Thoughts on my new ZT 0561

M

maximus83

Joined
Nov 7, 2011
Messages
2,104
Got the ZT in this weekend from TNK, it is one impressive folder for $260. Noticed a few things right away:

* The blade is NOT hollow ground, despite some earlier picture and discussion that led to believe that. To me it looks more like a high flat grind.

* The blade thickness: I wasn't able to find much info on this before buying. I mic'd the spine and found it was 0.156" thick near the rear of the blade, and stays that thickness most of the length of the blade. Strangely, near the tip the blade narrows down and then appear to thicken a little bit right before the tip, when you're looking down at the spine.

* The lockup. Awesome on mine.

* F&F. Virtually perfect, no complaints.

* Love the contours of the handle.

* Clip is a LITTLE tight for pocket carry. It's functional but is clearly going to chew up my jeans pockets.

* The lockbar is sticky and hard to disengage. I've read about this from numerous new users and am not alarmed about it. I immediately did the sharpie trick as I learned in these forums, and immediately that solved the sticky lockbar problem.

* The opening motion is already extremely smooth. It takes very minimal effort to open using the flipper. More with the studs, but I use the flipper.


This knife is excellent for a LH user, with the fully ambi clip options and the flipper.
 
Your comment on the clip is interesting. There are quite a few people including myself that think the retention is not that great. One person had the knife falling out of his pocket when he sat down.
 
Huh, that's strange. I wonder if perhaps they got some early feedback and then changed it. Mine is so tight it is clearly chafing on my jeans, it retains VERY well but it's hard to both attach and draw the knife, and you can just tell that given how much it's rubbing, it'll wear thru the jeans very quickly.

I'm not complaining, really, just an observation and something I'll want to fix if I can.

On my first bullet point: Did anybody see the earlier photos of the knife (perhaps they were concept photos) that showed it with a hollow grind? I could have sworn I saw some photos or even some discussion indicating the knife would have a hollow grind. But very clearly, they now seem to have what I'd call a "high flat" or "saber" grind.
 
My 560 had a very sticky lock for the first week, which had me worried, but I played with it enough to break it in. The factory sharpening was excellent and it can slice pretty well for its size.
I don't remember seeing anything about it being hollow ground though.
I love mine...even though it's off-center to the left.
Wear it out.
 
I just got mine a couple of hours ago after almost a year's wait. Mine arrived almost perfect, blade is perfectly centred, opens butter smooth by flipper or thumb stud, evenly ground blade, no sticky lock, no play...just rock solid. Blade is shaving sharp but wont split free hanging tissue. :D
 
Congrats...your part of the 99%. As for the pocket clip, retention for me isn't the tightest either, but I've had no issues with it falling out. It is really easy to pull it out of my jean's pocket- figured it just allows for faster access to the knife. Only concern with it would be if I was running or jumping around with it or moving while in an upside down position.
 
Still walking on air, flippin' ma knife.

Still as happy today as the day I got it, and it hasn't left my side since.

As a knife junky, and someone that has and gets a lot of knives, not one has made me this happy so far.

Its truly a wonder.

Moose
 
Re: 0560.

Mine Is flawless for the exception of a few burrs that didn't get smoothed out on the Ti side of the handle where the second clip mount option is at..

And the blade doesn't open as smooth as in the videos ive seen. Opening the blade to just past the detent, others can turn their knife and the weight of the blade alone swings it open.. Where the blade seems floating due to the KVT system. Mine doesn't do this. :( I really wanted it to.
 
NM08SRT8 said:
Re: 0560.

Mine Is flawless for the exception of a few burrs that didn't get smoothed out on the Ti side of the handle where the second clip mount option is at..

And the blade doesn't open as smooth as in the videos ive seen. Opening the blade to just past the detent, others can turn their knife and the weight of the blade alone swings it open.. Where the blade seems floating due to the KVT system. Mine doesn't do this. :( I really wanted it to.
Click to expand...

Try backing the tension off the pivot ever so slightly?
 
Ahhhhhhh, a light goes on!

Just occurred to me possibly why MY clip seems tight while everyone else seems looser. I am LH, so I moved the clip from the titanium scales side to the G10 side. I'm going to guess that perhaps on the G10 handles, there are some slight differences from the titanium side and the clip ends up being slightly tighter.
 
Should I expect the frame lock to "smooth out" after a significant amount of break-in? I've flipped it a couple hundred times, and also am using the sharpie on the tang as a dry lube. But after the sharpie wears off, the lock is still a BIT sticky. I can always get it open but it's pretty stiff. Wondering how long this typically takes to smooth out.
 
maximus83 said:
Should I expect the frame lock to "smooth out" after a significant amount of break-in? I've flipped it a couple hundred times, and also am using the sharpie on the tang as a dry lube. But after the sharpie wears off, the lock is still a BIT sticky. I can always get it open but it's pretty stiff. Wondering how long this typically takes to smooth out.
Click to expand...


Mine was the EXACT same way. Had to use sharpie about 5 or 6 times.. after that, Buttah..and still getting smoother. I also noticed a squeak when it closed at first, that went away too.. it's become perfect with lockup settled in at about 60%. Just keep at it. You're good.
 
maximus83 said:
Ahhhhhhh, a light goes on!

Just occurred to me possibly why MY clip seems tight while everyone else seems looser. I am LH, so I moved the clip from the titanium scales side to the G10 side. I'm going to guess that perhaps on the G10 handles, there are some slight differences from the titanium side and the clip ends up being slightly tighter.
Click to expand...

I too switch to the G10 side, (lefty) but it is less abrasive than the Ti side so I find it slightly easier to slide in and out of the pocket. The clip tightness on the knife I received is just right for my preference. The only negative I found is the sharpness of the jimping which I will resolve in short order.

What a great knife!...but I must confess that I like the feel of the 0550 better in my small hands. If they came as flippers I would own it instead. If my life style allowed it I would own both. Having said that either is too big for my EDC preference. However when I go for my evening walks in a rural/wildlife area the mini grip comes out and the 0560 goes in!

Team ZT GREAT job and much thanks for producing the knife.
 
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