done with yours is great...you've transformed the knife into something else entirely...it's fantastic!

Thanks for sharing the journey!
 
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