New ZT0550 Thread !!!

IGotStabbed said:
I don't want to be rude, but are you guys happy now? Someone lost his/her job over this.--due to all your bitching. If there wasn't all this outcry over the forum and instead taken to proper channels like the CS dept at ZT, The worker wouldn't have been so harshly punished.

Deserved punishment but not fired I think.
Click to expand...


this is a public forum, and people will post their opinions, just as i did. we may disagree with their delivery, but that does not necessarily invalidate what is posted.

i'm not in charge of the company, and i trust kershaw is run by people who are better managers than i. i may not agree that the employee should have been let go, but i also don't know everything surrounding the termination.

how substantial a monetary hit will kershaw take with this specific issue?
did they determine the employee was negligent or if there was willful deceipt?
is there a history of negligent behavior?

these are listed as examples, and are rhetorical. it is always unfortunate, on some level, when a person loses their job. many times termination has been earned, and kershaw management is in a better position to judge this matter than any of us.

i seriously doubt they would fire anyone simply to appease us, its just not a sound business practice.

yes, mine had rust nearly identical to the first pics posted.
yes, mine has a g10 scale a bit mismatched to the liner.
the grind was mathematically symetrical, but not visually so. (eg, cold steel does the reverse.)
yes, i'm marginally disappointed with the finished product i received.

yes, it's a very good design by one of the best designers, and put together by one of the best manufacturers.


as i posted earlier, none of these are deal breakers. i like the knife. im keeping it, in fact i'm carrying it today. i dont plan to send it back. i removed the rust myself after about 15 seconds on some paper.

things can always be better. i had hoped the earlier posts, including mine, would prompt kershaw to look in to the production flaws and have it corrected for the regular run. while that is one byproduct, the thread has degenerated significantly.

too bad, but i'm sure we all saw it coming.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
No you're not:





Well now we know who was on the grassy knoll and what company was in the elevator shafts installing high explosives to the steel supports of the world trade center the week prior to the "terrorist attacks." Of course they were bank rolled by high power Japanese nationals. Man Watergate was a yawn fest compared to the tales of the Kershaw Operators.

I can't wait for the movie deal to come out detailing the 0551 saga.

Do you really think that Kershaw would knowingly send out a bunch of the most highly anticipated knives ever (?) to the most picky knife fondlers in the knife world? Or maybe some guy made a mistake and a room full of guys working over time to get these knives out had a lapse in judgment? Since every liner was rusty in that picture and guys have gotten them with no rust they must have been cleaned up prior to assembly. So really they used some liners that were rough and should have been smooth, not hiding a bunch of rust so that no one would ever be the wiser.

They would have got away with it to, if it weren't for those pesky Bladeforums kids.
Click to expand...

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

I did word that incorrectly and can see where you got confused. That was my fault and I apologize for the misunderstanding.

What I should have stated was that I think KAI/Kershaw found that someone shipped a defective product, either knowingly or unknowingly. I trust that KAI/Kershaw then fired the person responsable.

In other words, I do not think that KAI/Kershaw knowingly did anything wrong in shipping defective knives to the public. I repeat: I do not think that KAI/Kershaw knowingly did anything wrong in shipping defective knives to the public. I think an employee of theirs may have knowingly done this though. Or, he might have made a mistake that cost the company a LOT of money, and cost him his job. Actions have consequences.

In fairness, I think you did read a lot into my post that really wasn't there. I was in no way advocating any grand conspiracy theories with Kershaw being the prime suspect. My other post make it very clear that I have always liked ZT products. They may have dropped the ball on this one, but I never accused them of trying to pull one over on us. Dropping the ball, yes. Fraud, no.

I do think the person responsable for the missed process was blamed and righly fired. Good for KAI/Kershaw/ZT. If I had screwed up on something that important then I should be fired as well. That was my point.

I can safely renew my trust with ZT since they made the correct decision to fire the person responsable for the F***ked up knives. Had they not done this, I might not buy another one of their products because, who knows?
 
Just gonna keep at it
9cda04df.jpg
 
Thomas, I don't think we needed to know that someone was fired over this. That was your (or whoever else's decision) and it is done with, for better or for worse. All it is doing now is creating conflict and guilt.

That said, I do sympathize with your position. You have been backed into a corner because you wanted to give us all an awesome collab, and now there is a lot of whining. I also truly appreciate the steps you've taken to make it right.

Between those two points, you have inspired confidence in your company... for me, at least.

I think you made an awesome knife here, and I would love to see some more consumer-driven ZT collaborations like this in the future. I think we've all learned a lot here I doubt much of the behavior will repeat itself next time around.

Take care, everyone.

-ethan
 
Ugh. This thread did not turn out the way I thought it would when this knife finally hit people's hands. I'll honestly say that I'm disappointed with the reactions of many. It's a shame really.

Anyway, I cracked her open and sanded down what little bit of rust, or patina, or whatever was on the SS liner and gave it a WD-40 bath. I cleaned off all the factory lube and used some CRK grease in the proper areas. Slapped it all back together and the pivot is even smoother than it was originally and still zero play and 50% lockup. I stropped the blade to give it that smooth as glass feeling while cutting.

I'd say that they delivered exactly what we begged for. And let's not kid ourselves... We did beg for it and we do so quite fervently and with loud voices. We demanded it quick, fast, and now. When they delivered we just stared that gift horse in the mouth and spit in it's eye. It makes me shake my head.

I won't be returning my knife because I took six minutes to fix a very small problem. I suggest you take six minutes to do the same. :rolleyes:

And once again, I'd like to thank Rick for his design, Thomas for his professionalism and for being here for us, and Dave for getting these in to our hands so quickly. My hat off to the three of you.
 
We did beg for it and they delivered it amazingly fast. Someone made a fireable mistake on it, and I can't say that I care about lazy's job. Not sure if mine's bad enough to send back, but I'm happy with CS and my knife.
 
i wouldnt mind sanding down my liners and getting rid of the rust myself, im just worried since the liners did not go through the last finishing process, will the rust come back just as easy?
 
xtonesterx said:
i wouldnt mind sanding down my liners and getting rid of the rust myself, im just worried since the liners did not go through the last finishing process, will the rust come back just as easy?
Click to expand...

Yes, that is my understanding of what Kershaw is saying.

I urge everyone with a first batch knife to immediately send it back and help prevent rusty models from showing up on the secondary market for unwary buyers of the future -- some of whom may well be us!
 
I don't have much scope for hard use at work, but the tip control is great!

32bd0841.jpg
 
xtonesterx said:
i wouldnt mind sanding down my liners and getting rid of the rust myself, im just worried since the liners did not go through the last finishing process, will the rust come back just as easy?
Click to expand...

Theoretically yes, but a good polishing should help. I'd be OK with that but I can't fix my thumbstud. Sucks cause the rest of the knife is great.
 
For all those that missed it, someone posted earlier that there has been a FACTORY RECALL on this first batch and the few distributors (Kershawguy & Blue Ridge) that received them should return them back to ZT/Kershaw.


I love how the apologists/fanboys suggest that we should just clean them up ourselves and get on with it and just be happy/thankful(!) that we got a knife in the first place! You gotta love blind loyalty like that, but here's something to consider...


MY PRIMARY CONCERN IS/WAS FROM THE BEGINNING...


These liners are supposed to be STAINLESS STEEL and shouldn't be rusty like that in the first place! Even if you "clean them up" what f'ing assurance do you have that they won't be rusting again?! If there was this kind of OVERSIGHT to have "missed" putting the liners in a tumbler why can't it also be a valid concern that whoever pulled a sheet of steel to cut the liner blanks out of didn't get the wrong piece of metal??? ..what if they received the wrong spec alloy from their supplier and nobody caught it or did anything about it????


I would like Thomas to chime in on this and set the record straight.
 
Last edited:
-Ranger- said:
Theoretically yes, but a good polishing should help. I'd be OK with that but I can't fix my thumbstud. Sucks cause the rest of the knife is great.
Click to expand...

yah my knife is perfect. i cant stop fondling mine, i dont want to send it back :(

you guys think we'll have them back by Christmas?
 
Thomas W said:
Well it looks as though the there was a QC issue with the liner (finish) on some of the knives. 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.

Certainly we apologize to those that received the 0551 and were unsatisfied. In an effort to make things right, we would like to offer up picking up your knives and re-working them into the condition you have come to expect from ZT.

If you have a 0551 that has an issue, please call Customer Service at 800-356-8507, and they will issue a call tag. This will be a free pick up. Once we receive the knife, we will do the repairs, and get you back the knife at no charge to you.

Hopefully this will help to eliminate any harm done, and thanks very much for your patience.

As to the lock, there have been many discussions on proper positioning and lock travel. There is a lot of subjectivity and I believe personal preference really takes over. I guess I would say for you to return your knife to Dave, or send the piece in for a look should you feel the lock is defective.

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.

In, any case, again I apologize for those of you who received a knife that had a liner issue, and we look forward to making it right, and bringing you satisfaction with your ZT.
Click to expand...

Just got off the phone with customer service, as always the most friendly CS a guy could ask for. Thanks for getting the issue handled so quickly.

As to the lock up issue, mine is fine but the lock bar does need to be bent more because it's not seating hard enough. No worries though, I know I will be taken care of and I will get back a perfect knife.
 
xtonesterx said:
yah my knife is perfect. i cant stop fondling mine, i dont want to send it back :(

you guys think we'll have them back by Christmas?
Click to expand...

Me neither and I hope so, but I'd rather have it right than quick.

Does anyone have the correct 800#? I used the direct line, but someone should really go in and remove the phone number listed in Thomas' message as well as all the quotes of it. Pro-Cut is going to get screwed on their 800 bill.

That being said; Claudia in customer service was very nice. I'm confident they will get everything squared away ASAP.
 
Last edited:
Hey Thomas,
The number you posted is for pro cut, they are a distributor and have received a pile of calls today!
 
Just about any steel will visibly corrode. Anyone living near the ocean will tell you about knives that rust sitting in a cupboard.

Ditch_Digger said:
MY PRIMARY CONCERN IS/WAS FROM THE BEGINNING...


These liners are supposed to be STAINLESS STEEL and shouldn't be rusty like that in the first place! Even if you "clean them up" what f'ing assurance do you have that they won't be rusting again?!
Click to expand...

Edit: why don't you sell me yours? I'll pay $200 delivered CONUS Paypal! :P
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top