- Joined
- Jan 27, 2006
- Messages
- 497
One of the benefits of getting in a reasonable sampling of any product,.....is that you can often observe subtle differences in the manufacturing process. Such was the case with me tonight as i had the pleasure of closely examining the (15) Zero Tolerance knives i just recieved. (ZT 0200 & ZT 0200ST Models).
While these are certainly considered production knives by most anyone's definition,.......it is also quite apparent there is still considerable "hand work" involved in each and every one,.....NO mistake about that! These knives, as you would expect from a company with the Kershaw reputation,.....contain substantial hand fitting in many areas. Fit and finish were surperb across the board!
Outwardly they appear almost identicle with their bethrin,......but having a long time jewelry repair backround and a fairly observant eye, (and a pretty handy headband magnifer once used daily for jewelry work),......i was able to clarify and compare the subtle differences between them.
I especially enjoyed looking at the lockup areas under magnification,.......and it became apparent that there was an acceptable "range" of where the liner lock could end up and still provide a strong lockup.
On some samples the lock ended up square in the center of the blade ,.....and on others it ended up at least the full thickness of the liner lock,......but never quite makes it to the center.
These might possibly have a bit more longevity built in, if you will,.....because i would think over hard usage over a very long time the lock areas will seat in a bit deeper thru wear,.......and the inward pressure of the liner lock will adjust to keep a firm lockup.
Thinking out loud here, if the lock is already in the center of the blade,.....then as wear occurs there may reach a point where the lock doesn't spring beyond the center of the blade to make firm contact with it to insure firm lockup. As i have not had one apart to examine just how far the lock will spring inward,.......not really sure if this is how it will work.
One thing i know for sure,......before it ever gets there thru use,..... i'll likely be long dead and my son will have to continue the "experiment"!
My gut tells me i'm a bit better off using my personal unit with a lock that is fully centered in the blade,.......as it would have to fight the spring in the lock before coming off the blade over a longer distance in an extreme situation!
As i'm already missing the tip of my right index finger thru a motorcycle/chain mishap when i was sixteen,......... maybe i'm being overly protective of my digits!
One other obversation,........there was a range of effort needed to disengage the lock to close each knife. Most of them felt about the same,......but there were a few of the 15 that felt to have about a 50% greater strength in the spring effort to get it to release. My thought here is that the tempering process varies a bit between samples,.......as it does for all springs. I chose a plain and a partially serrated model for my personal carry with the noticably "harder" spring.
With the easily adjustable pivot pressure, it's a simple matter to get the knives to flick open at whatever preference you desire,.........but right from the factory most were pretty good as is. Only two i would prefer to loosen a bit,.......as they were fairly tight and hurt my flipping finger a little. Of course i had been flipping for several hours,.......so i had fatigued my finger anyway!
I left those as is,.........never know when i might need a knife to pass the "hold by the blade and see if the handle drops test" if i ever go to New York City!
A final note:.............because i had multiple units,......i did notice these are actually individually serial numbered. When i only had 1 piece, i just assumed the other numbers were a lot number or such,.....nope,.....actual serial numbers!
This should straighten out any disagreement over whose knife it is,......should the knife be "borrowed" by a co-worked or family member! :grumpy:
While these are certainly considered production knives by most anyone's definition,.......it is also quite apparent there is still considerable "hand work" involved in each and every one,.....NO mistake about that! These knives, as you would expect from a company with the Kershaw reputation,.....contain substantial hand fitting in many areas. Fit and finish were surperb across the board!
Outwardly they appear almost identicle with their bethrin,......but having a long time jewelry repair backround and a fairly observant eye, (and a pretty handy headband magnifer once used daily for jewelry work),......i was able to clarify and compare the subtle differences between them.
I especially enjoyed looking at the lockup areas under magnification,.......and it became apparent that there was an acceptable "range" of where the liner lock could end up and still provide a strong lockup.
On some samples the lock ended up square in the center of the blade ,.....and on others it ended up at least the full thickness of the liner lock,......but never quite makes it to the center.
These might possibly have a bit more longevity built in, if you will,.....because i would think over hard usage over a very long time the lock areas will seat in a bit deeper thru wear,.......and the inward pressure of the liner lock will adjust to keep a firm lockup.
Thinking out loud here, if the lock is already in the center of the blade,.....then as wear occurs there may reach a point where the lock doesn't spring beyond the center of the blade to make firm contact with it to insure firm lockup. As i have not had one apart to examine just how far the lock will spring inward,.......not really sure if this is how it will work.
One thing i know for sure,......before it ever gets there thru use,..... i'll likely be long dead and my son will have to continue the "experiment"!
My gut tells me i'm a bit better off using my personal unit with a lock that is fully centered in the blade,.......as it would have to fight the spring in the lock before coming off the blade over a longer distance in an extreme situation!
As i'm already missing the tip of my right index finger thru a motorcycle/chain mishap when i was sixteen,......... maybe i'm being overly protective of my digits!
One other obversation,........there was a range of effort needed to disengage the lock to close each knife. Most of them felt about the same,......but there were a few of the 15 that felt to have about a 50% greater strength in the spring effort to get it to release. My thought here is that the tempering process varies a bit between samples,.......as it does for all springs. I chose a plain and a partially serrated model for my personal carry with the noticably "harder" spring.
With the easily adjustable pivot pressure, it's a simple matter to get the knives to flick open at whatever preference you desire,.........but right from the factory most were pretty good as is. Only two i would prefer to loosen a bit,.......as they were fairly tight and hurt my flipping finger a little. Of course i had been flipping for several hours,.......so i had fatigued my finger anyway!
I left those as is,.........never know when i might need a knife to pass the "hold by the blade and see if the handle drops test" if i ever go to New York City!
A final note:.............because i had multiple units,......i did notice these are actually individually serial numbered. When i only had 1 piece, i just assumed the other numbers were a lot number or such,.....nope,.....actual serial numbers!
This should straighten out any disagreement over whose knife it is,......should the knife be "borrowed" by a co-worked or family member! :grumpy:
