ZT 0801 VS Domino flipping smoothness.

KoryD

KoryD

Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Messages
115
I've had my ZT 0801 for a couple weeks now and out of the box it flipped awesome and smooth as butter.

I just received my Domino today in the mail and it flips I'd say fair but nothing as smooth as the 0801.

Is it possible the domino just needs to be broken in or am I missing something?

From all my research I've read both should be extremely smooth.
 
My domino I had for a few weeks was also a slow flipper. It always flipped out completely every time, but it almost felt gritty compared to other flippers.
 
Mine was very crisp and fast - but had a butter knife edge. Don't have the 801 to compare though.
 
Both my 801 and Domino flip great, 801 does flip better tho. Detent is a bit stronger and the blade is heavier on the 801 so that makes 100% sense to me. Domino is slower but I have not had any issues with my Domino.
 
I don't have an 801; only a Domino and it's been a sharp, crisp flipper but felt gritty from the start. Might be a break-in thing as it's gotten a little smoother but not quite there yet.
 
I have both. Both were received new. The 801 is easier to flip with a gravity assist, and feels smoother, but the Domino flips faster.

Really, both are superb flippers and even with the loose detent on my 801 I love the hell out of it. They are my first ~$200 knives, and I am very happy with my choice on them.
 
NorthernSouthpaw said:
flush out the bearings and get some Nano oil in there. that should eliminate the gritty feel.
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I used a little White Lightning bike chain lube. Then added a bunch more with a "More means more gooder!" idiot process, then a few days ago cleaned the buildup out completely (now they just have a wee bit in the plastic housings) and the actions are great. I may add a FEW DROPS, and see if the action improves even more, but I would rate them a solid 7 or 8 out of 10 (9 and 10 reserved for knives made of magic).
 
First off, I think of "smoothness" in two ways. A lot of knives are "smooth" but have a high level of resistance. All back locks I have ever owned are in fact very smooth, but the nature of the lock puts constant resistance on the blade tang. I have only seen one back lock fall closed after disengaging the lock. My Domino is smooth the vast majority of the time, but I think my detent ball has a burr or a flat and sometimes it scrapes on the blade tang. It is not the bearings. It is very snappy and very easy to flip. The mechanics and design of the flipping action is one of the best. The 0801 is smooth as glass and has the least amount of resistance when closing of any knife I own. Part of it is the weight of the blade, and part of it is crazy detent.
 
The real issue with "smoothness" in flippers really has nearly nothing to do with the actual pivot. Its mostly the detent combined with the lockbar pressure that will determine the perceived smoothness when opening and closing. The examples of both the domino and the southard that I had both had extreme amounts of lockbar pressure.

If desired people can tune the knife and lower the amount of lockbar pressure so that there is less resistance on the blade as it swings but sometimes this can lead to lock up issues and somtimes it can weaken the detent strength and make it a less effective flipper. I found both the southard and domino to be rather finicky with adjustments. Things some makers have done to increase smoothness is to use a ceramic ball for the detent as they slip easier. Not sure what spyderco is using for the detent ball. But that will only make a marginal improvement if the lockbar has tremendous amounts of pressure. KAI has more experience with making flippers and they really have them dialed in these days. The 0801 has a very snappy detent and the lockbar is tuned perfectly.

If you want the domino to flip as good as the 0801 it requires some knowledge of how to tune a knife and theres a few steps to make sure your knife will work properly after doing it. It also requires some finesse. It only requires a very very small amount of bending the lockbar to make a big difference in lock up and if you dont have experience tinkering I wouldnt go mucking with it. The other option is to get some Quicken CLP or Nano Oil and apply a 1/2 a drop in the detent hole of the blade and a drop to each side of the pivot. That combined with a few hundred openings and it will get smoother. Maybe not 0801 smooth but smoother.
 
PURPLEDC said:
The real issue with "smoothness" in flippers really has nearly nothing to do with the actual pivot. Its mostly the detent combined with the lockbar pressure that will determine the perceived smoothness when opening and closing.
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I would say that the actual design of a given knife additionally adds to what PDC mentions in his post. Many times folks feel if you just add a "tail" to a given design, you have yourself a flipper. All flippers are not created equal, and the design has very much to do with its functioning prowess. Combine a strong flipper design with the detent set-up...well it certainly helps with those folks that haven't mastered flipper technique, and also creates "love' as blue109 hotly describes in his earlier post.
From what I see on the market, there are more trying flippers vs. good ones. I chalk this up to the true difficulty of producing a quality flipper, which is a toxic combo of true flipper design along with the proper build set-up and execution. Together they are heaven.

I believe the knives in question here are both examples of high quality flippers.
 
My Domino started gritty and slow but broke in beautifully with no blade play. Mind you I did apply a couple drops of tri-flo oil to the pivot a couple times.
 
I bought the 801 from a dealer and the Domino I got it from the exchange . Smoothness goes to the ZT super smooth great detent . My Domino open much faster than the ZT but it's not as smooth . It feels like a small grind going on .
 
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Great information everyone thanks. If I wanted to "lube" the domino to smooth it out a bit where would you suggest I lube it and what lube would everyone suggest?
 
KoryD said:
Great information everyone thanks. If I wanted to "lube" the domino to smooth it out a bit where would you suggest I lube it and what lube would everyone suggest?
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I swear by White Lightning, but DuPont Silicone Teflon works very well too. For both, a little goes a long way (as I found out the hard way).
 
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