- Joined
- Apr 8, 2010
- Messages
- 29
I keep coming across these threads about Kershaw/ZT blems created by people who have purchased them and are ecstatic with their purchase but puzzled as to why their new knives are blems. Tiny imperfections here or there and how Kershaw/ZT quality control must be so tight to relegate these knives to the blem category. Dont get me wrong, I am extremely happy for those that got a knife that exceeds their expectations. I dont whine or gripe, and I wasnt even going to post anything, but the more I read these blem threads, the more I want to tell my story.
This past Christmas my wonderful wife wanted to buy me a knife. She is not an enthusiast so she wanted some hints on what I wanted. Easy answer for me, I wanted another ZT, specifically a 0560. I directed her to an online site, one that I use frequently that gives a LE discount. I also had some points saved up from previous purchases that she could apply.
Fast forward to Christmas morning. After the kids and wife opened their gifts from Santa, its finally my turn. I eagerly tear into my prize and am holding my long awaited ZT0560. By this point Im drooling. I go through my inspection checklist as I do with every new knife purchase. The first thing I look at is blade centering: Fail, blade is off to the lock side. Not a big deal, I can adjust that, or so I thought (more on that later). It flipped open effortlessly and smoothly. Next is lock up and blade play: Fail, side to side play as well and up and down. The side to side I could work on, but the up and down concerned me. Upon further inspection, with moderate downward pressure the lock bar moved out of the way and disengaged! I checked this many times, making sure I kept fingers and thumbs away from the lock bar, and it failed every time. I could deal with this but my poor wife was almost in tears, she must have thought she was responsible for buying me a lemon. I downplayed my disappointment for her sake but inside I was pretty upset.
Here is a pic of the blade tip. If you look up toward the pivot the blade is actually centered. The primary grind, which is what I call the large grind that goes from near the spine down toward the cutting edge, is ground further toward the tip on the G-10 side by almost a 1/8 inch, causing the tip to be pushed toward the lock side. This I cant fix. I included a pic of the lockup but you cant tell much about that from a photo.
The next business day after the holidays I contacted the online store. They were very apologetic and were willing to issue a refund, but couldnt replace as they were currently out of 0560s and didnt know when they would be getting a shipment. Next I contact Kershaw/ZT and ship them my knife.
Four weeks later I get my knife back. I open the package and go through my inspection checklist again, concentrating primarily on the areas that caused me to send the knife back for warrantee. I notice that I didnt get a new knife or blade even, the serial number is the same, as is the etching of the words EL MAX. I check the grind and its not quite perfect, but a lot better than before, still a hair off. They also fixed the lock fail issue. One other thing I notice is since they had to regrind the primary bevel, they had to grind/sharpen the secondary cutting bevel. They did a horrible job! I can only assume that they use the Sharpie trick and color in the bevel because they left most of the black ink on the edge. The edge wouldnt even cut paper. Again, not a huge deal, I put it on my EPA and fixed it up to a mirror polish.
Im sorry for the long post, but Im curious to know how a knife of such poor quality leaves the factory in the first place in that condition? It was brand new and not a blem. Then, how do they send it out from warrantee in anything but perfect condition? I want to reiterate, I am not a disgruntled customer. I am not looking for any freebees or any other compensation from ZT. I am satisfied with the 0560 now and it is currently one of my duty carry knives, as well as one of my EDCs. I really wanted to love this knife instead of just being satisfied with it. Ill never get rid of it though, since it was a gift from the love of my life! I love my 0300 (my other duty carry knife) as well as my Blur. Id like to hear what you think. Thanks for reading.
This past Christmas my wonderful wife wanted to buy me a knife. She is not an enthusiast so she wanted some hints on what I wanted. Easy answer for me, I wanted another ZT, specifically a 0560. I directed her to an online site, one that I use frequently that gives a LE discount. I also had some points saved up from previous purchases that she could apply.
Fast forward to Christmas morning. After the kids and wife opened their gifts from Santa, its finally my turn. I eagerly tear into my prize and am holding my long awaited ZT0560. By this point Im drooling. I go through my inspection checklist as I do with every new knife purchase. The first thing I look at is blade centering: Fail, blade is off to the lock side. Not a big deal, I can adjust that, or so I thought (more on that later). It flipped open effortlessly and smoothly. Next is lock up and blade play: Fail, side to side play as well and up and down. The side to side I could work on, but the up and down concerned me. Upon further inspection, with moderate downward pressure the lock bar moved out of the way and disengaged! I checked this many times, making sure I kept fingers and thumbs away from the lock bar, and it failed every time. I could deal with this but my poor wife was almost in tears, she must have thought she was responsible for buying me a lemon. I downplayed my disappointment for her sake but inside I was pretty upset.
Here is a pic of the blade tip. If you look up toward the pivot the blade is actually centered. The primary grind, which is what I call the large grind that goes from near the spine down toward the cutting edge, is ground further toward the tip on the G-10 side by almost a 1/8 inch, causing the tip to be pushed toward the lock side. This I cant fix. I included a pic of the lockup but you cant tell much about that from a photo.
The next business day after the holidays I contacted the online store. They were very apologetic and were willing to issue a refund, but couldnt replace as they were currently out of 0560s and didnt know when they would be getting a shipment. Next I contact Kershaw/ZT and ship them my knife.
Four weeks later I get my knife back. I open the package and go through my inspection checklist again, concentrating primarily on the areas that caused me to send the knife back for warrantee. I notice that I didnt get a new knife or blade even, the serial number is the same, as is the etching of the words EL MAX. I check the grind and its not quite perfect, but a lot better than before, still a hair off. They also fixed the lock fail issue. One other thing I notice is since they had to regrind the primary bevel, they had to grind/sharpen the secondary cutting bevel. They did a horrible job! I can only assume that they use the Sharpie trick and color in the bevel because they left most of the black ink on the edge. The edge wouldnt even cut paper. Again, not a huge deal, I put it on my EPA and fixed it up to a mirror polish.
Im sorry for the long post, but Im curious to know how a knife of such poor quality leaves the factory in the first place in that condition? It was brand new and not a blem. Then, how do they send it out from warrantee in anything but perfect condition? I want to reiterate, I am not a disgruntled customer. I am not looking for any freebees or any other compensation from ZT. I am satisfied with the 0560 now and it is currently one of my duty carry knives, as well as one of my EDCs. I really wanted to love this knife instead of just being satisfied with it. Ill never get rid of it though, since it was a gift from the love of my life! I love my 0300 (my other duty carry knife) as well as my Blur. Id like to hear what you think. Thanks for reading.
