ZT 0566 - Assisted open mechanism failure

T

testosterone325

Joined
Jul 4, 2013
Messages
168
Hey guys

So the weirdest thing happened today on my week old ZT 0566. The AO mechanism has completely stopped working. I have not taken apart the knife or made any adjustments to the pivot, its still exactly the same as when I took it out of the box. But its pretty much a manual folder now. I noticed it was getting easier and easier to deploy the blade which was awesome because as some of you might have heard, the 0566 flipper is stiff and hard as hell flip compared to most assisted knives. The first few days playing with it left my fingers all bruised. So this was all great until the blade started deploying with less and less force, eventually not being able to fully open and lock up due to the lack of power the AO mechanism was producing. Now the AO mechanism produces ZERO energy and blade just swings open and closed like any standard manual action folder.

Thankfully I bought it from my local knife store in town. Im going to take it back and see what they say. I don't want them to turn around and say its my fault its broken because I took it apart, so I am holding off on dissassembling it for now. But Im guessing they will tell me to send it to the manufacturer. So in the end I will probably be taking it apart to try and fix it myself before sending it out. I have not seen the inside of an assisted ZT knife before but from what I have read, the 0566 uses a torsion bar under the G-10 scale. I don't see how the torsion bar can fail so anyone have any ideas?
 
Sounds like your torsion bar broke. That will eventually happen, not usually so soon though. You can open it up and take it out and keep it as a manual. I did that pretty much right away with mine. Or contact your dealer or Kershaw. Dealer could give you another knife or Kershaw could send you a torsion bar.
 
Kershaw will send you a torsion bar, not too hard to replace. They have been known to break. Some break early, some take years.
 
If that happened to me, I'd be happy. Saves me the time and effort taking it out myself. But seriously, either take it out completely or I'm sure ZT will take care of you.
 
Like the other guys said ZT will send you another Torsion bar and ask them for some extra screws as well if you plan on taking it apart and cleaning from time to time.

I would also get some Wiha Torx drivers as they are about the best you are going to find anywhere and you can order them from the wiha Canada website.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm new to assisted knives. This is my first one and so far I can't say I like them that much. The only reason I got this knife was because I really wanted a Hinderer XM-18 styled knife and the 0560/0561 was just a tad too big. I would really have preferred the titanium instead of stainless steel, and the ball bearing system, but the size was really an issue for me. The 0566 seemed like a good compromise, and the price was right. The 0552CF is what I'm really looking forward to getting. I should really hold out and get an actual XM-18 3.5" since I'm a firefighter. But it's still around $400 if I'm not mistaken. My wife would kill me haha!
 
According to Kershaw, torsion bars will fail after 10,000 uses. If one breaks this soon, it was a defective torsion bar. Call or email Kershaw and within a week or so you will receive the replacement parts. Easy to replace, check out youtube if you need to.
 
cEdge said:
According to Kershaw, torsion bars will fail after 10,000 uses. If one breaks this soon, it was a defective torsion bar. Call or email Kershaw and within a week or so you will receive the replacement parts. Easy to replace, check out youtube if you need to.
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That's excellent info thanks. I certainly did not deploy the blade 10,000 times. I've only had the knife for 7 days. So it's definitely defective. I will call and ask for a new torsion bar. The blade still deploys nicely and I really don't mind the knife without the assisted opening. However it's not quite as smooth as I would like for a manual folder. The KVT system would totally rock on this knife. Like I said though it's the size that made me choose it over the 0560. That's why the upcoming 0552 is so exciting for me. Smaller than the 0560, uses the KVT system, titanium and M390.
Anyways I am going to take the knife apart and remove the broken torsion bar, clean the whole knife really well, lube up and adjust the pivot and see how it goes.
 
I removed the assist as soon as I received mine. It is a huge improvement and the blade flicks out with the flipper like a decent flipper should.
 
Honestly I really would love to get a 3.5" XM-18 especially with the Duratech 20CV blade steel. Its my dream knife. Which is another reason why the upcoming 0552CF is so appealing to me. The M390 blade, which is practically identical to 20CV, makes it that much closer to the XM-18. But I would feel too guilty spending that much money on myself. Even at the $395 price for being a firefighter. I've never been one to treat myself.
 
Im really enjoying my new 0566. Only problem was the torsion bar rattled like a mofo in mine. I ended up removing it, and enjoy this knife so much more unassited. Very smooth knife!
 
As has been said, it's most likely the torsion bar. You can take it back to the dealer and see if they'll swap it out for you. If not, contact ZT customer service. They'll ship you small parts (torsion bars, pocket clips, etc.) to do your own repairs at no charge. If you're not comfortable taking it apart, you can send it to ZT, and they'll fix it for you.
 
testosterone325 said:
...But I would feel too guilty spending that much money on myself. Even at the $395 price for being a firefighter. I've never been one to treat myself.
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I don't post in the "general area" often. But thought I'd say that if you are a firefighter and plan to use the XM on the job, then it's not a treat to yourself, but a tool that helps you help others.
 
I had a SOG Blink and an Aegis do purdy much the same thing. No AOs for me anymore. The simple, dead reliable Spydie hole is the only way to go, or a good flipper.
 
I believe he meant 0562CF and it's another ZT/Hinderer collab. Really awesome slicer grind with carbon fiber handle scale.
 
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