I'm sure this has been mentioned around here already but I thought I'd make a thread with my findings having owned a 560 from a while back when they were scarce and sold for more used than they cost new.
I got a 561 today, a brand new one, and I have found some interesting things. Some consistencies and some differences. The differences being that the blade is now high polished before being stonewashed. The older ones had a normal, much flatter gray steel that had a somewhat light stonewalls. The current one was definitely polished before the stone washing, and it looks extremely nice. Also, the Ti side is much shinier as well. I don't know if the old one was sandblasted and this one's bead blasted, but something's different. I think they actually polished the Ti quite a bit and bead blasted it lightly, or something. The old one seemed sandblasted, but either way, it had a dull gray.
One thing that's definitely the same is the up and down blade wiggle. It wasn't a problem, it's not "play" and it doesn't bother me, but it doesn't take much force to get a little wiggle out of the blade up and down. Both of my examples have this "feature" (not gonna call it an "issue"). Also, a cool thing that could be coincidence, or maybe just great tolerances, is the fact that both of mine had 45 percent lockup. The only other differences I notice are that some of the slight imperfections and minor fit and finish flaws do not exist on this knife. It's just about as perfect as it could be, given the materials and what it is.
I like the new look. They chose a more polished theme and I like that because it shows throughout the knife and it was done well. It's shinier, but on the other and the stonewash is kind of more apparent because either it's a bit heavier or the polished blade lets it show through. I like how it's polished but not too shiny and still very stonewashed looking at the same time. This newer example looks a bit classier and higher quality. The older duller blade/sandblasted one was nice, but looks a little more run-of-the-mill. Just not as cool, hard to describe. I guess if you're going to make the knife totally dull and stuff like the old one, I'd rather have a HEAVY stonewash to make it real "rough" or "worn" looking, if you know what I mean. Like on the Les George VECP v1 vs v2, he went from full on heavy sandblast to full on heavy stonewash that almost looks like a Tuffthumbz "Fallout Treatment". Anyway, I'm getting off topic, but I like when a maker takes a theme and goes all the way instead of trying for a mild/middleground effect.
The newer look of these knives is legit. It's class. And the fit and finish has gotten even better. Good stuff ZT, I really like this knife now, and now that I have the brown g10 I always wanted, I probably won't be getting rid of this knife.
What are your thoughts on the old vs new and what have you noticed, those of you who have owned or seen them both??
EDIT: Here are some pictures. Crappy iPhone pics with poor lighting, so I took multiple pics so you can see different angles with light reflecting. Hopefully you get the idea. I only have a few old pics of my 560, so the comparison might not be that great. I think most people will have the older flat/sandblasted version, since I have reason to believe this is a very new change (likely somewhere between the 2200 and 2400 serial number mark).
Here's my old 560:
I got a 561 today, a brand new one, and I have found some interesting things. Some consistencies and some differences. The differences being that the blade is now high polished before being stonewashed. The older ones had a normal, much flatter gray steel that had a somewhat light stonewalls. The current one was definitely polished before the stone washing, and it looks extremely nice. Also, the Ti side is much shinier as well. I don't know if the old one was sandblasted and this one's bead blasted, but something's different. I think they actually polished the Ti quite a bit and bead blasted it lightly, or something. The old one seemed sandblasted, but either way, it had a dull gray.
One thing that's definitely the same is the up and down blade wiggle. It wasn't a problem, it's not "play" and it doesn't bother me, but it doesn't take much force to get a little wiggle out of the blade up and down. Both of my examples have this "feature" (not gonna call it an "issue"). Also, a cool thing that could be coincidence, or maybe just great tolerances, is the fact that both of mine had 45 percent lockup. The only other differences I notice are that some of the slight imperfections and minor fit and finish flaws do not exist on this knife. It's just about as perfect as it could be, given the materials and what it is.
I like the new look. They chose a more polished theme and I like that because it shows throughout the knife and it was done well. It's shinier, but on the other and the stonewash is kind of more apparent because either it's a bit heavier or the polished blade lets it show through. I like how it's polished but not too shiny and still very stonewashed looking at the same time. This newer example looks a bit classier and higher quality. The older duller blade/sandblasted one was nice, but looks a little more run-of-the-mill. Just not as cool, hard to describe. I guess if you're going to make the knife totally dull and stuff like the old one, I'd rather have a HEAVY stonewash to make it real "rough" or "worn" looking, if you know what I mean. Like on the Les George VECP v1 vs v2, he went from full on heavy sandblast to full on heavy stonewash that almost looks like a Tuffthumbz "Fallout Treatment". Anyway, I'm getting off topic, but I like when a maker takes a theme and goes all the way instead of trying for a mild/middleground effect.
The newer look of these knives is legit. It's class. And the fit and finish has gotten even better. Good stuff ZT, I really like this knife now, and now that I have the brown g10 I always wanted, I probably won't be getting rid of this knife.
What are your thoughts on the old vs new and what have you noticed, those of you who have owned or seen them both??
EDIT: Here are some pictures. Crappy iPhone pics with poor lighting, so I took multiple pics so you can see different angles with light reflecting. Hopefully you get the idea. I only have a few old pics of my 560, so the comparison might not be that great. I think most people will have the older flat/sandblasted version, since I have reason to believe this is a very new change (likely somewhere between the 2200 and 2400 serial number mark).
Here's my old 560:
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It's kind of hard to tell from the pics how glossy the stonewashed blade looks and how polished the Ti looks. The Ti almost looks like glossy gun metal silver paint. Never really seen Ti like this. Looking at the pictures, I kind of miss the old look. I'm a fan of flat, sandblasted Ti (even though it shows wear horribly). But I know that I like the new look a lot, maybe more, in person.
