Is my new ZT 0850 off center?

[AwayFromMySpydieHole]

Mine is all messed up... lol Love this beast.

So one side of the pivot is keyed into the carbon fiber it seems? Was your pivot easy to loosen?

Just to confirm, one side of the pivot is held captive by the carbon fiber? Wanted to know for sure before really going to town on mine.


And I agree, amazing knife! Literally the smoothest knife I own, regardless of washers or bearings. And I own lots of custom knives on bearings, Chris reeve, etc.

It's just so. Buttery. Smooth.

 

[BD_01]

The knife is going back Monday.

I think you are making the right choice. We all have different metrics for satisfaction at different price points. Regardless of what others think about the centering of your sample, the thread makes it clear that while you are enthusiastic about the knife, it's not quite meeting your expectations.

I bet ZT (and probably your retailer) would prefer you were satisfied.

If you're exchanging it for another 0850, I'd like to hear if the next sample meets expectations. Personally, I can't wait to pick one of these up!

 

[ccoast36]

So one side of the pivot is keyed into the carbon fiber it seems? Was your pivot easy to loosen?

Just to confirm, one side of the pivot is held captive by the carbon fiber? Wanted to know for sure before really going to town on mine.


And I agree, amazing knife! Literally the smoothest knife I own, regardless of washers or bearings. And I own lots of custom knives on bearings, Chris reeve, etc.

It's just so. Buttery. Smooth.

It is held in place but they both turn until the pivot screw actually starts to back out. It is just a half turn each direction.

 

[ccoast36]

I think you are making the right choice. We all have different metrics for satisfaction at different price points. Regardless of what others think about the centering of your sample, the thread makes it clear that while you are enthusiastic about the knife, it's not quite meeting your expectations.

I bet ZT (and probably your retailer) would prefer you were satisfied.

If you're exchanging it for another 0850, I'd like to hear if the next sample meets expectations. Personally, I can't wait to pick one of these up!

I will try to see if the retailer can look at the knife before sending it out.

 

[sharp_edge]

Just FYI, if you plan to return a knife to the dealer, better not tweak it like loosening or tightening screws. Would be fine if it goes to the manufacturer.

 

[Fanglekai]

So if I tighten the pivot fairly tight, the blade really favors the clip side. It is much more obvious. The knife is going back Monday.

I think this is the right choice. I don't mind issues like this on cheaper knives, but anything over a certain price point shouldn't have these types of cosmetic issues. In the end these are luxury items, not necessities, and as such cosmetic issues can certainly matter enough to cause dissatisfaction.

 

[toker]

I've had a lot of knives come from the factory with perfect centering, but I've also had a number with slightly off center to horrible centering. I've been able to fix all of them by adjusting the body screws and then the pivot screw. I had a perfectly centered ZT0777 that I took apart to heat anodize and when I put it back together, it was slightly off center. I lived with it for about a year and then took it apart to clean. Sure enough, when I put it back together, it was perfectly centered again.

I'm not sure why people have an aversion to taking their knives apart. Most of them have very simple construction.

 

[ccoast36]

I've had a lot of knives come from the factory with perfect centering, but I've also had a number with slightly off center to horrible centering. I've been able to fix all of them by adjusting the body screws and then the pivot screw. I had a perfectly centered ZT0777 that I took apart to heat anodize and when I put it back together, it was slightly off center. I lived with it for about a year and then took it apart to clean. Sure enough, when I put it back together, it was perfectly centered again.

I'm not sure why people have an aversion to taking their knives apart. Most of them have very simple construction.

Hey, let me ask you a question. If I loosen the pivot, it centers. No blade play when locked out, but the blade moves easily side to side when closed. It doesn't do that with the pivot tightened down. Is this normal?

 

[toker]

Hey, let me ask you a question. If I loosen the pivot, it centers. No blade play when locked out, but the blade moves easily side to side when closed. It doesn't do that with the pivot tightened down. Is this normal?

I never worry about a blade having slight side to side movement when closed. As long as there is no blade play when it is open, that's the most important part. You can also try loosening the frame screws slightly and try adjusting the pivot screw to get it centered with no play. Then tighten the frame screws.

I just checked my knives and it seems some have slight side to side movement when close like the Benchmade Axis knives. My Emersons don't have any play. My ZT0777 has slight play and my ZT0620 has none.

 

[ccoast36]

I never worry about a blade having slight side to side movement when closed. As long as there is no blade play when it is open, that's the most important part. You can also try loosening the frame screws slightly and try adjusting the pivot screw to get it centered with no play. Then tighten the frame screws.

I just checked my knives and it seems some have slight side to side movement when close like the Benchmade Axis knives. My Emersons don't have any play. My ZT0777 has slight play and my ZT0620 has none.

Thanks for the response and information, I really appreciate it. My side to side play is quite noticeable. The blade feels a bit loose when closed even when I loosen the pivot just a bit.

 

[ccoast36]

I never worry about a blade having slight side to side movement when closed. As long as there is no blade play when it is open, that's the most important part. You can also try loosening the frame screws slightly and try adjusting the pivot screw to get it centered with no play. Then tighten the frame screws.

I just checked my knives and it seems some have slight side to side movement when close like the Benchmade Axis knives. My Emersons don't have any play. My ZT0777 has slight play and my ZT0620 has none.

I guess I'm just confused because I've never had a blade move that off center when the pivot is tightened down all the way and then move back to center when I back out the pivot screw just a bit.

 

[Scurvy092]

Unless there is a pivot bushing, pretty much every knife will move the centering when the pivot is adjusted. Has to do with the lock bar pushing on the blade. The longer the blade, the more pronounced it is for obvious reasons.

 

[ccoast36]

Unless there is a pivot bushing, pretty much every knife will move the centering when the pivot is adjusted. Has to do with the lock bar pushing on the blade. The longer the blade, the more pronounced it is for obvious reasons.

The weird this is that the blade moves toward the lock bar when the pivot is tightened.

 

[sutherland]

You can try the Hinderer Blade Centering trick:

1. Open blade to 90 degrees and tighten the pivot
2. Close the blade and back out the frame screws
3. While the blade is still in the closed position, move the blade in the direction you want it to move
4. Use a wedge (a piece of paper folded up a few times) to hold the blade in place
5. Tighten the frame screws
6. Loosen the pivot, the blade should move to center

 

[Lapedog]

If you can get it so the blade is centred when closed and no blade play when locked open then that is exactly what you want. A little wiggle in the blade when the blade is closed is zero problem.

In fact most knives are not meant to be run with the pivot screw cranked all the way down. Most of them work best with the picot backed out a little bit. Most my knives are like that. The only knives which seem to really work best with the picot cranked all the way down are those that feature a bushing system such as the Paramilitary 2 or the Sebenza 21.

You could try locktiteing the pivot to exactly the right position.

 

[ccoast36]

You can try the Hinderer Blade Centering trick:

1. Open blade to 90 degrees and tighten the pivot
2. Close the blade and back out the frame screws
3. While the blade is still in the closed position, move the blade in the direction you want it to move
4. Use a wedge (a piece of paper folded up a few times) to hold the blade in place
5. Tighten the frame screws
6. Loosen the pivot, the blade should move to center

I've considered this. I saw a YouTube video on this trick. It seemed to work pretty good. Will that permanently fix the issue?

 

[ccoast36]

If you can get it so the blade is centred when closed and no blade play when locked open then that is exactly what you want. A little wiggle in the blade when the blade is closed is zero problem.

In fact most knives are not meant to be run with the pivot screw cranked all the way down. Most of them work best with the picot backed out a little bit. Most my knives are like that. The only knives which seem to really work best with the picot cranked all the way down are those that feature a bushing system such as the Paramilitary 2 or the Sebenza 21.

You could try locktiteing the pivot to exactly the right position.

I can get it to a desirable location, but the blade is really loose when closed. If it was a little, I'd be fine with it.

 

[PURPLEDC]

I can get it to a desirable location, but the blade is really loose when closed. If it was a little, I'd be fine with it.

Its not right by my standards. If the blade has a lot of slop when not opened then imho it compromises lock strength when open as the blade under enough force can move out of the way of the lock. For me lock geometry only does its job when paired with a blade that isnt shifting side to side.

 

[PURPLEDC]

Just FYI, if you plan to return a knife to the dealer, better not tweak it like loosening or tightening screws. Would be fine if it goes to the manufacturer.

Actually quite a few dealers will request you try making an adjustment before saying its defective. Now taking it apart and trying to "fix" anything sure I would say that's a no no.

 

[Scurvy092]

The weird this is that the blade moves toward the lock bar when the pivot is tightened.

That's the way it always works. The pivot wants to hold the blade perfectly straight. The lock bar wants to push the blade towards the display side. If you loosen the pivot, that allows the lockbar to push harder on the blade and push it further towards the show side. Therefore, tightening the pivot will ALWAYS cause the blade to move back towards the lock bar.