ZT 0562 Mildly Disappointed

I'm in agreement. I find ZT's to be moderately built, maybe because I have a giant direware solo. I love the 0562cf and think it's a great edc, the clip is great as well. I have also never had problems slicing anything with it.

Removing weight for the show side won't help, you'll have to do it from the made and the ti side. At that point it's best to just trade it for something else.

As others said, the 0454 is lightweight and probably more your liking in the zt family. Or just get a cf kwaiken

stabman said:
I never really got the "overbuilt" thing either, to tell the truth.
Solidly built? Sure, absolutely.
Overbuilt...what would that even mean? :confused:

"Well, we're done making this knife."
"Hell no, keep building it!!!"
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Pittknife said:
.

Removing weight for the show side won't help, you'll have to do it from the made and the ti side. At that point it's best to just trade it for something else.
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Been playing with the 0562 a bit more and i do like its solidity, yet I think i could grind off the false edge on the blade for a few grams, and mill some pockets on the inside of the TI side, as well as drilling a bunch of holes in the stainless liner---Maybe 120 grams total weight may be possible......

At $170, it was cheap enough to consider mods.
 
jill jackson said:
What hardness did ZT take the B75P, used with the 0600 to?
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I saw a Rockwell Hardness of 62 for the B75P steel on the ZT 0600 at a dealer website but can't confirm if it's actual.

Google: zero tolerance 0600 b75p hardness
 
DREW78 said:
Anyone know who has any gen3 550s in stock?
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Check with BladeHQ, KnifeWorks and KnifeCenter as they all have the 0550 in stock but make specific inquiries on whether they have any of the Gen 3 with the lockbar insert.
 
bodog said:
ZT's customer service is the only thing keeping me from turning completely away from them. None of their knives are really designed to be high performance. Good steels are only really good if the heat treat is just as good and if the blade thickness and grind matches the intended purpose. Caged bearings only stay interesting for so long. 3d machined titanium is the only they do that I can find unique and designed for actual high performance. The rest is basically marketing hype. So customer service and 3d machined handles. Personally, I'm tired of their tactics of introducing a knife 2 years before it's released and then only having a couple hundred available in order to increase the profit margins to ridiculous levels. When I could get one of their top tier mass production knives for about 200 bucks, they were far more interesting. That seems to be a thing of of the past.

I was looking forward so much to the 0180 but after some serious thinking about what they do with steels and how they grind them, they could have used 1095 and accomplished the same thing as the current steel they're using. I mean hell, they put out S110V at 58-59 hrc? WTH? Optimally hardened vanadis 4e is about 63 hrc and can be taken significantly higher and still retain toughness comparable to A2. That's an outstanding combination. I will bet they didn't take it above 59. They might as well have used cpm D2 or something much cheaper.

To me, it's about marketing hype for people who care more about bragging rights than real users who want the highest performance out of a production knife. I've learned that I need to look elsewhere, and I've found what I've been looking for in another company. I still take out my remaining ZT, the 0561, and play with it a little, but I usually end up asking myself why I still have it. It doesn't whittle, doesn't slice, the bearings get jammed up. It's built for "tough use" but I'm afraid to actually use it hard because I'm sure it'll break. The emperor wears no clothes.
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There is definitely some true statements in your post about ZT and tacticool folding knives in general. But within the category ZT is probably striking a reasonable balance between price, function, materials, style etc. Your comments originate from the technical side of the knife universe so I think it is fair to ask what structural points should ZT improve on (within the constraints of the tacticool product category)? What other companies are you looking at instead?

I have actually whittled with my 566 BTW.
 
exmaxima said:
Been waiting since June for my 0562CF, and since it has not yet arrived I bought a standard 0562 when Amazon informed me they were available. Got it yesterday and I can't say I'm as thrilled as I hope to be.

To be sure, the knife looks good, and has no issues. Perfect centering, fast flipper, freakishly sharp. But it just doesn't feel right as an EDC, and I think it's a combination of the weight and the balance. My usual EDC's weigh a tad under 4 oz, while the 0562 weighs a solid 5.5 oz (155 grams). And you can feel it. Plus the weight seems to be biased towards the blade, so the balance feels awkward.

My grail knife is a Spydie Stretch CF, and it weighs 110 grams. Another knife I compare it to is my Griptilian 550HG with Putman scales (about 115 grams). So all three knives have 3.5" blades, yet the 0562 is bigger/heavier for the same blade. Pics below.

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You can see that the 0562 is massive in comparison to the others. The handle is larger, and the blade is both bigger and thicker. I guess it will just need some time to get used to it, but while I envisioned the "ultimate" slicer EDC, I really feel the 0562 is better suited for more rugged tasks (which elude me at this time). Maybe cutting rope, making tent stakes, self defense, etc. For slicing tasks---such as cutting boxes, stripping wine bottle cellophanes, eating food---the 0562 blade seems just too thick & heavy.

I am contemplating grinding the false edge off the blade to lower the weight, and possibly skeletizing the scales if I can figure out how to remove them. Anyone else have some thought on this?
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I was originally misled as well by the "slicer" misnomer. I have yet to see a ZT that slices well. Ended up canceling my pre order when I saw the blade thickness and the handle thickness as well. Big slice of NOPE.
 
Blues Bender said:
I think you need a Paramilitary or an Opinel...

Honestly, just look at every other zt, they're frickin' tanks! What made you think the 0562 would be a slicer?

Personally, I like a thicker blade. I don't do any "slicing" where thickness affects cutting performance.

I've never understood the whole "slicer" thing unless you mostly just cut cardboard and paper, maybe food.
Even food, why? I've never needed my knife to cut food unless I was looking for a reason to use my fancy knife.
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If you don't cut dense materials with your knife, what do you use it for? A letter opener? Tape, string and rope cutter? I've never been able to figure out how people get by with tanks that are too thick to get through most materials.

I've carried many knives of various thicknesses, and the thinner blades always do the best job of cutting, for obvious reasons. That includes wood, plastic both solid and in the form of zipties/straps, the aforementioned rope and string, paper, nylon strap or paracord, and food at times. It just doesn't make sense to have a thick folder unless you're working wood. No point in prying with a cutting tool.

I work in plastics. More specifically, set-up, operation and quality checking for things like fuel lines. Trying to trim or cut those is a lot like trying to cut heavy duty hoses. If a knife gets stuck or doesn't glide through with the efficiency of a thin work razor like those breakaway Olfa blades, then it isn't a slicer. 3mm thickness is as high as I go, and that's pushing it. I definitely value performance over aesthetics, but prefer both in the same knife. :)
 
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Twindog said:
My ZT 0560CF is a beautifully made knife that handles like a dream. I love it. It has extraordinary fit and finish. But it never gets any pocket time because the fat blade grind is so low performance. EDC's have a do a a lot of jobs, and for me that includes a lot of detail work. The 0560 is a poor knife for high-performance, detail cutting.

So when ZT said the 0562 was going to be a slicer, I was hopeful that maybe ZT would have an EDC that is not overly gaudy and is focused on high performance. Not to be. Just more meaningless marketing.

There is no reason why a heavy-duty EDC cannot also be a high-performance cutter.
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I was hoping that someone would catch on to the idea that a knife can be wide and strong, as opposed to thick and strong. Just as some people like axes while others like machetes, some will love slicers while others love tanks. None are bad options, but anyone who thinks a a machete cannot take abuse is severely underestimating the wide blade. Same with pocket knives. The 0562 should be 3-3.5mm thick. I really don't think it would lose strength. Fantastic blade shape.

Sorry for the rapid fire posts; I'm reading through the posts and commenting as I go.
 
Thank you Tom.

I'll say that i did do some work with my 0562 today and i dog notice that it does slice a bit better as you get away from the heel of the blade.
Make no mistake, it is a thicker blade, not a dedicated slicer. I find that most of my edc needs are more cutting oriented vs purely slice oriented.
My 0562 is THE smoothest flipper i have ever handled. I don't get bothered by weight and find that it rides beautifully in the pocket.
 
Hi exmaxima,

I built a rough model of the 0562 blade profile for my own engineering research. I was trying to predict blade geometry effects on cg location and performance. What I did to quickly help you out is cut out the top swedge to show you approximately how much weight you would be saving by removing it: it's only 8.96 grams, with original weight to be 73.74g, and after swedge removal 64.78g.

My conclusion is that you can not remove the 120g you are seeking since the blade has the most mass and opportunity to remove mass. I used the elmax density of 7.81 g/cc, conversely the ti is ~4.50 g/cc, which means its less opportunity to remove weight.

The shift in CG is minimum on the X axis but quite significant on the Y axis. My predication is that it will dynamically shift the way the blade flips out and feels.

Again, its your knife and money, I would advise just selling it and getting something you like.

Results:
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Holy cripes, how awesome is this forum? Mike did the math for you . . .
 
Pittknife said:
Hi exmaxima,

I built a rough model of the 0562 blade profile for my own engineering research. I was trying to predict blade geometry effects on cg location and performance. What I did to quickly help you out is cut out the top swedge to show you approximately how much weight you would be saving by removing it: it's only 8.96 grams, with original weight to be 73.74g, and after swedge removal 64.78g.

My conclusion is that you can not remove the 120g you are seeking since the blade has the most mass and opportunity to remove mass. I used the elmax density of 7.81 g/cc, conversely the ti is ~4.50 g/cc, which means its less opportunity to remove weight.
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Much appreciated info! I have used Autocad, but your modeling is far more advanced. To be honest, I like the revised blade shape, and still might do it. If I add a choil and trim away some of the flipper tang, I may lose a few more grams as well---it all adds up..

Thanks again!
 
exmaxima said:
Much appreciated info! I have used Autocad, but your modeling is far more advanced. To be honest, I like the revised blade shape, and still might do it. If I add a choil and trim away some of the flipper tang, I may lose a few more grams as well---it all adds up..

Thanks again!
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Unless you absolutely love it...sell it. Don't mod it. You'll never get your money back if the weight doesn't drop enough for you.
 
I'm kind of late to the Zero Tolerance party, my first is the 560 black washed model. It was a impulse buy based on some great pictures I saw of the blackwashed Ti handle.

The big turn off for me was all the sharp edges on the jimping, but after a little work with a sharpmaker rod and some needle files that was easily fixed.

I was amazed at how comfortable the zt560 carried in my front pocket. Plenty of room for my hand to get past it and grab my keys. Weight was no issue when clipped to the pocket.

Ergos were great. The knife shares some basic lines and angles with the Spyderco Endura. The handle is very comfortable in hand and the flipper/fingerguard gives it a very secure feel.

The blade is thicker than average, but I found that it works perfectly fine for my EDC uses. In fact, I've been surprised at how well it cuts. Truth be told, my mother was afraid of sharp knives, so I grew up muscling through things with her dull kitchen knives. Taking a 0.150" blade through cardboard isn't that hard as long as the edge is sharp. YMMV.

My 560 seems to hold an edge well. I hear ZT upped the hardness a bit from the originals. Probably not a "hard use" blade to hear Cliff Stamp tell it (you can google his review), but I like the edge holding as I tend to cut things more than pry car doors open.

I'll probably pick up a 562 just because that two tone M390 blade looks so sweet. I'm just hoping it isn't too small. Specs say it should be ok though.
 
I have a 0770 and like it. It was my first ZT just because I knew they are a beast of a knife. I use my knives hard but I am not LE or military. I don't cut doors off cars or dig foxholes with a knife. To my tastes they are overkill. I do like 770. Fit finish and balance is right. Op I agree on just returning it if not happy. Size and Geometry for your tasks are the most important factors in buying a knife. I believe you just learned that. I am still learning certain little preferences I have. The longer I do this the pickier I get.
 
I received the 0562CF yesterday as my early birthday present and I love it. Such Such a beautiful knife. My sole problem (aside from lack of opening thumbstuds) is that it doesn't cut as well as I'm used to. My regular EDC was a full flat Delica, and I also have a Leatherman Charge TTi. I notice that the Charge doesn't cut as well as the Delica either, but I'm assuming this comes from the resistance of having a thicker blade. I did want a thicker blade, as I'm always worried about killing my Delica. I think when I get home tonight I'll reprofile the 0562CF.

I'm trying to decide between adding a 25 degree inclusive back bevel and a 30 degree edge bevel, or a 30 degree back bevel wjth a 40 degree edge bevel. I could also just put on a straight 30 degrees. I figure this will thin out the area behind the edge a little, so even if I keep the factory level ~40 inclusive as the edge bevel, it should feel a little sharper.

The knife carries well in my pocket. It is somehow bigger AND smaller than what I expected it would be. I've never used a flipper before. The detente is pretty strong, which I do like because it won't open unless I want it open.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
I ended up going for 30 degrees inclusive. The swedge made it a little hard to keep in perfect place for me, but I'm happy with the cutting so far.

45af3a8000fc9e070b738a2ce73fb860.jpg
 
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