ZT560 Pocket clip questions

NjHart

NjHart

Joined
Jan 4, 2013
Messages
715
In my never ending quest to find my perfect knife, I decided to reconsider the 560. One of my biggest concerns with it was always the pocket clip retention. Just from the eye test it doesn't look to be all that strong (but I've been wrong before), so I pose it here- how is the 560's pocket clip retention? This has sort of proved to be a sticking point for me several times before. I've lost several knives, thankfully at least the most expensive one was found, but I now spend quite a lot of time worrying about how secure my knife is. For comparison points with whats currently next to me, my Sebenza's is not good, my JYD (modified) is fantastic despite being rather unattractive still, and my trusty 1 ton is very good. I would rather have a pocket eater than something that gets caught constantly, springs too easily, or just doesn't hold my knife in place. My pants are typically cheaper to replace than my knives. Also as a secondary question, since the hinderer clips are interchangeable, are they better in any way? I've decided I want to go with ZT for my next purchase, and had decided on the 300 but since I'm still waiting on my gold membership to update for sales purposes, I've had time to consider other options. Any information on the subject would be great! It's sort of sad, but my paranoia on this particular point has become so high that it really is a major selling point for me in a knife!
 
I've carried a ZT0560 for 3 weeks straight while helping open a New Restaurant, continually opening boxes and packages and it never once thought about leaving my pocket. It sits so low in the pocket it would take alot for it to leave it. If you wanted it to hold on to your pocket tighter you can bend the clip a little to make it grip more.
 
chester22 said:
I've carried a ZT0560 for 3 weeks straight while helping open a New Restaurant, continually opening boxes and packages and it never once thought about leaving my pocket. It sits so low in the pocket it would take alot for it to leave it. If you wanted it to hold on to your pocket tighter you can bend the clip a little to make it grip more.
Click to expand...

I dont recommend bending the clip more it already pushes against the lockbar. I had to bend mine out a little to leave the slightest gap so it wasnt pushing on the lockbar
 
The solution to all of the stock clip's shortcomings:

IMG_2868.JPG


:D
 
I am a southpaw so that's rather relevant. Is he hinderer clip much more secure? After consulting with the girlfriend (my standard go to non knife person opinion), it seems the 560 is rather people friendly. I don't mind bending- I just want what I can make most secure.
 
Granted, I haven't carried my 0560 a lot, but from the times I've had, the pocket clip has been plenty secure. No inadvertent snagging on anything (backback, mesh bag, etc.). Haven't bent one either, although the hole in the clip (to allow the screws to be tightened on the other side) did have me wondering if it could be more prone to accidental bending (two thinner segments of metal instead of a solid piece). I haven't bent the clip on my 0550 though (2nd gen, same clip as the 0560), and that has been carried a bit.

The 0560 is a great knife with a lot of nice attributes, but I wouldn't have included being people-friendly as one of them. ;) It is a big knife. Not silly-big, but it isn't especially discrete. Most non-knife people I've met, when they think pocket knives, are leaning more towards something like a SAK.

ZT0560_SAK_800x396.jpg
 
My wife actually commented that my 0560 was less scary than either my 300 or 350 because it was non-assisted.

Also LEFTIES UNITE!
 
I think all this really means is that I need to make a trip down to the house of blades to look at both again when its time to buy. I like that its a little easier to be discrete in the pocket, that I won't have to constantly explain that its not a switchblade to everyone, and that its not a recurve. Did they ever actually come out with tiger stripe version that I missed? I also like the thought of being able to customize it.
 
nwmetalbug said:
I dont recommend bending the clip more it already pushes against the lockbar. I had to bend mine out a little to leave the slightest gap so it wasnt pushing on the lockbar
Click to expand...


Thats odd. the end of the clip really doesnt extend that far past the relief cut in the lockbar. So even with an extreme bend it doesnt exert much leverage on the lockbar. To test this I applied as much force as i could to the end of the clip while holding in my left hand and It wasnt much harder to close the knife than normal.

NjHart said:
I am a southpaw so that's rather relevant. Is he hinderer clip much more secure? After consulting with the girlfriend (my standard go to non knife person opinion), it seems the 560 is rather people friendly. I don't mind bending- I just want what I can make most secure.
Click to expand...


WHen I got my 0560 I increased the grip of the clip. Not because I really thought it was going to go anywhere but because Im paranoid about losing expensive knives. Even before I did the tweaking I never had a problem. The weight of the knife combined with how low it sits you your pocket almost guarantees its staying put. Now riding a bike with a low seat or riding on a rollercoaster or carnival ride where it might get inverted might be an issue. The only times I have came close to losing a knife from my pocket was when there was enough of it sticking out of my pocket or a big enough bend in the tip of the clip to where either would snag and pull it out of my pocket. In both cases your at pretty low risk with the stock 0560.
 
Last edited:
I think you're exactly right on the clip bend getting caught. I know that's resulted in a few issues for me in the past. I'll probably tinker with the tension the moment I get something new (regardless of which), but it's good to see there haven't been too many issues with the deep carry clip. I like the thought, but I was always sort of skeptical.
 
I had to bend the pocket clip in on my 560's and 561s that I own(ed),(I haft to with every knife i carry), I promise you I wear the worlds slickest work pants at my job, I've had to even bend in cold steel and strider clips to get more retention on these pants. for jeans the 560 clip has adequate retention, and most other pants/shorts I wore it was fine. I am in the same boat as you when it comes to clips, that's why I haven't bought a CRK and why I don't carry my stonewashed Strider SMF to work is because I'm scared I'll lose it. Give the 560 a try bend in the clip to desired renetion, if it still isn't enough get the hinderer clip, I went a cheaper route on mine though, a friend here on the forums pointed me too some 3 dollar clips that fit the zt 560 , They arent low rider clips so you can get as much retention as you want, but with framelocks the more retention the clip has , the tighter the lockup is going to be , and in some cases it even affects the smoothness of the deployment, me I would rather have a stiffer deploying knife, than a missing $260 knife or a $475 dollar knife .
 
One of the few benefits of using a right handed framelock with a clip shifted to the left side for me is that I can tighten it however much I like without any lock or deployment issues. I actually really like my Sebenza and could probably get passed my other issues (slight psychological aversion to some of its use and just not easy enough deployment for some situations), but with the price, since I couldn't afford to replace a CRK if I lost it, and my clip worries make it hard to keep for me.
 
Another Southpaw in! I have not had any retention issues with mine, carried for over a month now... got it back from KAI Warranty dept. a while back. My only complaint is that the clip is able to wiggle back and forth even though the screws are as tight as possible (without stripping them out). Not a big deal but kinda irritating at first. Anyone else have this problem?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top