Some more ZT 0301 review information...

darkestthicket

darkestthicket

Joined
Nov 30, 2002
Messages
1,106
Well i broke down and bought one finally, after 2 months give or take of trying to get one.

Initial Thoughts :

This is a 300$ knife? you must be joking!
Fit and finish are excellent! 5 outta 5
Lockup is SOLID, this is my favorite frame lock so far 5 outta 5
Assisted action is a little slow but the blade is heavy 4 outta 5
Ergonomics are very nice, very hand fitting 5 outta 5
Grinds on knife are perfectly symetrical and visually "pretty" 5 outta 5
Edge out of box was shaving sharp with very little force 4 outta 5
Trust factor 5 outta 5 (i see this as a dependable knife)
Accidental opening prevention factor 4 outta 5, (havent been able to get it to accidently trigger in blue jeans at all, may upgrade to 5 stars on this one after ive had it riding around in my pants for a while.)
Innovation Factor 4 outta 5 ( the assisted trigger keeps the knife from accidentally closing on your hand, i thnk this is an excellent addition)
Sheeple friendly 3 outta 5 (its huge! thank god for low ride clip)

My only true complaint is the warranty is limited to the original purchaser and that its not as good as Strider's warranty. 3 outta 5

Overall Id give this knife 4.85 out of 5 stars. well worth 300$

Otherwise there isnt much to say, this knife rocks.
damn. now i have to learn how to sharpen recurves. :grumpy:
 
crap, Cougar could you please move this to knife reviews and testing? wasnt paying close enough attention to detail. lol. sorry!
 
Hi darkestthicket,

thanks for the review. :-)
There is one thing I disagree with, though:

darkestthicket said:
Innovation Factor 5 outta 5 ( the assisted trigger keeps the knife from accidentally closing on your hand, i thnk this is an excellent addition)
Click to expand...

While I don't own a ZT301 (yet), I do have a Kershaw Cyclone which has the flipper/AO thing as well. I don't think it will prevent the blade from collapsing in case the lock fails though .. the flipper/guard will just smash your index finger badly and then continue to cut through whatever is left of it. :D
(I'm talking about a 'real' incident with lots of force involved here).

-Connor
 
This is possible (the smashing finger action) but id prefer a smashed finger to a cut one, This is my first kershaw knife, which as i understand many of them have this feature ( a friend has a leek with it) this is the only one ive seen that i think is big enough to actually prevent a cut, hence the 5 :)
 
darkestthicket said:
This is possible (the smashing finger factor) but id prefer a smashed finger to a cut one, This is my first kershaw knife, which as i understand many of them have this feature ( a friend has a leek with it) this is the only one ive seen that i think is big enough to actually prevent a cut, hence the 5 :)
Click to expand...

Actually a clean cut heals way better than squashed tissue. :D

-Connor
 
heheh point taken!
new score of 4 for inovation with additional commentary taken into consideration!
 
AO should provide a little extra resistance from a closing blade, it certainly won't hurt you more than one without it. The flipper will protect you more though, I think. Thanks for the review--when you get time, can you get some photos up? Especially size comparos.
 
Size comparison between ZT0301 and Strider custom Nightmare Recurve.
Virtually the same size, the strider is a bit heavier, the ZT rides lower in your pocket and is a little less bulky.

Arzt.jpg
 
Great pics, I just picked up the 301 and 302 and simply love them....
Great review as well, Im hoping to take some pics of mine in action soon.
How do you think the 301 would do when it comes to light batoning, would it be better to baton in a locked or unlocked position???
 
I think this would depend on the battoning material, if using wood as a batton, id say locked open, i think it would perform well, i might have to try that out and see, i wouldnt use a rock or something harder than wood for battoning with a folder though.
 
You'll be hard pressed to find a knife quite like that 301 for several reasons. You know that slab of titanium for the lock side started out as a chunk .190 thick and was worked to the super texture and grip and taper that you feel now. Its what I call taken to perfection. I don't think I've ever seen a production folder using that thick of titanium stock before. .150 was the thickest I've seen until that one came along. Its a real chunk of titanium there for the lock.

STR
 
The lock is not as thick as the one on my SMF Nightmare but it is pretty close. That it is comparable is quite a statement as SMF's are BEEEFY
 
darkestthicket,

do you happen to have a Benchmade 630 Skirmish? I would really like to see a comparison photo of this one next to a ZT30x .. actually I would want to see lots of photos and from different angles, too. :cool:

-Connor
 
Isn't the SMF Nightmare a Strider custom? I'm sure there are some customs with thicker locks than the ZT knives but I don't believe that the SMF is one of them. According to the specs on that knife it has .125 titanium. Unless its mistaken which certainly is possible. http://hersir.homestead.com/CustomStrider.html

In production knives I have not seen one .190 from anyone else. There may be something out there but if so I'd like to know about it. The thickness of the 300 series ZT knives is hard to determine. Its tapered down thinner along the sides and is only still as thick as the original piece in the middle. I had to write Thomas and ask him what it started out as to know what it was exactly. Strider and Emerson and others don't taper their handles the way this one is done. There is what looks to be a lot of hand work in these ZT knives.

STR
 
Yes the Nightmare is a custom, i was illustrating that you are getting high quality (and value!) in the ZT (at a good deal less than half the price) as it is comparably as thick which impresses me.
Also the link you have is a Gen 4 (which i wish i had. lol) mine is a Gen 6

Sorry Connor, I do not have any Benchmades as yet, i do have an osborne coming in the mail though, ill slap a pic of the two up when it comes in.
 
Thanks A.M.


an additional drawback ive noticed, While ergonomics are indeed great, if you are used to folders with a forward Choil for choking up on the blade the ZT WILL BITE YOU. it bit me. twice. lol.
 
Can you guys let me know how much you paid for your ZT's ? I am looking for an 0301 or 0302 (green / brown handle) and the cheapest I can find locally is about 450 dollars after taxes (canadian).

please let me know! mxyz250newb@gmail.com
 
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