Review ZT 0460 (Updated)

BD_01

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BLUF: Buy this knife is you want superb fit, finish, and materials but don’t mind sacrificing a bit of practicality for bat guano loco style!

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Part 1 REVIEW:

Has the form vs. function pendulum finally swung too far for ZT? Is the 0460 crippled by it’s modernistic Persian styling? I say NO! …but perhaps some concessions were made.

Enter the 0460. Let’s begin with the carbon fiber. Delicious. Bronze fibers of some kind are woven into the black CF in an alternating pattern. My son says it reminds him of a rattlesnake. There is angular chamfering around most of the margin, with more gradual tapering towards the butt. Holes for the frame screws are neatly relieved and there is a subtle texture on the surface. No imperfections or voids are present in my sample. The CF is REALLY well done.

The lock side titanium wears an excellent stone wash and has milling that matches the show side contours. Before I bought the knife, I really did not appreciate how well done the machining is along the lock bar, extending all the way back. It’s really quite fantastic.

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Also note that the pivot is captive on the lock side, like the 0900 and a few other current ZT models. The pocket clip is attractive and holds the knife well. The ramp is a bit too shallow, however, favoring style over function.

Otherwise, the 0460 is fantastic in the pocket. It’s thin, narrow, and light (2.3 oz!). The contour hugs the back of you pocket. Coupled with a non-invasive texture and minimalist flipper tab (more below), you can access the bottom of your pocket without even knowing it’s there. Superb.

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There’s no lanyard hole—thank goodness. Mind you, I don’t have anything ideologically against lanyards; I’ve got them on a few of my knives. I just think lanyard holes are a bit over done, as if otherwise good designs get weakened, just to add one in for marketing.

The upturned blade wears an attractive stone wash above the flat ground satin primary bevel. It looks quite stabby. It looks awesome! For a ZT it’s quite thin behind the edge—noticeably more so than the ZT 0450 or Benchmade 940—and is a pretty awesome slicer.

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The billboarding is a travesty, however. With the blade open, the lock side writing is as follows: “Zero Tolerance 0460 KAI USA Sinkevich Design Ser. XXXX S35VN.” Are you kidding me? Enough is enough. This has become offensive and needs to stop!

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The angular head of the scales extends quite a distance beyond the pivot, forming a point that's nearly in line with the flat at the top of the open blade. The design accentuates the knife’s flowing Persian aesthetic. The drawback is a plunge that extends well behind the scales’ front margin. This will make it very difficult for me to sharpen the knife, given my present equipment and feeble skill.

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Most of my knives encourage a forward grip. That’s not optimal for the 0460. If I relax, my hand finds a position a bit further back, with my pinky on the flat that’s just in front of the knife’s butt. It works quite well for me; comfortable sturdy grip with nice control. It’s a bit similar to the grip posture of a Schemp Bowie, but much less dramatic. Note that ergonomics are highly individual; YMMV.

How’s the action? Break the detent, and this knife fires to lockup 100%. With the 0460 however, you can’t just make a lazy stroke with your index finger and expect the flipper tab to jump out and meet you. The tab is quite small—so small in fact that there is no room for jimping. Instead, there is a single prominent groove (a single jimp?) to provide purchase when you deeply bury your fingertip and curl it downward. Do it as a single brisk motion and “pop,” the blade is out and locked in a blink. This is not a push button flipper or one that promotes slow loading.

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Is the small flipper tab another functional compromise in the name of style? Yes. It does, however, have the benefit of going easy on anything else in your pocket, and there’s less in the way of your hand when reaching down for keys, etc. It’s an awesome flipper, but some technique is necessary.

I haven’t had any difficulties with pressure from my middle finger retarding deployment. Because of the knife’s shape, there’s no real middle finger landing zone on the lock bar. The downward curve of the butt DOES provide a good landing zone for the ring and small fingers—it’s so far back that it doesn’t seem to affect lock bar tension. For perspective, I’ll add that I never really had middle finger lock bar issues with the 0450 either.

Part 2 & 3 below
 
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Part 2 COMPARISONS:

The two knives in my collection that make the most logical comparison are the Benchmade 940-2 and ZT 0450. I only own the PJ all Ti 0450, as I’m not a huge fan of coated blades (0450CF) and the ZDP version is in a different price class, as is the 940-1. I freely admit there’s some subjectivity in my comparisons.

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Weight: 0460 < 940-2 < 0450 (2.4 oz., 2.5 oz., 2.9 oz. home scale)

Thickness: 0460 < 0450 < 940-2 (Judged by eye and by hand, the 0460 is a smidge thinner than the 0450)

Street Price: 0450 < 940-2 < 0460 ($160, $170, $180 respectively)

Materials, Fit & Finish: 0460 > 0450 >> 940-2 (The 940-2 doesn’t even come close to the others in this category. Quite frankly, the two offerings from ZT make the Benchmade look embarrassingly over priced. Also note that fit & finish of the 0460 are slightly better than the 0450, which is dang near perfect IMO.)

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Slicing: 0460 > 940-2 > 0450 (IMO the only major flaw of the 0450 is it’s thickness behind the edge.)

Action: 0450 = 940-2 > 0460 (The 0450 is simply an amazing flipper and the 940 is a great application of the Axis lock. I prefer the flipper a bit more, but I can’t say it's necessarily better. The 0460's small flipper tab holds it back a bit.) Addendum: after a few months of use, the detent has worn in and the 0460 is equal or better than the others.

Ergonomics: 940-2 > 0450 > 0460 (In my hand, these are all really, really close—almost equal. Seriously, tomorrow the order might change. All hands are different, however, and this is probably THE MOST subjective category.)

Practicality: 940-2 > 0450 > 0460 (It’s hard to beat the practicality of Osborne’s masterpiece.)

Bling: 0460 > 0450 > 940-2

Carry: 940 = 0460 > 0450 (The shallow ramp of the 0460’s pocket clip cost it the #1 spot. Once in the pocket, it carries a bit better than the 940-2, so it’s a wash over all. The 0450 brings up the rear mostly due to weight, but it’s still a good carry. The 0450CF is lighter, and my guess is it’s probably equal to the other two in this category)

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Part 3 CONCLUSION:

If these knives were cars, the 0460 would be an Alfa Romeo 4c; sexy, exotic materials, and style for days, but not the most practical and perhaps a bit temperamental.

The 940-2 would be a Nissan Maxima; it’s nicely styled, capable, reliable, and extremely practical. You’ll be comfortable driving it every day, and quite frankly, it’s all the car you’ll ever really need. A great car, but pull up next to the Alfa, however, and you’ll be invisible.

The 0450 lives between the two. I think it’s like the BMW M3; not as practical as the Nissan, but you can still squeeze a few people inside and drive it to work. Unlike the Maxima however, when the exotics come to town it can still hold it’s own.

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Dreams aside, I’ll probably never be lucky enough to own an Alfa Romeo 4c. The 0460 gives me the same sort of satisfaction, only much, much smaller in degree. I think it’s fantastic, and I’m super happy to own one!
 
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Hi! Very nice and interesting review. Thanks for posting it :thumbsup:! Though Persian knives style is not my cup of tea, this ZT interpretation was worth a second thought from my side :). Enjoy your new pocket companion!
 
ADDENDUM

It just occured to me that I made no mention of how the knife closes.

Once the blade is on the detent ball, it only takes the slightest dab of the wrist to bring the blade home under gravity. It's really well done considering the relatively low mass of the blade and the strength of lockbar.

As it approaches the pivot, the lockbar takes a slightly shallower radius than the presentation scale, resulting in a broad thumb landing zone that's just about the right depth for good purchase, without disrupting the lines of the knife. The depth is a little exagurated in my pic due to the angle (but it allows partial visualization of how well the lockbar insert is fitted).

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The small ridge I tried to point out in the pic EXACTLY matches the radius of the presentation scale when viewed at 90 degrees. Great attention to detail and VERY well done.

There is one drawback. The broad landing zone means that if you place your thumb too far forward, the flipper tab will strike it before the blade is on the detent ball. Too far back, and the tab can miss your thumb completely leading to blade bite--OUCH! I've drawn blood a few times, I won't lie. A hint of danger adds to the fun of the hobby anyway--LOL!

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I really dig that ZT is finally releasing knives which do not include a steel liner under the scale. Nothing cheapens a titanium framelock like a big honking stainless steel liner. What is the point of using lightweight titanium if you're going to throw stainless steel directly across from it.
 
2 MONTH UPDATE

So I've had the 0460 for about two months now, and I have a few things to update.

First, I'm impressed with it's durability. It took a hard fall onto asphalt, landing on the CF. I expected it to be trashed, but the only injury was a tiny chip on the corner of he scale. It's barely noticeable, even when trying to find it. (No way I could photograph it.)

The action has improved a bit as the detent has broken in. It's very, very good!

I recently disassembled the knife, as I decided it was slightly off center--not enough to bother most normal people...but I'm probably not normal.

The process was drama free, but thankfully I warmed things up with a hair dryer. ZT went heavy on thread locker. Reassembly was simple and it centered perfectly by adjusting the pivot. Great action. No blade play.

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A few notes on design:
-On the Ti side there is a bearing race recessed into the blade.
-The CF scale has a bearing recess with a washer that seems reasonably thick and sturdy.
-The front scale screw passes through the backspacer and threads dierctly into the Ti scale.
-The rear of the backspacer is held in place by a bushing between small screws, one of which is also a clip screw on the Ti side.

I'm still digging the 0460 and it's replaced a Delica 1 as my Church-on-Sunday knife. It's light & thin & crazy good looking! I'm really glad it's in my rotation. As with all my knives, appreciating it's unique attributes brings me joy each time I carry it.
 
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Great review and thanks for the updates. This knife doesn't do it for me visually and I doubt I would buy one but it's clearly an excellent knife with typical ZT high quality.
 
poo brown composite thats not completely cf, no bearing races on the ti, uncomfortable for some hands (mostly larger). all belly. s35vn which has shown to have some low edge retention cutting rope by one tester... ill pass. but it looks hella cool.
 
ZT has always been a bit polarizing. Perhaps that has never been more true in their production line than with their 7017 models. On a personal level, I think it makes them more interesting as a brand. Seems you're going to love it, or hate it, and that appeals to me--at least with the models I fancy--LOL!

The poo-brown comments on here always make me chuckle! The color really does pop (pop, not poop :p) in the sunlight. Bronze is indeed an apt description.

Thanks for the comments!
 
This is a great review and very nicely detailed. Really enjoyed reading it with perfect descriptions of what you like and do not like about the blade. I am not big on Persian style blades but have to admit when we got these in I was pleasantly surprised. I have not carried one personally so this was great feedback to give to customers considering one!
 
Big fan of Persian style here but the printing all over the place is a big turnoff.
More subtle advertising, a sculpted clip, and replace that unsightly S35VN stamp on the blade with a much more attractive M390 logo and I'd be in. ;)
 
mmmmm. M390. Sounds like an idea for a sprint run!

Thanks for the kind words, Whitty.
 
Enjoyed your review. The only gripe I have is the branding and billboarding on the blade. Why put out a killer-looking knife and then ruin the aesthetics with all the unnecessary logo and text on the blade? It just doesn't make sense. It's like slapping a two-foot square Ford decal on the driver side door of your Mustang.
 
If i could one day be in the driver seat of a 4C with a 0460 in my pocket...

I think ill have to get a 0460 after reading this.
 
After breaking in..and having for a month I like it more..just can't seem to get it razor sharp..but I'm a newbie anyhow
 
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