Firs the obligatory pic.
So why am I disappointed? It's certainly not the build quality, that's for sure. It really boils down to specifics of each knife in relation to my own tastes. First the ZT0700. I had read in a couple places that it had the option of tip-down right side carry but it does not. Every folder I've ever carried has been tip-down and there's no reason to not offer the option. Other than that I really dig it. I think it's one of the coolest looking knives I've ever seen and for $95 shipped from kershawguy.com I had to snatch it up, especially when I saw that ZT listed it as discontinued. Since it's no longer made and I can't carry it tip-down I might just use it for a letter opener since I don't keep safe queens.
The knockout looked like it would be something I would really enjoy in the pics and videos but when I got it the handle felt a little too small for my hand. I imagined it filling my hand somewhat like my ZT0350 but the handle is not nearly as wide as I had thought. Towards the end it tapers down a bit and gets a little small for my hands. It feels more like it was designed to be griped with the index finger along the spine and the thumb along the side of the handle rather than wrapping around. This grip feels very natural to the knife. My other issue is that I find myself needing to practice closing the knife because I naturally press against the lock bar with my middle finger while trying to unlock it with my thumb. I've tried adjusting my grip a few different ways but I haven't been able to close the knife one-handed with a smooth fluid motion. It's always awkward and sometimes I have to stop in the middle of closing the knife so I can get more leverage against the torsion bar. However this is my first framelock knife as opposed to liner locks so this is likely something I would have trouble with on any frame lock knife. This knife might make me finally understand why people de-assist their speedsafe knives. Unfortunetly I understand that the torsion bar serves as the detent to hold the knife closed so de-assisting is not an option at this time.
I don't have anything that ya'll haven't seen before but I might do some comparison pics and video between my various knives that are close to this size rather than straight reveiws. I think I have about six or seven with ~3.5" blades, mostly KAI.
So why am I disappointed? It's certainly not the build quality, that's for sure. It really boils down to specifics of each knife in relation to my own tastes. First the ZT0700. I had read in a couple places that it had the option of tip-down right side carry but it does not. Every folder I've ever carried has been tip-down and there's no reason to not offer the option. Other than that I really dig it. I think it's one of the coolest looking knives I've ever seen and for $95 shipped from kershawguy.com I had to snatch it up, especially when I saw that ZT listed it as discontinued. Since it's no longer made and I can't carry it tip-down I might just use it for a letter opener since I don't keep safe queens.
The knockout looked like it would be something I would really enjoy in the pics and videos but when I got it the handle felt a little too small for my hand. I imagined it filling my hand somewhat like my ZT0350 but the handle is not nearly as wide as I had thought. Towards the end it tapers down a bit and gets a little small for my hands. It feels more like it was designed to be griped with the index finger along the spine and the thumb along the side of the handle rather than wrapping around. This grip feels very natural to the knife. My other issue is that I find myself needing to practice closing the knife because I naturally press against the lock bar with my middle finger while trying to unlock it with my thumb. I've tried adjusting my grip a few different ways but I haven't been able to close the knife one-handed with a smooth fluid motion. It's always awkward and sometimes I have to stop in the middle of closing the knife so I can get more leverage against the torsion bar. However this is my first framelock knife as opposed to liner locks so this is likely something I would have trouble with on any frame lock knife. This knife might make me finally understand why people de-assist their speedsafe knives. Unfortunetly I understand that the torsion bar serves as the detent to hold the knife closed so de-assisting is not an option at this time.
I don't have anything that ya'll haven't seen before but I might do some comparison pics and video between my various knives that are close to this size rather than straight reveiws. I think I have about six or seven with ~3.5" blades, mostly KAI.
