HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ZT 562CF

Smaug said:
I think that for that kind of money, we should expect scales on BOTH sides of the knife. Also, it's a bit on the large side for EDC, unless you live in the 'hood. They advertise it as slicey, but it doesn't look slicey at all, with that blade grind and thick material.

I don't like the fact that it has a flipper/detent AND a thumb stud. They should make up their mind. (or hopefully, the thumb stud is easily removable) Someone who uses the thumb stud will probably not like the detent, and someone who uses the flipper will probably not like the stud cluttering up the blade. They should make up their mind what kind of knife it is, and if necessary, make another model in the other variant. For my part, I prefer flippers to thumb studs.

Take a pass and pick something with a more "of a piece" design.
Click to expand...

With respect, ti frame locks don't have 'scales on both sides' as you put it. Can't make a lock bar out of CF or G10.
It may be a bit large (as in heft) to EDC for some, but to me it's a great EDC folder that carries well. It has an excellent deep carry clip with no screw heads under it to get in the way.

It's not slicey like an FFG Spyderco, for example, and yes a little thick behind the edge, though I find mine to be highly usable and useful, and tough. I've used mine (in Elmax :thumbsup:) as a work knife for a few years now.

It does not have a thumb stud, it has a stop pin. The stop pin does not work as a thumb stud. It's a flipper. Mine has a good detent, flips well, and has no lock failure with light or medium spine whacks. I see no point in whacking it hard.

OP, if you want a very solid flipper with good ergos and excellent blade steel, buy one. In the unlikely event you find it's not for you, it will easily sell.
 
fmrranger said:
Mine is a 562 in Elmax, and it's my favorite folder. I say buy it and chances are you'll dig it, if for some reason you don't, you can sell for nearly what you paid for it. It's a no lose situation as far as I'm concerned.
Click to expand...

Unless you are suggesting to buy used. LNIB ZT 0562cf are usually sold here in the exchange for $170-190, which is $50-70 or 20-30% off the retail price.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mo2
Smaug said:
These threads are really a lot more useful with pix. I know it's hard to link one from a phone, but at least you could provide a link.

0562cf_profile_1020x400.png


0562cf_pback-open_1020x400.png


0562cf_in-hand_1020x400.png


I think that for that kind of money, we should expect scales on BOTH sides of the knife. Also, it's a bit on the large side for EDC, unless you live in the 'hood. They advertise it as slicey, but it doesn't look slicey at all, with that blade grind and thick material.

I don't like the fact that it has a flipper/detent AND a thumb stud. They should make up their mind. (or hopefully, the thumb stud is easily removable) Someone who uses the thumb stud will probably not like the detent, and someone who uses the flipper will probably not like the stud cluttering up the blade. They should make up their mind what kind of knife it is, and if necessary, make another model in the other variant. For my part, I prefer flippers to thumb studs.

Take a pass and pick something with a more "of a piece" design.
Click to expand...
Gee, thanks for the stock photos... You have shown you dont even know how the knife works, big help.
I have a g10 elmax, great knife, carries well. I also have the 804cf and that is a beauty tto.
Try one out, and dont listen to jackballs that never even handled one.

Russ
 
@Smaug
The 0562 is a Hinderer based design, hence it has various design features of the XM-18. Stating it just looks thrown together from some good pieces makes no sense. Titanium fame locks have just 1 show side. Having both sides of a frame lock in CF is as far as I know, technically not yet possible. Also the referred thumbstuds are not real usable thumbstuds, but blade stops. ;)
 
microbe said:
@Smaug
The 0562 is a Hinderer based design, hence it has various design features of the XM-18. Stating it just looks thrown together from some good pieces makes no sense. Titanium fame locks have just 1 show side. Having both sides of a frame lock in CF is as far as I know, technically not yet possible. Also the referred thumbstuds are not real usable thumbstuds, but blade stops. ;)
Click to expand...
Nautique stated that the Fox Suru is all CF including the lock bar and he is right. I googled Fox Suru in CF. Looks interesting and I would like to know how it holds up to EDC. I have some expensive CF fishing rods and I have to replace them every couple of years because the action gets softer with use.
 
The 0562 is one of my favorite knives. As others have said, the "thumb studs" are stop pins. ZT specifically made them round/domed so that people don't try to use them as thumb studs.

The problem with knives that are thumb stub and flippers is that the detent can't be dialed in for both. The optimal amount of force required for the detent is different when using different opening methods.

I like the design of the external stop pin located on the blade itself. Once the knife is locked open, the fact that the stop pins are on both sides of the blade means that there is resistance to lateral forces, such as when prying. I know that knives aren't for prying, and I always carry a multitool with me so I never use my knives that way, but if you need to, it's there. Hinderer and Strider both use this design. And if look closely, you'll notice that the G10 or CF show scale are cut so that they are slightly recessed at the point where the stop pin hits so that it contacts the steel liner. Good design all around.

It's called a slicer grind because that's what Hinderer calls the style. Its slicier than the Spanto that the XM-18 originally came with.

I've spine wacked my knife pretty hard, and it won't close. If I really needed to keep it locked down, I can induce a little bit of lock stick by pushing the lockbar further in from about 30% normally to about 50% lockup. At that point, it will stick, and it's definitely not going to fail a spine wack test.

I like tinkering with my knives, and I recommend using teflon/painters tape. Wrap it on, maybe 5 times around or so, and you're good to go. Just make sure you wrap it in a way that it doesn't unspool when screwing the pivot in. I'm too impatient to wait for the loctite to cure.

And I heard this thread needed pics... here's my modified 0562CF. If you like modifying, this is a great one to do it on.

XS20Xor.jpg
 
I wrote "teflon/painters tape", and meant "teflon/plumbers tape".

I can't edit my post for some reason.
 
Pendexter said:
The 0562 is one of my favorite knives.

XS20Xor.jpg
Click to expand...
Nice Photo! Yes, the ZT 0562 is very popular. I would probably have one but it's a little large for me (as compared to what I generally prefer for EDC) and I do prefer non-metal "handles" in terms of what I actually handle when using a knife. I do make exceptions at times however on the metal issue.
 
I never felt inclined to buy the 0562, because I already had an 0560...and I might even have had a 3.5" XM18 by the time the 0562 was introduced.
I am also not a fan of the not really a thumbstud thumbstuds, as I generally choose to use the thumbstud if it is there. By most accounts, it is a great knife; but I've moved on...Sold my 0560, but kept my 0550 and XM18. (Probably should have kept the 0560; but I almost never carried it, and was in cleanup mode)
 
I have both the G10 562 with Elmax and the Spyderco Gayle Bradley 2. The 562 performs admirably as a random cutting task knife and has a more comfortable handle of the two, but doesn't cut near as well as the Gayle Bradley. Both lockup solidly and carry well in the pocket although the Gayle Bradley stays more out of the way in the pocket with the slimmer profile. I'd give it to the 562 for ergonomics and less maintenance blade steel with the Gayle Bradley having better cutting performance and looks. Either knife would make a great choice!
 
The 562 is a great knife, but as others have noted, the geometry is not optimal. But once the blade is reground to be an excellent slicer, the knife really comes alive.

Here's a regrind by Josh of REK. Both blades are from a ZT0562. Both have 30 degree inclusive edge angles. But the reground blade has a much thinner and more aggressive edge width.

2v2Ev3sV3xAWtWs.jpg
 
I reprofiled mine to
4URaqPC.jpg


And yes, the Suru has a CF lockbar with a steel lockbar insert. Hopefully this will work out well, and more designs like that will follow.
 
Smaug said:
These threads are really a lot more useful with pix. I know it's hard to link one from a phone, but at least you could provide a link.

0562cf_profile_1020x400.png


0562cf_pback-open_1020x400.png


0562cf_in-hand_1020x400.png


I think that for that kind of money, we should expect scales on BOTH sides of the knife. Also, it's a bit on the large side for EDC, unless you live in the 'hood. They advertise it as slicey, but it doesn't look slicey at all, with that blade grind and thick material.

I don't like the fact that it has a flipper/detent AND a thumb stud. They should make up their mind. (or hopefully, the thumb stud is easily removable) Someone who uses the thumb stud will probably not like the detent, and someone who uses the flipper will probably not like the stud cluttering up the blade. They should make up their mind what kind of knife it is, and if necessary, make another model in the other variant. For my part, I prefer flippers to thumb studs.

Take a pass and pick something with a more "of a piece" design.
Click to expand...

I usually prefer to avoid replies with bullet points, because they often come across as salty or aggressive. That isn’t my intent here. I’m using them in this case because I want to stay organized in my reply, and have a bit to cover. Please, don’t take this as hostility.

1. Price -> scales on both sides. This isn’t a budget move. It’s a design choice in line with the more expensive Hinderer branded models. The idea roots in intentional design. Smooth ti lockside allows for easy in/out of pocket, while the scaled show side provides plenty of purchase for a user. I certainly respect that it’s not everyone’s flavor of choice from an aesthetic standpoint, but the 0562 is a favorite for maaaaaany people in the knife community, and a great seller for ZT. This choice has obviously been a good one.

2. “Unless you live in the hood” - or anywhere with knife friendly laws. The implication strikes me as a bit off for two main reasons: folders are crap for self defense, and nothing about the size of the knife makes it ‘too big for EDC’ unless a given person’s ‘EDC tasks’ specifically favor thinner blade stock to a point where the difference in performance efficiency is important enough to address.

3. Correct, it’s not especially slicey. For people who do food prep with folders, this is a bad choice. For people like me who don’t use folders for food prep, ‘slicey’ is often unimportant. My cutting is cardboard, zip ties, plastic straps, packaging, and occasional unexpected stuff at work, like leather or canvas. I prefer thinner stock for long cardboard cuts (I find .12”/3mm to be a sweet spot), but carried and used my 0562 5-6 days each week on average for a couple years without problems.

4. Those aren’t thumb studs. They’re blade stops. Intentional design.

5. To recap, it’s a product of intentional design. Not piecemeal, at all.

This isn’t to say I don’t see legitimate gripes. It happens to be a great knife, for something with a chunky blade. Steel liners could be better as ti, maybe.
 
This was the knife that got me thinking of spending >$100 on a knife... Weeks of research. I think it would be a great knife but the doubts eating away at me:
  • The bearings with plastic parts made me believe it was not a 'lifetime' knife. I'm into lifetime quality collectables, especially if I'm going to step up my spending
  • ZT 'whack-back' issues... I don't think there are many sightings of this issue for this model, but all the same, gave me doubts
  • Thicker blade not the ideal slicer
Finally, I know CF/Titanium combos have been the rage for some time, and a decade or two ago when CF first became synonymous with exclusive high tech like with Formula 1 it was a very expensive exotic material, but now for me it has a bit of a cheese factor since it has been replicated in so many places and with so many 'value' items. In summary, I reasoned it was a respectable value item trying to come across as something high end. I still have not bought a true flipper, although am now considering a Shiragorov. I'm still not clear on their lifetime durability. Instead I made the move to CRK and am very please with the lifetime quality received.
 
The 0562 is a great knife. I have the regular S35VN version, the orange/black and the all-black. In my opinion it is a better knife than the 560/561, because the blades are extremely similar, but the 562 has a more comfortable grip imo, a shorter handle, and a deeper carry clip. My regular version and my 0562blk have an outstanding detent, while my orange/black is a little weak (as is my 0560). I don’t regret buying any of them, and there’s a reason why it’s one of the most popular ZT’s.....workhorse
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top