Help me! ZT0550 gen 1 or ZT0551 or sell both get ZT0550 gen2?

T

Techno

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Jul 30, 2013
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I bought a ZT0550 gen 1 about a month ago and loved it but have also recently acquired a ZT 0551 and and can't decide which one to keep. I have a couple of aftermarket scales for them so looks are not a factor. I have also considered selling them both and getting a gen 2. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
If your prefer elmax I'd hang on to the 0551...if not I'd hang on to the 0550 gen 1. I wouldn't sell the 0550 gen 1 to buy a gen 2 unless you really want the deep carry pocket clip. Just my opinion.
 
I actually very much prefer the clip on the gen 1 0550 so I would definitely keep them both if I were you.
 
Functionally, I would say they are about equal. The gen 2 0550's changed the pocket clip and lock bar but neither change is enough to make the gen 1 obsolete. I believe jimmer said that the lock bar change is an improvement, it's not to say that the gen 1's lock bar is bad. So, it does come down to whether or not you want deep carry or not. I think if you look on the Kershaw/ZT archived subforum, you can find a technique for retrofitting a gen 1 with a gen 2 clip, though I don't know how recommended that method comes, if at all.

Also, since the 551 was a limited run, you might want to keep it just because of that. One reason is from the collector's perspective but the other is that if you ever wanted to get it back, you'd have a harder time imo (though I don't know how you came to get the one you currently have).
 
Thanks for all of the feedback so far guys. The steel on these will not be the determining factor as I believe both are great. Deep carry isn't a huge deal to me either so I have ruled out getting the gen 2. I'm still having a tough time with these two. If I did keep the 0551 would it be a bad idea to make it a user since from what I understand it is somewhat collectible?
 
If you bought it as a knife then I'd use it. If you bought it as an investment then I wouldn't. If you wanted a compromise maybe you could use the 550 and box the 551? Up to you...
 
Techno said:
If I did keep the 0551 would it be a bad idea to make it a user since from what I understand it is somewhat collectible?
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Life's too short, bro! That 0551 was designed to be used. Feel free to put some mileage on her. I know I would! :thumbup:
 
I'm certainly gonna put the one that I keep to use. The main problem is that I'm gonna sell one because I just can't justify keeping both. I'm not a collector so not really looking to box one up and store it. I'm leaning towards keeping the 0551 at the moment.
 
Techno said:
I'm certainly gonna put the one that I keep to use. The main problem is that I'm gonna sell one because I just can't justify keeping both. I'm not a collector so not really looking to box one up and store it. I'm leaning towards keeping the 0551 at the moment.
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Since the keeper will be a user, one perspective on the matter is that, depending on the condition, you might be able to get more from the sale of the 0551 (maybe) than the gen 1 0550. Since steel, aesthetics, and collectibility are ruled out as deciding factors, sale price is the only thing I can think of that would distinguish them. That's my further $0.02 Maybe there is another difference I'm not thinking of?

Oh, just thought of this: If, for whatever reason, you happen to break the blade (maybe trying to use a knife as a car jack or something), ZT has a blade replacement program. For a fairly reasonable $30, when you send it in, they will replace the blade. My assumption is that they will not replace the blade on the 0551 because it was limited (even though they do have a lot of Elmax floating around the factory, I don't know if they have the tooling set up to run an Elmax blade in the 055x pattern). But, since the 0550 is still in production AFAIK, it would be eligible for blade replacement. So, if breaking blades is in the cards, then that's another consideration
 
Those are some very good points. I don't plan to ever break a blade but you never know what might happen. I think I am going to sell the 0551 now. Thanks everyone for all the help!!
 
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