The "REAL DEAL" on zt 0561

B

BagofDeadCats

Joined
Apr 20, 2011
Messages
115
Ok guys here's the thing, I've been wanting one ever since i first saw them, but its been like 50/50 on whether I'll actually get one I would want to keep...Not saying it's a bad knife, but id say half of the reviews out there are "awesome knife" , and "compares to the the xm-18 for half the price" and the other half is "sent it back 3 times, hope I get to keep this one" or "sharpie this" or "you just got to work it in/ open and close it 5000 times and it will loosen up". I know Kershaw's CS is second to none, but if I'm about to drop $200+ on a quality folder I just want to get some honest hands-on experiences on this elmax beast. I have also heard that there is quite a difference in lower serial numbers vs. higher ones. If I do get talked into one and for some reason It's not what I expected I know Kershaw would make it right, just checkin' the waters out there =) All good/ not so good experiences welcome!!
 
I like mine alot. The sticky lock is something to possibky worry about. Mine has gone back and fourth between being sticky and smooth. Other than that and half of one side of the blade with deep grind marks and the rest of the blade being stonewashed, its a great knife. Its only made me want a hinderer nore though. I really witsh the 566 would have been and exact copy of the 560 only smaller. I wouldnt mind paying the same price for it either. The 550 is a winner and I think most people here would agree with that.

Mines a user so I dont mind cosmetic stuff much. I put it through some serious cutting yesterday and was very pleased at how it cut and held a real good edge after so much cutting of boxes for about 20 minutes straight. I didnt notice any hot spots and the knife felt good in my hand. Iv never noticed and real hotspots on any knife though.
 
I've had mine for close to two years now and never had any problems with it, since the beginning till now. If memory serves me well, I think the serial number is 2663 or 2336 :confused:, either way, it is in the mid to high 2000s.

It is definitely one of the top 5 knives in my collection (not to mention the sentimental value as it was a gift).

If you're still on the fence about it, pre-order the 0566 and if you like it (I know you will) get the 0560.
 
My first one had no problems at all, I only traded it to get a different knife. Recently I decided to give this knife another try.
 
mine has developed lock rock, and im about to send it in. However, even if they couldnt fix the lock rock, id still carry it every day, all day. I LOVE this knife, edge retention and smoothness of flipping is phenomenal. I vote that you get one.
 
I'm on my second. First was great, but had a strong detent, so only the flipper was used to open the knife, which is fine by me. Just got a another one and this one is even smoother than my last. I can use the thumbstuds or flipper. Definelty glad I got another one.
 
I have a 560 and to me it is well worth the price paid. I got a low serial number (475) at Blade Show last year. I will say that when I got it it was buttery smooth opening but I had to break in the detent. My blade is (to the eye) perfectly centered, the grind lines are (again, to my eye) even, and it locks up solid with no play at all. The ergos are fantastic and it is so slim in the pocket for such a large blade. It has been carried and used although I think other than opening boxes, bags, and plastic packs the hardest use it has seen was at a fall festival last year when I stripped bark and carved up a bunch of sticks for some kids to roast marshmallows on. The blade steel has held up well for me so far and the only real maintenance I have done is wash it off with some water and stropped the edge after a few passes on my green/white DMT stones. Moose has some really good vids posted around you should take a look at where he gives it a nice "bath".

All that being said I have one problem...I prefer carrying and using my 550. Out of all the ZT's I have owned it is still my favorite. :D
 
One thing that is important to remember is that if ten people bought one and one person had an issue with it, he will post a review. M ost of the people that like them don't say a word. What I am saying is that I have sold hundreds of these and only gotten two or three back. Pretty fancy knife for Clatskanie Though :D
 
My vote is: Get one! I have both 0560 and 0561. Fast flippers, solid Lock up, and great steel. If you like a folder which is on the large side, I do not think you will regret getting one.
 
I haven't had mine long, so my experience with it is pretty limited. So far, I think it's a good knife. For a larger knife, it does carry pretty well on account of its relatively slim profile (compared to, say, a 0300). The KVT is really smooth, and the blade glides fluidly into its open or closed position. It's pretty comfortable in hand, although the handle doesn't fill the hand quite as well as a 0300 or 0550. The blade steel (my first experience with Elmax) seems to hold up at least as well as my JYD2 (D2), 0301/0350 (S30V), and 0550 (S35VN). Edge retention seems comparable, and it hasn't taken on the various stains I get on the D2 (mostly from plant residue when doing yard chores).

Overall, it is a good knife. I actually like the 0550 a bit more, but most of that is due to size (it is more EDC-friendly). I'm really looking forward to the 0566.
 
Lol thanks Kershawguy i think you just sold me one an dyes as far as I can tell ill be the only one in town with one...Family reunion comin up too!!
 
Bellyededge said:
My vote is: Get one! I have both 0560 and 0561. Fast flippers, solid Lock up, and great steel. If you like a folder which is on the large side, I do not think you will regret getting one.
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^ +1
My first was the 0561 and was extremely smooth, and then the 0560 had a little stronger detent, but I like having a little differences in my knife. (not to confuse that the 0561 model to be smother to open than the 0560 model)
 
kershawguy said:
One thing that is important to remember is that if ten people bought one and one person had an issue with it, he will post a review. M ost of the people that like them don't say a word. What I am saying is that I have sold hundreds of these and only gotten two or three back. Pretty fancy knife for Clatskanie Though :D
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I bought one from you when they first came out. It went into my pocket and have used it since. I did not have any problems with it locking, unlocking, flipping, thumbstud, or otherwise. The blade came centered, the logos were perfect and I had no complaints at all.
One thing I would like to add is that a lot of people that buy an expensive knife for the first time don't have a clue as to what they are getting. They perceive any issues as a defect with the knife, and not their own possible inability to work the lock, flip the knife, etc. in otherwords, their expectations are not necessarily realistic. These are after all still production knives and they can vary from batch to batch. Kershaw has stood behind the product unwaveringly, the staff has gone above and beyond for some individuals that in my own opinion didn't deserve it. Hand picking knives as replacements only to get slapped in the face by ungrateful self serving attitudes.
This knife is NOT for everyone.
 
Great knife has been in my EDC rotation since released.Serial number sub 600.My knife of choice when I carry large.Smooth action and solid lockup with great fit and finish..I really love Elmax and ZT's.No issues whatsoever except now I have 4 more ZT's on preorder.
 
RevDevil said:
One thing I would like to add is that a lot of people that buy an expensive knife for the first time don't have a clue as to what they are getting. They perceive any issues as a defect with the knife, and not their own possible inability to work the lock, flip the knife, etc. in otherwords, their expectations are not necessarily realistic. These are after all still production knives and they can vary from batch to batch. Kershaw has stood behind the product unwaveringly, the staff has gone above and beyond for some individuals that in my own opinion didn't deserve it. Hand picking knives as replacements only to get slapped in the face by ungrateful self serving attitudes.
This knife is NOT for everyone.
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Rev had several good things to say in his post.

All the hype made this knife a great seller.

For some that bought the 560/61, this may have been their 1st flipper and frame lock. They had nothing to compare it to. They couldn't and didn't , in some cases, because

they hadn't had a frame lock knife before. I can understand some of the problems that 1st time owners of a frame lock and flippers were posting on this forum.

They may have been frustrated not being able to correct the problems themselves and didn't have experiece with other framelocks....didn't know what is normal with

a new frame lock knife.

The size of the knife was bigger than some guys were comforable with. They knew or should have known what the specs of the knife were and realized the knife was too

big for their hand before they bought the knife. This seemed to be a common reason some guys sold their 560/561's.

I haven't had any problems with my 561. It's been a great knife.
 
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kershawguy said:
One thing that is important to remember is that if ten people bought one and one person had an issue with it, he will post a review. M ost of the people that like them don't say a word. What I am saying is that I have sold hundreds of these and only gotten two or three back.
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This. Yes.
 
kershawguy said:
One thing that is important to remember is that if ten people bought one and one person had an issue with it, he will post a review. M ost of the people that like them don't say a word. What I am saying is that I have sold hundreds of these and only gotten two or three back. Pretty fancy knife for Clatskanie Though :D
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Exactly!

Everyone needs to remember the internet as a whole has a negative bias. If you were to force every person who ever bought a 0560 to fill out a survey I think would would find it's not 50/50 on good ones vs bad ones it's more like 90/10 good to bad.

Anytime you are researching for new products, try to remember the negative bias of the internet. Look at any restaurant on yelp for example. You will be hard pressed to find any restaurant on yelp with more than a handful of reviews and a score of higher then 4 stars. You can bet every single person who has a bad experience posts a review. How many satisfied customers never said a word or filled out a survey.

The only website I know of that does a decent job of combating this is Amazon, purely because of the score of their stuff and the number of people who fill out reviews on every item they buy. Amazon is the only website that this really holds true:

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