ZT 0450 Carbon Fiber Project

C

ccjung

Joined
Jul 27, 2015
Messages
15
Hey Gang

New to USN and just wanted to share some of the work I've done on my ZT-0450. I run a small CNC shop and I do some production work in and out of the tactical industry. I haven't been compelled to take the dive and get my own knife, but I've been looking for a long time. Being a mechanical engineer, I'm in love with Carbon Fiber and ZT has been hitting it out of the park with its line of CF handled knives.

I was quickly drawn to the ZT-0452CF but I was looking for an EDC. I did some searching and found the ZT-0450. I was a bit let down when I discovered that there wasn't (probably planned in the future) of this knife, but I grabbed one anyways.

My wife has been looking for an EDC as well, so it was an easy choice. I picked up 2 of them from a local SoCal EBay seller and quickly fell in love. The lines and full titanium construction of Sinkevich's design IMHO, it's an instant classic.

As as the old saying goes, if it doesn't exist, make it yourself.

Enjoy and please let me know your thoughts. I do work for some players in this industry, but this is my first foray simply for the joy of making something cool.

Cheers,

Chris

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Feedback Always Welcome

Cheers

Chris
 
That right there is what the 0450 should have been all along IMO. Well done. :thumbup:
 
Thanks for the kind words. It's not perfect. I need to insert a washer for the bearings to ride on. Although flipping is currently smooth, I can imagine that over time the balls will wear away at the CF. also, blade centering is a bit off. Not sure if it's my design or the way the knife came.

Regardless, thanks a lot. I had asked Sinkevich for the cad files via IG, but as expected it was a ghost town. He seems very cool and responsive. It's been a slow week at the shop production wise, so I would say I made 30 or 40 iterations of the handle in 6061 trying to nail the hole locations, external profile, stop pin location and chamfers. It's not perfect but pretty close.

Today was spent messing around with the backspacer. Not sure I will be able to do more than tinker with my own knife right now because production is ramping back up later next week.

Been lurking here a long time trying to follow the feedback of my clients work (NDA protected) so it's nice to reveal myself on this personal project.

Feel free to hit me up with any questions or concerns. Not trying to become a "vendor" but would be more than happy to reciprocate in the sharing of knowledge.

My other hobby is firearms and based on the ability of a knife lover to carry your tool with you everyday, I can clearly see where the addiction lies.

Thanks guys!

Cheers

Chris
 
CANT. STOP. PIMPING...

JUST A LITTLE BUMMED.. Miscalculated the Pocketclip screw location.. Next time i guess :(


Weight Reduction on Titanium Scale
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Carbon Fiber Inlays
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All Together
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That is very clean and precise work...

I see something more than a hobby here once your skills get to the point where you feel comfortable working on other peoples knives....

Make sure you purchase the proper membership required to sell/do custom work on BF, and to place your sale/work threads in the proper section...
Clue: This is not the place.

Let us know how the relief works out.
 
Last edited:
JR88FAN said:
That is very clean and precise work...

I see something more than a hobby here once your skills get to the point where you feel comfortable working on other peoples knives....

Make sure you purchase the proper membership required to sell/do custom work on BF, and to place your sale/work threads in the proper section...
Clue: This is not the place.

Let us know how the relief works out.
Click to expand...

Roger that and thanks for the kind response. Don't want to ruffle any feathers here, more to show pride in my new obsession.

Cheers

Chris
 
Here's some more pics.

Hand rubbed the inlayed scale to a bright finish. Looks really classy. I'm torn on which one I like more...

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All Three with Blade Open
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I am LOVING the inlay! I would love to do that to my 0450 to give it just enough character. I would say with this inlay you'd want to discard the clip, anyway, so I would ease up on the curve at the end and just cover the clip holes. I also like the full CF.
 
vmmvmmm said:
I am LOVING the inlay! I would love to do that to my 0450 to give it just enough character. I would say with this inlay you'd want to discard the clip, anyway, so I would ease up on the curve at the end and just cover the clip holes. I also like the full CF.
Click to expand...

Thought about that and will mull it over. I'm a design purist, so if you take a close look at the inlays they are offsets of the original curves on the top and bottom of the knife.

The top part of the bottom inlay is from the top of the knife and the bottom inlay is an offset of the curve on the bottom of the knife.

Thankfully Sinkevich uses true arcs in his designs, so the curves are "pure". I moved the bottom inlay down .02" and hoping that will avoid contact with the 2-56 tapped hole.

I have another account with a service/knife maker subscription that I have set up to focus on "pimping" services and parts for members of the community. I'll be posting shortly under the "nyfestyle" user name with details.

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I didn't start off with this project with a desire to turn it into anything but a personal project, but the feedback has been encouraging and very positive.

You guys rock!

Cheers

Chris
 
Added a hardened stainless insert for the bearing contact surface. They didn't make a washer the right size, so i had to machine one out of sheet.
 
Thanks for all the kind words, support, and orders. Hopefully you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed making them.
 
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