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Zero Tolerance might be the best thing to ever happen to knives.

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I thought Zero Tolerance wouldn't be my cup of tea since I usually prefer thin blades (carbon steel slipjoints like those from GEC, or full flat ground Spydies) and I wasn't too fond of the whole "hard use" folder idea. I bought a 0350 and a 0300 shortly after they came out just to see what they were like and honestly didn't use them much at first. With time, they grew on me and the 0300 went all over the country with me.

Lately, I like every single folder they've come up with (I'd even buy one of their tantos). I'm a bit boring, so I like it when manufacturers make a line of products that's cohesive and shows similarities (so I actually like that all ZT's are framelocks). Everything being made in the US is also a plus for me. I've got five of their knives (0200, 0350, 0300, 0561, 0550) and consider them money well spent.

ZT might not be "the best thing to ever happen to knives", but it's a company that's certainly made me happy with its products and most definitely has my attention every time a new knife is announced.
 
KnottyEagle said:
This doesn't make ANY sense at all. Who came up with assisted opening? Kershaw did. Who came up with composite blades? Kershaw did. To say those aren't innovations is stupidity at its finest. Rick Hinderer, Ernest Emerson, RJ Martin, Todd Rexford, Tim Galyean, Ken Onion, Frank Centofante, etc. Have all collaborated with Kershaw or ZT, some both. New Steels? Kershaw and ZT have always used "super" steels. M390, S110V, Vanax 75, Vanax 35, 3V, SG2, CPM-154, ZDP-189, to name a few.
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Why doesn't it make any sense? Not ragging on KAI at all, but this is Spyderco we're comparing them to. Without the Spyderco Worker the ZT line would probably never have existed. These guys invented the pocket clip and one-hand manuals in one fell swoop, there's no shame in not being as innovative as Sal Glesser, but there it is. I'm honestly not trying to rag on ZT or KAI here, but Spyderco is head and shoulders above pretty much everybody in those categories. I still think ZT has better build quality at the moment, but I'd rather buy Spyderco because of the aforementioned qualities they possess.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Why doesn't it make any sense? Not ragging on KAI at all, but this is Spyderco we're comparing them to. Without the Spyderco Worker the ZT line would probably never have existed. These guys invented the pocket clip and one-hand manuals in one fell swoop, there's no shame in not being as innovative as Sal Glesser, but there it is. I'm honestly not trying to rag on ZT or KAI here, but Spyderco is head and shoulders above pretty much everybody in those categories. I still think ZT has better build quality at the moment, but I'd rather buy Spyderco because of the aforementioned qualities they possess.
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I didn't say the post didn't make any sense because Spyderco isn't innovative, because surely, they're one of the most innovative knife brands out there. To say that Spyderco is
but Spyderco is head and shoulders above pretty much everybody in those categories.
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is irrational.
 
My rankings when just looking at ZT, Spyderco and Benchmade:

Customer Service/Warranty
  1. Zero Tolerance
  2. Benchmade
  3. Spyderco

Designs
  1. Zero Tolerance
  2. Spyderco
  3. Benchmade

Quality *
  1. Zero Tolerance
  2. Spyderco
  3. Benchmade

Innovation **
  1. Zero Tolerance
  2. Spyderco
  3. Benchmade

Value ***
  1. Zero Tolerance
  2. Spyderco
  3. Benchmade

Variety
  1. Spyderco
  2. Benchmade
  3. Zero Tolerance



* If I included just the Spyderco knives from the Taiwan factory the quality would be the same as ZT.
** ZT wins because of the composite blades and superb millings on their LE. They're a manufacturing powerhouse.
*** Benchmade would've been tops but now that they're enforcing MAP pricing no longer
 
Spyderco and KAI are both great Companies at the top of my list for domestically produced production knives.I can honestly say that I have been pleased with both,but they are totally different beasts in my opinion.Spyderco seems to gear more towards a slicer/working mans knife style and would be my choice for this type of use.ZT seems to be gears more towards a hard use/titanium/ thicker blade style and has more state of the art manufacturing in the scales.Spyderco takes the prize when it comes to blade steels because they are always releasing sprints with cutting edge steels.ZT takes the prize along with my cash with the machined TI scales along with the smoothness of deployment because of the KVT.Both company's seem to be moving past S30v as the main stainless in production models and welcomed in my eyes.I feel that we are lucky to have both Companies producing some really nice state of the art knives with great blade steel if that's your cup of tea.....
 
Insipid Moniker said:
Yes, I'm familiar with the definition. Now how does my statement fail to meet those requirements?
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You said Spyderco is "head and shoulders" above ZT in innovation. That would imply, at least to me, that Spyderco is no doubt the most innovative, which I beg to differ.
 
Gotta play the Devils advocate here... dont know if this was brought up already.. but what about companies like esee and whoever else that have the warranty and don't charge you to replace if you break your blade to bits?
 
KnottyEagle said:
You said Spyderco is "head and shoulders" above ZT in innovation. That would imply, at least to me, that Spyderco is no doubt the most innovative, which I beg to differ.
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And I stand by that statement. Pocket clip, Spyderhole, compression lock, phantom lock, CBBL, powerlock, Mule Team project, serrations on folders, revolutionary work on ergonomics, and too many individual patents to list. I honestly believe Sal Glesser is up there with Bob Loveless in terms of influence within the knife industry.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
And I stand by that statement. Pocket clip, Spyderhole, compression lock, phantom lock, CBBL, powerlock, Mule Team project, serrations on folders, revolutionary work on ergonomics, and too many individual patents to list. I honestly believe Sal Glesser is up there with Bob Loveless in terms of influence within the knife industry.
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I wouldn't deny it if there was a competition for the most innovative and Spyderco won, I just don't think they're "head and shoulders" above Kershaw/ZT.
 
KnottyEagle said:
You said Spyderco is "head and shoulders" above ZT in innovation. That would imply, at least to me, that Spyderco is no doubt the most innovative, which I beg to differ.
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What is innovative to you? Innovation, Spyderco innovated using pocket clips for crying out loud, that alone should end the discussion. They were the first to put serrated blades on pocket knives, and back when all there was were nail nicks, Spyderco came out with their own deployment method. With programs like the Mule team, Spyderco is always pushing for new steels like K390 and 4V ... Locks... nuff said. Your examples... Speedsafe, uh oh watch out a feature mainly popular with those new to knives who dont yet realize that they dont need assistance to open a knife with washers etc. Composite blades, while adds to the cool factor I guess and aesthetics but how much better does it make the knife perform? How does that have a lasting effect on knives as a whole? Given a choice, I'd rather have an M4 blade come in full M4 edge to spine. You are getting the term innovation confused with something else. Like I said they are breaking new ground on production quality and they have a very impressive lineup but that is not innovation.
 
KnottyEagle said:
This doesn't make ANY sense at all. Who came up with assisted opening? Kershaw did. Who came up with composite blades? Kershaw did. To say those aren't innovations is stupidity at its finest. Rick Hinderer, Ernest Emerson, RJ Martin, Todd Rexford, Tim Galyean, Ken Onion, Frank Centofante, etc. Have all collaborated with Kershaw or ZT, some both. New Steels? Kershaw and ZT have always used "super" steels. M390, S110V, Vanax 75, Vanax 35, 3V, SG2, CPM-154, ZDP-189, to name a few.
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Blackie Collins designed the first assisted opening knife in 1995 called the Strut 'n Cut. Not sure but I don't believe that was a Kershaw knife.

As far as composite blades go, the technology for brazing metal has existed for thousands of years.
Brazed swords discovered in modern day Iraq were dated from 2500 BC.
 
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