Request for review: ZT0400 Scavenger

Gary W. Graley

Gary W. Graley

“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 2, 1999
Messages
27,330
This knife intriques me somewhat with it's blade shape and what looks to be
a solid gripping handle, I did a search but found precious little on the forums
for this knife, if you have one, please share some photos and your comments
regarding it's
slicing ability
grip
lock
opening mech
and of course your overall opinion would be welcome as well ;)
Thanks in advance,
G2
 
Bueller?...Bueller?...Bueller?

um, he's sick. My best friend's sister's boyfriend's
brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid
who's going with a girl who saw Ferris pass-out at 31 Flavors last night.
I guess it's pretty serious……

Thank you, Simone

No problem whatsoever.


;)
G2
 
Thanks sent him a PM and will see what he has in his files regarding that
knife, saw some of his images of other knives, amazing work he has done!
G2
 
Gary - I have my ZT0400 in my greasy little hand right now. It's one of the few tanto blade knives that I own. I've had it for at least two years now. The spring assist still kicks the blade out with authority. The lockup is still very solid. Ultimately – I’m still real impressed with the knife.

It does have a very solid handle. The side opposite the pocket clip has a rough almost sandpaper like texture. The texture is somewhere between sandpaper and shark skin. It’s not uncomfortable.

There are two areas on the blade spine for the thumb. The blade ramps up from the handle creating a natural area for the thumb. The blade then dips down creating a mild concave over the thumb stud. This seems to be a natural place for the thumb during heavy cutting. The flipper also creates a very nice finger guard when the blade is open.

The blade shape is interesting. It angles downward. I notice if I put the knife in my hand and extend my arm as if I’m punching the blade continues in a strait line from my hand due to the blade angle.

As far as cutting and slicing go – it does all of that. I have several other knives that I carry for utility and general use. In all honesty the 0400 isn’t my first choice for EDC. The style and ergonomics are definitely geared as a tactical fighter. I haven’t found it to be quite as handy as a general utility knife, but it definitely has its place and purpose. I’m not sorry for picking one up.

Hope this helps.
 
Actually the 0400 is one of the ZT's that I don't have. I actually bought one for a friend, but did not get the opportunity to spend much time with it. My overall impression is quite favorable though. It felt like a really solid knife. The handle has a flatter profile than most of the other ZT's (that and its construction and lock are probably why people tend to describe it as Blur-like). The 0400 gives a hint of how great the Blur would be with a flipper.
I think SPX was referring to this review.

This is one of the other quick reviews that was posted.

I do like it enough that I will eventually pick one up.
Hope this helps.
 
Thanks Joelsm and Kneedeep, really appreciate the links too and the feedback on the knife!
I'll post some images and thoughts when I have one in my mitts !! :)
G2

Edited to add, one of the things this knife reminds me of is a Microtech Vector, in flavour at least
BUT while I've owned a couple of Vectors, they had a very small handle to use daily and
could not keep them because of that one problem, this ZT looks to be more robust with a larger
handle so that should not be the case here...again, just my opinion that they look similar.
 
Last edited:
OK boys and girls, mine arrived late yesterday afternoon, very nice, here is a mini-review

The grip is great, fits the hand like a glove. The arc of the blade is a natural cutting machine
But the one caveat ($5 word, sorry ;) ) the blade is overall fairly thick so it isn't a slicing
through cardboard type blade, but then, I don't think this was intended to be your cut
the box up working knife, more an agressive response kind of knife and in that I would
have to guess it would excel, I just hope that I'll never need to put it to the test.

The opening mech, speedy but not overly so, flips out with a nice force.
By either the flipper or the thumbstud. The flipper is made so cool looking, very nice work!

The lock, solid and tight, no blade play whatsoever, liner lock is also substantial as is the blade.

The point, my word the point, it's needle sharp, it's already drawn blood from a co-worker!
he was shutting the blade when it bit him, lol he looked up in alarm like 'Who did this to me?'

So in all, it's a very rugged nice knife, while probably not an EDC kind of carry but one
that you'll likely love to have.

And a kind word to New Graham Knives for their help with this, as I knew that I wouldn't
be home to receive the knife, they changed the shipping to here in Clearwater where I
am working for the next two weeks, they are good folks and my hat's off to them, which
by the way, is a ZT hat that came with the knife too!

Here are some images taken here in the hotel room, quickly taken, but should provide
you with some idea of this knife;

The texture on the one side is great, solid and nonslip grip

zt0400_4.jpg


I moved the clip so it rides tip up;

zt0400_3.jpg


zt0400.jpg


The coating is pretty tough but also is a pain as it shows where you touch, as you can
see in these images.

zt0400_blade.jpg


and a shot of the lock and edge thickness;

zt0400_lock.jpg


Thanks again guys, I give this a G2 Recommendation...
G2
 
Last edited:
Gary, thanks for the good words. Give your friend a bandage...we pack them in the box for just that reason.
Regards, Mike
 
Michael Dye said:
Gary, thanks for the good words. Give your friend a bandage...we pack them in the box for just that reason.
Regards, Mike
Click to expand...


You're welcome Mike and...well...he's not that close of a friend ;)
gotta save those bandaids for a more serious situation :)
G2
 
Gary,nice review and pictures.
Like to see a picture of the hat.That maybe the deciding factor if I decide to buy" this" knife:D:D.
 
Thanks Raj and I thought you might want to see the hat too ;)

zt0400_hat.jpg


Again, these are just quick hotel pics using the table lamp for the light source...
nice hat for sure, very well made, as you would expect.
G2
 
a closeup shot of the tip,
this reminds me of a kiridashi kind of thing, I find that
it's very easy to utilize this portion of the blade as if
that was all there was to it, pretty handy too;

zt400_tip.jpg


G2
 
Go for it Raj, it's worth the dollars, especially if you are able to snip a hat too...:)
G2
 
After a few days here as an EDC, I do find this to be a very solid user
for several cutting chores.

I will make this one mention, the edge, when it arrived, was 'sharp' but
not a sharp edge that would slice through material very well.
After a few hours total of sharpening, a little at a time on the Spyderco
Profiles, my regular stones are home :( I find that the knife has a much
better attitude where slicing is concerned ;) and now she's a very slicing
machine indeed. We have some cardboard crates, quite thickly made, about
1/2" thick material, this sliced down and cut out a nice triangle of material with
no problem whatsoever, I'll keep working on the edge, taking off the 'shoulders'
that it arrived with to make it even handier at slicing.
The guys at work just marvel at it's profile and how solid a knife it is, quite rugged
is the consensus, you can tell they don't get to handle "Good" knives often and
really appreciate this build quality and how the blade's shape is.
G2
 
Probably not my sort of blade, but she sure is pretty. As always, your photos were top notch and your observations keen.
(Can you read "Keen observations" about a knife with a straight face? I find that I can't, but I'm not going to re-phrase it.)

I always enjoy reading your posts.

Frank
 
Thanks Frank, when I started out down this steel road, my favourite at
the time was a tanto style blade, americanized that is and sought out all
of those I could find, then my tastes changed to wharncliff's, which is still
a favourite and finally changing to a modified wharncliff as the most practical
blade.
So for me to revert back to the original, I'm not sure if that means I'm into
my 'second' childhood? ;) possibly, but I just really liked the way this knife
design flows and when closed it still has a nice contour to her as well.

Using the Spyderco Profiles took a long time to get the shoulders of the bevels
down but now it has a very good cutting bevels on her.

G2
 
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