New ZT0550!!!

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Blades are back from HT. Grinding starts in the next day or so...

After that it's finishing and assembly. I'm feeling the end of next week.
 
Thomas W said:
Blades are back from HT. Grinding starts in the next day or so...

After that it's finishing and assembly. I'm feeling the end of next week.
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Man I had money on the HEST coming out first ;)

Looks good, I will be waiting for an email from KershawGuy.
 
Vanax35? Sounds like an anti-depressant. :D

Does the knife still look like the pics at the beginning of the thread or has it evolved?

Noctis3880 said:
The most in-demand custom knife maker collaborated with a reliable knife manufacturer(who literally has no complaints regarding QC, fit and finish, and customer service) to bring to everyone, for all intents and purposes, a mass produced version of his most popular knife(search around for XM-18).

For the price, I'd consider it well worth buying. I did gripe about the outdated(to me) S30V and 154CM in a lot of the ZT line, and having Vanax35 and Elmax available is a welcome upgrade. It looks somewhat similar in size and shape to the ZT 0300 series, but there are a lot of subtle differences that make them both unique and perform differently.

Custom collaborations have always seemed to be pretty good for me(BM 755 Sibert, Spyderco Gayle Bradley), and I've always drooled for an XM-18, but the price tag put me off. Given that the price of this new knife is more or less the same as a ZT 0300 series, I see no reason not to go for this one.
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thomas, btw i wanted to color the frame with a torch to get colors..is there a chance of ruining any sort of heat treat done to the frame? or is it safe as long as it doesnt get too hot?
 
Pvt.snoballz said:
thomas, btw i wanted to color the frame with a torch to get colors..is there a chance of ruining any sort of heat treat done to the frame? or is it safe as long as it doesnt get too hot?
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What r you smoking Pvt.snoballz - taking a freaking torch to get colors on this knife?? :confused:

I don't think Thomas will warranty anyhing like that if you mess it up. Is it safe? Well, I doubt it will blow up or anything like that. :D
 
cziv said:
What r you smoking Pvt.snoballz - taking a freaking torch to get colors on this knife?? :confused:

I don't think Thomas will warranty anyhing like that if you mess it up. Is it safe? Well, I doubt it will blow up or anything like that. :D
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I think hes talking about the Ti... which should be fine.
 
We passed 100,000 views. Plus where I left yesterday I had too go back three pages too see what I missed. Wait until this comes out by next week.
 
Titanium is not heat treated so adding heat to the frame should be fine. Just take the knife apart first.
 
Thomas W said:
Curious, outdated how?
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In the sense that we've had other premium steels available that are better performance wise without being a pain to grind(the new offerings from Bohler and Carpenter being a few). I also believe that S30V never quite reached its goal of supposedly having A2 class toughness, and S35VN is more or less what S30V was "supposed" to be.

I definitely liked what Benchmade did in making other steels available for some older models like the 710 in M390, though it was only a limited edition run.


Of course, this is purely my personal opinion. If Ankerson can pry with the ZT 0301 without breaking the tip, that's tough enough for most people. I just feel that with another steel with a higher toughness, you could run it harder and raise the overall performance without making it more brittle than S30V.

That's just me though. It's like buying computers. I see little reason to buy one with "last year's" processor if I can get ahold of a more up-to-date one. Though overall performance of computers depend on more than just that, so perhaps a comparison with LED flashlights would be much more accurate.

Though I definitely get that new and unfamiliar steels take time to work with, so I guess I'm just ranting here.
 
Thomas W said:
Blades are back from HT. Grinding starts in the next day or so...

After that it's finishing and assembly. I'm feeling the end of next week.
Click to expand...

Thomas, are you saying the knives got heat treated before the primary bevel was ground out?:eek:
I remember you saying that this model is tough on the grinders, but I assumed it was a H-1 kind of deal where the steel comes full hard from the foundry.
 
Joshua J. said:
Thomas, are you saying the knives got heat treated before the primary bevel was ground out?:eek:
I remember you saying that this model is tough on the grinders, but I assumed it was a H-1 kind of deal where the steel comes full hard from the foundry.
Click to expand...

I imagine heat treating flat stock greatly reduces blade warping, on a hand made knife warping isn't a huge problem and can be corrected, in large production batches warped blades will cost lots of time and money.

Just speculation.
 
banana-clip:

No bull elk yet. :grumpy: Still after 'em.

But one of the fastest-growing transplanted elk populations ever,I believe.

Will PM you a link about the elk explosion in KY.

But yer right: this ZT/H series will be superb for just such chores!

And you ;) daymbetcha: I plan to own at least one :D of each new ZT/H collaborations!

And 'the end of next week' sounds like music to me,Thomas!

Waiting to exhale,

~Gnarly
 
Wonder how hard it'd be to get the Ti side stonewashed/tumbled... then It'd really be a production XM replacement for me...
 
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