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- Apr 22, 2016
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Note: The review below is a reprint from an external website. Re-posted here with author's consent.
This is one of Zero Tolerance's relatively new releases. It is the more widespread, production version of a knife that was initially released as a Snap-On exclusive. Those knives had an identical design except for the fact that they did not have ZT's blackwashed finish. They can still occasionally be found on large auction sites or on the Bladeforums exchange.
There are a few things about this knife that instantly drew me to it. The first was the blade shape, which is unlike anything else I have in my collection. The second is the fact that, though I had heard good things about ZT's blackwashed finish, I had never owned a knife to which it had been applied. The last, and perhaps most appealing thing to me, is the knife's thinness. This applies to both the blade stock and to the handle width. In my experience, the width of a knife's handle is the single most important factor in determining how comfortable it will be to carry.
After reviewing the 0456 and determining that it is, while an incredible design, too bulky and heavy for me to carry and use on a daily basis, I wanted to check this knife out to see whether it would better fill the niche of a daily user. Off we go!
IMG_1433
Above: With its unique, harpoon-shaped blade and sweeping but technical lines, the 0095BW is nothing if not eye-catching.
Fit and Finish (10/10): In essence, I could find no fit and finish issues with this review sample besides the fact that the blade slightly favored one side when the knife was closed. (Picture below)
For me, this is not that big a deal, especially given the fact that the blade could be centered perfectly by tightening up the pivot. This did not ruin the flipping action of the knife, but I preferred the action with the pivot set up a bit looser, and don't find the fact that the blade is slightly off-center to be bothersome. There is an issue that ultimately affected the fit and finish of the knife, but that has more to do with a flaw in design than a flaw in manufacturing.
Steel Choice (9/10): This steel uses SV35N steel, along with many other current ZT models. I am not going to give it perfect marks here, because there are higher-end steels that I might prefer, but I am not going to complain about it either. SV35N holds an edge quite well, especially with ZT's heat treat. I had no issues with the edge either rolling or chipping during my time testing this model.
Above: SV35N, though a bit boring, works well in this model.
Blade Shape and Grind (14/15): I have a lot of very good things to say in this category. The blade's sweeping lines mean that this is an absolutely vicious slicer. Breaking down cardboard for the recycling bin was effortless; the relatively thin (especially for a ZT) blade stock makes this a blade clearly designed for slicing rather than chopping or prying.
Another area where you would not necessarily think this knife would excel is in the kitchen. When evaluating folding knives, I find that using them for kitchen tasks is an awesome way to evaluate cutting performance. This knife was flat-out amazing when set loose on a ripe peach or head of cabbage. The only downside when used in this role is that the flipper tab makes it impossible to fully contact the cutting surface with the heel of the blade unless you are cutting on the very edge of the counter. (Side note: Spyderco's upcoming release of the Spydiechef was clearly designed to avoid this very problem; the angled handle should make it easy to roll the entire length of the edge against the cutting surface.) Overall, I think the blade shape and grind are pretty excellent.
IMG_1454
Above: The thinner blade stock combined with the width of the blade and height of the grind make this an excellent slicer. You can read the ZT logo through a slice of red grape courtesy of the 0095BW itself.
Design/Ergos (21/25): This is a tough category for me to evaluate. Parts of this design are so great that I want to ignore some of the issues with it, but I do have to comment on a couple of ergonomic issues with this knife.
The shape of the knife's handle, combined with the angle of the handle to the blade, and the unique shape to the top of the blade, means that this knife locks into your hand in an incredibly secure way.
IMG_1449
Your thumb naturally nestles perfectly against the curve in the blade spine and the flipper tab acts as a natural guard. The blackwash finish, which I have actually wound up liking quite a bit, is fairly slick in the hand despite the rough and tumbled appearance, so the solid ergonomics in this regard are appreciated. Jimping on this model would actually seem almost redundant given how secure the grip feels. It is not as comfortable in the hand as some other knives purely because of its thinness, but it is also not at all uncomfortable even when gripped fairly hard.
IMG_1446
Above: This photo gives a size comparison with the Spyderco PM2 and the Benchmade 940.
There are, however, two design elements that I found problematic in testing. The first concerns the pivot design. What is the first thing you do after receiving a flipper and doing an initial inspection? If you are like me, you proceed to fidget with it and flip it open and shut until your girlfriend yells from the other room telling you that, if you open and close it one more time, it will be the last thing you ever do. Well, in this case, I proceeded to open and close it about 15 or 20 times before I started hearing it make an odd noise. I realized it was the blade rubbing against the handle because the pivot had loosened.
I thought to myself, no big deal. I got out my loctite and, after cleaning the pivot threads with a bit of acetone, applied some to the male pivot screw. I set it up with the tension I wanted and went to bed, leaving the loctite to set overnight. The next morning, I was fiddling with it while watching the news. After about 10 minutes, that damn noise started up again! This was becoming exasperating.
I realized that a lot of this has to do with the pivot design itself. As you can see, ZT used the same pivot they used on the ZT 0452CF, which is completely cylindrical. Rather than using a hex shaped indentation to secure the female side of the pivot as in the 0456, it is left free to rotate. This means that adjusting the pivot requires two tools: one to hold the female side stationary and a second to rotate the male side. In the past, I have found that knives with pivot designs like this sometimes come loose even after loctite has been applied to the threads.
I have no idea why this works, but it has yet to fail me when attempting to solve this problem. I apply a small amount of loctite to the inside face of the female pivot screw prior to closing the knife up and proceeding to tighten the pivot. I think that this gives it the traction it needs to resist rotation as the knife is opened and closed. Yes, this is a fixable problem, but the bottom line is that there is no reason for it to occur in the first place. For ease of maintenance, the female pivot screw on any knife should be restrained in some way if the design allows for it.
The second ergonomic issue I have concerns the lockbar. Very little of it is accessible when the knife is open, which means that there is a fairly small area for your thumb to press against when closing the knife. This fact, combined with the relatively high lockbar tension, twice during testing caused me to almost cut myself. If your thumb is pressing on the lockbar and all of a sudden loses its purchase, the whole knife twists in your hand and you can wind up grabbing the blade. Granted, as long as you are paying adequate attention, this is highly unlikely. Both times it happened to me, I was absent-mindedly closing the knife to stuff it back in my pocket.
Above: In this photo, you can see that only a very small area on the lockbar is available to press when you want to close the knife.
If I were to change the design I would either slightly, slightly increase the depth of the cutout on the "show" side scale to improve access to the lockbar or I would add some mild jimping to the lockbar in that area. The blackwash process involves applying a PVD coating and then stonewashing the components. This would normally provide a natural softening to sharp edges and corners, but in this case, the opposite effect is what is needed!
Retention Method (13/15): The clip itself is one that ZT fans will be quite familiar with at this point. It does a very adequate job of retaining the knife in the pocket. My complaint with the retention method has more to do with the clip placement and the fact that a deep carry pocket clip was not utilized. As it stands, a substantial amount of this knife's handle protrudes from your pocket during carry. It still carries well, but I just wish the holes for the pocket clip were drilled just slightly further back towards the handle's edge.
I don't go out of the way to hide that I am carrying a knife. On a Spyderco Delica, for example, I see no need for a deep carry pocket clip. At the same time, I don't love advertising the fact I am carrying one. The fact of the matter is that I live somewhere where concealed folding knives of any dimension are legal to carry. The laws are somewhat murky, however, and the last thing I need is being told that my pocket knife is not adequately "concealed" because it rides so high in the pocket. I am sure I am being paranoid, but I would nonetheless be interested in seeing how well a blackwashed 0560 clip would work on this guy. If I wind up trying it out, I will put up a post with an update.
Ease of Carry (14/15): For the most part, I have nothing but good things to say in this category. The knife is amazingly quiet in the pocket for such a wide blade, and the thinness of the handle helps a lot in this regard. My single complaint echoes a criticism I made of the ZT 0456; there has been no effort made to mill out the titanium to reduce the weight of this knife. I get that this is an extra step and that doing so costs money, but if Lionsteel is capable of doing it in a knife that costs 170 bucks with a fancier steel (see my review of the T.R.E G10), I don't see why ZT can't do it in a knife that sells for 50 bucks more. This brings us to value.
Below: Thin is in. The 0095BW compares favorably in width to the PM2 and 940.
Value (8/10): At 220 dollars, this knife is not a bad value, but it is also not a model that strikes me as an unusually good value. The ZT 0456 is only 20 dollars more, and in terms of which one feels more expensive, there is no contest, not to mention the fact that the 0456 runs a more expensive blade steel. The 0456 just has more of a wow factor to it. I would be much happier seeing this model priced around 190 dollars. If you shop around and are patient, you can find good deals on this knife; I scored mine new for 205 dollars; exactly the amount that resulted from the sale of the 0456. All this said, if you are looking for a reliable, working blade that slices like mad, you would not be crazy to pay retail. But be careful ZT--as prices go up, your competition becomes increasingly stiff!
The Verdict (89/100): I have to say that, heading into this review, I wasn't sure where I was going to come out on this knife. It wasn't until really living with and using this blade day after day over a period of time that I realized how much I liked it. As a tool, it strikes me as a far better choice than the 0456. It is thinner and lighter with a blade shape even better suited to slicing tasks. The blackwashed finish is striking and unique, something that everyone who sees it will mention. ZT's warranty and customer support are excellent and I have had nothing but good experiences in this regard. My hope is that this knife becomes popular enough that other variations come out. ZT, if you want my money, mill out the handles, jimp the lockbar, give it a CTS-204P blade and a beautiful stonewash! As it stands, this is a great design with some small flaws that are holding it back. That said, if it speaks to you as it did to me, I would recommend checking it out.
This is one of Zero Tolerance's relatively new releases. It is the more widespread, production version of a knife that was initially released as a Snap-On exclusive. Those knives had an identical design except for the fact that they did not have ZT's blackwashed finish. They can still occasionally be found on large auction sites or on the Bladeforums exchange.
There are a few things about this knife that instantly drew me to it. The first was the blade shape, which is unlike anything else I have in my collection. The second is the fact that, though I had heard good things about ZT's blackwashed finish, I had never owned a knife to which it had been applied. The last, and perhaps most appealing thing to me, is the knife's thinness. This applies to both the blade stock and to the handle width. In my experience, the width of a knife's handle is the single most important factor in determining how comfortable it will be to carry.
After reviewing the 0456 and determining that it is, while an incredible design, too bulky and heavy for me to carry and use on a daily basis, I wanted to check this knife out to see whether it would better fill the niche of a daily user. Off we go!
IMG_1433
Above: With its unique, harpoon-shaped blade and sweeping but technical lines, the 0095BW is nothing if not eye-catching.
Fit and Finish (10/10): In essence, I could find no fit and finish issues with this review sample besides the fact that the blade slightly favored one side when the knife was closed. (Picture below)
For me, this is not that big a deal, especially given the fact that the blade could be centered perfectly by tightening up the pivot. This did not ruin the flipping action of the knife, but I preferred the action with the pivot set up a bit looser, and don't find the fact that the blade is slightly off-center to be bothersome. There is an issue that ultimately affected the fit and finish of the knife, but that has more to do with a flaw in design than a flaw in manufacturing.
Steel Choice (9/10): This steel uses SV35N steel, along with many other current ZT models. I am not going to give it perfect marks here, because there are higher-end steels that I might prefer, but I am not going to complain about it either. SV35N holds an edge quite well, especially with ZT's heat treat. I had no issues with the edge either rolling or chipping during my time testing this model.
Above: SV35N, though a bit boring, works well in this model.
Blade Shape and Grind (14/15): I have a lot of very good things to say in this category. The blade's sweeping lines mean that this is an absolutely vicious slicer. Breaking down cardboard for the recycling bin was effortless; the relatively thin (especially for a ZT) blade stock makes this a blade clearly designed for slicing rather than chopping or prying.
Another area where you would not necessarily think this knife would excel is in the kitchen. When evaluating folding knives, I find that using them for kitchen tasks is an awesome way to evaluate cutting performance. This knife was flat-out amazing when set loose on a ripe peach or head of cabbage. The only downside when used in this role is that the flipper tab makes it impossible to fully contact the cutting surface with the heel of the blade unless you are cutting on the very edge of the counter. (Side note: Spyderco's upcoming release of the Spydiechef was clearly designed to avoid this very problem; the angled handle should make it easy to roll the entire length of the edge against the cutting surface.) Overall, I think the blade shape and grind are pretty excellent.
IMG_1454
Above: The thinner blade stock combined with the width of the blade and height of the grind make this an excellent slicer. You can read the ZT logo through a slice of red grape courtesy of the 0095BW itself.
Design/Ergos (21/25): This is a tough category for me to evaluate. Parts of this design are so great that I want to ignore some of the issues with it, but I do have to comment on a couple of ergonomic issues with this knife.
The shape of the knife's handle, combined with the angle of the handle to the blade, and the unique shape to the top of the blade, means that this knife locks into your hand in an incredibly secure way.
IMG_1449
Your thumb naturally nestles perfectly against the curve in the blade spine and the flipper tab acts as a natural guard. The blackwash finish, which I have actually wound up liking quite a bit, is fairly slick in the hand despite the rough and tumbled appearance, so the solid ergonomics in this regard are appreciated. Jimping on this model would actually seem almost redundant given how secure the grip feels. It is not as comfortable in the hand as some other knives purely because of its thinness, but it is also not at all uncomfortable even when gripped fairly hard.
IMG_1446
Above: This photo gives a size comparison with the Spyderco PM2 and the Benchmade 940.
There are, however, two design elements that I found problematic in testing. The first concerns the pivot design. What is the first thing you do after receiving a flipper and doing an initial inspection? If you are like me, you proceed to fidget with it and flip it open and shut until your girlfriend yells from the other room telling you that, if you open and close it one more time, it will be the last thing you ever do. Well, in this case, I proceeded to open and close it about 15 or 20 times before I started hearing it make an odd noise. I realized it was the blade rubbing against the handle because the pivot had loosened.
I thought to myself, no big deal. I got out my loctite and, after cleaning the pivot threads with a bit of acetone, applied some to the male pivot screw. I set it up with the tension I wanted and went to bed, leaving the loctite to set overnight. The next morning, I was fiddling with it while watching the news. After about 10 minutes, that damn noise started up again! This was becoming exasperating.
I realized that a lot of this has to do with the pivot design itself. As you can see, ZT used the same pivot they used on the ZT 0452CF, which is completely cylindrical. Rather than using a hex shaped indentation to secure the female side of the pivot as in the 0456, it is left free to rotate. This means that adjusting the pivot requires two tools: one to hold the female side stationary and a second to rotate the male side. In the past, I have found that knives with pivot designs like this sometimes come loose even after loctite has been applied to the threads.
I have no idea why this works, but it has yet to fail me when attempting to solve this problem. I apply a small amount of loctite to the inside face of the female pivot screw prior to closing the knife up and proceeding to tighten the pivot. I think that this gives it the traction it needs to resist rotation as the knife is opened and closed. Yes, this is a fixable problem, but the bottom line is that there is no reason for it to occur in the first place. For ease of maintenance, the female pivot screw on any knife should be restrained in some way if the design allows for it.
The second ergonomic issue I have concerns the lockbar. Very little of it is accessible when the knife is open, which means that there is a fairly small area for your thumb to press against when closing the knife. This fact, combined with the relatively high lockbar tension, twice during testing caused me to almost cut myself. If your thumb is pressing on the lockbar and all of a sudden loses its purchase, the whole knife twists in your hand and you can wind up grabbing the blade. Granted, as long as you are paying adequate attention, this is highly unlikely. Both times it happened to me, I was absent-mindedly closing the knife to stuff it back in my pocket.
Above: In this photo, you can see that only a very small area on the lockbar is available to press when you want to close the knife.
If I were to change the design I would either slightly, slightly increase the depth of the cutout on the "show" side scale to improve access to the lockbar or I would add some mild jimping to the lockbar in that area. The blackwash process involves applying a PVD coating and then stonewashing the components. This would normally provide a natural softening to sharp edges and corners, but in this case, the opposite effect is what is needed!
Retention Method (13/15): The clip itself is one that ZT fans will be quite familiar with at this point. It does a very adequate job of retaining the knife in the pocket. My complaint with the retention method has more to do with the clip placement and the fact that a deep carry pocket clip was not utilized. As it stands, a substantial amount of this knife's handle protrudes from your pocket during carry. It still carries well, but I just wish the holes for the pocket clip were drilled just slightly further back towards the handle's edge.
I don't go out of the way to hide that I am carrying a knife. On a Spyderco Delica, for example, I see no need for a deep carry pocket clip. At the same time, I don't love advertising the fact I am carrying one. The fact of the matter is that I live somewhere where concealed folding knives of any dimension are legal to carry. The laws are somewhat murky, however, and the last thing I need is being told that my pocket knife is not adequately "concealed" because it rides so high in the pocket. I am sure I am being paranoid, but I would nonetheless be interested in seeing how well a blackwashed 0560 clip would work on this guy. If I wind up trying it out, I will put up a post with an update.
Ease of Carry (14/15): For the most part, I have nothing but good things to say in this category. The knife is amazingly quiet in the pocket for such a wide blade, and the thinness of the handle helps a lot in this regard. My single complaint echoes a criticism I made of the ZT 0456; there has been no effort made to mill out the titanium to reduce the weight of this knife. I get that this is an extra step and that doing so costs money, but if Lionsteel is capable of doing it in a knife that costs 170 bucks with a fancier steel (see my review of the T.R.E G10), I don't see why ZT can't do it in a knife that sells for 50 bucks more. This brings us to value.
Below: Thin is in. The 0095BW compares favorably in width to the PM2 and 940.
Value (8/10): At 220 dollars, this knife is not a bad value, but it is also not a model that strikes me as an unusually good value. The ZT 0456 is only 20 dollars more, and in terms of which one feels more expensive, there is no contest, not to mention the fact that the 0456 runs a more expensive blade steel. The 0456 just has more of a wow factor to it. I would be much happier seeing this model priced around 190 dollars. If you shop around and are patient, you can find good deals on this knife; I scored mine new for 205 dollars; exactly the amount that resulted from the sale of the 0456. All this said, if you are looking for a reliable, working blade that slices like mad, you would not be crazy to pay retail. But be careful ZT--as prices go up, your competition becomes increasingly stiff!
The Verdict (89/100): I have to say that, heading into this review, I wasn't sure where I was going to come out on this knife. It wasn't until really living with and using this blade day after day over a period of time that I realized how much I liked it. As a tool, it strikes me as a far better choice than the 0456. It is thinner and lighter with a blade shape even better suited to slicing tasks. The blackwashed finish is striking and unique, something that everyone who sees it will mention. ZT's warranty and customer support are excellent and I have had nothing but good experiences in this regard. My hope is that this knife becomes popular enough that other variations come out. ZT, if you want my money, mill out the handles, jimp the lockbar, give it a CTS-204P blade and a beautiful stonewash! As it stands, this is a great design with some small flaws that are holding it back. That said, if it speaks to you as it did to me, I would recommend checking it out.
