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Zt 0350

Considering buying a zt 0350. Any thoughts from people who might have some experience over the years.
 
They are snappy and make a nice edc.
I remember for a while some folks were taking out the speedsafe assist spring and carrying them de+assisted.
I like the speedsafe so I never tried it without assist.

The SKD variant has a modified blade that makes the opening even snappier. The SKD also had a carbide glass breaker on the butt of one of the liners making it even more useful for first responder carry.

The blade is a recurve, so sharpening can be difficult if one is not practiced, but a rod- type sharpener works well as an option.

I am a big ZT fan, so my opinion has some of that baked in, but the 0350/0360 are pretty sweet, rugged knives at usually a decent price.Image2.jpgImage6.jpg20210413_111135.jpg
 
The 350 is a solid knife. If you like the design it's well built and functions as it's meant to assisted. I have a few, but they don't get much use.

I am/was a fan of ZT knives ... older ZTs (I have had zero interest in anything they have put out in recent years) ... the 350 is from back when ZT was hitting them out of the park still ... so I do like the 350 design and they operate well on springs. The 350 is just a little heavy ... and the blade is a little thick ... and a little bit tall ... and the recurve isn't great for some uses ... plus it takes more to sharpen the recurve ... and the odd shaped spear point isn't the best for penetration ... and even with a fairly large hand it's not as ergonomical a knife as many other knives I own so it sadly doesn't get much pocket time. Other than that I kinda like it.

I have too many better performing/lighter/more ergonomical choices that for me are better options ... it's a nice knife just not very practical in real world use.

Now with all that said ... If it appeals to you they are well built and not as expensive as some others these days and you'll probably enjoy it if you get one.
 
I have owned 2 over the years. I ended up selling both. The design is very cool looking imo.
But having a relatively short, heavy, liner lock just didn’t make sense to me. It didn’t cut well at all and my triad folders from cold steel were stronger, cut better and were less expensive. All that being said, if you like the design and can afford it, i say give one a try.
 
I liked mine. It was one of those knives that did a lot of things right but didn't end up in my pocket much.

I gave mine to my brother recently for helping me with a project, and he loves it. Tough knife for sure.
 
I initally got interested in collecting knives when I discovered Ken Onion's designs. First collected some of his Kershaws & CRKTs and then ZT's.

The 1st knife that I ever paid what I considered "serious" $ for was a Kershaw Shallot 1840CRT that I paid $80 for at a gun show back in the early 80's. $80 was a lot of $ back then.

Ken Onion's 0350 was among the 1st ZTs that I collected. I've got 5 variations of the 0350 and a 0360.SKD. The SKD was not a Ken Onion design but it was obviously based on the 0350 & was made/sold as an "exclusive" collaboration between SKD Tactical & ZT.

You can see pics of my ZT0350/0360 collection below.

I never collected the 0350 to carry. I collected it because I like Ken Onion & his designs. For carry purposes, the SKD would probably be better but there are a lot of other options beyond the 0350/0360 both within & outside of the ZT line.

I've never had a problem w/KAI (Kershaw or ZT) assisted folders. Either you like them or you don't; purists don't.

The only problem w/assisted folders that I've experienced is when the torsion bar is loose & rattles. My fix for that was simply to apply some moly grease to it. No more rattle. Any solid auto lube grease will do.

--------------------------------------------

FGe8YBn.png


From top to bottom in both pics:

1) 0350
2) 0350ST
3) 0350SW
4) 0350CFM390
5) 0350CB
5) 0360.SKD

Kx4gq1i.png


The clip positions are the way they came to me.

Clip position is NOT important to me & I always leave them as I find them. I can manage whether the clip is position for tip up or down carry. 🤷‍♂️
 
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I forgot to add to my post that my brother dropped his 350 down into a concrete mixing truck and it survived.

After I gave it to him, he was using it to open bags of additive to the mixer when it fell out of his hands and rolled around in the drum still open.

He emptied 8 yards of grout before the last shovelful came out with his knife in it. I took it apart and cleaned it. I got all the grout out of the action, sharpened the blade, and it fired just as hard as when I gave it to him.

That young man is hard on knives, so if they can hold up to my brother for a couple of weeks, you can trust them with your life. ZT makes a lot of pocket jewelry, but the 350 is no joke.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
I forgot to add to my post that my brother dropped his 350 down into a concrete mixing truck and it survived.

After I gave it to him, he was using it to open bags of additive to the mixer when it fell out of his hands and rolled around in the drum still open.

He emptied 8 yards of grout before the last shovelful came out with his knife in it. I took it apart and cleaned it. I got all the grout out of the action, sharpened the blade, and it fired just as hard as when I gave it to him.

That young man is hard on knives, so if they can hold up to my brother for a couple of weeks, you can trust them with your life. ZT makes a lot of pocket jewelry, but the 350 is no joke.
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I hope he had a heck of a clean out for 8 yards and an understanding boss 😂 today that was over a grand for a $200 knife 😂
 
norcalAF said:
I hope he had a heck of a clean out for 8 yards and an understanding boss 😂 today that was over a grand for a $200 knife 😂
Click to expand...

Well we just worked around it and waited for it to show up as we worked. He actually looked around inside and never found it until they did the wash out. The last bit of muck coming down the shoot had the knife in it. I mean he KNEW it had to be in there, right? We shovel a scoop at a time of grout, so even something like the 350 would be noticed as we float it in. It was just funny that it took the entire drum full of material before it finally spat out.

His boss is a cranky old bastard. Most of the guys have other more derogatory names for him, but my brother and I just call him..."Dad" ;) He was was pretty impressed with how the knife did considering he's a ride or die Buck 110 man.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
Well we just worked around it and waited for it to show up as we worked. He actually looked around inside and never found it until they did the wash out. The last bit of muck coming down the shoot had the knife in it. I mean he KNEW it had to be in there, right? We shovel a scoop at a time of grout, so even something like the 350 would be noticed as we float it in. It was just funny that it took the entire drum full of material before it finally spat out.

His boss is a cranky old bastard. Most of the guys have other more derogatory names for him, but my brother and I just call him..."Dad" ;) He was was pretty impressed with how the knife did considering he's a ride or die Buck 110 man.
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That's a great family story! We tailgate most of our concrete straight into deep holes so I assumed it all had to be sifted through!
 
Isn't the 0350 a collab design between Ken Onion and Mick Strider?

Either way, I always liked ZT's designs. Especially before they went all dainty in the mid to late 20-teens. I would own quite a few today if they ever made lefty version. The 0350 would definitely be one of them.
 
I'm sure it's a stout little knife but I hated it from the moment I took mine out of the box. For me, it's too blocky and too thick for its size, the assisted opening is not enjoyable to use, and the blade is not a practical shape for everyday use. In that size and price range a Manix 2 walks all over it.

I sold it the same day, which is the fastest I've ever received a knife and listed it for resale.
 
Ive had mine for years. Still gets pocket time. Ill agree it is not the greatest at cutting due to the wonky thick recurve but its nothing crazy. A little hard to sharpen but you get used to it. I like it when i want to carry something a little heavier. Never had a problem with the springs in mine and wont take them out.
 
NorthernSouthpaw said:
Isn't the 0350 a collab design between Ken Onion and Mick Strider?

Either way, I always liked ZT's designs. Especially before they went all dainty in the mid to late 20-teens. I would own quite a few today if they ever made lefty version. The 0350 would definitely be one of them.
Click to expand...

Strider has been associated with the 030X TS & 0350 TS but not the other 0300 & 0350 model variations.

Apparently, tiger stripes were Strider's idea (which are prominent among his knives) that ZT incorporated into the 0300/0350 model lines w/or w/o Onion's consent since they already had the right to produce the basic models. Strider also been associated with variation fixed blades like the 0121 & the ZT-9.

I have a Strider folder and the 0121 but I HATE tiger stripes with a passion. So, you'll NEVER find one of those in my collection. ✋
 
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