Softer detent on the ZT 0450CF ZDP-189 ?

Lord_Balkan

Lord_Balkan

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Aug 25, 2016
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I recently bought a ZT 0450CF ZDP-189 through the blade forums and I noticed the detent is way weaker than my ZT 0452CF. This is contrary to everything I read about.. For example, I am not able to open the ZT 0452CF by just pulling out the blade like a slip joint but I am able to do this with the 0450CF ZDP-189 really easily actually. The flipping action is still pretty good but I get misfires when I am working against gravity and do not flip with enough consistent force. I was wondering if this is normal or if anyone else experienced this?

I'm not sure this is exactly bad (I think I prefer it) but this is the opposite of what I was expecting from all that I have read.
 
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None of my folders have a detent stronger than a GEC sunfish.... can barely open that by hand
My only ZT 804 has a fairly firm detent

when did zt use ZDP steel? i really want a sturdier knife with that, have a flimsy delica
 
Sorry to hear this. For me, a weak detent takes all the fun out of a flipper.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
My guess is the prior owner was monkeying with it. I haven't seen a soft extent in a ZT flipper in quite a while.
 
MAD777 said:
Sorry to hear this. For me, a weak detent takes all the fun out of a flipper.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
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Don't get me wrong, it is still strong enough to fire off 90% of the time. It just is noticeably softer than my ZT 452CF.
 
Mine has a perfect detent... strong buy not too strong. no misfires on this one...
 
The two at my local shop have strong detents. The all black cf model is really strong, almost as much resistance as my 804.



Russ
 
The detent on the 450 is unquestionably weaker than the 452 and that's simply by design as all parts are smaller including the lockbar which provides less tension from the smaller 452.

Not sure how much difference the CF is to Ti whether it makes a difference in lock bar strength.

Yours kind of sounds worn a bit.
 
Sounds like it has a weak detent. Not necessarily suggesting you to do it, but bending the lockbar inward a bit may be able to increase the detent strength.
 
My 0450cfzdp has strong detent. Never had a misfire or worry about ever having one.
 
Lord_Balkan said:
Is there anything I can do to fix it without sending it back?
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Sharp_Edge mentioned it a few posts before this one. It's pretty easy to do. I tweak the detent on lots of my edc's, to get the action just where I like it. Disassemble the knife and *gently* bend the lockbar in (towards the blade), in tiny increments, until you get a stronger detent that you like. Conversely, if your detent is too harsh, remove the lock bar insert & bend the lockbar outward (away from the blade) in tiny test increments. You have to reassemble the knife, & repeat more than once sometimes, to get it just where you want it. But I do it a lot, (carefully!) and have always felt I made a big improvement and ended up with a detent strength I was much happier with in the end. Just don't bend it TOO far inward or outward and do permanent damage to your lockbar. Also be aware that if you bend outward a little too much to soften the detent, you may create some lock rock if the insert is not engaging the base of the tang solidly enough, due to too little lockbar pressure. Plus, if you make it too light, it hurts flipping ability. So it's a bit of trial and error sometimes to find that perfect sweet-spot for you. You definitely develop a "feel" for how to do this pretty quickly and easily after you've done it a few times. At least that's how it worked for me. Best of luck...just take your time and do it carefully!;)
 
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My 0450 (the base one) has a very strong detent, almost a touch too strong. It's certainly not a question of if it will flip 100% or not. I'd send it back. I'm sure you can tweak it by hand and be fine but if there is any hesitation, send it in and have ZT do it in case something goes wrong.
 
I did what was recommended and that seemed to generally fix it. I am just worried I screwed up the lockbar. Maybe I am just freaking out and it is just broken in.
 
I've found there's quite a bit of variation in the detent strength of ZTs (from having multiples of the same model, not just comparing between models). I've never had one that I felt had too weak a detent (nothing like the old Hinderers), but I have had a couple that were too strong (i.e. difficult to flip unless you've got a really tight grip on it, and painful to do so more than a couple of times without gloves).
 
Brummie said:
but I have had a couple that were too strong (i.e. difficult to flip unless you've got a really tight grip on it, and painful to do so more than a couple of times without gloves).
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Thomas Welk (director of sales/marketing) has made it clear that any criticism ZT receives regarding their detents will be completely disregarded. There is no such thing as "precision detents" to them, and no room for tweaking them to make them better. They're just going to continue making them really hard, and if you complain then you're a weakling.

Of course, that attitude should come across as asinine to anyone who has handled a Shirogorov, or many other high-end production or custom flippers who have much better tuned detents than ZT, fire better, and aren't unreasonably hard.
 
Mr brancon,

I think what was actually meant by that as I've heard it multiple times is that there is such a broad spectrum of what people want no matter if its too hard or too weak someone will be complaining.

You can't win either way.

And after being here on this forum for the short amount of time I have, I can absolutely see that.

Cheers,

Justin
 
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brancron said:
Thomas Welk (director of sales/marketing) has made it clear that any criticism ZT receives regarding their detents will be completely disregarded. There is no such thing as "precision detents" to them, and no room for tweaking them to make them better. They're just going to continue making them really hard, and if you complain then you're a weakling.

Of course, that attitude should come across as asinine to anyone who has handled a Shirogorov, or many other high-end production or custom flippers who have much better tuned detents than ZT, fire better, and aren't unreasonably hard.
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You are conflating two very different topics in typical BFC troll fashion.

Thomas' point was that everyone has different tastes as far as detent strength. They do not consider your detent being weak/strong according to your tastes as being a workmanship isn't... and it isn't. If the knife can't be shaken open from a too weak detent and can still be opened because it isn't too strong, then there is functionally nothing wrong with the detent. They are production knives and they don't cater to your tastes. Everyone generally agreed that the detents were on the softer side so they made changes in the past few years to make them stronger. Almost 100% if complaints about them being too strong was a result of user error with the lockbar pressure.

Now on to the second complaint you tried to roll into one.

The detent strength can still vary from knife to knife. I'm sure if every ZT flipper cost $500+, they could tune every detent to be identical.

When you are trying to be competitive in the marketplace and be a leader, you have to be able to hit certain price points. When Shirogorov can build a $180 flipper with precision detents, then you will have a point.
 
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