Cold Steel VS Zero Tolerance

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I'd like to try out one from each brand, but I've yet to find anything I like. CS is a bit too 'mall ninja' for my taste, and ZT makes a lot of knives in styles I don't particularly like. Flippers, frame-locks, assisted, and metallic handles. While I love my 940, it's thin and coated - it fits in my small hand quite nicely. When I find something that catches my interest, however, I'd like to give either brand a shot.
 
Quiet said:
The part in that comment that's actually your insinuation that ZT knives AREN'T suitable for hard use, which is patently false. :thumbup:
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Nowhere did I insinuate that, and if you interpreted it as such then I'm sorry for you. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Tell you what, I'll take a picture of a cat door I installed in the door of the laundry room in my home. Know what I used to to install it? My ZT 0562CF. It was still sharp enough to shave with when I was done. Huh.


See, this is what I'm talking about. We can throw anecdotal evidence at each other all day, but the factual bottom line is that Zero Tolerance knives are just as "hard use" capable as Cold Steel knives.
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Again, no one criticized the cutting performance of ZTs. If you want to infer criticism from everything others say, that's your choice.

If you say anecdotal evidence doesn't matter, then how can you say the "factual bottom line" is anything?

First notice that I said that comparable Cold Steel knives are better suited for hard use. I never said that ZTs aren't hard use capable.

I say that they're better suited for hard use not just because of the lock, but because of other factors like weight and cost.

If I am buying a folder for the express purpose of using it as hard as I want, then will I want the knife that costs $240, has a bearing pivot susceptible to dust and debris, a slippery polished CF scale and a slippery stonewashed Ti side, and a lock type that is more finicky and more likely to have issues out of the box, some of them shown to close from hand pressure? I'm not talking about ZT in particular, although some ZTs have been shown to fail like this before - I am certainly not talking about the Cold Steel video with the 350s. Framelocks and liner locks, if they come a certain way from the factory, will disengage dangerously easily or have slipping/rock problems - this goes for any manufacturer of liner and framelocks.

Or will I want the $105 knife that weighs an ounce less, has a longer blade, a washer pivot, textured G10, and a lock that's much more difficult to cause to fail?

I am making an example with the 0562CF simply because it's the model you brought up. I know that some ZTs have washer pivots and textured scales/locksides that do give an excellent grip.
 
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marsalla said:
I will play the Devil’s advocate in this case. I watched the video where the zt350 failed the lock test. As I own this model myself i was greatly concerned over potentially hacking off one of my fingers and I stated communication with ZT directly. What I learned was appalling. The guy doing the test drilled out holes in the lock rendering it nearly useless to stop the blade from closing. What this tells us is there cold steel makes good knives but has bad propaganda. I remain supportive of ZT and cold steel knives as I own them both. I just want honest tests in the future.
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I don't own any ZTs or Cold Steels but stuff like that put me off of Cold Steel, plus I find their videos a little ridiculous anyways.
 
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Again, I don't mean that a clogged bearing pivot will cause failure. But bearing pivots tend to get clogged much more easily, even in just EDC carry where no hard use is taking place. It's definitely not something I would look forward to dealing with on a knife that's actually going to see a lot of wood shavings, dirt and grime.

stabman said:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/949197-ZT0561-Mudbucket!!!!!

[video=youtube;uCM9m8KVioU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCM9m8KVioU[/video]

[video=youtube;0PW7icSzPCU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PW7icSzPCU[/video]

[video=youtube;zLSBN0NCcdw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLSBN0NCcdw[/video]
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asdf12345 said:
Again, I don't mean that a clogged bearing pivot will cause failure. But bearing pivots tend to get clogged much more easily, even in just EDC carry where no hard use is taking place. It's definitely not something I would look forward to dealing with on a knife that's actually going to see a lot of wood shavings, dirt and grime.
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It could possibly be an issue, but it doesn't seem like many have experienced issues with it.
 
asdf12345 said:
Again, I don't mean that a clogged bearing pivot will cause failure. But bearing pivots tend to get clogged much more easily, even in just EDC carry where no hard use is taking place. It's definitely not something I would look forward to dealing with on a knife that's actually going to see a lot of wood shavings, dirt and grime.
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That video should have alleviated any and all concerns. It seems you are clinging to what ifs for the sake of doing so or as an alternative to saying your worries may be unfounded.
 
asdf12345 said:
Nowhere did I insinuate that, and if you interpreted it as such then I'm sorry for you. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:



Again, no one criticized the cutting performance of ZTs. If you want to infer criticism from everything others say, that's your choice.

If you say anecdotal evidence doesn't matter, then how can you say the "factual bottom line" is anything?

First notice that I said that comparable Cold Steel knives are better suited for hard use. I never said that ZTs aren't hard use capable.

I say that they're better suited for hard use not just because of the lock, but because of other factors like weight and cost.

If I am buying a folder for the express purpose of using it as hard as I want, then will I want the knife that costs $240, has a bearing pivot susceptible to dust and debris, a slippery polished CF scale and a slippery stonewashed Ti side, and a lock type that is more finicky and more likely to have issues out of the box, some of them shown to close from hand pressure? I'm not talking about ZT in particular, although some ZTs have been shown to fail like this before - I am certainly not talking about the Cold Steel video with the 350s. Framelocks and liner locks, if they come a certain way from the factory, will disengage dangerously easily or have slipping/rock problems - this goes for any manufacturer of liner and framelocks.

Or will I want the $105 knife that weighs an ounce less, has a longer blade, a washer pivot, textured G10, and a lock that's much more difficult to cause to fail?

I am making an example with the 0562CF simply because it's the model you brought up. I know that some ZTs have washer pivots and textured scales/locksides that do give an excellent grip.
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asdf12345 said:
Zero Tolerance will give you features like exotic premium steels, fun-to-flip-and-flick actions, the cachet of LE editions, and little "fit and finish" details.

If you like playing with and showing off your knives, there is nothing wrong with Zero Tolerance.

If you want to buy a knife more suitable for hard use at a more friendly price, then go with Cold Steel.
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I'm sorry, what was that? Something something more suitable for hard use something Cold Steel something?

So, in other words, I was taking your inference that Cold Steels are "more suitable" to mean that ZTs are less suitable (you know, since the topic of this sordid discussion is ZT and CS). I'm sorry for your poor use of logic, and even more sorry for your sad attempt at weaseling out of being called on what you tried to say. LOL Good times, gotta love it.

Just admit that cheap knives with inferior materials made with a really strong, hard-to-disengage-with-one-hand lock is your jam, and leave all your weak excuses at the door, yeah? :thumbup:
 
PURPLEDC said:
That video should have alleviated any and all concerns. It seems you are clinging to what ifs for the sake of doing so or as an alternative to saying your worries may be unfounded.
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Hey man, he probably feels sorry for you too! LOL "STOP POINTING OUT MY BAD LOGIC!!!!"
 
I have a zt 0350, never have had a problem with it, then again I'm not banging it on it's spine, I have a hammer for that, in my opinion cold steel makes ugly knives, I definitely wouldn't buy anything from them after watching their video, I guess they have nothing better to do but knock other companies since they aren't to busy making knives.
 
Cold Steel are making an assisted opener, the Swift, due out later in the year.

My Code 4 XHP is thin, light, and can be closed with one hand. It's customary to angle the handle down so that the falling blade will not come anywhere near the fingers of course.

The new XHP Espadas appear to have a saber grind rather than the current hollow grind, which would make the edge stronger if someone was inclined to use a folding Bowie as a woodcraft knife.

Andrew Demko used three ZT350s in his knife test, two of them failed on hand pressure, the one that didn't failed on impact testing. Drilling the liner lock? Is that all ZT can come up with as an excuse?
 
So the point of this thread is that Cold Steel has the best lock? All other things should be ignored as that is the most important thing about a folding knife.

Personally, I've never had a lock of any type fail on me. But I also don't use them in any way that a lock could fail. If I need a hard use knife, I'll use a fixed blade.
 
Oh come on we all know in less than a week another of the same thread will pop up lol We are here because we enjoy this hobby remember that.
 
tokerblue said:
So the point of this thread is that Cold Steel has the best lock? All other things should be ignored as that is the most important thing about a folding knife.

Personally, I've never had a lock of any type fail on me. But I also don't use them in any way that a lock could fail. If I need a hard use knife, I'll use a fixed blade.
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So then why buy ANY folding knife billed for hard use?
 
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