So stoked just bought my first knife!

[Charr]

Oh that's cruelty hahaha. I'll have to look at the sebenza too. I'll probably feel the urge to buy another knife here soon. I think I caught the bug.

First off, Congratulations!

Secondly, make your next purchase a good sharpening system and a good set of strops. Look around here and ask what people would recommend, but you will be much better off if you get your sharpening skills down pat early on, trust me
It's so much harder to learn how to sharpen on tougher high-carbide steels than it is on traditional steel (though once you get the hang of it they aren't much different with good tools), so I would also recommend getting something cheap but useful like a Buck fixed blade or similar to start learning how to sharpen on.

That was how I learned personally, and 420HC is very forgiving for you if you mess up, while Elmax is not nearly as easy to work with if you haven't gotten your eye in a head of time.

The Sebenza is a spectacular knife btw!
It's definitely an acquired taste though in my opinion (and many others on here ), and you honestly might not be able to fully enjoy the knife and the reasons the knife is so great without using it, sharpening it, and really getting used to how it performs.

Oh, and one last thing:
ZT are gateway knives, so be careful
I started my higher-end knife collecting on ZT, and look at me now; I carry one of two Shirogorovs every day, along with a small assortment of custom knives! ZT ruined my wallet and my other hobbies for life

Pics of some of my EDCs because I can

This is on me today:








And yes, this was my actual EDC one day. Was a little too many things in the pockets though, so only once

 

[Knifenewb53]

Wow that sebenza is nice! Thanks I'm really excited to get it. It was between the ZT 560, the 0566cf with the m390 I believe, or the 301. I wanted a bigger blade too and the 301 was 70 bucks extra so I felt that 70$ in that knife wouldn't have made that much of a difference in the 200$ I paid for the 560.

 

[Catherine_Montana]

Congrats!

Cate

 

[AusLoX]

Thanks man! Now I see how people get sucked into collecting ZTs and what not.

Collecting ZTs will definitely keep you busy. Lots of fun and glad you're quarantined with the sickness like the rest of us. Congrats on a badass knife!

 

[Bludgeon]

So what is the full name of that sebenza? I've heard a lot of people say great things about the 560 and a lot people make complaints about it. It seemed to me though that the good far outweighed the bad.

Enjoy your new knife, spend some time with this video and you will be way ahead of the curve:d
http://youtu.be/ZsLaTtrSEj0

 

[Charr]

Wow that sebenza is nice! Thanks I'm really excited to get it. It was between the ZT 560, the 0566cf with the m390 I believe, or the 301. I wanted a bigger blade too and the 301 was 70 bucks extra so I felt that 70$ in that knife wouldn't have made that much of a difference in the 200$ I paid for the 560.

I would say that if you have any trouble with the 0560 at all, get the 0562cf instead. If you like the overall design of the 0560, but it just doesn't work for you as well as you might hope, then you will likely love the 0562 in general, and the M390 (204p, whatever they call it ) steel is a good (though not major) upgrade to Elmax in that it will hold an edge a little longer, is largely easier to sharpen, and it is more forgiving if you damage the blade, though that is pretty unlikely with either of those steels honestly.

I am not a fan of the 0301 personally, but that is opinion, which you will find is a really important thing in knives as well
Experiment to find what you really like in a knife, and then chase after the perfect knife for you, no matter what it takes, and you will eventually get there. It might take you months, years, or a lifetime, but that's what makes it a hobby, and that's what makes it worth your time.
I still can't find my perfect knife - though there are a few on the list that I'm hopeful about, of course - in the few years I have been looking, but the journey is all of the fun for us!

 

[ebidis]

~snip~

I've said it before, but I love that Shiro.

And what is that HOT piece of of steel in the bottom picture?

 

[Knifenewb53]

It definitely is awesome! I love the look of spydercos I think that might be my next knife, but for my first knife ZT just seemed to fit the bill a bit better 😃. What is the knife at the very top with brownish sort of handle. The blade shape is really unique. It's really nice.

 

[Aardwolf]

I've said it before, but I love that Shiro.

And what is that HOT piece of of steel in the bottom picture?

That would be a Matt Diskin Fire double action

 

[Cadillac86]

Congrats! I just bought the 0566 a few minutes ago (my first ZT as well). That knife should be amazing for you, especially as a first knife. You will probably never be happy with lesser quality after that haha.

 

[ebidis]

That would be a Matt Diskin Fire double action

Thanks.

 

[Charr]

I've said it before, but I love that Shiro.

And what is that HOT piece of of steel in the bottom picture?

Oh trust me, I love both of my little Russians

Bottom is my Diskin Fire. Dual Action automatic with a scale release hidden in the front carbon fiber scale. Opens buttery smooth with the thumb stud, or rockets out hard when you pivot the scale by pushing towards the spine from near the pivot.
Excellent knife, but unfortunately discontinued. I am glad to say this one with both the black blade and green hardware is a very rare specimen though

It definitely is awesome! I love the look of spydercos I think that might be my next knife, but for my first knife ZT just seemed to fit the bill a bit better 😃. What is the knife at the very top with brownish sort of handle. The blade shape is really unique. It's really nice.

That would be my Grimsmo Norseman. Excellent knife for sure!
Handle on this one is smooth titanium with bronze anodizing, and they usually are found with a honeycomb milling pattern on the front scale, but I like this one with the smooth scales on both sides a little more personally.
The blade is indeed unique though, and took some time to get used to. Once I got used to using it though, this became my #1 work carry for days that I am in the office. It doesn't get a huge workout here, but it does insanely well at any EDC task I can throw at it, and that secondary tip were the front edge meets the re-curve is perfect for cutting into boxes or practically anything else.

And if you like a knife to just glide closed on it's own, this is the way to go my friend. The knife will literally shut with only gravity to guide it, and the blade will swing entirely free even while the lockbar is touching the blade when you go to close it. I am extremely fortunate to have handled a lot of insanely smooth knives, but this one is in the top 3 all-time in terms of the free-movement of the blade.

Oh, and Spyderco definitely comes out with some great designs as well!
I would really recommend looking into getting a Victorinox as well for a secondary carry. I went without one for years, but now you can see that my Pioneer (of course with the rare COPPER finish ) is probably the most constant knife in my EDC, even if it is not the most used one. They are insanely helpful tools!

 

[ebidis]

I would say that if you have any trouble with the 0560 at all, get the 0562cf instead. If you like the overall design of the 0560, but it just doesn't work for you as well as you might hope, then you will likely love the 0562 in general, and the M390 (204p, whatever they call it ) steel is a good (though not major) upgrade to Elmax in that it will hold an edge a little longer, is largely easier to sharpen, and it is more forgiving if you damage the blade, though that is pretty unlikely with either of those steels honestly.

I am not a fan of the 0301 personally, but that is opinion, which you will find is a really important thing in knives as well
Experiment to find what you really like in a knife, and then chase after the perfect knife for you, no matter what it takes, and you will eventually get there. It might take you months, years, or a lifetime, but that's what makes it a hobby, and that's what makes it worth your time.
I still can't find my perfect knife - though there are a few on the list that I'm hopeful about, of course - in the few years I have been looking, but the journey is all of the fun for us!

I agree.

Aaand just because I can...some eye candy.

 

[Knifenewb53]

Oh trust me, I love both of my little Russians

Bottom is my Diskin Fire. Dual Action automatic with a scale release hidden in the front carbon fiber scale. Opens buttery smooth with the thumb stud, or rockets out hard when you pivot the scale by pushing towards the spine from near the pivot.
Excellent knife, but unfortunately discontinued. I am glad to say this one with both the black blade and green hardware is a very rare specimen though



That would be my Grimsmo Norseman. Excellent knife for sure!
Handle on this one is smooth titanium with bronze anodizing, and they usually are found with a honeycomb milling pattern on the front scale, but I like this one with the smooth scales on both sides a little more personally.
The blade is indeed unique though, and took some time to get used to. Once I got used to using it though, this became my #1 work carry for days that I am in the office. It doesn't get a huge workout here, but it does insanely well at any EDC task I can throw at it, and that secondary tip were the front edge meets the re-curve is perfect for cutting into boxes or practically anything else.

And if you like a knife to just glide closed on it's own, this is the way to go my friend. The knife will literally shut with only gravity to guide it, and the blade will swing entirely free even while the lockbar is touching the blade when you go to close it. I am extremely fortunate to have handled a lot of insanely smooth knives, but this one is in the top 3 all-time in terms of the free-movement of the blade.

Oh, and Spyderco definitely comes out with some great designs as well!
I would really recommend looking into getting a Victorinox as well for a secondary carry. I went without one for years, but now you can see that my Pioneer (of course with the rare COPPER finish ) is probably the most constant knife in my EDC, even if it is not the most used one. They are insanely helpful tools!

The Grimsmo is gorgeous. You have a bunch of really nice knives. Love that bronze that is on the handle too.

 

[Charr]

The Grimsmo is gorgeous. You have a bunch of really nice knives. Love that bronze that is on the handle too.

Thanks man. I have been really lucky to be able to own so many great knives, but I also know that I won't be able to do this forever, so I'm trying to feed the bug as much as possible before anything small, noisy, and hungry decides to come into my life and eats up all of my money for 2 decades
Not likely to happen in the next couple of years or more, but it'll be a long and lonely time for me and my knives when it does happen I'm pretty sure.
Live it up while I can!

 

[raistlin65]

Man, hell of a first knife!! Welcome!

I was going to say, that's a great first knife. Doesn't bode well for your wallet, though, if that's where you are starting your collection.

 

[TravisH]

WELCOME!

Congrats! ZT is a great 'first knife'. And is sure to be the first of many!

 

[mqqn]

Congratulations!

You picked a winner for your first knife, one sure to make you want to check out more ZT and Hinderer designs!

best

mqqn

 

[grownstar]

Congrats on the ZT! They make a fantastic product. I'm sure you're gonna love it! We're gonna want a lot of pictures :thumbup:

 

[SliCed]

Congrats! Smoothest knife I've ever owned. The only drawback I've experienced was the edges of that knife were a little sharp, which can upset the fingers. The perfect knife while wearing gloves, but you may end up going for the 562. Hopefully yours is perfect though, it is a beast of a knife!