ZT's why do so many have to be sent back?

[Razor]

While I will have to say that ZT's are my favorite knives, I was wondering why it seems so many have to be sent back for repair? It seems like the 550's and the 560's and 561 have to be sent back the most. I just had to send my 550 back and had not cut anything with it. Buying a new knife and then having to send it back to the factory sucks. I have never had a problem with the 200's or 300's. May just get another 200 and forget about the 550,560 561's.

 

[chester22]

I think 95% of it is user issues and not knife issues...you can't make a production knife thats gonna work the way each person wants it to......

 

[jhyde7585]

I think 95% of it is user issues and not knife issues...you can't make a production knife thats gonna work the way each person wants it to......

Gotta agree. I have had zero problems with any of the ones I have. I think people here tend to be a bit....picky. Overly so. It seems to be unique to kershaw/ZT.

 

[Crackedblade]

I think it's a huge misconception that many ZTs get sent back. I'll dare say 99% of all ZT's are perfect!:loyal:

First off there's the old story about the silent buyers that have bought a good item and the whiny few who are less fortunate, who always seem to get out of their way to get heard. We've also seen quite a few of old threads being revived time and time again because of the typical "I think there's something wrong, because i can't deploy the knife" -> user error in quite a few instances... and a break-in period? Nah, never heard of it.

ZT= ZERO TOLERANCE, which is why knifelovers hold them to zero tolerance standards. A different name would, I believe, have kept a more than a few of the knives in hands rather than being sent back. Even changing the name to Kershaw would have helped...

And then, believe it or not, there's the AWESOME CS of KAI. When it's as easy as it is to get help with ANY issue. One tends to always refer newbies and unknowable knife enthusiasts to the CS rather than actually take a look at whats going on. Look at the threads; "Just send it in, they'll take care of you" - no matter what.

To my knowledge there's only been two real instances of problems;
The first batch of 0551s with rust issues and the 0780s with SOME blade play and strange machining. Other then that, most problems are freak accidents or one of the 1%,common to all company's even the ones who keep airplanes in the air...

 

[pialia]

Gotta agree. I have had zero problems with any of the ones I have. I think people here tend to be a bit....picky. Overly so. It seems to be unique to kershaw/ZT.

Are they, or are they not called Zero Tolerance? I don't own one, but I don't blame people for wanting the knife to live up to the name!

 

[SCAR face]

I dont know about statistic, but my 560 got sent back after a few days of purchase 'cause my sore thumb couldn't deal with it anymore. Now a 550 I just got is on its way back as we speak, and both are in the serial number well above 2000.

Maybe there's a curse for trying to mass produced Hinderer's design? ;D

On the serious note, no, it isn't funny when you have to quickly send a $200+ knives you just purchased back to the manufacture and then wait, TWO TIMES IN A ROLL!!!

If this doesn't get ironed out, I am truely done with ZT. It will goes on my list as another cult and over hype product that couldn't live up to its claims.

 

[JuJu-]

I dont know about statistic, but my 560 got sent back after a few days of purchase 'cause my sore thumb couldn't deal with it anymore. Now a 550 I just got is on its way back as we speak, and both are in the serial number well above 2000.

Maybe there's a curse for trying to mass produced Hinderer's design? ;D

On the serious note, no, it isn't funny when you have to quickly send a $200+ knives you just purchased back to the manufacture and then wait, TWO TIMES IN A ROLL!!!

If this doesn't get ironed out, I am truely done with ZT. It will goes on my list as another cult and over hype product that couldn't live up to its claims.

Well then you will have no problem sending those "broken" and "unironed out" knives to me. I will gladly adopt any and all unwanted, unloved, Zt's. Sounds like you yourself bought into the hype.

I know that the majority of those who buy a zt product are happily using it. And I can appreciate those who have genuine problems wanting to ask or get it fixed. But there are a lot of these threads brought up and it has little to do with knife. Any time I see one of these threads I take it with a grain of salt. It seems like people read one post in a thread seeing that they had a problem without reading the whole thread, and how it ended up being the person and not the knife. But they wouldn't know because they only read what they want to.

It is just plain silly to expect a 100% perfect knife from any manufacturer period. All of the big 3 have some small issues. I have had them with the others myself. I am by no means a picky person. If it works and cuts, I'm happy. If I'm not I sell, trade it off, or send it back where I bought it.

It reminds me of those allstate commercials with the gullable woman, if you seen it on the internet it must be true! I think people are buying all the hype of the perfect knife, and it just isn't true. I find this the case with alot of stuff I buy, vehicles, guns, tools, etc. I am not just talking about the specific knives here. Perhaps you should handle it before you buy it if possible. If not buy it and if it isn't what you thought just send it back.

As I said feel free to send me your less than perfect knives, regardless of manufacturer I will adopt them.

 

[jasonp]

I think some knife buyers are knife users and some are novelty buyers. Novelty buyers tend to be nit picky about every single detail and if one single thing is not perfect, (sometimes) they overreact by sending the knife in and posting on the internet for moral support or in hopes of getting the attention of a knife sompany owner for something free for their pain and misery. I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS YOU OP, your issue could have been something major. It's just someting I've noted on the various sub-forums. Knife users accept the small issues that arise that can be remedied by the end user and fix them themselves and only send them in when there are major flaws. My 0550 came butter knife dull, I hit it with a Lansky and it's on par for becoming one of my favorites in my collection. Just my .02

 

[The Logical One]

From what I've seen in the past few months since the zt056x came out, it seems like this particular knife is a big jump for a lot of people who normally buy lower end knives. I see a lot of "problem threads" where the OP states it's their first expensive folder followed by, "a knife this expensive shouldn't have these issues".

So I personally think this is an issue of overly high expectations. A lot of the issues I've seen people bring up aren't really even issues to begin with. I had the zt0560 and zt0561 and they were both perfect IMO. I've bought $400-500 knives that has more issues than what a lot of people are nit picking about the zt056x's.

 

[Kryptoglow]

Just the heading of this thread is ridiculous. Thousands of people will see that and make a decision about ZT. Heck, it's at the top of the ZT sub-forum. I think a boycott of threads like this should be started so they won't become like a sticky......right after this

I make scales and it's a real pain sometimes. I get customers that will leave negative feedback (which last for life) because there was a tiny bubble somewhere that I missed when checking before shipping... I've decided to list all my scales when re-doing listings as imperfect. They will be priced according to there degree of imperfection. If and when I get one that is perfect it will be more than I charge now. Don't worry, I doubt I'll get any perfect ones because people look at them with 10X magnification these days.
ZT/kershaw is one of the finest knives I work with. I have asked way more of mine than was fair and they continue to perform. The 0560 opens like a knife that should be 100.00+ more money. Maybe they should charge more and hire someone to cater to the finicky.
( No intent to hurt the feelings of any innocent bystanders who have legitimate claims was intended in this message)
BOYCOTT THIS THREAD

 

[pilote]

I think some knife buyers are knife users and some are novelty buyers. Novelty buyers tend to be nit picky about every single detail and if one single thing is not perfect, (sometimes) they overreact by sending the knife in and posting on the internet for moral support or in hopes of getting the attention of a knife sompany owner for something free for their pain and misery. I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS YOU OP, your issue could have been something major. It's just someting I've noted on the various sub-forums. Knife users accept the small issues that arise that can be remedied by the end user and fix them themselves and only send them in when there are major flaws. My 0550 came butter knife dull, I hit it with a Lansky and it's on par for becoming one of my favorites in my collection. Just my .02

BINGO!

jasonp, logical one, kryptoglow are all exactly on point. end of story.

 

[whateatsrabbits]

BOYCOTT THIS THREAD

Yeah I thing the majority of people with sore thumbs are due to them putting pressure on the lock bar.

 

[USACelt]

I bought a ZT because I read so many glowing reviews claiming it was better than sliced bread. I have had mine only about a week and hated it the first few days. It was almost impossible to open with the thumb studs. But like a fine pair of boots, it needs to be broken in. I didn't realize this at first.
I don't really agree with flaming people with issues.Teach them the proper path to better understanding their knives. Good suggestions kept me working with my ZT and now I see why people like it so much.
Another point, I for one have no idea why the OP sent his knife back. For all I know it fell apart in his hand,doubtful, I know,just saying.
My 2 cents for what's it worth.

 

[chester22]

^ if it's the 0560.. it wasn't meant to be opened with the thumb studs it's meant to be opened with the flipper.. the studs on the blades are supposed to be to stop pins...not used to open knife

 

[RevDevil]

I think 95% of it is user issues and not knife issues...you can't make a production knife thats gonna work the way each person wants it to......

This is just about what I was going to say. Unrealistic expactations are very different from actual issues that require addressing. Just because someone thinks something isn't right, doesn't make the knife defective.

 

[kershawguy]

I have dealt with this first hand with my customers and quite honestly guys we have a lot of different ideas of what the perfect knife is. I have had guys send back knives for to loose of a detent and to tight of a detent, so they are perfect if you send them to the right two guys in the first place or you have to swap them , then they are perfect. I could probably resell nearly every knife that has been returned to a different customer and they would be happy as a clam. Not everybody likes early lockup, I have had knives returned for too early lockup and I just shake my head and send them one that has 65 % and they are delighted. As far as opening with thumb studs is concerned, that all changes with use and learning to keep your fingers off the lock bar and other tricks. With all that said they are awesome knives and you should buy from a dealer that will look at the knife before it ships, if you are anal and you know it, tell the dealer you are and be specific about what you want, this would stop a lot of unnecessary returns I do believe.

 

[JuJu-]

I have dealt with this first hand with my customers and quite honestly guys we have a lot of different ideas of what the perfect knife is. I have had guys send back knives for to loose of a detent and to tight of a detent, so they are perfect if you send them to the right two guys in the first place or you have to swap them , then they are perfect. I could probably resell nearly every knife that has been returned to a different customer and they would be happy as a clam. Not everybody likes early lockup, I have had knives returned for too early lockup and I just shake my head and send them one that has 65 % and they are delighted. As far as opening with thumb studs is concerned, that all changes with use and learning to keep your fingers off the lock bar and other tricks. With all that said they are awesome knives and you should buy from a dealer that will look at the knife before it ships, if you are anal and you know it, tell the dealer you are and be specific about what you want, this would stop a lot of unnecessary returns I do believe.

Amen :thumbup:

 

[goosefacer]

My 0550 was perfect. My 0561...not so much. The angle of the lock face was so steep the knife could be closed without disengaging the lock. A trip home and it was perfect - great customer service and I'm convinced I just got a lemon and you really only hear about bad experiences.

 

[Adrenaline_6]

On the serious note, no, it isn't funny when you have to quickly send a $200+ knives you just purchased back to the manufacture and then wait, TWO TIMES IN A ROLL!!!.

I did it TWO TIMES IN A ROLL once. It was fun but not what it's cracked up to be.

 

[Tripton]

I think 95% of it is user issues and not knife issues...you can't make a production knife thats gonna work the way each person wants it to......

Would closing like a slip joint (no locking at all...) when brand new, place me in the 5%?


For the record, all is well and fixed now.