Zero Tolerance 0200 review and testing against Buck/Strider889

kungfumo

kungfumo

Joined
Aug 21, 2006
Messages
533
Alright guys so here it goes, my humble opinion, and test. I needed a new EDC and the ZT 0200 fit the bill.

Last year I started carrying a Buck/Strider 889. I like the feel of the knife, it feels very sturdy and had a nice thick blade. I had a few problems right out of the box though
1. The liner lock didn't engage the blade in the middle more like the first 1/8. So I had to clean up the back of the blade a little so I took the time to polish the lock engagement area. This helped allot.
2. I could get a hair popping edge on the blade but no matter what angle I sharpened it to it would go very dull very fast:( No fixing that.
3. The bronze bearings for the blade were very gritty, I pulled the 889 apart and polished the bushings and oiled it up with some quality gun oil, but it still felt poor, no matter how loose or tight I set the pivot screw.
My qualifications for a new blade were:
1. Sturdy
2. Thick blade
3. Smooth action
4. easy to take apart/ adjust/ clean/ and generaly maintain

I found what I was looking for in the ZT 0200 good job guys:D

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As you can see the liner is awesomely huge:thumbup:
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I sent camping this weekend up to the carbon river to our cabin, so I figured it would be a good time to test it out.

It worked very well carving very small sticks, here I was making some
marshmallow sticks:D
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Here I was making a split hamburger cooker. So I battoned it through some maple and tied a wedge in the split.
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Works very well for small cooking stuff to, and makes short work of watermelon.
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Screwed around a bit to see how well of a chopper it could be, very nice for a small folder. Any bigger of a stick would have been a pain though.
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I decided I needed a rabbit club also
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All in all I chopped and cut up
4 small 3in limbs
carved 6 marshmallow sticks
battoned through 4 pieces of fire wood for kindling
and carved handles in my rabbit stick

And it still shaved very well
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I would highly recommend this knife to any one who needs it. I love the CPM154 blade it stays sharp for a long time. It is smooth as silk opening and the liner lock engages perfectly in the middle of the blade. The handle feels great in your hand and the clip configuration works very well. Let me know if you have any more questions are want more pics.
 
2 things worth noting.

1. Kershaw needs to include the #6 and #10 torx bits for the knife. I'm a mechanic and still needed to go to Sears to get them since I didnt have them in my supply.

2. After a few sessions of battoning the blade was loose on the liner lock. I couldnt take up the slack with the pivot screw.:grumpy: So when I got home I pulled it apart and cleaned oiled it. When I put it back together I saw the problem was that I may have hit it a little off center and knocked the 2 handle halves cock eyed and the rear blade stop pin was now to far from the bade for proper lockup. When I put it back to gether I used some blue locktight on the handle screws and tightened them up allot. Good as new now:D
 
kungfumo,
Very enjoyable review. Great pics. I also love this knife. Is it possible to provide us with some pics of the 0200st disasembled? Please clarify what caused the linerlock to not work (pictures).
Thanks,
Hank
 
Ask and you shall receive.
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The rear blade stop pin is why the blade had play in it. The handles got a little out of whack and shifted apart because the handle screws were not tight. Easy fix with a #10 torx bit and some locktight.
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kungfumo: Each of your pics is truly worth a thousand words. Wonderful photo review, giving lots of info in a most enjoyable way.

But you're making me want to empty my wallet again:grumpy:
 
Vorpal Blade: same here I'm thinking of buying one as well. It's a heavy duty looking folder and the price is very reasonable as well. I'm not a folder junky but this one got my attention.

kungfumo: thanks for the great review and photos.

Does anyone own the Strider version of it ?
 
kungfumo,
Are the (3)spacers secured to the liner? How is the blade stop pin secured? friction? When you disassembled/assembled your ZT 0200, how tight did you cinch the screw? Thanks again, Hank
 
The 3 spacers are held onto the other handle slab by #10 Torx screws. So in total there are:
1.....3/8ths nut
1.....3/8ths pivot pin bolt, which recesses into the handle so you only need to use one wrench.
6.....#10 Torx screws for the handles
2.....#6 Torx screws for the clip
3.....Double threaded handle spacers
2.....Bronze bearings
1.....Very small bearing on the liner lock, that looks to be staked in place
1.....Blade stop pin

The blade stop pin is secured by 1 hole in each side of the handles. It stays there when you tighten down the handle screws.

I didnt need to tighten down the blade bolt very much, few pounds at the most.

One other thing that I thought was nice was the fact that you could remove the G10 slabs and make new ones if you wanted to out of something else. They come off when you pull it apart. :cool:
 
interesting, but you compare two knives that are not in same category..
One is around 60 usd (Buck strider 889) the other is twice more expensive...
it would have been more fair to compare with the Buck Strider 882 (blade in ATS-34 = more or less 154CM) which is quite smooth in opening, and has a much better blade than 420HC steel:D
Anyway, your ZT 0200 look nice !:thumbup:
 
I wouldn't even put those 2 diff steels in the same league. 420:jerkit: It was all I had in about the same size folder to compare to.

If you would like to go ahead and send me a Strider I will do a better review

After a few weeks of use now, I will be switching over to a light weight grease for the blade bearing. Gun oil is not viscus enough. I may give it another week though.
 
hehehe, don't dream, i won't send you a real Strider !
just saying that the Buck Strider 882 (ATS-34 blade) is more in the same league with the ZT than the Buck strider 888 (420HC)

http://www.tadgear.com/edged%20tools/buck-strider_889.htm

http://www.tadgear.com/edged%20tools/buck-strider_882_tarani_folder.htm

if you like smooth opening blade, 154CM
1. Sturdy
2. Thick blade
3. Smooth action
4. easy to take apart/ adjust/ clean/ and generaly maintain
you should try BM 551 BK griptilian also!
It's now a classical knife but if you have'nt got it, you should try it:thumbup:
 
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