Purchasing my first blade and in need of guidance.

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Zombie Tools is a very interesting company. Their Marketing Scheme is, for old farts like me, pretty over the top and rediculous. And yes, they do make some pretty silly products. However, from what I am able to understand, the people they have making these crazy things seem to know what they're doing. I am basing this on the materials they use and the fact that they seem to be open about their steel and their hardness. That is a good sign. Also, two or three of their designs are pretty faithful to tradition. The Vakra seems to be a well shaped Kukri. The Hellion is very faithful to the greek short sort, the Xiphos. The Felon (what a name *facepalm*) looks to be a pretty faithful adaptation of the American Bowie.

I have, however, seen no test or reviews of these things.
 
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BK&T/KaBar, Ontario, Condor are some other companies to look into. KaBar has a ZK (Zombie Knives) line that would be right up your alley. They are all quality products.

Of the company you listed, they have some neat stuff. Seems to be quality, yet a little more pricey than maybe they should be. But i guess it's supply & demand. Good steel & good heat treat is key.

Post up pics when you get some.
 
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They use good steel, they tell you how hard it is, they tell you a little about their heat treatment. Those are all good signs. Stick around kid and read this whole board. There is a lot.

The guys are gonna jab you a little bit if you look to buy a $400 knife but say "heat treat, whatever that is". Dude, heat treat is EVERYTHING. Geometry is second. Steel is third.

You're gonna get ribbed around here. I think Zombie tools makes some good stuff. It's wacky, they're wacky, but I have a strong suspicion that the crazy dudes that run the company job out the making of the knives to guys who may well know what they're doing. Look at ESEE. They don't make their own knives either but the people who do are EXPERTS. They are a very good company that also has kind of a "prominent" marketing theme of a rather different sort.

Stay cool and read Maintenance Tinkering and Embellishment. You'll learn a lot there about sharpening and caring for your knife.
 
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If you are planning to store a knife long-term, I highly recommend TW25B grease. It is a synthetic grease designed for storing firearms, but it works great for knives, too. It is about the consistency of room-temperature bacon grease, but it is odorless, nontoxic, and has no shelf life (i.e., does not go bad). There are a few different companies that make it. All my stored knives are coated in TW25B grease. If you want to take your knives out of storage again in the future, the TW25B grease wipes off easily with hot water and dish soap just like bacon grease.

5160 is a great, tough steel, but it is very corrosion-prone. I recommend you clean the blade thoroughly with NAPHTA (lighter fluid) or Acetone, wipe dry, and apply a thin coat of TW25B to the blade and any exposed 5160 (tang, etc.). You can store the blade in its Kydex sheath. Put it in a cool, dry location, and if you don't come back to the knife for 20 years, it should be in the same state as when you put it away.
 
Death132 said:
And I bought just because I personally love the design. I don't ever plan on selling it and hoping to get a good deal. I just want to start collecting real weaponry and this just clicked with me.
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This thread is wacky.

First, welcome, Death132. If you like that "knife", you like it. Hang it on a wall, whatever. (Though you did say you wouldn't use it, then you said you might use it, ... confusing). Put some mineral oil or Renaissance Wax (it's like museum quality stuff) on it, don't store it in the sheath, and it will be fine. Enjoy it.

That said...it's not "real weaponry"....it fantasy stuff. That's fine. Nothing wrong with that, but let's, at least, be honest with ourselves. Pure fantasy design. Like a Klingon Batlek or a Lord of the Rings Piece.

Second, and here's a big problem....the serious knife community faces enough bias already without companies coming out with blades called The Bone Machete and The Felon. So that company isn't going to find much love here. Again, it's your knife, you can like it, but we don't have to.

Third...when will this "zombie" stuff stop?!? Gah! So over.
 
I think this could explain how we doesn't plan on using it, but still could use it.

[video=youtube;wMsi0zXUhOM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMsi0zXUhOM[/video]
 
Cosmoline, lard or tiger balm all work well for preserving knives....

;):D

Seriously though; don't ZT blades come with some sort of coating/etch that'd inhibit rust a bit?... :confused: It shouldn't take too much to keep that "knife" maintained.
 
marcinek said:
That said...it's not "real weaponry"....it fantasy stuff. That's fine. Nothing wrong with that, but let's, at least, be honest with ourselves. Pure fantasy design. Like a Klingon Batlek or a Lord of the Rings Piece.

Second, and here's a big problem....the serious knife community faces enough bias already without companies coming out with blades called The Bone Machete and The Felon. So that company isn't going to find much love here. Again, it's your knife, you can like it, but we don't have to.

Third...when will this "zombie" stuff stop?!? Gah! So over.
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+1. exactly.

People/companies like that are partly responsible for society and the media fearing and trying to control tools (knives/guns). However, I am sure your taste will grow as your knowledge does. I know I use to buy knives that I would never buy now and in the future, I probably will not be buying the same type of knives that I buy now. I just hope you don't spend all your money on this "marketing" you speak of before your taste matures. For those prices, there is so much better out there... just look at some of the customs on this forum.

Due to the orig question, the info on the site itself, and the obvious marketing of this company, I can't help but wander if this is a real question or just another marketing ploy.

Do we have another Mantis Knives on our hands???
 
tueller said:
+1. exactly.

People/companies like that are partly responsible for society and the media fearing and trying to control tools (knives/guns). However, I am sure your taste will grow as your knowledge does. I know I use to buy knives that I would never buy now and in the future, I probably will not be buying the same type of knives that I buy now. I just hope you don't spend all your money on this "marketing" you speak of before your taste matures. For those prices, there is so much better out there... just look at some of the customs on this forum.

Due to the orig question, the info on the site itself, and the obvious marketing of this company, I can't help but wander if this is a real question or just another marketing ploy.

Do we have another Mantis Knives on our hands???
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I was wondering that myself.
 
WELCOME to the forums & a fantastic hobby! You can use ANY oil that does not go rancid. Personally I would recommend olive oil but that's because I regularly use my knives on food. It works perfectly. Rem-oil for storage. If you plan on handling the thing a bunch make the coating VERY light... just a mild discoloration, not necessarily a "coat." DO NOT pull it in and out of the sheath very much if you don't want scratches!
 
I would use Rem-Oil (Walmart or sporting goods store) to wipe your knives down periodically. After use, wipe them off good and oil them. I keep an old sock in a zip lock bag that is oily. If you cut animals with blood, make sure you clean them really well as blood is caustic. Enjoy your new hobby!
 
Wow. Just actually read the copy on that company's website. About The Reaper...

This 4-foot tool is truly an instrument of death. Cut from quarter-inch spring steel, she barely notices when you hit bone. With black leather wrapped around the handholds of the aluminum slab grip, this 6 pound piece of potential violence makes one ooze badassery just holding it.
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I think that blows Dark Ops' ridiculous copy clean out of the water.

I take back a lot of what I said before about "you like it, you like it." Death...you should be embarassed by that "knife." The company, that knife, and the ad copy for it have gone past "a joke" into "downright offensive."

In my opinion.

There's your guidance.
 
All over the site they talk about how their stuff is made to cleave through bone and flesh and they're big bad weapons. Their knives/swords don't look all that bad and are probably pretty decent but, the people who are making them wear big red shoes. They're straight up clowns.
 
SENGVIN said:
cmon man this one is sooo old ! Why would he have to be using it at all ?
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Because he said he would!

Listen, he said he's interested in having the knife as part of a collection, but would consider "possibly using it once"

translation: I may have to kill someone with this awesome deadly weapon.

He has plainly stated that he thinks of it as a weapon. Not a chopper, or machete or "bladed tool". No. A weapon.

So if he says its a weapon, and he says he might use it one day. Then he'll use it as a weapon.
 
Well first off this is a weapon. It's a sharp blade that can be dangerous. And by use it I mean if I ever want to test it out and cut things down. Doesn't necessarily have to be people now does it? I mentioned that I "might" use it because I wanted to know how caring for it would differ from storing it.

And by real weapon I meant something that is fully sharpened. I don't care how gimmicky a blade is or how fake/fantasy the design is. If it is sharpened and capable of doing what the weapon is supposed to do, then it's real. I personally hate the Zombie gimmick. I hate the marketing. But that's what it is. It's all marketing to appeal to a certain crowd. I love the design of the blade and that is why I purchased it. I knew coming here that there would be some sort of backlash. Before buying the blade I looked up a lot about the ZT site and the blade itself. I know how certain people in the blade community can be and dislike this stuff.

For people unsure of the quality and want to see tests. Here is a video of them torture testing one of their blades trying to break it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=itE3_p7Fxwg

Thank you to everyone who gave me helpful replies. I am learning a lot and appreciate it. I know it's been addressed, but when it comes to a light coat of oil and a heavy coat, when exactly are each preferred? Heavy for storage and light for use? And can anyone explain "Tang" to me. I've seen it mentioned a couple times and would like a better understanding.
 
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Tang is the part of the knife under the handle.

There are full tangs which extend all the way to the edge of the handle and there are what are called a variety of things like "stick" tang, "rat tail" tang, etc. With a full tang, the handle is two pieces glued and fastened on either side of the tang...either side of the knife's handle. With stick tangs, the handle is either one piece of material with a hole drilled through the middle or is a bunch of washers...or a combination of both. Old school military knives like the iconing Ka-Bar are stick tang with a metal guard, a bunch of leather washers smashed together, and then a metal pommel peened or welded onto the end. The Buck knife (the 119) is constructed in a similar fashion with some kind of hollow "tube" serving as a handle with aluminum guards and pommels. Some Scandinavian knives just have a piece of metal glued into a hole in a handle and may or may not protrude out the pommel end.

Full tangs are considered stronger. Very few stick tangs are actually weak. The whole world was basically conquered, in one century or another, by people using knives (or swords) with stick tangs.

As for as these Zombie Tools, the conventionl knife shaped ones seem to be full tang with aluminum scales and wrapped in leather. That's kind of an unusual set up but it should be strong.
 
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