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Problem with ZT 0550

F

Fronty2011

Joined
Nov 16, 2013
Messages
28
First off, I would not start a thread on this if I could PM but it will not let me. I am new here but have been into knives for a long time. I own Kershaws, CRKT, SOG and ESEE. I am hoping a rep. Of KAI chimes in and helps. I purchased a 0550 not long ago and love the knife but noticed the blade was off center and that I could carefully hold the spine of the blade and the frame and by forcing it in the closed position the lock bare would move back and forth. I decided to do a spine wack on the carpet and sure enough it failed. I just got it back from Warranty and right away wacked it on the carpet and it failed, not too big of a deal because I do not use it in a way that would make that happen. I also noticed the blade was still off center and now it is loose, meaning it wiggles back and forth. I love this knife and want to keep it but not if it cant be fixed. I also got a 0566 while this one was in warranty and have been carrying it since with the tortion bar removed, it is great. Hopefully somebody can chime in and give me advice on what to do. Thanks.
 
Why not call them and ask? They don't have an official presence here currently so getting a response from a representative will be slim.
 
First, I would not "spine whack" a folder, it does nothing but damage the lock interface. You should just use the knife as a knife, when cutting the blade moves in the opposite direction. You can also tighten the pivot

Everything you need is right here. PM ability wouldn't be of much use to you here in this case.

http://kershaw.kaiusaltd.com/contact
http://kershaw.kaiusaltd.com/warranty
PHONE 1.800.325.2891 TOLL FREE OR 503.682.1966 LOCALLY
FAX 503.682.7168
EMAIL INFO@KAI-USA.COM
 
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Your post shows you clearly have no idea how to work on a knife or adjust out problems that you see. Just send it in before you totally bust it up.
Good luck.
 
Wow now, let's all calm down.

Contact KAI/ZT and see what they recommend, I'm sure you'll be satisfied with their customer service.
 
Fronty2011 said:
Thats why I sent it in the first time smart ass. No need to be a dick.
Click to expand...

I did not mean to hurt your feelings or be rude. On the subject, even if I open my ZT 561 and just gently allow the lock to slide into place it wont even budge a bit with 50 lbs of pressure and lock up at 30 percent. That includes light spine whacks . It is mint!

So, I just called for you and said I have a friend with your exact situation. ( I needed to request a part for my wifes Cryo anyway) They were very friendly and actually talked to me for about ten minutes about my 0561 as well when i said how much I loved it. And in your case they said they would happily replace the knife with a new model which is what I recommended so said friend would not have to sell it and start from scratch.

+1 for Kai. Very helpful and polite. The exact opposite of Spyderco whom I had to call for a an issue with a co workers TI military. They would hardly give me time to ask a question. And just kept telling me to send it in as opposed to talk to me. That said im sure they were just swamped and spyderco offers many of my favorite designs.

Good luck you should be fine if you just call them and explain your issue as I just did.
 
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I had a similar problem with my 0801. It had developed a bit of up-down play. It hadn't failed yet, but that was the concern. I sent it in and I believe that I wrote something like, "Lock bar allows blade to move up and down." I got it back in a week and half (roughly) and it was all taken care of. Everything seemed to be the same, so I'm not sure what they changed (markings on blade, scratches on clip etc. were the same). The 0801 does have a steel insert for the lock, so for the 0550, they might be replacing the lock side. My advice would be to make sure you clearly define the problem, "Lock has failed, blade exhibits vertical movement." Also, I would agree with those advocating against spine whacking.
 
coldsteelrocks said:

I did not mean to hurt your feelings or be rude. On the subject, even if I open my ZT 561 and just gently allow the lock to slide into place it wont even budge a bit with 50 lbs of pressure and lock up at 30 percent. That includes light spine whacks . It is mint!

So, I just called for you and said I have a friend with your exact situation. ( I needed to request a part for my wifes Cryo anyway) They were very friendly and actually talked to me for about ten minutes about my 0561 as well when i said how much I loved it. And in your case they said they would happily replace the knife with a new model which is what I recommended so said friend would not have to sell it and start from scratch.

+1 for Kai. Very helpful and polite. The exact opposite of Spyderco whom I had to call for a an issue with a co workers TI military. They would hardly give me time to ask a question. And just kept telling me to send it in as opposed to talk to me. That said im sure they were just swamped and spyderco offers many of my favorite designs.

Good luck you should be fine if you just call them and explain your issue as I just did.
Click to expand...

You did not hurt my feeling, I get annoyed when people talk shit on the internet. I never claimed to be good at working on knives, most I have done is remove the tortion bar from my 0566 and change scales. I am not at all bashing Kershaw/ZT either, they are my favorite knives. I called ZT and they sent me a label to go back. If they cannot fix it they will replace it. I admit, I should have called first, just frustrated.
 
You need to tighten the pivot screw. make sure everything is tightened down. If it's still off center you could try reversing the pivot (if possible, I don't own a 550).

If none of that worked I would try one last time and take the whole knife apart, clean it, and put it back together making sure every screw is in all the way and lube the pivot.

If none of this solves your issues you'll unfortunately have to send it in again.
 
Your still having high blood pressure. Chill out. I know what its like to get a dud, it sucks. I would be upset enough to sell it instead the first time. I say nothing on this site that I would not say to ones face. This is about the only time I use the internet in general. I was being totally honest and upfront. My ZT is my favorite as well. Luckily it was perfect as it is the only knife I own as of now, besides a chive.
Good luck with it. It is a great knife.
If you tighten the pivot that should help a great deal. Also first loosen all the handle screws and push the lockside upward and then re tighten.This should help. Using blue lock-tite would help a great deal once adjusted to your liking.
 
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I would definitely get a decent torx screwdriver set and some blue loctite. On the extremely rare occasion you will come across a knife that you just can't center but 99.9% of the time small adjustments to the pivot screw fixes this. If you center one and it seems tighter than you like while opening the blade backing the screw off in like 1/8th of a turn at a time will usually let it open easier without losing the blade center. Just be sure to put a dab of the blue loctite on the screw threads before starting, this will keep the screw from working it's way lose. Blue loctite you can still get the screw out again when you want to, red loctite will cement that thing in there lol.
 
I can understand your frustration since you've already sent it in once, but I feel it will get taken care of this time.
Good luck.
 
For those that don't know:
Spyderco has a much smaller CS department than KAI does. Having a lengthy phone conversation is not really going to help the knife get fixed, until the people on the phone can see the problem and look at the mechanics of the knife/problem in question first hand. So before anyone goes on assuming all things are equal, they are not.
I've called Spyderco too, and their reply was the same to me. Send the knife in so we can evaluate it.
 
Was not looking for a lengthy conversation. Just to ask one question. If the steel insert lock on a TI mili is supposed to start at 90 percent. My friends first quality framelock and he wanted to ask. Being without if for a month to ask a question was not an option, and like I said. They have amazing product and I feel that the customer service from either company is great. I was just saying I was impressed with the care Kai had. As does Charlynn on phone or internet.
 
i got a 0550 blem 1st generation that had a similar issue. lock would go out and then when i cut with it......it would pop back but not enough to unlock and with not much blade play...as time went on using it.....it went to popping back when pressure was put on the cutting edge.....to about unlock other than my grip holding it. couldn't send it back since it was a blem. so i took it apart and tried all the normal screw adjustments, etc things...no go.

so i decided use as is very carefully, or bend the lock bar over slightly. so i decided to bend the lock bar over. took a few tries as i went slowly. now it locks up good if i open it slowly. and doesn't pop back any unless i open it normal opening speed (relative term of course, but i'm no wrist slinger, hard snap opener type.)

it only pops back when i start to cut and put pressure on the blade side and now with the bent over lockbar....only pops back a tiny bit and not enough to unlock the knife. problem solved for me. as a side note i did spine whack it on my palm and no movement...course i'm not hitting tables or steel plates, etc. so i'm good with it now.

yours is new so send it back, get the new knife within spec that works.
 
KAI customer service is great, I thought there was a member here that worked in the warranty dept. maybe hes not on here anymore. I have plenty of tools and locktite, I did deassist my 0566 and got the blade centered perfect with zero side to side play and it opens smooth. The 0550 is going back, if they cannot fix it they will send me a new one. Im sure I just got a dud but it is in no way going to push me away from Kershaw or ZT, unless it comes back the same again but I doubt it. No high Blood pressure coldsteelrocks, just letting you know why I responded to your first comment like I did. All good.
 
Awesome to hear it. My ZT is my favorite ever. Hope yours turns out to be the same.
Happy Holidays and best of luck.
 
Got my 0550 back from KAI today and all is good. The blade is centered, no side to side blade play at all and it seems to be locking up perfect. Now I need some good scales for it.
 
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