Zero Tolerance S35VN heat treat issues

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sethbradb

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Jan 8, 2017
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Is there an issue with ZT's heat treat on their S35VN? I've seen a few posts a day comments now. But I haven't heard anyone mention it in a review on YouTube. (Probably cause they didn't carry the knife longer than a week) but I was wondering if their is actually some merit to this.

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Their s35vn seems fine to me. I haven't heard anything to the contrary. KAI is a big experienced knife company and I am fairly certain they know what they are doing when it comes to heat treatment.

There were reports that when they first started using Elmax there was a problem with their heat treat for it. I didn't find this to be the case though. From what I heard these stories of poor Elmax heat treatment were just that, stories and rumors. Some swear it was true but I had a 0801 with Elmax when they first started using it and it seemed completely fine to me.
 
My thoughts exactly, I've seen comments and stories talking about poor heat treat on some of ZT'S models. But I trust that with a company with the reputation and experience of KAI. I just don't see this being the case. Thanks for the response!

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I have been carrying ZT Knives using s35vn for years....I have great experiences all around. My 0550 has been a regular user for all types of regular and irregular tasks, and has been sharpened and touched up without issues. As long as you aren't trying to cut nails, or pry open elevator doors....you should be fine:-)
 
I've had nothing but good experiences sharpening and using ZT's S35VN.
 
I sharpen a lot of knives from production to custom and through a great deal of comparison I can say with confidence that ZT has some of the best heat treated steel of all production knife makers. Compares well with many custom knives as well, IMO.
 
I'm buying my first ZT tomorrow, so I'm just making sure there are no glaring issues. Before I drop the money on which ever model I pick up. Which I will be at a store so I can actually play with them first before buying. Thanks for the info and personal experience reviews.

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dont know of any problems, but if for some odd reason there is a problem, they'll fix/replace it. good solid warranty.
 
This one was just posted in another thread the other day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDxSG6xbl7M

I've also seen one where someone wasn't happy with ZT's Elmax.

If anything, I'm sure isolated incidents can happen with the factory sharpening (too much heat) that you can always "sharpen past" yourself.
 
I may catch flak for this but I prefer my zt0550 S35 over my CRK S35. While CRK is excellent, i feel it is softer than it could be. My 0550 i received used and the steel feels harder and tougher. Both knives see nearly equal pocket time and do great work.
 
The only s35vn ZT I've owned was the 0630 and I had no issues with it though I believe I had an issue with one of their elmax blades once. After several sharpenings it started to act better
 
[video=youtube;yDxSG6xbl7M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDxSG6xbl7M[/video]
[video=youtube;hGcO0r1QP4c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGcO0r1QP4c[/video]
[video=youtube;Zy43RBUH_MQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy43RBUH_MQ[/video]

3 tests on ZT's s35vn, all same poor edge retention results. I have the cf version of the knife in that video, it also has poor edge retention after sharpening it.

it would seem that ZT's S35vn heat treat is not optimal... that being said its there budget line of mass produced knives, and thats as expected. if you want good edge retention you would choose to go m390/204p/20cv... unsure about how optimal this steel is in comparison to other brands in these steels tbo, but mine last pretty long time, i have not tested vs other brands.

yes his sharpening may be an issue, but he also tested s35vn for other brands without issues. so yes, ZT's heat treatment is a bit soft in comparison. tbo its not too bad with the stock blade angle.

softer HT is good for customers cause its easy to sharpen and good for ZT to save money and because too high a HT and customers might see chipping.

The simple answer is, keep it at the stock blade grind angle, as it will last the longest & dont expect edge retention to be optimal.

Kaizer s35vn edge retention passes (could only embed 3 videos):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfIVmhka_qg
 
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If you look at the video at around 2:41 when the before and after (factory edge vs. his Tormek edge), you can clearly see multiple chips in the edge. This indicates to me he waaaay overdid it with the power grinder. No surprise then that he got the results he did with a chippy wire edge. Personally, I've had no issues with my 0452CF.
 
I seem to remember a thread like this about Elmax. Let's not do this again........

Also the the OP. Your title is extremely misleading
 
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