Maybe it's time to move on from ZT

chickenfried

chickenfried

Joined
Feb 27, 2003
Messages
1,065
Sitting around flipping my new 0566 that just arrived today. I'm disappointed, never had a knife give me so much grief disengaging the lock to close it. The lock is difficult to disengage. It seems to work best if my hand is high up on the handle. I'm paying attention to not put pressure on the lockbar. Closing a nice knife shouldn't be this hard. If it's this bad now when I'm comfy at home what's it going to be like when my hands are freezing on my camping trip? If I have to use two hands to close it might as well bring my buck 110:p.

Starting my knife collecting again after being away for a while owned a few knives from Buck to CRK in price range and all the knives were pretty good. Sure I could nitpick but nothing major like having TO PRACTICE/OVERTHINK CLOSING THE KNIFE! I didn't have to work to like them. ZT is trying my patience. My first try was an 0550 that functionally was fine but had machine marks on the lockbar cut out resulting in a wavy look to what should be a straight surface. Trust me I don't have much of a discerning eye, if I noticed it it's noticeable.

It's a shame because I like them aesthetically. They feel good in the hand. Also the excellent warranty. But I wanted it to be a few years before I had to use the warranty ;).

Forgot to mention. The thermite I bought to see if I liked speedsafe flippers before buying the higher end offering. Closes just fine. Also the speedsafe feels better but that's probably because it doesn't have a detent.
 
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I have noticed that the first few runs of any of their knives have issues. I had two different 550s that had lockbars so sticky i had to pry them with a flat head screwdriver to disengage the lock. The 560 and 561 that I had were flawless. The 562 and 801 that I handled at a local shop was perfect.
 
Last I checked there wasn't any law that said you had to like them. I believe that there may just be other people out there making quality knives. Move on! :thumbup:
 
I had the same problem with the 0566 it seemed like the lock was sticking or it wouldn't disengage but the when I tried it with my left hand I had no issues with the lock so I figured it was the way I was trying to disengage the lock .
 
Between MAP, stories of loose QC and some of the personalities involved my interest in ZT is dead and buried. Nothing wrong with other people enjoying them, but I'd rather just stay away at this point.
 
You should have gotten an 0562cf. I can't believe, in today's market, mine cost me 210 new. To me, that's a steal. In this case, I got way more than what I paid for.
Anyway, just send it in, and in a couple weeks, it'll be back to you and fixed. I do understand your issue, and I'd be upset as well if I had just got it and it didn't work right. But not ALL their knives are that way. I've had 4 different ZT's so far, and everyone of them were perfect. I think yours is the exception to the rule..
 
Try to get used to keeping your fingers on the clip when opening, it's a relatively narrow knife so it's easy to push pressure on the lockbar when opening. The issues people were having with it like this and Speedsafe opening being slow I have had none of as long as I keep pressure off the lockbar. It's a great knife and worth giving some time to get used to.
 
Disregard... I reread your OP and had missed something in it
 
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If they started making
Some smaller folders, 3" or less, I might be interested in them again.
 
Interesting timing on your post. As I was reading it, the postman (or is it post person?) delivered my new 0566BW.

Keep in mind that this is a VERY early assessment but after flipping and closing 50 or so times I've had no issues at all. The speed assist opens like butter with the flipper and the frame lock disengages with no issues. The blade is dead on centered and lock up is solid and tight.

Maybe I just got a good one.
 
Are you sure the handle screws are tight? The reason I ask is because if the handle slabs are loose and you try to disengage the lock some of the force you use to push on the lockbar actually pushes the face of that bar into the tang of the knife creating more friction. If you handle is tightened down properly inpect the cut in the lockbar and see if the gap between it and the frame reduces as you close disengage it. if there is a problem with the lockbar flexing that will let you know.
 
Personal preferences are a hard thing to satisfy.
I like my liner and frame-locks to "stick" at least a little bit, but many other people see that as a problem.

The thing is though, neither preference is wrong; as long as the lock functions, it's purely down to what each person wants.
Which is why it's great that there are so many lock varieties and companies producing them...with a little searching we can all find knives that satisfy what we want. :thumbup:
 
I have a ZT566 in the 19xx serial number range and havent had lock stick. I can say I was a little disappointed when I tried to de-assist it. No matter how hard I tried I could not get the blade even close to centered. It always centers perfectly with the torsion bar in there. Other than that it has been a great EDC.
 
I bought a benchmade once. It was the 300SN. Wasn't that impressed. It didn't flip very well and the ergos just weren't there for me. I didn't make a thread about it.

I really don't understand why people do this. I can see starting a thread to ask if this or that is normal.. But just making a thread to let us all know that you're disappointed in a company? What good does that do?
 
celtic11 said:
I really don't understand why people do this. I can see starting a thread to ask if this or that is normal.. But just making a thread to let us all know that you're disappointed in a company? What good does that do?
Click to expand...

Its a knife forum. We talk about knives.
 
I know what you mean. My 0566 was hard to disengage at first but it loosens up after a bit. Mine is pretty easy to close now. Give it a while to break in.
 
chickenfried said:
Like I said I just got back into knives, had no idea the Redord-Bloomberg Act of 1925 had been repealed. Woke up with a sore thumb :thumbdn:
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LOL! Best response I have read in a LONG time! :D

I have nine ZT's (six different models, discounting variations) and the only one I have some trouble opening is the 0550BLK, which is also the only one that doesn't have a flipper, just a thumb stud.

Rather than giving up on the knife or the company, have you considered sending it in for warranty? I think people totally disregard this option too often. I have sent one or two knives back to Kershaw for warranty and found their service good (and they don't overcharge you for warranty service, like another famous company I could mention, but since I've mentioned that on here more than once, I'll avoid it this time).

The only real downside to warranty service can be the wait to get the knife back. But if you can't adjust it yourself so that if functions more smoothly, what have you got to loose?
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Between MAP, stories of loose QC and some of the personalities involved my interest in ZT is dead and buried. Nothing wrong with other people enjoying them, but I'd rather just stay away at this point.
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Yeah, for sure.
 
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