ZT 0452cf Concern

J

Jpchillin

Joined
Jun 15, 2015
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27
Just recently purchased an 0452cf from zt to be used as an edc blade, really fell in love with the knife and the blade shape so naturally i'm really excited about the whole thing but i'm slightly concerned with the fact that it doesn't have any sort of steel spacer underneath the cf scale (don't have any pics so i'm bringing you one courtesy of knifecenter.com), i'm new to knives with cf scales and was wondering if the lack of a steel spacer might negatively impact the lifetime of the knife. Should I start looking around for someone to make me a scale out of Ti to replace the cf or am I just being uneducated and paranoid lol. Any answers would be appreciated!!
ZT0452CFnc.jpg
 
You're being paranoid. Carbon fiber is way stronger than most think and there's a steel washer in the recess for the bearings. Other than that, the cf just has to sit there and look pretty.
 
No concerns about the liner-less CF scale. CF is very strong stuff.

If you have a ZT 0801 or other knife with the larger deep-carry clip, that will fit on the 0452CF without any other modifications. If you don't have another knife with it, you could try contacting ZT's customer service and request a clip for an 0801.

Here's the stock clip and the larger one on a 0452CF. Actually after having tried them both, I've stuck to the smaller clip. Just personal preference. Both work fine.

ZT0452CF_clips_800x418.jpg
 
Carbon fiber is very strong and will serve you well. Don't worry about it at all.
I like C.F. I like G-10 and I like titanium... Any one of these can substitute for the other in most scale applications.
 
Honestly I don't think it should be an issue, it looks to be thick enough and in my opinion if you are using reasonable judgement for EDC and not using it overly-hard it should be fine. I'd say to compare the thickness of that scale to a scale on a CS recon since it is one of the most famous non-liner'd folding knives. If they are relatively close then it's just a matter of CF strength comparably to G10 (I would imagine it is similar, and theres links belows to discussions about it).

I think most people don't like the aesthetic of it compared to micarta and g10 but that's just my .02 about it. Everything after that is preference, if it was mine and I had the cash I would acid etch the blade and get a Ti scale then have them both flamed or anodized but thats just me.

LINKS:
Video of G10 vs CF TuffthumbzG10andCarbonFiber
BF thread discussing it:G-10-Carbon-Fiber-amp-Carbon-Kevlar-durability
Another thread discussing it: G10-vs-Carbon-Fiber-in-terms-of-durability-strength
Technical data and discussion from JD: www.jerzeedevil.com/forums/archive


Hope that helps,

-Nick
 
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Do you know roughly what the cost would be to have a Ti scale made up for the knife? I'm convinced now that the CF is going to be more than capable as far as strength and durability but I feel like I'd like the Ti aesthetically
 
I've been working mine for a month or so and has also been flipped a lot unconsciously fidgeting with it (I keep it out of reach while watching TV now :rolleyes: ) and the lock hasn't moved a bit and the pivot still needs no adjustment with no blade play.
That speaks for the durability of the materials used in the 0452cf.
As far as carbon fiber strength? I ride a CF mountain bike, frame, seatpost, handlebar, and beat the living hell out of it on a daily basis and it has less wear than my alloy bikes.
But if you're still not convinced and can work with a bit of a smaller knife the 0450 might be worth looking into. Nicer clip too.
 
I have a custom slipjoint that has no liners. It's just a blade, pins, back spring, all sandwiched between two slabs of carbon fiber. I have no worries about the CF giving out, it's tough stuff...

The back spring will put a lot of stress on the pinned portions of the CF, probably more stress than your 0452 is putting on its CF. I wouldn't worry about something that seems to be tried-and-true:thumbup:

26AA8C95-1F37-4503-902B-6CE55605AB54_zpsgtskylyt.jpg
 
CF has a stronger stiffness to weight ratio than steel. CF is used to make bike frames, formula one race car cassis, jet fighter air frames, and many industrial applications which will experience far more stress than a pocket kniife ever dreamed of. So yea, I'd say it's good.
 
What you should worry about is putting coins in the same pocket as where that knife is. coins can get in the there and eventually dulling and maybe rolling the edge.
 
There are dudes that make custom scales but I wouldn't be able to give you prices off the top of my head.

Congrats on your 0452. I love that friggin' knife. Sexy...solid...Sinkevich :thumbup:
 
Nice, congrats and enjoy. I've still got that model on backorder. But do have the 770CF which has CF on both sides, other than strategic metal for the lock mech (I believe anyway, don't have it on me right now to verify). I've flipped the crap out of it, and it's spring assisted with pretty hard fire. Everything about it is still rock solid. I was concerned at first also, but now not a bit. When I first got it, I compared the flex just squeezing the knife at the middle when open. Almost no flex. I've got a bunch of other knives made out of "alternate" materials and all of them have more flex than the ZT.

So just flip, cut, and enjoy the heck out of it.
 
Jpchillin said:
Do you know roughly what the cost would be to have a Ti scale made up for the knife? I'm convinced now that the CF is going to be more than capable as far as strength and durability but I feel like I'd like the Ti aesthetically
Click to expand...
If you're going to change it to Ti, just sell the knife and buy the normal version of it. Less hassle and will definitely be cheaper in the end. Plus the build quality will be better and you won't void your warranty
 
k_ozdragon said:
If you're going to change it to Ti, just sell the knife and buy the normal version of it. Less hassle and will definitely be cheaper in the end. Plus the build quality will be better and you won't void your warranty
Click to expand...

The cf is the normal version. There is only one version of the 0452, and it comes with carbon fiber.
 
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