Is there anything better than the ZT 0920

One thing to consider. New ZT catalog drops on Tuesday. I love my 0920, but I’m ready for some new new!
 
Popsickle said:
One thing to consider. New ZT catalog drops on Tuesday. I love my 0920, but I’m ready for some new new!
Click to expand...

Tuesday? This tuesday? Really?
6GaQa_s-200x150.gif
 
i love the design of the 0920 but I think it would have the same problem my 0220 has, re-curve blade that zt sharpens at a 22 degree per side angle. Not a problem for most knives but with that blade shape I find it makes it harder sharpen at that angle, and Im terrified to try and re-profile it with the sandpaper-dowl rod method since its such an expensive knife. Still cuts pretty darn good all things considered and is not overly thick behind the edge, but it would rather have a 15 degree per side and take advantage of that high end steel you pay for. But anyway like other have said ZTs machining is definitely top notch and the flipping action on the 0920 is amazing like most their other knives.
 
jpm2 said:
Let's see, 4" blade, 20cv, metal handle, recurve, ball bearings, flipper, 5+ ozs, funky spine, 0.156" thick....
That combination is about as impractable as it gets for me. Yep, there's a ton of better knives, almost everything.
I wonder how many have been sold.
Click to expand...

A lot, because it's a great knife.

That you don't like the design and materials doesn't make it a bad knife.

If you read the post you see that O.P asks if there's a knife with similar qualities which may be better. Not if you like the style of knife or not.


I do wonder why you think the steel and TI are a bad thing?
 
The blade is harpoon-ish. It doesn't appeal to everyone. But for actual cutting it does perfectly fine. Has decent belly, strong tip, the recurve, while a learning curve to sharpen, has advantages. The knocks that this blade gets is for how it looks which is based on opinion. Functionality wise, it's 100% practical.

The blade shape and handle can do 99.99% of any knife cutting task that almost any other knife can do, from skin a deer to peel an orange.
 
shinyedges said:
The blade is harpoon-ish. It doesn't appeal to everyone. But for actual cutting it does perfectly fine. Has decent belly, strong tip, the recurve, while a learning curve to sharpen, has advantages. The knocks that this blade gets is for how it looks which is based on opinion. Functionality wise, it's 100% practical.

The blade shape and handle can do 99.99% of any knife cutting task that almost any other knife can do, from skin a deer to peel an orange.
Click to expand...
Still too thick behind the edge to be a meaningful slicer. But yea it will cut things just fine.
 
Mo2 said:
Still too thick behind the edge to be a meaningful slicer. But yea it will cut things just fine.
Click to expand...
Along with a boat load of other knives from almost every other company. Including spyderco. Not all their knives come with optimal geometry for slicing. Could it be better thinner bte? Yes for all companies.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mo2
Mo2 said:
Still too thick behind the edge to be a meaningful slicer. But yea it will cut things just fine.
Click to expand...
And having seen many of my friends use knives, the thickness behind the edge for them is just right. They are reckless and use the knife indiscriminately.

People who are looking for optimal slicing performance are NOT the average joe. Sending out thin bte knives to joe blow would be a mistake.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mo2
I will add, spyderco is better than others about edge thickness and overall geometry.
 
basmca said:
A lot, because it's a great knife.

That you don't like the design and materials doesn't make it a bad knife.

If you read the post you see that O.P asks if there's a knife with similar qualities which may be better. Not if you like the style of knife or not.


I do wonder why you think the steel and TI are a bad thing?
Click to expand...
its Clear jpm2 hasn’t actually handled one of these. I get that certain brands aren’t for everyone, but this was easily the best release from ZT of 2017. The sub frame rexford/senkevich collab had the makings to be the best but they ruined it with the thumb stud and backspacer.

Recurves are actually fantastic, but more difficult to sharpen. The 0920 handle is SUPER ergonomic, and the blade spine is actually useful. I’m admittedly partial to g10 but the grooves in the handle make it surprisingly grippy
 
basmca said:
A lot, because it's a great knife.
That you don't like the design and materials doesn't make it a bad knife.
If you read the post you see that O.P asks if there's a knife with similar qualities which may be better. Not if you like the style of knife or not.
I do wonder why you think the steel and TI are a bad thing?
Click to expand...

Maybe just bad for me.
4" blade - Get's in the way of itself for most of the things I do. My 4" blades are specialty, with a very narrow range of tasks other than food prep.

20cv - Caveat.. Don't have any, haven't used it, but have paid close attention to those who have. Based on those and maker ratings of steels, and my own experience with similar steels, unless using an obtuse angle, the edge will get trashed before I can complete some tasks at work, too fragile. Pair obtuse angle with overly thick blade results in having to use excess force to make a lot of cuts I do. This creates more of a safety hazard than I'm comfortable with.

Metal handle - I've had them, they suck when hot and cold. The handle shape does look comfortable and versatile, I'll give it that.

Recurve - I've had them and find way more that they're not good for, than are, kinda like 4" blades, specialty purpose.

ball bearings - My knives get full of grit, metal shavings, and all sorts of other crap, sometimes very corrosive stuff.

flipper only - I've used them, nice when squeaky clean, not so much when gunked up and no alternate way to open one hand. Tab gets in the way with blade open.

5+ oz - Unfortunate side effect due to my other negatives. Again, more of a hindrance than help for me.

Funky spine - Possibly not a negative, but a lot of my cutting involves fore finger on the spine for stability & control.

0.156" thick - My gosh man, my 10" chopper is only 0.135" thick and I've beat the hell out of it for 30 years. I can't think of any reason for that thick of blade, especially a 4" one, except to intentionally add weight, or to reinforce fragile steel. I suppose it could be for balance, but suspect the latter.


I'm sure there's plenty more people who dislike the knives I prefer, than ones who dislike the 0920, so it's all good.
 
Wow this post makes me reallly wanna get one. Have I tried a 0200 or 0909? Those r both awesome
 
I
Red0ctober said:
Got one in the end and I do frekn love it, I'll live with the recurve because of the rest of the knife.
Click to expand...
I'm glad you went with your own preference for the knife, picked one up, and are pleased with it, RO. I love fluted Ti handles, frame lock flippers, large folders, and recurve blades. (I also love lots of other types of knives.) I'm a Les George fan and bought an 0920 off the Exchange for a nice price. I ended up selling it, more or less breaking even, as there was too much competition for pocket time from similar higher end knives and I put the $ into something else.

I did think it was a good knife, though, and if funds and carry time were limitless I'd probably have kept it.

I find the whining about recurves being hard to sharpen to be a bit of a head- scratcher. If you don't like recurves for what they are, well fine. With the proper equipment, though, sharpening is not a problem. The Sharpmaker is ideal, using the hones' edges, and if re-profiling is required, well you only have to do it once. The diamond hones for SM are a must purchase to add to your tool kit anyway. The Edgepro, which I also use, can be augmented with their narrow hones made especially for recurves. That tool makes any re-profiling easy. I've used both systems on my several BMK 710s, my Wilson Combat Les George Eagle, and others with excellent results.

Anyway, I'm glad you stuck to your guns and bought the knife you clearly wanted in the first place, even after wading through a lot of negative posts. You did ask, though. ;)
 
Resurecting an old thread...

I bought a ZT920 on a whim. It has become one of my favorites. The lockup is more solid than my Chris Reeves and the overall fit and finish is really very good. It really makes me question if i would buy another CR knife.

Details - I’d say that the detailed machine work is an A+, though I did find the lock bar to be a little sharp when gripping the handle tightly, so I took some 1000 grit sandpaper to it and it’s now perfect. The blade shape has a slight recurve, so get yourself a sheet of leather strop material and a lint cleaner roller, which makes a quick and easy cylinder strop for keeping that recurve wicked sharp.

Also, you may want to get an mxg clip.


Red0ctober said:
I a

I actually think this is probably the best overall knife for the price and I'm pretty set on it but was wondering if there was anything else in the same same for the price.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top