• The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
    Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
    Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.

  • Today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11. I pray that this nation does not forget the loss of lives from this horrible event. Yesterday conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was murdered, and I worry about what is to come. Please love one another and your family in these trying times - Spark

first impressions on the zt 0560- am I crazy or does this emperor have no clothes

"I dont much care for the weight, but the quality, value and made in USA/veteran connection"

You sound like a man that needs a Benchmade Adamas. It eats ZT's and shits out Kershaws. And that's coming from a guy who owns two 0300s, two 0350s and an 0200. Better still a portion of the earnings go to a foundation that provides for families of fallen US Rangers
 
stog75 said:
I love my 0560BW so much I've EDC'd it everyday since i got it. Its got a firm detent that lets you preload the flipper until it gives at deploys with authority. I understand what you mean about your finger getting a bit sore - I had that at first until I realized it was operator error. Well, maybe not error, rather required operator deploy adjustment. Rather than flip your finger thru the flipper and have your finger slam into the jimping, flick more parallel with the long axis of the knife. Your finger will engage the flipper, deploy the blade, and not strike anything else. Promise you, it works and will make you a happy customer for sure. In case youre wondering, it was a sebenza25 that got bumped by the ZT. No knocks on CRK as it still is my favorite (one of), but the ZT is just so damned awesome with that flipper deploy.
Click to expand...
I think I may have said this, but I don't do it this way. I almost can't. From my first flipper I've found that finger-tip technique awkward and difficult. If you hold the knife naturally in the hand so that the blade is clear with the thumb resting on the scale somewhere near the pivot, the fingers are curled underneath. I just extend the index finger forward a little and hook the flipper with the side of the index finger between the first and second joint, and pull back. Seems MUCH more natural to me, doesn't require the precision of the finger-tip technique and less movement involved from the grip position, stronger muscles. No "hunting" for the flipper with the fingertip, the entire side of the finger is swiping the back of the handle, can't miss.
 
^ I do the same thing with my 0560. Using the tip only slams it into the jimping, so I've been using that technique as well.

Either way, I use a slight hand movement (only 10 degrees or so, very slight) while doing so and it opens really easily, doesn't slam into the stop pin. A little inertia goes a long way.

Another thing is, using the thumb studs, if you hold the knife blade parallel to the ground and slightly flick your wrist downward a few degrees while pushing the thumbstud parallel to the handle to deploy instead of outward away from it, it opens easily, too.

Not sure why the downward flick works really, makes no sense but it does. My buddy who got me into knives always did that, showed me for the first time and I've been doing it ever since.

Now he owns two, including a CPM-M4 710 I gave him, and I own 50. Go figure!

He's probably got more money in the bank than I do, too. :)
 
I have the 0566 (and the 0350). My experience with the 0566 has been similar to the OP's - so much so that I sent the knife to ZT because I was convinced it was defective. The 0350 flies open and is pretty much idiot proof. The flipper is very easy to use. The 0566 seems to be incredibly more sensitive to getting the pressure and angle of engagement exactly right. Long story short - ZT says my 0566 is fine. Okey dokey. I guess I'll learn to open it easily (when it arrives from Oregon) or I'll sell it. It still seems odd to me that the action between these two AO flippers from the same maker can be so different.
 
Last edited:
Presumed- You KNOW I had to go get the 0560 and try it. Very nice, quick, discrete and efficient technique you got there,....I think just might adopt the method. Thanks buddy!
 
stog75 said:
Presumed- You KNOW I had to go get the 0560 and try it. Very nice, quick, discrete and efficient technique you got there,....I think just might adopt the method. Thanks buddy!
Click to expand...
You're quite welcome. Not really "my" technique, of course, I'm sure a great many others do it that way, it was the first thing I tried and it wasn't until I watched some Youtube vids and the guys at a knife shop that I was even aware of the finger-tip style... but glad if I've been any help.
 
HappyDaddy said:
I have the 0566 (and the 0350). My experience with the 0566 has been similar to the OP's - so much so that I sent the knife to ZT because I was convinced it was defective. The 0350 flies open and is pretty much idiot proof. The flipper is very easy to use. The 0566 seems to be incredibly more sensitive to getting the pressure and angle of engagement exactly right. Long story short - ZT says my 0566 is fine. Okey dokey. I guess I'll learn to open it easily (when it arrives from Oregon) or I'll sell it. It still seems odd to me that the action between these two AO flippers from the same maker can be so different.
Click to expand...


wait. I thought the 0560 was NOT an AO. that was one of the reasons I bought it in the first place.
 
mmarkh said:
My Spyderco Manix has sharp jimping. I was just kidding about the soft hands. Sorry, i forgot to put the:). I never owned a ZT yet but will soon. Maybe go to you local Pep Boys and get some fine emery cloth and smooth it out. I have done things like that in the past rather than send it away for who knows how long.
Click to expand...

no worries bro. I have a G 10 Manix s30 partially serrated on my pocket right now! i prefer it to the Para2
 
bodog said:
View attachment 416060View attachment 416054View attachment 416055


Almost the same problem here. Had a cbcf, blade cracked behind the thumbstud. Sent it in, they returned the knife with a new blade. The problem is that they ground the the heel of the blade almost up to where the S110V meets the 14C steel. Looks terrible. The lock face was also terribly ground. There is only about 1 or 2 millimeters of the lock bar touching the lock face. The new blade also came back with scratches and a discoloration on it. Now I guess some could call that nit picking, but I call that shoddy work on a 350 dollar knife. So I called them and they asked me to provide pictures. I did. They said that the problems didn't interfere with the usability of the knife so they weren't going to correct it and that I should accept those problems when dealing with a custom handmade knife. First, it's bullcrap that they won't fix the problems they created on such an expensive knife, I wish I'd just kept the cracked blade or even more,wish I'd not bought the knife to begin with. Second, this isn't a custom handmade knife and even if it was that's no reason to produce crappy work. I don't see a custom handmade knife maker putting out something like that and not fixing it. This knife made me a fan of ZT, the problems associated with it have now turned me off.

I didn't pay that much money for just a knife with good materials. I paid that much because I believed the company produced products and then stood behind them. I could deal with the cracked blade because they said they could fix it, every good company can sometimes mess up. I can't stand idly by and accept a terrible grind on the edge and lockface and them telling me to eat it. It's not like it was one of their 20 dollar made in China knives.
Click to expand...

That's b.s. I thought zt/Kia had one of the best warranties/service in the biz. That's a huge factor for me when I buy knives.

I can't stand it when companies dont do the right thing. these knives properly maintained should last many years. you should write a letter ton somebody higher up the food chain. they owe you a knife. im sure there's others in this community that would agree.
 
good to know. my best friend is in the army. his father is a ranger. maybe if I like the kife the knife ill get him one as a gift. he just had his first kid.

Thanks guys. ill start looking around for an Adamas :)

good thing I have a job and im not married!
 
NetshadeX said:
"I dont much care for the weight, but the quality, value and made in USA/veteran connection"

You sound like a man that needs a Benchmade Adamas. It eats ZT's and shits out Kershaws. And that's coming from a guy who owns two 0300s, two 0350s and an 0200. Better still a portion of the earnings go to a foundation that provides for families of fallen US Rangers
Click to expand...

Pawliukas
Pawliukas is online now Registered User

Join Date
Jan 2014
Location
Boston MA
Posts
14

good to know. my best friend is in the army. his father is a ranger. maybe if I like the kife the knife ill get him one as a gift. he just had his first kid.

Thanks guys. ill start looking around for an Adamas

good thing I have a job and im not married!
 
Having had 0560 and a few Adamas, the Adamas is
twice the knife for 3/4 the cost of the 0560.
It's smooth, heavy duty and inexpensive.
Great QC too.
 
My Adamas had lock rock right out of the box and it never went away. My 810 is solid and all the rest of my Benchmade axis locks have been as well.
 
I have the 0561 and I like it. In that size range I also have an 0200, a BM 760, CRKT M16, and a Spyderco Manix 2 XL. I think the Manix 2 XL probably suits me better but it isn't as refined as the 0561, but then the S30V Manix 2 XL is not very expensive. I have not handled the Adamas, it might be too large for me. If I was buying another BM in that size I might look at the Contego instead.

My 0561 has a real strong detent. I have to put a lot of force into the flipper, and when it finally lets go the blade deploys completely from this force. I have tried numerous times and I cannot open it with my thumb on the "thumb stud".
 
Pawliukas said:
while reading I kept handling the knife, trying to get a feel for the lock, break it in etc. I found it difficult to open, difficult to close, painful to operate the flipper, and the gimping literally cut my hand. I have a cut on my middle finger just from gripping, handling, playing with the kife, opening and closing it, etc.
Click to expand...

This was exactly my first impression of my Hinderer XM18. After many open/close cycles it has become much easier to operate and I think the sharp edged jimping has worn down a bit (or my hand has become harder). Even so, it still doesn't operate as nicely as an out of the box Benchmade. It's clearly made to the highest standards of toughness, but for my purpose it's strengths are not a good fit to my needs. I'm not surprised you feel this way about the ZT version. I'm considering the Adamas as my big hard use folder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top