Zt0392

Spoke with a ZT Rep today and she confirmed that it will definitely be a limited run model. She also said it would be late in the year before we see it for sale.
 
bad_juju said:
I can confirm I played with a 0350CF, 0566CF, 0801BW blackwash. All fine pieces.

The 0392 is a rediculous piece when you think about it. "Factory Custom". You got a knife that you can put Rick's hardware on. Thats just insane, it has immense possibilities. It really felt like you were holding a Hinderer and it flipped just a touch bit better. I felt it was worthy of the name given.
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I have to agree.

They like spicy apple juice, too!

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best

mqqn
 
Nice knife but I have two (small) problems.

1) When did "custom" go from "made to order just as the customer wants" to "made in a factory according to a strict model with limited possibilities of customisation"?

2) Pretty soon this ZT-thing of only making desirable knives in very limited quantities will bite them in the ass. If you are a production company you should mass-produce, not just design and never release the bloody things (still no date on the 0620).
 
903lew said:
2) Pretty soon this ZT-thing of only making desirable knives in very limited quantities will bite them in the ass. If you are a production company you should mass-produce, not just design and never release the bloody things (still no date on the 0620).
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Completely agree. It's annoying and actually makes me not even want to try to get one. Still, it is one good looking knife.
 
903lew said:
Nice knife but I have two (small) problems.

1) When did "custom" go from "made to order just as the customer wants" to "made in a factory according to a strict model with limited possibilities of customisation"?

2) Pretty soon this ZT-thing of only making desirable knives in very limited quantities will bite them in the ass. If you are a production company you should mass-produce, not just design and never release the bloody things (still no date on the 0620).
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1) a long, long time ago and zt nor hinderer started it. Also, it's a factory custom which should have clued you in on the prices.

2) the 0620 hadn't even existed for 6 months. How fast do you want then to go? Every knife they've made since the 0777 ( excluding the 0888) has made it to market in under a year. Have some patience...

Also, I like how you said their only desirable knives are Le's yet the one you are waiting for, the 0620, is regular production...
 
903lew said:
Nice knife but I have two (small) problems.

1) When did "custom" go from "made to order just as the customer wants" to "made in a factory according to a strict model with limited possibilities of customisation"?

2) Pretty soon this ZT-thing of only making desirable knives in very limited quantities will bite them in the ass. If you are a production company you should mass-produce, not just design and never release the bloody things (still no date on the 0620).
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There seems to be a few people that have this same feeling about the high end knives.

You do know that Kai produces ~50,000 knives a month in Tualatin, and they are introducing a lot of new models that are not LEs, that are regular production and are selling briskly.

In addition, the company won three more trophies at Blade to go with their already considerable collection of recognition by their peers in the knife world.

The 0392 is not listed as a custom, it is listed as a FACTORY custom, a new category where parts of the knife are custom made and other parts are factory made. Perhaps your issue here is that you don't consider the Hinderer produced parts to be custom, not sure what you are getting at with your point 1.

Most custom makers have some limitations as to what they will do when producing a knife for a customer, the sky is not always the limit. In this case, you can customize the piece with your choice of color and possibly design of the hardware. I don't know of other companies doing this, although I don't profess to know what every company is or is not doing.

On point two, I believe that the knives that were announced in the past have all come to fruition, albeit not without production issues since most of these LE knives are testing the bounds of production capabilities with materials and techniques.

The fact that ZT is selling everything they make, LE or not, is testimony to the desirability of their products. The fact that limited production prevents people from getting in their hands everything they would like to buy is just the fact.

I find a lot of knife collectors are hobbyists that have a "sour grapes" attitude when they are not able to get that highly desirable, limited production knife that they want.

You may or may not see yourself in that category, but to think that ZT should not produce high-end LEs because you can't get one when you want is, in my opinion, limited thinking.

I have had to work to get the LEs that I have, and I did not get some that I really wanted. I just love the knives I was able to procure and leave it at that.

I hope you get a chance to get one of the LE's for yourself, if you have not already.

They will make the 0620 - and the 0392, but I am sure some people will not be able to get one, I might not be able to find one myself, but I won't think less of the company or it's products if that turns out to be the case.

best

mqqn
 
It's like Scurvy said, they can only go so fast. Maybe it would be better if KAI said absolutely nothing about a new model to the general public until it was ready to ship.
 
Maybe I should elaborate.

KAI just invented the term "factory custom" which is...silly. Just because they've used other hardware does not make something custom but rather customisable. Semantics, perhaps, but it's a bit like calling a Ford Focus a "factory custom" car just because you can choose the colour of the floor mats.

Nu, I understand why KAI makes LEs. They sell, the create a halo effect and they might even make them a few dollars (though I doubt that). However, what I see is them devoting resources and production time towards products I won't get my hands on anyway while the products I do want are yet to come to market. When it comes to industrial capitalism I am in principle against the creation of an artificially limited market but this is philosophy. Rather, it is as a customer that I am wondering why they (KAI) devote so much time at something that 1) can't make them much (any?) money and 2) delay their "bread and butter".



Daveb068 made a great point, my wait for the 0620 has gone so long that I think I've decided to buy something else. Vapourware - it shouldn't be a marketable concept.


Apologies for any sore feet. Like I stated, they are small problems.
 
Less than 5 months and its vaporware? Now you're just sounding trollish.

I wonder what your thoughts are on the Benchmade 'custom' shop...
 
Maybe I am a bit harsh, but I seem to remember ZT being slightly worse for this than the competition (this might be selective memory). Considering my only sin is me wanting to purchase their products and them yet to announce a date I'm not sure trollish is the right adjective. Rather, harsh would better suit my mood.


And yes, the Benchmade "custom" shop. Where you can choose....exactly the same as everyone else? If this continues every SAK sold will be "custom" (YOU CAN REMOVE THE KEY RING! CUSTOM!).
 
So what is an acceptable amount of time from prototype to salable knife?? Two weeks and I guarantee qc will suffer. Eight months and everyone complains that it is never coming out.
 
903lew said:
KAI just invented the term "factory custom" which is...silly. Just because they've used other hardware does not make something custom but rather customisable. Semantics, perhaps, but it's a bit like calling a Ford Focus a "factory custom" car just because you can choose the colour of the floor mats.
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But the fact remains that the hardware comes from Rick Hinderer himself, a CUSTOM knifemaker. That's where the term comes from. It's a totally different animal than say, if they got their hardware from CRKT, Spyderco or another manufacturer.
 
I think you made the right decision, move on to another maker it will be better for everyone involved. Im sorry they cant make your timeline. Myself I want the best product they can produce and amazingly I have other knives to get me by until they have time to fit it in their production line.
 
daveb068 said:
So what is an acceptable amount of time from prototype to salable knife?? Two weeks and I guarantee qc will suffer. Eight months and everyone complains that it is never coming out.
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Impossible question. Some will want it fast, some won't mind a wait. In my world a manufacturer who makes things in house (like ZT) shouldn't have more than a few months from finished prototype to product release. In any case a date should always be given IMO.

Then again, I have no idea how much product the ZT distributor network needs before a product is released so this is very much my personal opinion.
 
A few 'custom' blue screws hardly counts as a custom in my eyes either. It is not like we have the option for various blade types, grinds, different scales, etc. They are simply anodized screws. No big whoop from me either on this one and I have bought every LE that KAI has put out in the past 4 years (minus 0454 which I will hunt down soon enough).

Maybe I will get my hands on one and fall in love but this one was a big letdown for me since it looks like so many other things in the market. Historically, KAI LEs have always stood out from the pact. this one, minus those fancy blue screws, kindof blends in with the rest.
 
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