New for me, 2 ZT's and 2 Kershaws

[Kloepper Knife Works]

Ordered a ZT 0550 second gen, and 0300BW from kershawguy. I must have been feverish because then I ordered a Cryo 2 tanto blackwash, and the Kershaw Emerson CQC5K from another place online. It's going to be a good mail week!

I plan for the Kershaws to be users, and the ZT's will either be users or kept NIB depending on how they strike me in person. I'll update once I have them in hand.

 

[bigmack127]

Ordered a ZT 0550 second gen, and 0300BW from kershawguy. I must have been feverish because then I ordered a Cryo 2 tanto blackwash, and the Kershaw Emerson CQC3K from another place online. It's going to be a good mail week!

I plan for the Kershaws to be users, and the ZT's will either be users or kept NIB depending on how they strike me in person. I'll update once I have them in hand.

You should be very exited. I have the same cry 2 and it is amazing.

 

[flarp]

Awesome picks. The 0300 and 0550 are both great knives. My 0301 is probably the most comfortable fit in hand for me among all my knives. The 0550 is equally tank-like in appearance and feel. The tanto and recurved grind on the Blackwash Cryos looks pretty wicked. I haven't handled a CQC3K yet, but I do really like the CQC5K and 6K.

It is going to be a great mail week for you.

 

[Kloepper Knife Works]

My bad, I wrote CQC3K, it's the CQC5K. I have corrected the original post.

 

[grownstar]

I think you'll end up making the ZTs users. They're really made for that kinda stuff!

 

[Kloepper Knife Works]

I received the ZT's today. Man, when they are locked up, they are LOCKED UP! Initial impression is that I am going to prefer the 0300 to the 0550. This is surprising, I guess that A/O is something I've grown really fond of.

I'll try and get a little user time, and give more detailed thoughts once I've received the Kershaws on Saturday.

 

[Kloepper Knife Works]

OK, so I had to add something quick that bugs me about the 0300BW. The textured handles have the same problem as the Spyderco Citadel. TOO textured. Unless moving the clip for tip up carry helps, I expect it to eat pockets up.

 

[Kloepper Knife Works]

Ok, so here are my initial impressions of the knives. Up first is the ZT 0550 gen 2.

So the first and most often stated thing about ZT's is their insanely solid lockup. The 0550 has this in spades. No play whatsoever. The Ti framelock is well made and engages quite deeply with the blade. The Ti appears to have been cut using a wire EDM (electrical discharge machine, cuts with brass wire, pretty sweet machines) The nice thing about parts cut on wire EDM's is that they are extremely accurate, most EDM's will cut with around half a thousandth of an inch accuracy. They also leave an excellent surface finish, reducing the need for secondary cleanup.To me it appears likely that the handle was machined first; putting in the holes, counterbores, threading, and the lockbar relief. Had it been done after cutting the lockbar free, the cut quality from and end mill would be atrocious where it has been machined down slightly from the surface with a ball endmill. From there I suspect they move to the EDM for the profile cutout, using some of the pre-machined features to locate the part in a fixture. After that it is probably blasted. The main evidence I see indicating that an EDM was used is the extremely small kerf on the lockbar cutout, and the fact that the only visible machining marks are on the lockbar relief.

The fit and finish on this knife is very good. There were no defects in craftsmanship that I could find, edges all lines up beautifully, blade is centered when closed, fasteners were clean and undamaged, and the blade was probably 70-80% of the way to being as sharp as I take my knives when I'm doing the sharpening (which is much higher than a work knife needs to be). The ergonomics are spot on. It is extremely comfortable in the hand in a variety of grips, and feels secure thanks to the textured G10 and ironically enough the clip when it's in the tip up carry position. The clip adds some thickness to the back of the handle that as a right handed person makes the handle feel larger, and thus more comfortable. While I can open and close the blade with one hand, the thumbstuds are worthless. I just can't get enough leverage to make them comfortable to use, I'll be interested to see if this improves over time. Fortunately enough of the blade is exposed when closed that I can grip it between my thumb and index finger and get it out that way.

There are a couple of things that bug me though. One is that it looks like the blade was sharpened on something moving at a pretty good clip. I'm not sure how well it will show up on whatever device you're looking at this with, but there is a slightly discolored tip from overheating while sharpening. I don't expect it was hot enough to ruin the temper, just something I noticed.

The other thing that is a slight problem is that the G10 scale's milled texture is a bit rough against the hand when reaching into my pocket for keys, change, whatever. It's just abrasive enough to be annoying. I suppose wear with time will round off the sharp edges and make it less scratchy.

All in all, a good knife for $160.

 

[nwmetalbug]

Once you figure out how to deploy the 0550 it is pretty easy. Takes a little break in time and you need to make sure you arent pressing the lockbar and push up not out.

 

[Kloepper Knife Works]

Next is the ZT 0300BW.

So this was a knife I purchased partly because of reputation. The 0300 is known for being a tank, and a tank it is. Solid lockup like the 0550, maybe even more so. It came quite sharp, maybe just a touch less so than the 0550. Ergonomics are good, although i wish the hump between where the first and second finger rest on the handle was smaller (more like the 0550 size) as it somewhat encourages my fingers to move apart, or else have the highest part of that hump directly in the middle of my middle finger causing pressure, and long term probably a wicked blister. As I mentioned in a previous post, the handle has too much texture to be friendly to pockets. All that texture may be murder on pockets, but it's wonderful for grip. It reminds me in some ways of my old Spyderco Citadel. Extremely textured handle that provides great grip at the expense of your pants. Speaking of my old Citadel, the 0300BW has the same problem around the pivot. When gripped too firmly around the pivot area, both knives have difficulty springing completely open.

The framelock is excellent, and the knife is very easy to open and close one handed. Lock engagement is deep, and the spring moves the blade with authority, but not as quickly as smaller bladed A/O knives.

Now onto the problems, some small, some bigger. The texture of the handle kind of discourages me from carrying this knife. I love the strangely porky weight, the A/O, the steel, but I can't justify it destroying a bunch of my pants. It's going to be carried sans the clip if I decide to keep carrying it frequently in anything but work pants, or i will be removing some of the excessive texturing if I plan to keep it forever.

Next is the color of the handle sides. They are both blackish, but you can tell from the pictures that the framelock side is blackwashed, and the G10 side is truly black. Not the end of the world, but it is noticeable and matches less than I had hoped.

The last thing is the blade. It appears that there were some leftover grinding lines that didn't get completely cleaned up before the blackwashing process. You can see them in the picture below, they are only on one side of the blade. It's not that I am expecting blade failure from them, just not what I expected in a knife from ZT at this price point.

That pretty much sums up the 0300BW for me, if the 0550 was A/O then it would be my choice over the 0300 every day of the week. Since it's not, I think I'm glad to have both. Man needs choice!

 

[Kloepper Knife Works]

Third in line is the Kershaw Cryo II Blackwash Tanto.

Normally I wouldn't buy a tanto bladed knife, I don't care much for the fact that they don't have any belly on them. I purchased the tanto version of this knife because I plan to use it as mostly a utility knife, where the ability to use the flat tip as a scraping tool or chisel could turn out to be advantageous. I chose the Cryo II over the Cryo I for the fact that it's a bit larger and easier to handle. The knife is pretty comfortable, and the jimping helps give some grip to the otherwise smooth and fairly slippery surface of the metal handle. It does feel decidedly small after handling the ZT knives, and it's obvious you're not going to be able to use it anywhere near as hard before grip becomes a problem. I like the look of the blackwash, it makes the knife less flashy, and should be relatively discrete should I need to use it in public. The knife locks up nice and tight, as you can see in the next two pictures, the framelock works well and has a lot of engagement. That said, it could prove to be something that gives the knife some long term durability issues as the lockbar wears, opening up the possibility of blade play. I think part of why this knife is smooth firing and rigid is the phosphor bronze washers. You can see a hint of them in the second picture. This knife is noticeably faster than the ZT 0300 thanks to the immensely lighter blade, and fires in a satisfying way.

This was the least sharp knife of the 4. It would slice cut paper, mostly. It also has the worst looking edge grinds of the 4 knives. There is visible waviness and a visible difference in the grind angle/depth from the left to right side. I suspect this is a byproduct of the low price point of the knife, and the strange recurve on what will become (after I sharpen it) the lower straight section.

Not the best pictures but you might be able to see what I'm talking about.

Amateur sharpening job aside, I like this knife, and thanks to its modest cost I'm not at all afraid to use and abuse it as needed. In hindsight, it's a tossup on whether I'd get another tanto version again or if I would have chosen the standard blade.

 

[Kloepper Knife Works]

Last but not least, the Kershaw Emerson CQC5k.

So this is my first contact with a knife with the Wave feature. It is an interesting gimmick, but as it turns out after reflecting on this knife, not one that is a sure-fire way to always have the knife on hand and open when you need it. The problem is that often I might put a knife down with it closed, only to need it again. With the wave feature you only benefit from fast deployment as it comes out of your pocket. When you have to open it manually mine was stiff enough when new that the thumb disc is hard to use to get the blade out without building up some callouses to withstand the sharp edges, or using the index finger to help the thumb get the blade out 10-15° at which point the thumb can finish opening the knife easily. After playing with it for a while it is opening with just the thumb much easier. The other issue with the Wave feature is the fact that you have to concentrate on what you're doing, and be aware of what's around you when you pull it. When you're learning to open it using the Wave feature, make sure you're wearing old pants, they may end up looking like this.

Blade lockup is very good to excellent, time will tell if it can maintain it. Ergonomics are good everywhere except when your thumb wraps around the Wave shaped part of the blade, it can put uncomfortable pressure on your thumb. The textured handle, in my opinion is extremely comfortable, and the texture does an excellent job keeping it in your hand, where it should be. The fitment of the scales to the frame is good, but not perfect, with the occasional proud edge on either the scale or frame. The bigger fit and finish issues are the poor symmetry of the edge grinds, gap underneath the thumbstud disc and the spine (it appears to be wedged in the notch before it bottoms out), and the worst offender is the spine spacer(second pic below). None of these issues are deal breakers however in a knife that is as inexpensive as this one.

The build quality of this knife seems on par with other knives in the same price range, with lockup that is tighter than most knives I've played with in the $30-40 range. I think once I've reprofiled the edge on this knife it will be a good choice for small work in places where taking a more expensive knife would make me edgy.

 

[Kloepper Knife Works]

So I had hernia surgery today, and i figured out that sharpening doesn't seem to aggravate my stomach. That allowed me to do this.

Although it looks like it's not quite a straight edge, it is, it's the light playing tricks with the edge. The main bevels were thick at the back part of the edge, so it made a funny shape back there at the top part of the sharpened edge. It reminded me of my Leek in terms of sharpening, fairly quick to sharpen, and with a little time on the strop it really takes a very sharp edge.

 

[skyhorse]

I hope you mend up soon.The Cryo is a good deal imho.
[URL=http://s1201.photobucket.com/user/blackhorse71/media/IMG_1378_zps0981899f.jpg.html][/URL]

 

[Kloepper Knife Works]

So, since knife sharpening doesn't seem to bother my stomach, I went ahead and cleaned up the edge on the CQC5K. It sharpened up easily using my 3"x8" DMT diamond stones and 3 micron diamond impregnated hone. Now instead of a uneven V-edge it's sporting a nice sharp convex edge. I also spent some time playing with the Wave deployment, and it is noticeably easier to use when the edge of your pocket is thinner. The easiest pocket I tried was gym shorts because of this fact. Once I can pull on a pair of Carhartt's again we'll see how it works with those. Just another thing to think about if you're looking at a knife that "waves." Playing around with this knife has really helped smooth it out, opening it one handed now is easy.

 

[Kloepper Knife Works]

So I was giving the 0300BW the hairy eyeball and I noticed a surface defect on the blade. Since there is the possibility that this knife will be kept in new condition in case I ever wanted to resell it, should I consider sending it in?

I find it interesting that the blemish is right on the logo. I would expect that area would be one that someone would lay eyes on during final QC. If I were to keep it as a user for sure, it wouldn't bother me.

 

[jprime84]

With my bonus I think I ordered like $1600 of zt and kershaw knives. I went completely overboard. I am waiting for it all to arrive before posting up.

 

[knifehoarder]

The other thing that is a slight problem is that the G10 scale's milled texture is a bit rough against the hand when reaching into my pocket for keys, change, whatever. It's just abrasive enough to be annoying. I suppose wear with time will round off the sharp edges and make it less scratchy.

All in all, a good knife for $160.

Sand it down with a high grit paper...you'd be amazed what a light once-over will do for the feel. If you go a light enough grit, you'll never be able to tell by looking at it.

PS - Kershaw Guy got me for a 0550BLK and an 0801BW this week. Why does it always end up two at a time?

 

[jprime84]

Sand it down with a high grit paper...you'd be amazed what a light once-over will do for the feel. If you go a light enough grit, you'll never be able to tell by looking at it.

PS - Kershaw Guy got me for a 0550BLK and an 0801BW this week. Why does it always end up two at a time?

Yeah - I sanded the G10 on my Kershaw Groove. It comes out nice if you like that sort of thing

 

[knifehoarder]

So I was giving the 0300BW the hairy eyeball and I noticed a surface defect on the blade. Since there is the possibility that this knife will be kept in new condition in case I ever wanted to resell it, should I consider sending it in?

I find it interesting that the blemish is right on the logo. I would expect that area would be one that someone would lay eyes on during final QC. If I were to keep it as a user for sure, it wouldn't bother me.

Send that in - knowing Kai's service, you'll have a knife with a new blade, if not a whole new knife, back in your hands within 10 days.