ZT 0500 once again

C

cutter17

Joined
May 16, 2006
Messages
6,873
I really like the looks of this knife, but am curious about the sealed pivot. Is it actually sealed, and if so, is there a way to adjust the pivot, or is it preset? I am one of those folks who likes for the pivot to be a little tighter and this is the only thing holding me back from going ahead and ordering a ZT0500. So if someone would let me know I can either step up to the plate or I can go take a seat!:D:D Btw, how does the pivot feel out of the box?
 
The pivot feels fine out of the box. It opens very smoothly, seemed like the right balance (not too tight or loose) for me. I looked at all 10 ZT 0500s that my favorite knife store when they came in, and the feel was fairly consistent from knife to knife.
I generally adjust the pivot on every knife I buy to get it where I want, but I will leave this one alone simply because I would be concerned about messing with the Neoprene seals and somehow compromising their ability to protect the pivot. It would be the only one that I would send back to the factory if any adjustment were needed.
Hope this helps.

Rik
 
I haven't tried adjusting the pivot on mine as it seemed to have been perfect as I got it. The seals give just the right amount of resistance.

If you did want to adjust the pivot, it looks like you would need an adjustable spanner wrench with pin tips (although I'd guess they have a special spanner or tool at the factory).
 
Yes you can adjust the pivot tension... But you have to do it by the side opposite the switch on the back side of the knife.. The pivot screw on the same side as the switch can be tightend all the way with out having any effects on the tension as far as I can tell.. Hope this helps..

I also want to add... I absolutely love this knife.. Except trying to get it out of my pocket.. The G-10 scales on this thing are like teeth when it is cliped into pockets and a mother to draw it.. One good thing is when you have a grip on it in your hand the G-10 glue the knife to your palm.. The bad thing it does the same thing to your pocket .. Trying to figure out weather I want to modify the scales a bit on the clip side to let it come out a bit more freely or contact ZT to see weather they have a solution to this. I read somewhere that there was an updated clip and do not know weather I have the new one or not..
 
Thanks for the info jeff. I waited too long to place my order for the 500 and they are now out of stock so I'll have to wait a few weeks to get one, but it is good to know I can tighten the pivot if I desire to do so.
 
Just checked and NGK has these back in stock and are minus one as I type this! Just read jeff's thread about the mods he did and decided that I "needed" to go ahead and order one. Should be here on Tuesday as I am one of those folks who hate to wait and always check the Next Day delivery option.

I do have another question about it though, is the frame made of aluminum and are the G-10 scales one piece, or are the G-10 scales two pieces? The description says that the handles are dual layer G-10 over full metal liners. I'm having trouble finding pictures that show the top of the knife and the bottom of the knife so I can't really judge the thickness of the liners. For some reason on 90% of the pictures posted here all I get is the little box with a red X.

Jeff, anyway you could email me the pics you posted in your Blasphemy thread?:D


update: just did some more searching and found 5 good pics from OE comparing the ZT to a custom MUDD and it showed everything I needed to see. The aluminum liners apear to be around .125" thick and the G-10 appears to be machined to give the dual layer appearance, all of which are fine by me, not complaining at all.

jeff, any thing I should know before I take it apart? I'm one of those who has to dissasemble my knives and clean them up, polish the blade tang and corresponding area on the frame to make it a smoother opener, and apply lube of choice, in this case miltec1.
 
Hey man cool deal! I had some Militec1 also but just wanted to try this super lube out because you don't have to heat it up.. And with the seals didn't want to run the risk of getting them too hot..

Man I am one to really try to pick things apart about anything. And it is pretty hard to find things I don't like about this mudd knife..

But here are 2 that I am trying to either live with or try to fix some how that are bugging me..

1. The dang low riding pocket clip is very cool and I like the fact that it hides the knife deep carry style.. But man if I had to get this sucker out and out in a hurry I just can't see it happening.. One reason is when you pinch the knife to draw it out of your pocket with this style of deep carry clip you apply extra pressure to the clip which makes it bite even hard in your pocket. And secondly to add to this.. The Extra rough texture of this g-10 scale pattern and the recess's where the screws are hang up big time on my pockets.. I have tried this on BDU's and Jeans and both are equally hard to get this knife out of..

2. Here is the second thing that bugs me.. and is maybe over see-able, but where the knife meets the handle when it is open and you grip it,, If you try too choke up on it and slide you fore/ index finger up past the round pivot area of the handle.. the (*choil) of the blade I think it is called? your finger finds a very sharp edge real quick! .. I think this little notch recess area of the blade should be opened up more to allow for your finger to rest on dull steel rather than a sharp edge..

Here is a picture of what I am talking about..
picture012smalllu1.jpg
 
Yeah your talking about putting a bigger finger choil in the blade. I think several people here have done that with their JYD's. Can't remember the names of the threads, but a google search might bring them up,for example; junkyard dog site:bladeforums.com Type this in the google search box and you can pull up everything about the jyd posted here. Pretty neat. I'll have to see about the deep carry clip, but that is one reason I liked this knife as I try to have all my edc's ride as low as possible. I even made a clip for my Strider AR that puts the entire knife knife inside my pocket with nothing but the clip showing! I use the miltec 1 but don't ever heat it and it still seems to do a great job, but I do have some Tuff Glide I might try.

I was wondering about the pivots. Are those large diameter disc's, with the 4 holes, the pivots? Or are the pivot screws located underneath those disc's?

Anything I need to be aware of if I decide to take it down? I just got in the habit of disassembling my knives in order to polish those surfaces inside to make a better opener. Most times this is not done to my level of satisfaction from the factory, and I understand why not; additional cost's to the buyer.

Anyway, any suggestions you can give me jeff would be appreciated............or anyone for that matter!!
 
Hey guys thank you for the links and info on the Chiol mods.. Looks like if I were to do this I would run into the same problem with loosing the born on date.. I may try it out later on though.. ..

Sorry Cutter17 for bouncing around with the replies about the pivot screws.. Here is a direct link for anyone else that reads this http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=530415 post #13

Also to answer your question about if there was anything to watch for while tearing this knife down.. Here is one thing that might be helpful.. When doing so Start with the pivot screw on the switch side.. in this order..First the pocket clip, the pivot screw, Then the scale screws..

Watch out when pulling up the G-10 scale because the Button switch is attached to the slide lock and when you start to pull it up the button, scale, rubber boot and slide lock will all come off as one.. watch the 2 plunger pins and springs.. Have the blade open about 1/4 -1/2 way to let the tension off the locking mechanism and this Will make it a bit easier.. also when putting it all back together have the blade in the same fashion..

Then when you get that all off, the rear spacer pin on mine was in there pretty snug and just use care going from one end of the knife to the other applying pulling pressure to get them apart with out damaging the rear spacer pin.. Hope this helps..

I probally made this all sound harder than it actually was .. To me it was pretty easy.. I try not to let knives or anything for that matter intimadate me from taking them apart.. Just keep an eye on how it all comes apart and take your time.. take pictures of it if that would help you keep a record of how it came apart so that you will get it all back in the right order..

This knife has a heck of alot of parts to it compared to a regular folder but is a fairly simple design.
 
Sounds good jeff! Thanks for the info and I, like you, also try not to let the knife intimidate me. I feel rather confident in my ability to disassemble and then reassemble.:thumbup::thumbup::D
 
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