Zero Tolerance S35VN heat treat issues

craytab said:
And who is doing that here? I see mostly folks giving their opinion on Zt's s35vn based on their experiences with it.
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We haven't seen any extreme examples here on this thread yet, but Im waiting.....it always seems to happen...
 
brandoak said:
We haven't seen any extreme examples here on this thread yet, but Im waiting.....it always seems to happen...
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I'm still wondering why the title was posted he way it is. It's not a "review" as labeled. It's also a statement in the title but actually a question in the original post?
 
Mo2 said:
That is true that Jdavis did start the ZT elmax controversy, and that rumor is Still around today sadly. but this is not the same guy and he is not doing the same thing. people just are not understanding what he has done. iirc Jdavis did what he did to scam a bunch of people to sell him those elmax knives at super low prices, or something like that.

This guy is setting the angle and seeing how well it stands up to his rope cutting tests. the two ZT knives he tested didnt pass where as the kizer s35vn did pass. sure all three have different blade geometry, but the HT surely plays a roll in this too. its not a bad heat treatment, its just soft in comparison, i went over it in my post earlier. keeping the edge stock will ultimately be the better choice for this steel on ZT knives.
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Lol what! The elmax is still a problem. Elmax is a very difficult steel to heat treat that even made in small batches can be a problem.

And my 0562cf in 20cv has a very poor heat treat. Doesn't hold its edge nearly as long as it should. And I'm really pissed about that cause I want to like zt and I have about 4 of there knives. I want a 450 but the s35 is a problem. Zt has a tendency to burn there steel. That's how they get the price point to what it is by doing knives in huge runs as fast as then can. That's going to compromise quality when you need a titanium frame lock flipper built in the states at a $160 price point and still giving a percentage to the designer. Corners will be cut
 
Sour27 said:
Lol what! The elmax is still a problem. Elmax is a very difficult steel to heat treat that even made in small batches can be a problem.

And my 0562cf in 20cv has a very poor heat treat. Doesn't hold its edge nearly as long as it should. And I'm really pissed about that cause I want to like zt and I have about 4 of there knives. I want a 450 but the s35 is a problem. Zt has a tendency to burn there steel. That's how they get the price point to what it is by doing knives in huge runs as fast as then can. That's going to compromise quality when you need a titanium frame lock flipper built in the states at a $160 price point and still giving a percentage to the designer. Corners will be cut
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so send it back to zt. what you pay for besides the knife is their super warranty.
 
You must be super unlucky ... or I'm the luckiest guy alive "cough" ... I own many many ZTs in Elmax and S35VN and a few in other steels ... and they are all great blades no chipping no issues at all ... in fact better then most.
 
Wait......what???

Sour27 said:
Lol what! The elmax is still a problem. Elmax is a very difficult steel to heat treat that even made in small batches can be a problem.

And my 0562cf in 20cv has a very poor heat treat. Doesn't hold its edge nearly as long as it should. And I'm really pissed about that cause I want to like zt and I have about 4 of there knives. I want a 450 but the s35 is a problem. Zt has a tendency to burn there steel. That's how they get the price point to what it is by doing knives in huge runs as fast as then can. That's going to compromise quality when you need a titanium frame lock flipper built in the states at a $160 price point and still giving a percentage to the designer. Corners will be cut
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Out of the 8 Zt's i've had or still have none have had a problem with either s35 or elmax, they all held the edge just like they should and I had zero chipping problems with any of them and I'm not gentle with knives. Farm use for all of them, cutting bales open, working on fence, trimming leather, cutting hoses just all everyday chores.
 
Love the feel of my CRKs, but the s35vn on my ZTs holds an edge longer. ZT probably makes their s35 harder as opposed to CRKs being softer. Both cut just fine all day, but the ZT stays sharper longer. On the flip side the CRKs are easier to sharpen, which Mr. Reeve himself noted as being one of the main reasons for his heat treat. I'm just guessing ZT makes theirs harder based on the performance I've experienced cutting the same materials on a daily basis with either one. I choose CRK because they feel better in hand and aren't too far behind in edge retention. With that said I've had a similar experience as the other posters where ZTs extra bit of hardness on their s35 hasn't caused me any real chipping issues.
 
My 0450cf has one of those soft heat treatments. And I would bet so does yours.

But most of the other ones are excellent.

 
I have had bad experience with the S35VN on my 0630, but it was still using the factory edge. Only a few cuts into carboard and it lost all discernable bite in the edge. Their Elmax has been a different story, though. Not a single issue with multiple knives in Elmax. I'm gonna check my 450CF and 0630 tomorrow and see if they hold their edge or dull like nothing.

I'm worried because I've seen multiple edge retention tests with ZT S35VN show terrible results from different people. We need Ankerson to come set the record straight, nobody here knows more about edge retention than he does.
 
Not sure when these alleged problems started but my 2 year old 0452CF really holds an edge. In fact I've re-profiled it and then sharpened it once when I just got it and haven't needed to since. I strop it with green compound once a month or so and that's enough to keep it shaving.
 
craytab said:
I haven't had any of the newer s35vn ZTs but the 550 I had performed as expected
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I've now had several of the recent zts with s35vn and they perform as expected as well. Further, I have a lot of s35vn from Spartan, who really knows what they are doing with s35, and I can day from use and sharpening that the zts I've had in the same steel is not that far behind.

Sour27 said:
Lol what! The elmax is still a problem. Elmax is a very difficult steel to heat treat that even made in small batches can be a problem.

And my 0562cf in 20cv has a very poor heat treat. Doesn't hold its edge nearly as long as it should. And I'm really pissed about that cause I want to like zt and I have about 4 of there knives. I want a 450 but the s35 is a problem. Zt has a tendency to burn there steel. That's how they get the price point to what it is by doing knives in huge runs as fast as then can. That's going to compromise quality when you need a titanium frame lock flipper built in the states at a $160 price point and still giving a percentage to the designer. Corners will be cut
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What experience do you have with zt's s35vn? You didn't say. How about the elmax? What zt knives have you had in that and what were the problems you experienced?

I've had a 0560 for around 5 years with a lot of use and have had no issues with elmax.
 
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I've seen Cedric Ada's videos on ZT S35 and was very surprised by the lackluster results he saw...I don't have an direct results from ZT S35 BUT I have used my S35 Link quite a bit with excellent results and have to assume the heat treat on those is most likely the same as the ZT blades given that they're made in the same factory.
 
John_0917 said:
I've seen Cedric Ada's videos on ZT S35 and was very surprised by the lackluster results he saw...I don't have an direct results from ZT S35 BUT I have used my S35 Link quite a bit with excellent results and have to assume the heat treat on those is most likely the same as the ZT blades given that they're made in the same factory.
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Youtube :rolleyes:

Most likely done in the same factory as you say. You have actual experience with it. Lemons can slip by with any company, even more so with a production company. If these people feel the HT is off, send it in and let them take a look. If folks are expecting mid-tech or custom level HT then they need to pay the price for such things. No free lunch.
 
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