This thread is started because a question about ZT's was asked in another thread and I didn't want to hijack with all this info.
More ZT information from an old fart's memory: The Busse ZT's predated the ZT knife brand by several years. I once read that Busse had ok'ed the use of this name by the other manufacturer, although I don't really know if this is true or not.
According to a letter Jerry included with the first ZTNOE's, this all started when a supplier delivered what was supposed to be 1/4"
steel stock and due to miscommunications in the order, the steel was 3"16". (This was before Busse started routinely offering production knives in 3/16".) Busse decided to use the steel for a special run of knives with less attention paid to finishing and grinding so they could be offered at lower cost. There were eventually 3'16" Zero Tolerance NOE, SHE, and BME's. The ZTSJ's were in 1/4" stock. As production proceeded, there was apparently more attention paid to detail, as the later ZT production were very nice knives in grind and finish, although all the ZT's are fine, functional knives. The last thirty ZTNOE's especially were highly sought. I carried a less than perfect ZTNOE while hunting for many years. Oh, how I wish there had been a 3/16" ZTBAE, which I once dreamed of as the perfect hunting knife.
Thus you can find ZT knives not quite up to the usual grind and finish expected from Busse, as well as some with perfect grind and finish. Obviously the nice knife pictured is from the later production. Know what you want and what you are getting before you buy one as a collector. There were also two different swedge grinds on the NOE's, with the first being much rarer.
I've got four ZTNOE's (one with the rarer swede grind) , two ZTSHE's, one ZTBME, and one ZT satin jack. I set out to accumulate a complete set of original ZT's with perfect grinds and finish, and accomplished this except for my ZTSJ, which has Kydex marks, as this was the only ZT model shipped with a sheath.
found Jerry's letter and a post from him on this topic. See next two posts.
More ZT information from an old fart's memory: The Busse ZT's predated the ZT knife brand by several years. I once read that Busse had ok'ed the use of this name by the other manufacturer, although I don't really know if this is true or not.
According to a letter Jerry included with the first ZTNOE's, this all started when a supplier delivered what was supposed to be 1/4"
steel stock and due to miscommunications in the order, the steel was 3"16". (This was before Busse started routinely offering production knives in 3/16".) Busse decided to use the steel for a special run of knives with less attention paid to finishing and grinding so they could be offered at lower cost. There were eventually 3'16" Zero Tolerance NOE, SHE, and BME's. The ZTSJ's were in 1/4" stock. As production proceeded, there was apparently more attention paid to detail, as the later ZT production were very nice knives in grind and finish, although all the ZT's are fine, functional knives. The last thirty ZTNOE's especially were highly sought. I carried a less than perfect ZTNOE while hunting for many years. Oh, how I wish there had been a 3/16" ZTBAE, which I once dreamed of as the perfect hunting knife.
Thus you can find ZT knives not quite up to the usual grind and finish expected from Busse, as well as some with perfect grind and finish. Obviously the nice knife pictured is from the later production. Know what you want and what you are getting before you buy one as a collector. There were also two different swedge grinds on the NOE's, with the first being much rarer.
I've got four ZTNOE's (one with the rarer swede grind) , two ZTSHE's, one ZTBME, and one ZT satin jack. I set out to accumulate a complete set of original ZT's with perfect grinds and finish, and accomplished this except for my ZTSJ, which has Kydex marks, as this was the only ZT model shipped with a sheath.
found Jerry's letter and a post from him on this topic. See next two posts.
