ZT 0350 Conversion?

paulhilborn

paulhilborn

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Mar 22, 2006
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Anybody take the spring assist out of their 0350 making it a manual opening knife?

The reason I ask is because this is something I'd like to try (curious I guess) but I have a screw in the handle that doesn't quite take a T6 and feel secure---kinda like the head of the screw will strip. I'd like some input from someone who has done this. I'd also like to know if the detent ball holds the blade secure when closed. I did this to my full size BM Barrage and actually like it better then when it has the spring in it.

I know you can tighten up the pivot to offset a weak detent.

Any feedback is appreciated:thumbup:

Thanks,

Paul

Mods please move if I listed in the wrong forum.
 
If i'm correct and it is a SpeedSafe knife there is a Torsion bar that is in I think the bottom handle scale, if you open up the knife and take it out it should become a fully manual knife. I did this with my Blur when the bar broke, turns out I like it more than the assisted opening. :D
 
if its like the kershaws, the torsion bar is simple to take out, but drilling a spot for the liner ball to hold the blade closed is HARD.
 
Sorry forgot to read the ball bearing detent thing, my Blur stays closed but yeah you can still flick it open with some wrist action. And if you plan to tinker with your knives, i'd hit up your local Home Depot or Lowe's and pick up a Husky Precision Screwdriver set. I got mine for like $10 and it has just about every Torx or Hex bit you will ever need.
 
Hi Paul

Can you tell if there is a detent hole drilled in the blade tang for the closed position? If so I would think the blade would stay shut just fine.

If not it will probably be pretty hard drilling into the hardened steel. You might be able to take a punch and make a detent easier than drilling but if it's a little off that might be a problem? If the knife has been used some the ball normally wears a mark onto the tang so you know right where the blade comes to a stop at and where to make the detent. You will probably need to sand the edge of the punched detent level with the rest of the tang since it normally pushes the metal out of the way and it has to go somewhere (up).

If you are worried about stripping the screw I would suggest getting a soldering iron and holding it on the screw to heat it up. This should loosen any thread locker and make it so it will require less torque to remove.

Good luck!

Ryan
 
There is no detent hole in the 0350. You will need to drill one.

I suggest a straight-flute carbide bit and plenty of fluid. You should solidly clamp your workpiece into your drill press. Any movement will break the bit. It's not hard to do, but it is easy to screw up.
 
The ball isn't there for a detent, it's there to keep the frame from scraping the blade. It's not made to be manual.
 
deermaster said:
i dunno, but thats how my packrat is. a hole for the ball when its open, but not closed. but my skyline, a non AO, has both.
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i'm not sure i understand. the packrat is a liner lock and liner locks have the ball is in the locking bar (that's what pushes it into the detent). so, how can it engage when the knife is open?
 
ExMachina said:
i'm not sure i understand. the packrat is a liner lock and liner locks have the ball is in the locking bar (that's what pushes it into the detent). so, how can it engage when the knife is open?
Click to expand...
my bad, got my thoughts screwed up, i just looked. the packrat, an AO, has a ball but no detent. because of the torsion bar, it needs no ball to hold it closed, yet there is a ball there doing nothing. the skyline, non AO, has a ball and detent. sorry bout that:rolleyes: i typed before i thunked...
 
There's a reason they don't put a detent hole in the blade. Having both the torsion bar and the ball detent is too strong for my liking. I modified my Baby Boa for manual action with a ball detent. With the torsion bar installed, the retention is very strong. Even the mini-cyclone (which is designed for both) is noticeably a compromise.

Keep in mind that the flipper on the 0350 was not designed for manual operation. It is possible that it will not open like a dedicated flipper.
 
The flipper design doesn't lend itself to be effective without AO. I highly doubt you would be able to flip it without wrist action since there is very little "throw" on the flipper to make it fully deploy. YMMV.
 
A_Blade_Afficionado said:
The flipper design doesn't lend itself to be effective without AO. I highly doubt you would be able to flip it without wrist action since there is very little "throw" on the flipper to make it fully deploy. YMMV.
Click to expand...

You'd have to get lucky and make the detent super-strong to even have a chance. If you succeeded, it would make opening with the thumbstuds a pain.

(Has anyone modded their 0350 yet? I'd love some first-hand reports.)
 
Thanks for your insight guys. I haven't attempted the conversion and may not. I was more curious as to if anyone had done this yet or not and if so how they liked it. I was going to make the attempt but one of the screws seemed hinky when I tried to use my T6 bit to take it out (like it was about to strip the head). With that in mind I thought I'd just see if anyone had done this or not.

Love the knife the way it is, like alot of us I like to tinker:)
 
I know this is a couple years late lol but I got curious too and just took the torsion bar out. It does use a t6 bit but once you take the bar out the detent is pretty much nonexistent but that means that you can actually use the thumb studs! They work better than the flipper without the AO because there isn't the torsion bar holding the blade in. On the other hand the flipper is useless unless you flick you wrist with it, which I'm personally OK but some people might not like. And without the AO the blade is buttery smooth. If you are thinking about doing this you might as well because you can put the bar back in if you don't like it without.
 
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