New ZT0550 Thread !!!

wow.

ive got a funny feeling that if it werent for the attitudes of those who posted about the rust, that guy wouldnt have lost his job.

if he was going to be let go regardless once the calls started coming in then thats another story...otherwise i hope that everyone is satisfied that their "voices were heard".

its disappointing that everyone is reacting the way they are.

By the way, ive got a funny feeling that this reaction is going to prevent KAI from doing another sprint run in the future FOR US.

everyone needs to grow the hell up and be patient
 
JTR357 said:
I can honestly say this is the first production knife I've ever bought that I wouldn't change anything if I could.
I knew Thomas would make everything right.That sucks that someone lost their job over this.
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No, what sucks is that several hundred people will get rusty knives.
 
bearcut said:
Shit doesn't "just happen", people make it happen.
Quit making excuses.

How many other ($50 and over) knives have any of us ever bought that came complete with rusty liners?
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youre right

and people make mistakes.

i hope you get canned for a mistake you make at a job you've had for years.

id like for you to name one company who has never made a mistake.
knife company, car company or whatever.

yes, people make it happen, last i checked companies are run by people not robots.
 
At least Kershaw has plenty of opportunity to fix any of these random QC issues that crop up before the production model comes out, for those of us who are waiting for that model. :D

...Just as planned. :cool:
 
Dorito Monk said:
At least Kershaw has plenty of opportunity to fix any of these random QC issues that crop up before the production model comes out, for those of us who are waiting for that model. :D

...Just as planned. :cool:
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DM i can tell you right now, youre going to LOVE IT :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: :D


QC can happen at any time, what matters is what they do to make it right.
 
Thomas W said:
On a personal note, I have to say I’m disappointed in many of the attitudes I read here, and I trust you understand that our intentions on this knife were to satisfy the demand we heard specifically from the members on this forum.

This project was again not a moneymaker for us, and has now become even more painful.

I guess I hoped for more understanding, as we built this for you, but perhaps my assumption was premature and ultimately presumptuous.
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Glad I read this.
 
Thomas W said:
If it makes a few of you feel better, there was a multitude of employees that were written up over the oversight, and a 6 year employee of whom was of value was fired over the incident.
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I can forgive the Q/C issues in a special run, especially when the company is willing to make things right. But I can't forgive firing someone for what is really a design flaw: making hard-to-clean parts of a hard-use knife out of rust-prone steel.

And the remark "If it makes a few of you feel better..." is way out of line.
 
Guys, I think enough of the same issue has been filed and KAI is well aware of the problem and doing their best to solve it. IMO there no need to continue the bashing, KAI slipped up and they're going to fix it (probably not enough to restore the trust from some of you). Let's focus on the usage of this knife shall we.
 
Here is what Kershaw's customer service department just told me:

-- ALL 195 of the ZT 0551s in the first batch are being recalled.

"This is the first time in five years we've recalled a product," Kershaw's rep said.

-- Only two dealers have the affected knives: Kershaw Guy and Blue Ridge. Kershaw says it has called both dealers to notify them of the recall.

-- The recall does NOT affect the remaining 805 of the 1,000 limited edition 0551s -- because they have yet to be built.

-- What happened? Kershaw says a batch of liners didn't go through the final finishing process -- a tumbling process that smoothes the steel to remove and prevent corroision.

Without the process, corroison is the inevitable result, the rep said. Thus the rust that clearly shows up in the photos posted earlier in this thread.

-- The company said it was unable to determine which serial numbers were affected so it recalled the entire batch of 195.

-- "The guy who did it got let go on Monday," the rep said. The ZT line is made at the company's plant in Oregon by six employees; now there are five.

A personal note: Thanks and a tip of the hat to those posters here who brought this to light and a special thanks to those who posted photos of the rust.

You enabled all of us -- and Kershaw, IMO -- to find out what the problem is, and hopefully to deal with it.

I hope this report helps.
 
bearcut said:
Shit doesn't "just happen", people make it happen.
Quit making excuses.

How many other ($50 and over) knives have any of us ever bought that came complete with rusty liners?
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If you don't like it then send it back and get your money. You are not entitled to a perfect knife so if you don't like it, get rid of it.

Shit does happen, obviously, and something got over looked. Someone lost their job because of it. This is a cosmetic issue and will be fixed if your panties are knotted up that tight. I have had knives with much worse than cosmetic issues and one I have now the company is apparently doing nothing about it. That would be something to bitch and moan about.
 
Reeek said:
I hope this thread doesn't turn out to be one of those us against ourselves or us against KAI. It shouldn't be.

I think we can all agree on a few things here:

* The knives should not have shipped in the rusty condition that they were
* We all trust KAI, Kershaw and ZT as much as any MFG we know
* We as consumers have a right to expect a quality product from anyone regardless of the circumstances that brought the product to market
* We also have a right to comment on our experience - that is partially what forums are
* I'm sorry someone lost their job over this
* I hope the individual wasn't a sacrificial lamb on our accord
* None of us should be criticized for speaking about something that is considered a serious matter in the knife world
* A brand new knife from a world class company was shipped with some mostly hidden rust issues.
* Unfortunately this knife is now suffering from the built up hype and its own success
* But only because of one major issue that should not have happened. Unfortunatley, rust perpetuates without intervention
* This is not the consumer's fault regardless of why this knife was conceived
* Everything will hopefully work out for EVERYONE
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First of all, I would like to extend a sincere apology to Thomas W., Rick Hinderer, Dave (KershawGuy) if anything in my particular posts was found to be offensive in anyway. I guarantee it was not intended to be at all, merely voicing my concerns. The last few months we have all shared the same excitement over this product, so it seemed natural to comment on impressions. I'm sorry to hear that someone lost their job as a result of the issues described. It's never a good thing when you are on the receiving end or on the giving end (been on both sides of that desk before).

As for the design, yes this design is terrific. Despite some commentary that was clearly negative without cause. I don't think I've met a knife person that does not own a torx driver, but I digress. I will say that without a doubt, my confidence in ZT/KAI is not changing because of anything that has happened. I will gladly continue to spend my money on ZT knives as long as they keep making them. Whatever may have happened or not happened has no bearing on the future purchases (for me anyway). So, thank you to Rick for creating an awesome design. Thanks to Thomas W. for making the design happen and offering to correct any issues, and thanks to Dave for sacrificing your Thanksgiving Day, packaging and gathering and keeping track of things despite some adversity and being in a turkey coma ;).
 
I love how you're INSTANTLY called a troll if you have a dissenting voice compared to the fan base. EVERYONE needs to step back and not let this deteriorate into a name calling pissing contest!


Mistakes were made and there needs to be accountability. Thomas has CLEARLY stated so and taken action. As spectators, whether or not we are knife collectors, enthusiasts or just simple consumers shopping for a holiday gift(!) we should be able to voice our opinions and have our questions answered without being attacked or made to feel guilty nor shamed. :mad:
 
Pvt.snoballz said:
youre right

and people make mistakes.

i hope you get canned for a mistake you make at a job you've had for years.

id like for you to name one company who has never made a mistake.
knife company, car company or whatever.

yes, people make it happen, last i checked companies are run by people not robots.
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Mistakes are quite different from cover-ups and lies.

If I had a boss that told me to ship a defective product I would refuse.

If I knowingly shipped a defective product to CMA, and got caught, then I should be fired. I trust thats what KAI was doing.

Pray tell, how does one equate knowingly shipping a rusty product to consumers with "Mistake"? One or two liners is a mistake, a binfull is willfull neglect and deceit. It affects hundreds of consumers and the companies bottom line.

I guess it all depends an what your definition of "is", is.

Do you honestly believe that someone didn't know that rusty liners were unacceptable? You call this a "Mistake"? If so, you are really out of touch with reality.

I guess you never complain about anything, since everything to you is a "Mistake".
 
bearcut said:
First things first.
I have owned 3 ZT knives and every one of them was very well made and had fantastic F&F. I was very surprised that the rusty liners ever made it through to the public on this newest offering. I probably would buy another ZT knife without any concern for quality since my past experience with the company has been stellar.

That said, I am rather surprised that nobody from KAI ever saw these pictures. With the advent of the internet forums, and video clips showing alleged “flaws” of many good quality knives, one would think that manufactures would at least know what is going on out there. Although there are many myths perpetrated on the internet, i.e. CRK S30V Green Berets are fragile, 3V pits, etc.; there are some factual additions as well. The bin of rusty 0550 liners seems legit. I believe this photo was released a few months ago. Nobody at KAI caught it, (or apparently even reads any knife forums concerning the upcoming 0550)?
If there was “pressure” to get the knife out that led to this, then shame on ZT. “Pressure” is no excuse. Look how that backfired.
Oh well, at least the “Valuable 6 year employee” was fired, and a few people were written up. Some good came out of it. However, it still leaves a lot of egg on ZT’s face. It embarrasses Rick also, I would imagine.
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Those photos were posted by Thomas himself if I recall correctly, the problem is someone at KAI didn't finished the liners properly which is a pretty big issue.

Edit: Appreciate the info Flash900
 
Leesan82 said:
Those photos were posted by Thomas himself if I recall correctly, I think the problem is someone at KAI didn't finished the liners properly which is a pretty big issue.
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...did it occur to you that maybe the photo was taken prior to the treatment and maybe the rust that was there was normal....since it hadnt been treated yet?
 
bearcut said:
Mistakes are quite different from cover-ups and lies.

If I had a boss that told me to ship a defective product I would refuse.

If I knowingly shipped a defective product to CMA, and got caught, then I should be fired. I trust thats what KAI was doing.

Pray tell, how does one equate knowingly shipping a rusty product to consumers with "Mistake"? One or two liners is a mistake, a binfull is willfull neglect and deceit. It affects hundreds of consumers and the companies bottom line.


I guess it all depends an what your definition of "is", is.

Do you honestly believe that someone didn't know that rusty liners were unacceptable? You call this a "Mistake"? If so, you are really out of touch with reality.

I guess you never complain about anything, since everything to you is a "Mistake".
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show me where KAI covered up and lied?
 
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