Zero Tolerance 566 - hard-use or hard-to-use? UPDATED with PICS and VIIDEO

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malente

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Nov 11, 2007
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These are my first impressions on the knife, which I got delivered yesterday.

The ZT566 came sharpish, but not as sharp as I would have liked at this price point. I will have to sharpen it. It did not cut paper without effort. The relief edge seems even.

Lockup is good, with no blade play up and down or side to side. the lock up of the frame lock is about 50%.

The knife has an assisted opening feature, but the pivot screw was cranked down so much that the flipper action, as well as the thumb stud action, was impossible. I had problems opening the knife!

That was a surprise. So I disassembled the knife, as I wanted to de-assist it in any case, then de-assisted it, cleaned it and put it back together. The ZT 566 is prepared for being de-assisted, it has a detent-cut out for this.

Now it is still not very smooth and hard to open, almost impossible without wrist-flick. This is even when the pivot screw is completely unscrewed (!), so it might have to do with the detent ball, and I hope it will break in over time. I ordered some teflon-based lubricant to lube the washers, hopefully this will make it a bit smoother.

Finally, the pocket clip seems to show some wear right around the tip out of the box, which is a bit surprising. No big deal, as for me it is a user, but I would have expected at least a "brand-new" finish, one that I myself can wear in.

Overall, I am a bit disappointed in the knife right now. I hope with time (and some lube) it will grow on me. This sounded a bit dirty :p

This is my first ZT knife, and based on this experience, I am not sure if I will buy another. Of the 3 Benchmade knifes and the 1 SOG I own, each one came sharper and with smoother action.

UPDATE: All is well now, it is smooth as butter and at the same time snappy as my wife! :o
 
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Just give it some time.... it needs to break in. Don't give up on ZT, they're a really great company. Try the 0200 :)
 
That's disappointing. Another ZT that is defective. Sounds like a quality control problem.

Why buy another knife right away when the one he got is obviously defective out of the box?

Try to return it or send it off for warranty work.
 
Fanglekai said:
That's disappointing. Another ZT that is defective. Sounds like a quality control problem.

Why buy another knife right away when the one he got is obviously defective out of the box?

Try to return it or send it off for warranty work.
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Because it's not defective. It sounds like it just needs to be broken in.
 
I had a similar experience. Mine was virtually impossible to open when I got it. After I de-assisted it, lubed it up and spent two days opening and closing it whenever I had a free minute, it is now smooth as glass. While it's a great knife now, I am less than enthusiastic about the whole experience given it's price point ....
 
Hi,

thank you for this answer, good to hear that it indeed breaks in and gets smoother.

It is a nice knife and I overall like it. It is, however, disappointing that a knife at this price point needs break in at all.

As an example, my Benchmades (blue class knifes that were cheaper, as well as the Triage, a black class knife that was more expensive) did not need any break in at all.

Brommeland said:
I had a similar experience. Mine was virtually impossible to open when I got it. After I de-assisted it, lubed it up and spent two days opening and closing it whenever I had a free minute, it is now smooth as glass. While it's a great knife now, I am less than enthusiastic about the whole experience given it's price point ....
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That's disappointing. Another ZT that is defective.
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I dont think its a defect, as everyone is saying, give it some break in time. Also the "thumbstuds" are not intended to be an opening mechanism. KAI/ZT Mods have said many times they are a bladestop as it is a flipper knife (same as 0560). Without the A/O feature that knife will always need a little flick since it was designed to be an a/o knife. I have 2 566's and both were very stiff out of box.....just like my sebenza was when i got it, but guess what....with a little patience, use, and lubrication they are all smooth as glass. As far as sharpening goes, its ELMAX so it will be tougher to sharpen that some other softer steels. This allows for a longer edge retention and increased toughness.

Please try using it and breaking it in first. If you truly feel it is still too stiff reach out to your dealer or KAI to discuss your exchange or repair options as they have great customer service and warranty repair.

Also, comparing your ZT out of box to your Benchmade out of box is like comparing a glock & a 1911. they may have the same overall function, but everything else is different. Plus, your BMs are not a/o and have a completely different lock mechanism & detent setup. Its really not a good way to evaluate percieved "quality"

Be patient and Im sure you will be pleased:-)
 
It's a spring assisted flipper...by design it should open fast and easy out of the box and w/o a wrist flick. If a spring assisted flipper is hard to open, it's defective.

I would send it back immediately. Since those "in the know" say it's normal and needs a break in, I'd ask for a refund, not a replacement.
 
brownshoe said:
It's a spring assisted flipper...by design it should open fast and easy out of the box and w/o a wrist flick. If a spring assisted flipper is hard to open, it's defective.

I would send it back immediately. Since those "in the know" say it's normal and needs a break in, I'd ask for a refund, not a replacement.
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I would tend to agree. A Blur, for example, works perfectly out of the box and it costs less than half what the 05566 does. Given that they are made by the same manufacturer, you'd think that they could get their stuff together and produce this knife without all of the problems associated with it.

Because it is the size of knife that I wanted, it is my preferred type of lock (framelock) and the blade is Elmax, (which I also tend to prefer in a folder), and since I don't much care one way or another about the assisted opening feature anyway I chose to de-assist mine. However, had I purchased it for the AO feature, I'd be pissed.

I find it absolutely amazing that a cool little knife like an Esee Zancudo can be made to absolute perfection and retail for around $30, but a high end frame lock costing four to five times as much has such significant mechanical deficiencies....

Overall, I am a huge fan of Kai/Kershaw/ZT, but I'd have to say that, in my opinion, the 0566 is not a market ready product....
 
Rival1314 said:
I dont think its a defect, as everyone is saying, give it some break in time. Also the "thumbstuds" are not intended to be an opening mechanism. KAI/ZT Mods have said many times they are a bladestop as it is a flipper knife (same as 0560). Without the A/O feature that knife will always need a little flick since it was designed to be an a/o knife. I have 2 566's and both were very stiff out of box.....just like my sebenza was when i got it, but guess what....with a little patience, use, and lubrication they are all smooth as glass. As far as sharpening goes, its ELMAX so it will be tougher to sharpen that some other softer steels. This allows for a longer edge retention and increased toughness.

Please try using it and breaking it in first. If you truly feel it is still too stiff reach out to your dealer or KAI to discuss your exchange or repair options as they have great customer service and warranty repair.

Also, comparing your ZT out of box to your Benchmade out of box is like comparing a glock & a 1911. they may have the same overall function, but everything else is different. Plus, your BMs are not a/o and have a completely different lock mechanism & detent setup. Its really not a good way to evaluate percieved "quality"

Be patient and Im sure you will be pleased:-)
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Of course it's a defect. The product when new did not work as advertised. It is not smooth. It does not open easily with the AO feature. That's defective.

"Zero Tolerance has one mission:

To continue to build the kind of premium-quality, professional knives that our customers can depend on every single day."
http://zt.kaiusaltd.com/about

If you can't even open the knife properly then it's obviously not a knife that customers can depend on.
 
i just have mine delivered yesterday and is really really good, built as a tank like KAI saids, i de-assited mine and its smooth but not as i would like to. it came really sharp ! i think you may had some little bad luck with yours, but im sure that it will get better! give it sometime and lube.
 
It's not uncommon for things to "need to break in" at higher price points. The reason they need to be broken in is because the tolerances are tighter. Both of my CRK's needed breaking in. Not knife related, but Kimber suggest 500 round break in period for their 1911's. Just give it time. I agree with the pocket clip but give their CS a call and I'm sure they would send you a new pocket clip free of charge.

An item with lower tolerances will probably open faster out of the box (not always the case, sometimes you just land a jewel). But those will usually develop play way before a product with tight tolerances. So which do you want? Instant gratification or long term gratification?
 
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CRKs need to be worn for them to operate properly?

Guns and cars may have a "break in period" where they start to operate SMOOTHER, but they do function properly "out of the box."

If your knives don't function properly out of the box, send them back. They are defective, just like anything else you buy that doesn't work out of the package...
 
Mine was hard to flip out of the box also. But I bought the knife to de-assist it anyways so thats what I did. I de-asssisted the knife, and now it's been a week and it opens smooth like butter, seriously. Love the knife.
 
I have the 0550 0560 and 0565.
IMO the 0566 is the budget versions of their "big brothers"
It doesn't have the KVT bearing system which means EVERYTHING when opening.
If u want a smooth opening non assisted knife that is amazing get the 550 or 560 before you throw ZT to the curb.

I agree that for the price point it should open nicer, it was painful to open with the thumbstud before I deassisted it.

You can get a 1st gen 550 for around the same price, I would recommend the 2nd gen for the deep carry clip it will be everything you want the 0566 to be, I promise.
 
Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. My 0566 came very smooth and all around perfect out of the box.

The knife is only meant to be opened with the flipper. Mine was about impossible to open with the thumbstuds until a few dozen openings to break it in.

Is the action poor opening with the flipper? It is possible you're pushing on the lockbar and slowing it down? Try opening with your left hand to be certain. I hope it breaks in for you. I thought it was a heck of a knife for the price.
 
Out of the box, mine was very stiff. I loosened the pivot a hair and it felt solid with the flipper, but I couldn't open it with the blade stops. Several Weeks later it feels great. Opens with flipper or blade stops. I personally love the thing for the $85 I scored it for and don't plan on replacing it.

Only thing I don't like is the little "bump" of the detent ball hitting the edge of the tang. I'm thinking of rounding the corner right at the spot the ball hits to soften it up.
 
gytheran said:
CRKs need to be worn for them to operate properly?

Guns and cars may have a "break in period" where they start to operate SMOOTHER, but they do function properly "out of the box."

If your knives don't function properly out of the box, send them back. They are defective, just like anything else you buy that doesn't work out of the package...
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I don't see why his knife didn't operate out of the box. It was my interpretation that it was a little hard to open. Yes CRKs are a bit stiff. Not bad stiff but the detent ball needs to wear the edge of the cutout a bit. And you made my point with the cars running smoother after a break in period. That's exactly what I'm talking about.
 
I wouldn't waste my time hoping it gets better. Kershaw-ZT have great customer service from what I've heard, never actually had any problems that I needed to contact them, but other people have told me they are very good about correcting any issues with there products.
 
Thanks for all your replies! It seems that the break in of knives is a somewhat controversial topic. I am aware that mechanical tools with tight tolerances may need a break in.

Example: Mechanical watches. It's normal that during the first few months of wear the watch breaks in, and gains or loses a few seconds, as it adjusts to the wear type of the user. However, taking expensive watches that are COSC certified, they run within a tolerance level right from the start.

My knife was borderline of what I would accept as tolerance (having only my own ability to operate the knife to measure against). Some would have sent it back, others would have broken it in. Somewhere I've heard (I think in a youtube review video) that they crank the pivot screws down when they ship it internationally so it does not confuse customs (who might wrongly identify the knife as something illegal or something). So I gave the benefit of the doubt.

So here's an update: I opened and closed the heck out of this knife. My wife is annoyed by the constant clicking noise, and my finger tip is sore LOL.

The knife operates a lot smoother now. It is still not as smooth as I like, but it is not lubed yet, and the progress of these first few days makes me hopeful that it will get to where I would like it to be.

Interesting to note is that it developed a tiny bit of side-to-side blade play, but this might have to do with how loose I have the pivot screw at the moment.

Another interesting aspect is the lockup. It looks to be a bit more than 50% now, almost 75% if I flick it open hard. There is no lock stick however. I will take a detail shot of the lock bar and the equivalent of the blade back to show what I mean tonight (it's morning here).

In the meantime, I'm waiting patiently for the teflon lubricant to arrive.... And I can't even flick it today, as I have an important business meeting with some bankers, and maybe they would not appreciate me playing with a knife while asking for money :p

Overall, I have not given up on the knife, but my final judgement is out... Let's see where this leads. ;)

I will keep you updated, and I will also take some pics (and macro pics, for details).
 
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