Kershaw Cyclone or Zero Tolerance 0350

[TotalDbag]

The top one in the pic looks pretty beat up. You should just sell it to me.Kidding awesome score on that by the way.

Well I hope it's not, It was brand new, when I got it

Thanks, got it for a nice price too.

I regretted selling my RAM, so there was no way I was letting it get away from me.

 

[xdottcomx]

Any recommendations on getting a blade serrated or not? Or getting the blade black or silver?

 

[daveb068]

Any recommendations on getting a blade serrated or not? Or getting the blade black or silver?

The dlc coating is plenty durable. Cleaning it will do quite a bit to make it look new again. That's not to say it won't scratch. It is pretty much up to personal preference. As for the serrations, I personally don't care for or need them for my uses.

 

[xdottcomx]

So would you say the dic coating is better than it not bing coated and just silver?

 

[TotalDbag]

I prefer a satin, or a stonewash finish myself. It's all just preference.

 

[annasoH323]

Any recommendations on getting a blade serrated or not? Or getting the blade black or silver?

There are different types of "silver" blades. The three most typical finishes are stonewash, beadblast, and satin (I think this is right). Stonewash will be have a rougher look since the particulate they use to finish the blade will leave some nice marks. It helps to mask wear and most people think it gives a very robust sort of look. Beadblast will have more of a dull gray sort of look. Satin I think is just a fine polish. Black blade will most likely be the tungsten diamond like coating. When I first got my knife with the coating, I cut open a foil wrapping. I almost died when it left silver streaks on the knife. It eventually rubbed off. Turns out since the coating is so hard that the foil was scraped onto the coating instead of the coating being scraped off of the blade.

 

[flarp]

The Cyclone is a nice knife, but it's been discontinued for a few years now. It's actually a little bigger than the ZT 0350. Personally, I like the 0350 a bit more. You can't go wrong with either though. A tiger stripe 0350 would be awesome.

The DLC is tough stuff. I once cut a soup can (steel) into a spiral ribbon. The sound of the metal edges scraping against the blade and itself still hurt my ears to this day, and I figured I had torn up the DLC after seeing all the scratches on it. To my surprise, most of them wiped off with just wet paper towel. After some time with some Nevr-Dull polishing wool, there was not a trace of any scratches left on the coating. Sharp jagged steel edges digging directly into DLC had no effect on the coating at all.

Side-by-sides of the Cyclone and ZT0350:

DLC after cutting a can apart and a wipe-down with a wet paper towel:

DLC after some a more thorough wipe down with some Nevr-Dull:

 

[xdottcomx]

The Cyclone is a nice knife, but it's been discontinued for a few years now. It's actually a little bigger than the ZT 0350. Personally, I like the 0350 a bit more. You can't go wrong with either though. A tiger stripe 0350 would be awesome.

The DLC is tough stuff. I once cut a soup can (steel) into a spiral ribbon. The sound of the metal edges scraping against the blade and itself still hurt my ears to this day, and I figured I had torn up the DLC after seeing all the scratches on it. To my surprise, most of them wiped off with just wet paper towel. After some time with some Nevr-Dull polishing wool, there was not a trace of any scratches left on the coating. Sharp jagged steel edges digging directly into DLC had no effect on the coating at all.

Side-by-sides of the Cyclone and ZT0350:

DLC after cutting a can apart and a wipe-down with a wet paper towel:

DLC after some a more thorough wipe down with some Nevr-Dull:

I guess my question would be, wouldnt a stonewash blade just be easier to maintain or having to worry less about than the DLC blade?

 

[1robinhood]

Re: Blems - here is Kershaw Website's official stance:

Kai USA and our Kershaw, Shun, and Zero Tolerance brands have very high standards of quality. Every Kai USA product—whether it's made in our Tualatin, Oregon factory, our Japanese factories (for Shun products), or our Chinese factories—is closely inspected to ensure it meets those high standards. Sometimes, products don't quite live up to our highest standards, yet they're perfectly okay in every other way. For example, a scratch on the handle can disqualify a knife from being "first quality," but there's nothing wrong with it functionally. This type of product is considered a "factory second," that is, second quality, rather than first quality. A product like that may go into our annual Warehouse Sale. Other types of products that qualify for our Warehouse Sale are discontinued items and items that we have too many of: "overstocked" items.

Shoppers get a truly awesome deal on some truly great products; we clear out our warehouse space. It's a win-win.

There are a couple things you should know about these factory seconds. First, you can recognize them by the "XXXX" lasered onto the blade. Second, these products DO NOT carry our Limited Lifetime Warranty. However, we will still be happy to sharpen your knives for FREE for as long as you own them. In fact, you can also bring any non-serrated Kershaw, Shun, or ZT knife with you to the sale and we'll sharpen up to two of them while you shop. (If you have more than that, please leave them with us and we'll sharpen them and have them ready for pick up later in the week.) Also, please understand that all sales made during the Kai USA Warehouse Sale are final and there are no refunds or exchanges.

I carried a full-size Kershaw Cyclone for three years - absolutely enjoy the sturdy feel & heft. There is a substantial price difference between the two and the steel quality is different - all in personal preference. Get yourself a BLEM (cosmetic minor little mark etc... that you are going to do to it anyway) It's like buying a car with 5 miles on it instead of zero... don't pay for depreciation!) version of the ZT 0350 for $95/$85 inc. shipping no tax and enjoy it!

 

[xdottcomx]

Re: Blems - here is Kershaw Website's official stance:



I carried a full-size Kershaw Cyclone for three years - absolutely enjoy the sturdy feel & heft. There is a substantial price difference between the two and the steel quality is different - all in personal preference. Get yourself a BLEM (cosmetic minor little mark etc... that you are going to do to it anyway) It's like buying a car with 5 miles on it instead of zero... don't pay for depreciation!) version of the ZT 0350 for $95/$85 inc. shipping no tax and enjoy it!

What concerns me about buying a blem is that there's no manf. warranty to back up the knife.

 

[NateReed]

You probably won't need it. ZT is built to take abuse. As long as you use your knife for what it is intended for, you should be fine. On serrations, I hate them because I can get a better edge on my sharpener with the plain edge

 

[1robinhood]

What concerns me about buying a blem is that there's no manf. warranty to back up the knife.

Are you expecting to break the blade in half? Otherwise, you ought to be just fine:

We can send you screws, pocketclips, torsion bars, safety lock sets, the pivot bolt and screws, and handle screws for USA-made knives. We cannot send blades, handle scales, liners, etc. If you need a blade, more than one part, or parts other than those we can ship, please send your knife in for warranty service. If you want us to ship you screws, a pocketclip, a torsion bar, a safety lock set, a pivot bolt and screws, or handle screws for your USA-made Kershaw knife, please contact us to request parts. Remember that parts are specific to each knife model, so please make sure the model number is included in your request for parts. You can locate the four-digit model number (for example, 1660) on the blade or handle. If your knife was NOT made in the USA (check the blade), then we do not have parts in stock and you will need to send the knife in for warranty service

So parts, sharpening, pocket clips & speed assist replacement are all good... It is a question of whether you want to take the discount of roughly $30 in place of the fact that if something seriously goes wrong beyond that.... YMMV - I own 4 BLEMS and have never had an issues with any of them (but I don't go prying or throwing etc... YMMV).

Enjoy whichever knife you decide to get!

 

[Janv]

Blems generally only have cosmetic defects. anything that would update the function of the knife wouldn't leave the factory.

 

[flarp]

I guess my question would be, wouldnt a stonewash blade just be easier to maintain or having to worry less about than the DLC blade?

What concerns me about buying a blem is that there's no manf. warranty to back up the knife.

Maintenance between stonewash and DLC really is pretty much the same. As for worries about the DLC itself, I don't think you need to (unless you just don't like the look of the residue on the DLC).

As for the warranty, it's true that blems don't have one. If you foresee yourself doing a lot of stuff that could break a blade, maybe a blem wouldn't be the best idea (can't take advantage of the re-blading program). Most of the blems I've gotten, I couldn't even find the cause for the "blem". A couple have had cosmetic blemishes that don't affect function at all. Even the ones with functional blems were pretty minor and didn't affect the utility or safety of the knife.

 

[KnottyEagle]

Honestly, unless you're going to be beating the living crap out of your knife, you don't need the warranty.

 

[xdottcomx]

Thanks for all the responses. Just been trying to get ahold of Kershawguy to get my knives. Anybody know if there's a way to get ahold of him besides his "contact me" on his site?

 

[KnottyEagle]

E-mail

 

[tfields]

man that lahar is sweet g10 and vg10 at an awsome price just ordered myself one!! thx for the heads up didnt know they where avalible!