Sticky ZT 0350

C

Casualvitality

Joined
May 17, 2011
Messages
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Hey guys, I just got the new Bead Blast S30V ZT 0350 from Knifeworks, and I can't seem to deploy it with the thumbstuds. The flipper deploys it after applying quite some pressure, and the blade is centered. When I tighten/loosen the pivot, the knife gets very close to the liners, and it's still near impossible to deploy via thumbstuds. What am I doing wrong guys? I feel like the solution is right under my nose...
 
The thumbstud is a little too close to the handle, like you said, to deploy using it. I use the flipper on mine mainly, but with practice you can eventually use it.

While watching tv, I just deploy and close my knife a bunch of times and get comfortable using the thumbstud.
 
first of all, oil the pivot. then open and close the knife 100-200 times and see if it gets smoother. if it does not, then loosen the pivot 1/8th of a turn at a time. if it still does not want to work, you may have a problem.
 
I just posted this in a similar thread, once you get your pivot adjusted properly and it opens well with the flipper, this may help.

If the knives are opening properly with the flipper and you are having difficulty opening them with the thumb studs, then there is a technique problem. The issue I have seen most people have with using thumb studs on assisted knives (particularly the ones where the studs lie close to the frame when closed) is that they are trying to push the thumb stud away from the handle of the knife at a 90º angle to the long axis. It takes a great deal of effort to overcome the torsion bar and get the 30º necessary to get the Speedsafe to kick in. Additionally you tend to follow through on the thumb stud, increasing the chance of cutting yourself.

I find that it is much easier to slide your thumb forward along the scale so that it slides between the frame and the stud. Continuing forward will open the knife with very little effort. Care must be taken when using the studs to not obstruct the rearward movement of the flipper. In some grips that position your thumb for the studs, your index finger can keep the flipper from moving or at least slow it down and keep the blade from locking open.

A while back I illustrated this using a Spec Bump when someone had the same complaint.

parts.jpg


flip.jpg


In the second picture, you can see the direction I am actually sliding my thumb. One of the great things about this technique is that your thumb never leaves the scale.

If you are wondering about the second arrow, in most Speedsafe knives with flippers, you can position your index finger that way and just squeeze to open the knife.

If you are doing it right either way, your fingers and thumb barely move, it almost looks like the knife opened itself.

Before anyone asks I confirmed both methods work perfectly on my 0350 and 0301 as well.
 
Whew, glad to know I ain't the only one! :D

BTW , thanks knee for the pictures and advice!
 
On that knife, and it's bigger brother I find that the "thumbstuds" are actually more blade stops in disguise - at least that is what I've come to call them now as that is what they really are. Use the flipper. The position of the thumbstuds combined with the tension of the torsion bar make it impractical to use the bladestops to deply the blade.
 
I'm with RevDevil. From the pictures I've seen, it bears a similarity to the Skyline in that what looks like thumbstuds are actually blade stops meant to stop the blade from flying in a 360º arc. If we're right, the knife should have no metal bar running perpendicular to the liners to stop the blade; it is these thumbstuds/bladestops that prevent the blade from opening past 180º. From what Thomas W has said on many a Skyline thread, even if these are described as thumbstuds on the Kershaw/ZT website, they're primarily blade stops.

My recommendation? Embrace the flipper! It may be "new school" but it's effective and sometimes even fun. :D
 
Not quite sure what all the resistance is about.
The thumb studs look like blade stops because they ARE blade stops.
The knife in question (ZT 0350) has SpeedsSafe, the Skyline does not.
I do not personally have a Skyline, so I will not argue the efficacy of it's blade stops as thumb studs.

Having SpeedSafe means that knives with thumb studs as blade stops only need to be pushed open to about 30º before the assist takes over. This in turn means that if done properly, the knife can open effectively using the thumb studs only taking full advantage of the assist.

No one is saying that you should not use the flipper, just that the thumb studs should not be written off as unusable for opening the knife. Personally, if a knife has a flipper, I like to use that. It is always nice to know other methods of deploying a blade though.

I made a video (HD) to show that the thumb studs work quite well to open the 0350 and the 0301.

[video=vimeo;26745964]http://www.vimeo.com/26745964[/video]

Now that you've hopefully watched the video, if you have either knife, please just try the technique (do so at your own risk, since I cannot even guess at your competency with a knife ;))

If you can flip a coin, you should be able to do this.

I hope that this helps clear up any confusion about whether or not the 0350 opens well with the studs.:D
 
No resistance from me at all. Just stating my personal experience. I have no problems using the thumb studs on the Skyline, but the 03XX series is a different matter. Not saying it can't be done with the thumbs studs, but impractical because of the location and the height compared to other knives with thumb studs. Just makes more sense to me, in my use to a press the flipper.
 
Sorry, I guess it just seems like resistance when people say that the blade stops are not designed to be used as, or are impractical to be used as thumb studs, when I have clearly demonstrated that they work very well as thumb studs to open the 0350 and 0301.

Saying that the stops are only meant to be stops comes across as a blanket statement, as opposed to a personal preference. I just want people who are unfamiliar with or are new to the knife to get a fair impression of it.

As I mentioned before, if it has a flipper on it, I'll generally prefer to use it. The thumb stud technique is particularly useful if you have recently been carrying a manual thumb stud opener for a while and just rotated in the 0350.
 
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