ZT 0562CF SpeedSafe . . . SAY WHAT???

[kneedeep]

I have already emailed the Editor of Blade about that incorrect statement. If/when I hear back I'll share it here.

Cool, thanks for being proactive about it, it just strikes me as silly for people to complain about one of the few available knife magazine's decline in quality on a forum, when it isn't, much more trouble to let the magazine know directly. If Blade went under, we wouldn't have a Blade Show to go to.

 

[bld522]

Cool, thanks for being proactive about it, it just strikes me as silly for people to complain about one of the few available knife magazine's decline in quality on a forum, when it isn't, much more trouble to let the magazine know directly. If Blade went under, we wouldn't have a Blade Show to go to.

Whose complaining? I'm just stating the facts. And I doubt Blade will go under based on a single mistaken article. More importantly, I had absolutely NO DOUBT that this situation was going to come to the attention of KAI personnel. What do you think was going to happen then?

Relax, kneedeep. It's all good . . .

 

[kneedeep]

Oh, I'm pretty relaxed right now, or I wouldn't be hanging out in General.

If you reread the thread, there were numerous complaints/criticisms about the author and editing. We certainly have quite a few knowledgeable people around (or at least people who believe themselves to be). It would be cool to see some trying to contribute to the magazine.

 

[bld522]

If you reread the thread, there were numerous complaints/criticisms about the author and editing.

Criticisms? Certainly, and rightfully so. The author misrepresented the knife. Suspicions? Absolutely. How could he hold himself out to be a knife expert, claim to have inspected and used the knife, and not have been aware that it wasn't spring-assisted? Complaints? I didn't really sense that. After all, sufficient time hasn't passed yet for anyone to have made an erroneous buying decision based on the author's misinformation. But perhaps you felt someone was complaining. If you did, you don't really need to be concerned about it anymore, right? RamZar passed whatever "complaints" we might have had along to the magazine's editor. :thumbup: And while he may have been the first to do that, I doubt he'll be the last.

Anyway, I'd be amazed if we don't see a correction/explanation in the next issue of Blade or the issue that follows. But then I've been amazed before.

 

[RamZar]

On a related note, in that same issue of Blade there's an article by RJ Martin: "MARTIN’S KEYS TO FLIPPER FOLDERS PART I: Learn to build a Precision Flipper Folder the RJ Martin way".

There's a part where he talks about how a well-built manual flipper uses the trigger finger as a "spring" and the "uninitiated" think the folder is really assisted opening:

"The first time it happened was at the East Coast Custom Knife Show a couple of years after I started making flippers. I had finally developed a thorough understanding of flipper design and function, and had incorporated it into a knife I named Zing, a name I think best describes how fast the knife opens. I put the knives on the table and a customer came by, picked one up and opened it. The blade fired out and he smiled a big smile. He said “RJ, I didn't know you made assisted openers.” I told him I didn't make A/Os, that the Zing was a flipper, and that he was “the spring.” We had a brief conversation, during which time he must have flipped that little knife 50 times. He was still smiling when he paid me for it. I sold almost 40 of them in the next hour. I have seen it many times since. When a person opens a precision flipper for the first time, he is almost dumbfounded. He smiles and then opens it over and over. It’s almost as if his brain can’t accept the fact that a little pressure from his finger can produce a blur of motion followed by the solid thwack of the lock-up. When he closes the knife he doesn't feel a spring being compressed, he just feels the blade swing into the handle."​

 

[GCG199]

It is most likely a simple mix-up of model numbers.

It happens in magazines and on the forums or social media networks too.

Edited to add:

In response to the folks that questioned me below:

I see mistakes all the time in the knife magazines. I am surprised there isn't a monthly thread here for nit-picking them all the time.

James Morgan Ayres is an established writer. Perhaps he had a deadline that day and wrote the article in a real hurry.

I know a few times I have gotten things mixed up on this forum because of being in too much of a hurry and things tend to blur together when they shouldn't.

So that is why going back and making corrections has to happen.

 

[mqqn]

I can't give the author any credibility, I mean, he didn't even post pictures of the detent holes.

best

mqqn

 

[bld522]

It is most likely a simple mix-up of model numbers.

Did you read the article? If not, check it out and let me know if you still think it was a simple mix-up of model numbers.

 

[ebidis]

It is most likely a simple mix-up of model numbers.

It happens in magazines and on the forums or social media networks too.

The pictures that accompany the article clearly show a 0562cf, so no, there was no mix up of model numbers. Seems more like gross ignorance on the part of the author. Or he was just makin stuff up, and never even used/carried the knife at all.

 

[bld522]

"When he closes the knife he doesn't feel a spring being compressed, he just feels the blade swing into the handle."

Yep. That's pretty much of a dead giveaway that you're not dealing with a spring assisted knife, all right.

 

[bld522]

The pictures that accompany the article clearly show a 0562cf, so no, there was no mix up of model numbers. Seems more like gross ignorance on the part of the author. Or he was just makin stuff up, and never even used/carried the knife at all.

Unfortunately, I'm left having to draw the same conclusion.

 

[cuchulain77]

I gave up on my speedsafes' when I bought a Benchmade Axis knife and realized it was like 10 times easier to open and close one handed than my Kershaw Blur.

 

[bld522]

I gave up on my speedsafes' when I bought a Benchmade Axis knife and realized it was like 10 times easier to open and close one handed than my Kershaw Blur.

Good topic and one that's been explored ad nauseum in other threads, but one that's not really germane to the topic at hand. Whether or not the author liked SpeedSafe knives, he should have known that the 0562CF wasn't a SpeedSafe knife the first time he tried to close it. The fact that he didn't or possibly never even had the knife in his possession is why his credibility is being questioned.

PS: Welcome to Bladeforums.

 

[cuchulain77]

Good topic and one that's been explored ad nauseum in other threads, but one that's not really germane to the topic at hand. Whether or not the author liked SpeedSafe knives, he should have known that the 0562CF wasn't a SpeedSafe knife the first time he tried to close it. The fact that he didn't or possibly never even had the knife in his possession is why his credibility is being questioned.

PS: Welcome to Bladeforums.

My bad, didn't read the topic closely.

 

[bld522]

My bad, didn't read the topic closely.

No worries.

 

[kaotikross]

Yeah I read and was surprised by the same thing, not only did the article say the 562CF came with SpeedSafe, the writer also said, "Against instructions, I tried carrying both folders(ZT 562CF and Kershaw Knockout) in my waistband, and the blades opened accidentally."

Sounds intelligent. A few more mistakes like that and he can write the fashion column for Modern Bride.

 

[ncrockclimb]

The pictures that accompany the article clearly show a 0562cf, so no, there was no mix up of model numbers. Seems more like gross ignorance on the part of the author. Or he was just makin stuff up, and never even used/carried the knife at all.

Agree. Although mistakes happen, this leads me to believe that nothing he says in the article is true. Also, it makes me question the journalistic integrity (has that become an oxymoron?) of Blade Magazine. Print media is hurting due to pressure from the forums and social media, but that does not excuse making up BS and authors who don't know what they are talking about. I would rather sift through the BS on the various online forums than pay money and basically be lied to by publication that has such low journalistic and editorial standards.

 

[RamZar]

Received a response from Blade indicating an appreciation for the correction. A correction will be printed but they don't know which upcoming issue.

 

[RamZar]

Here's a follow-up on having Blade Magazine print a correction and it appears in the July 2015 issue on page 6:

KVT, Not Speedsafe
The story “Workin’ Those Framelocks” in the May BLADE® makes the statement. “The Zero Tolerance 0562CF and the Kershaw 1870 are flipper folders with SpeedSafe assisted-opening mechanisms.” The ZT 0562CF is a flipper that uses the KVT ball-bearing system. On the other hand, the Kershaw 1870 Knockout certainly uses the SpeedSafe.
Ram** Zar*****, a letter via e-mail

Editor’s note: Thank you for the correction, Mr. Zar*****. The Zero Tolerance 0562CF does indeed use the KVT—KVT stands for Kershaw Velocity Technology—ball-bearing system, which is a manual opener, not an assisted one.​

 

[BOHAWG]

Great Correction! Kudos to RamZar for the follow up on a thread that was totally out of control..... Our country is full of so many DESK TOP NINJAS! The OP should have been contacting the editor instead of inciting criticism for an article that he already knew was clearly incorrect.