Flaw in zero tolerance blades?

Jedi22

JEDI MASTER
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Jul 27, 2016
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So I just bought a zt 0562cf...I've had it for about an hour, and this may just be my Grail knife. It's damn near perfect for a production knife. Mayyyybe a bit big for Edc but damn is it beautiful.
I noticed a line going down the blade from spine to edge, looks like a scratch but a perfect line. So I looked at other ZTs and noticed the same line on the 0566 and 0770 in 2 places.

Is this normal? Zero tolerance said they can't comment without seeing the knife. If it's simply cosmetic, it doesn't bother me. What else could it be? Production flaw?
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I wouldn't call it a flaw. At most a cosmetic blemish. If brand new from a legit ZT dealer, I suggest you send it back to the dealer for possibly a better sample.
 
Purchased from Amazon. I suppose I could always have them replace it, even though if cosmetic it doesn't bother me


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It's actually on both sides of the blade in the same spot


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Just looked at mine and it's not like that.Yours also seems to have a coarser finish/grind across that surface than mine does as well. Looks to me like the grinding wheel had a slight anomaly at that spot, maybe a piece of grit went through when they were grinding.
 
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Purchased from Amazon. I suppose I could always have them replace it, even though if cosmetic it doesn't bother me


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I am not pointing a finger saying that this is part of the problem, but two things I want to add....

Amazon has a ridiculously good return policy, and when something like a knife is returned, I doubt it gets checked by someone that has any real knowledge of what they are looking for, if it's actually looked over at all.

I like to buy knives from actual knife dealers.
The chances of getting a "blem" are minimal, as many of them check knives when they recieve them, or before they ship.
It's also not a bad idea to support knife dealers, for obvious reasons...
 
I am not pointing a finger saying that this is part of the problem, but two things I want to add....

Amazon has a ridiculously good return policy, and when something like a knife is returned, I doubt it gets checked by someone that has any real knowledge of what they are looking for, if it's actually looked over at all.

I like to buy knives from actual knife dealers.
The chances of getting a "blem" are minimal, as many of them check knives when they recieve them, or before they ship.
It's also not a bad idea to support knife dealers, for obvious reasons...

You are absolutely right about Amazon, and I normally do buy from dealers. This one was from Amazon because I had a gift cArd, and even then, I purchased from a knife dealer selling on Amazon.
I wish we had actual stores in nyc, the closest storefront is an hour outside of the city [emoji19]


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I know some knife vendors on Amazon advertise as Authorized ZT Dealers so I'd stay with those.

There are many ZT dealers which are also BF dealers and these I've personally dealt with successfully: BladeHQ, GPKnives, KershawGuy KnifeCenter, KnifeWorks, KnivesShipFree, TopQualityKnives, USAMadeBlade.
 
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Sweet knife dude! I don't have that many ZTs, however I've received knives with very similar marks from both BM and Spyderco. One was a Griptillian bought from Cabelas just after it opened. (It had 4 or 5 lines like that). The other was a HAP40 Stretch that I had pre-ordered. They're simply cosmetic, which doesn't bother me as mine are all users, but what you do with yours is totally up to you. I would be interested to hear what ZT said after seeing them. Good luck in getting it worked out! I'll try to snag a pic of mine for ya!
 
Nothing to worry about, I've had a couple worse than that. It looks like final grind on the blade incurred a little blemish. Probable can't see it at different angles.
Once you start using it, it'll blend in with the other personality marks you'll give it :)
 
Here's a quick visual aid, you can see a few lines on is little fella, the Stretch is already way to scratched to tell......just the way I like it! :D



 
You are absolutely right about Amazon, and I normally do buy from dealers. This one was from Amazon because I had a gift cArd, and even then, I purchased from a knife dealer selling on Amazon.
I wish we had actual stores in nyc, the closest storefront is an hour outside of the city [emoji19]


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Wasn't trying to put a negative spin on it in any way, just making that point.

Online knife dealers, there are very few brick and mortar stores.....

That "line" happened in the process of grinding, I wouldn't worry about it unless this is going to be a collector piece for you.
 
I've seen these lines before...

My theory is that since it's made with an automated grinding process, the "machine" they use to grind the blades does the stock removal in separate locations on each bevel. I think the line you're seeing is where the belt stops and ends during automated grinding. A hand ground blade shouldn't show lines like this since stock removal is done with one fluid motion from end to end.
 
Eric,

Whip out that blade and use it. Once you cut enough, that grind line will be camouflaged by the other scratches.
 
I have no problem with the lines if they are cosmetic, and I'm glad they are just that. Can't wait to start using this bad boy. Thanks everyone


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This is just part of the machining process. Usually CNC bit being a little worn.
I've seen this from ZT, to Buck, to Benchmade, to Chris Reeve, to just about any knife that gets CNC work done.

It's purely cosmetic.
 
Do yourself a favor and compare prices at Knifeworks, Knifecenter, or BladeHQ to Amazon. I found they often have similar and sometimes better prices at these dealers.
 
I agree with most folks in this thread and echo that some of my my ZTs and BMs have the same grind lines. BTW, for this particular model, the price seems the same across all dealers, so it makes sense to go with one of the BFC sponsor dealer.

OP - congrats! Dont let that minor thing affect you. It is a beautiful knife.
 
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