Blade Magazine 2012 Overall Knife Of The Year®: ZT 0888 by ZT Knives (added 4 pics).

Those are some very nice pictures. Kudos to you kneedeep! That is one sexy knife ZT crew! The only gripe....How can you deny the masses the opportunity to buy this piece of art? Damn it!
 
jfever311 said:
That kinda sucks to hype up a knife like this and only make enough for a handful of people. Are there any plans for a future full production run at all??
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I don't really think that ZT did anything overtly to hype up the 0888. Just the normal presentation for the OKotY award and flyers at Blade.

You can blame the fans like me that got to handle them at the show. We're the ones that have been doing the hyping.

I'd love to see a full on production run too, but I think that we're lucky that they will produce as many as they will, considering the materials and difficulty of construction.
Maxamet is ridiculously tough stuff, I heard that even just lasing the logos onto it was difficult.

The exotic materials make the knife really special, but I have to admit I wouldn't mind seeing one made of more economical materials later on down the line.
 
Thanks everyone for the complements, I'm glad you like the photos. A good subject really makes it easier to get great images, so kudos to everyone at Kai for producing such amazing knives.

Looking at the resulting images, it is still amazing to think they were shot squeezed onto a table behind the piles of brochures in the booth, while trying to stay out of everyones' way. Everyone was very patient, including the ladies next door at the AG Russell booth that had to put up with hours of flashes popping at them.
 
Elsilrac1 said:
Please change your minds - It is a crime to put this as a LE - I need one or two or maybe a third for good measure.
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HEAR HEAR!!! Enough with the sprint/limited run only for the hoarding collector/speculator types. It's a knife, not a Ferrari with a price out of sight to everyone but those breathing the rarefied air of the top 10% of wage earners, why should it be unobtanium to the majority?
I want a blacked out Tilt more than any of the other gadgets on my list of things to buy for my kit. I don't want 2 or 5 or 10, just 1. Yeah, sure, they're available, for about 2 minutes on the boards or at an astronomical price of fleabay, but why can't I buy if from Kershaw? It's a knife that won blade of the year, it has a loyal following, it's a success by any metric, so why isn't it produced? Please don't let this gorgeous piece of engineering follow in those same footsteps. No sarcasm intended when I ask, why would you not produce something that you know would sell? And I'm not talking about making a production run of knives using lesser components either. Make it just like the limited runs but mark them as production runs or something so that the people who need it can have bragging rights on having one of the L.E. knives. Don't get me wrong, I love Kershaw/Z.T. knives. It was your brand that restored my love of knives, that rekindled that childlike fascination I have with the art of the knife. I think your product line is unique and diverse and from what I have seen, even your inexpensive knives are a cut above those offered by your competitors. I realize that I am ignorant of the decision making processes in the design and manufacture of knives, but I really have difficulty imagining a rationale that would cap the production of such a desirable product at a number that will intentionally or unintentionally benefit only a small percentage of the faithful buyers of your product.

Understand, I bear Kershaw/Z.T. no ill will and in fact pray for their continued success in this very difficult economy and look forward to many years of product innovation and development. I look forward to starting my small son on his journey with knife collecting with a Kershaw blade when the time comes. To those of you with the connections and resources to corner the market availability of such rare and wonderful knives, Bully for you. I have no use for Safe Queens.
 
It is a beautiful knife... A wonderful design... Won awards.... And I have quickly become a Kershaw/ZT fan. But let's not forget... It is just a knife. It isn't a sword, it isn't a ight-saber. Just a knife. There are many others out there that will do the same job. Don't get sick over it.
 
rockspyder said:
It is a beautiful knife... A wonderful design... Won awards.... And I have quickly become a Kershaw/ZT fan. But let's not forget... It is just a knife. It isn't a sword, it isn't a ight-saber. Just a knife. There are many others out there that will do the same job. Don't get sick over it.
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Too late :barf:
 
rockspyder said:
It is a beautiful knife... A wonderful design... Won awards.... And I have quickly become a Kershaw/ZT fan. But let's not forget... It is just a knife. It isn't a sword , it isn't a ight-saber. Just a knife. There are many others out there that will do the same job. Don't get sick over it.
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Not sure if this is directed at my post or not, but if so...

Don't want or need a sword, light sabers are fictional weapons in George Lucas movies and there are always options in every choice you've ever made in your life, but you made choices based on what you wanted hopefully, and finally, I'd really, honestly love to understand Kershaw's perspective on limited runs and why, after seeing how readily a given design is embraced and purchased by their customers, they don't continue to produce them, at least until they achieve some market saturation level that keeps them from warehousing an inventory of knives they can't sell.

Hopefully, the tone of my request is reflected as I truly intend it, that being a desire to understand the rationale behind limited edition runs of knives that, by all appearances, have broad appeal to the knife buying public that will directly translate into sales.

If however your post was not directed towards me, kindly disregard this post.

-Loco
 
locomoconomo said:
HEAR HEAR!!! Enough with the sprint/limited run only for the hoarding collector/speculator types. It's a knife, not a Ferrari with a price out of sight to everyone but those breathing the rarefied air of the top 10% of wage earners, why should it be unobtanium to the majority?
I want a blacked out Tilt more than any of the other gadgets on my list of things to buy for my kit. I don't want 2 or 5 or 10, just 1. Yeah, sure, they're available, for about 2 minutes on the boards or at an astronomical price of fleabay, but why can't I buy if from Kershaw? It's a knife that won blade of the year, it has a loyal following, it's a success by any metric, so why isn't it produced? Please don't let this gorgeous piece of engineering follow in those same footsteps. No sarcasm intended when I ask, why would you not produce something that you know would sell? And I'm not talking about making a production run of knives using lesser components either. Make it just like the limited runs but mark them as production runs or something so that the people who need it can have bragging rights on having one of the L.E. knives. Don't get me wrong, I love Kershaw/Z.T. knives. It was your brand that restored my love of knives, that rekindled that childlike fascination I have with the art of the knife. I think your product line is unique and diverse and from what I have seen, even your inexpensive knives are a cut above those offered by your competitors. I realize that I am ignorant of the decision making processes in the design and manufacture of knives, but I really have difficulty imagining a rationale that would cap the production of such a desirable product at a number that will intentionally or unintentionally benefit only a small percentage of the faithful buyers of your product.

Understand, I bear Kershaw/Z.T. no ill will and in fact pray for their continued success in this very difficult economy and look forward to many years of product innovation and development. I look forward to starting my small son on his journey with knife collecting with a Kershaw blade when the time comes. To those of you with the connections and resources to corner the market availability of such rare and wonderful knives, Bully for you. I have no use for Safe Queens.
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There are many practical reasons for Kershaw/ZT to make such limited numbers of these (unobtainable) knives. Factory floor time is, I suspect, one of the main reasons. Making handles like the the ones on the 0888 or 0600 takes considerably more time than knives like the 0350 or the Blur. In the time it takes to do one side of the 0600 they could probably manufacture dozens of Blur handles. Guess which is likely more profitable. Besides the additional time it takes to make these complicated parts, there is the additional wear and tear on the equipment and tooling. The quantities of these knives manufactured gives an indication of the difficulty and expense of producing them. There is already high demand and a backlog of orders for many of the regular production ZT knives. Can you imagine how bad it could be if they committed to making more of these super high end knives?

The best way to look at these knives is as showcases for new materials and technology. Very few people will get their hands on them, but eventually everyone will benefit as the materials and technology trickle down to regular production knives.
 
kneedeep said:
There are many practical reasons for Kershaw/ZT to make such limited numbers of these (unobtainable) knives. Factory floor time is, I suspect, one of the main reasons. Making handles like the the ones on the 0888 or 0600 takes considerably more time than knives like the 0350 or the Blur. In the time it takes to do one side of the 0600 they could probably manufacture dozens of Blur handles. Guess which is likely more profitable. Besides the additional time it takes to make these complicated parts, there is the additional wear and tear on the equipment and tooling. The quantities of these knives manufactured gives an indication of the difficulty and expense of producing them. There is already high demand and a backlog of orders for many of the regular production ZT knives. Can you imagine how bad it could be if they committed to making more of these super high end knives?



The best way to look at these knives is as showcases for new materials and technology. Very few people will get their hands on them, but eventually everyone will benefit as the materials and technology trickle down to regular production knives.
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Good insight and well put.

In my opinion Kershaw does the customer to corporate relationship as well as it can be done in today's market and stay financially healthy. Their international market is likely a major asset that separates them from the other US knife companies we associate as their competitors.

Personally I don't think the competition can afford Kershaw's generosity when it comes to customer service and Thomas's handouts. I could be wrong, the difference could be greed.

I feel your pain and frustration locomoconomo, I am as equally anxiety ridden to obtain the latest LE knives Kershaw has "teased" us with, as you are. Having little to no relationships with any dealers I am not optimistic about acquiring one of the latest or even a 0777. (my Kershaw grail) However that doesn't dampen my enthusiasm about the chase. My feeling about why they do LE knives is pretty much as kneedeep explained it. I think if they could afford to they would make them production models.
 
I really don't won't to come off bad by saying this, but why in the world would a knife company make and market and show off these knives 0777/0888? What is the thinking behind it? **"Look what our company can make when we want to make a knife just for the fortunate few"**. When I saw (not on here) something about the 0777 I completely dismissed the entire rest of the talk about it. I'm never going to get to own it, so why should I waste my time reading about it? Same goes with this, as soon as I heard two weeks ago that only the "ones in the know" were going to get to own one.....why waste my time - it's like it doesn't even exist to me but I had to take the time to respond in this thread to make my feelings known, not that it's going to change anything.

But really, what is the company mindset in doing this? That someone who never heard of Kershaw/ZT knives is now going to open their wallet and pay for a $200.00 knife or lesser line of knife? I must be missing something. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way because I heard it a couple weeks ago in some knife talk amongst my peers (not on the net). To us there is no such knife as the phantom777/888:yawn:

KershawLynda said:
Sorry, Trivia... it's going to be limited as well.
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Hey Loco, I should have read the entire thread before I spouted my feelings. It seems many in here are saying somewhat of the same thing. But honestly (and again- not trying to sound childish) - it is somewhat starting to turn me off a little bit. Everyone knows that Kershaw wasn't thought of in the knife world (more than likely) some years back as they are now. They worked hard and started taking it to another level and buyers started looking to them more than most.

But to me at least, nothing will turn me off quicker(not that I count) than making knives every year and playing the hype game and then yelling "NOT" {as you pull the knife away from my hand and give it to another.} There ARE other games in town. OK, I spoke my peace about it and I won't bring it up no more.:cool:
locomoconomo said:
Not sure if this is directed at my post or not, but if so...

Don't want or need a sword, light sabers are fictional weapons in George Lucas movies and there are always options in every choice you've ever made in your life, but you made choices based on what you wanted hopefully, and finally, I'd really, honestly love to understand Kershaw's perspective on limited runs and why, after seeing how readily a given design is embraced and purchased by their customers, they don't continue to produce them, at least until they achieve some market saturation level that keeps them from warehousing an inventory of knives they can't sell.

Hopefully, the tone of my request is reflected as I truly intend it, that being a desire to understand the rationale behind limited edition runs of knives that, by all appearances, have broad appeal to the knife buying public that will directly translate into sales.

If however your post was not directed towards me, kindly disregard this post.

-Loco
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I have to somewhat agree with loco & Pockets on this one. I am a huge Kershaw/ZT fan, I own 3 ZTs & 5 Kershaws so far. How can you make a knife that wins that Knife Of The Year, and make it next to impossible to buy? It's insulting and disrespectful to your customers & fans. Don't get me wrong, I am not against them being limited editions at all, but 200 pieces?!?!! Are you freaking kidding me, that might as well be none! "Knife of the Year," that's huge, & everybody wants one, so please make a decent number of them, so it will be somewhat obtainable, please! 1500, even 1000 would be acceptable, & you would still sell out in no time, guaranteed. I can only hope that winning the big award has changed Kai's mind about that ridiculously low number of 0888s set to be manufactured. Please, Kersahw/Kai/ZT, you will lose customers over this, I promise you! You guys have come so far in the past few years, & are designing the most innovative and beautiful knives out there right now! Please don't blow it by making it impossible for us to get most of them.
 
My guess is they dont have the capacity to manufacture them. The high end knives are probably more trouble than they are worth to them profit wise and done more for R&D to bring aspects from them to the other lines. I would like to see more of them built too but i understand where they are coming from
 
Sure they could make it a production knife, if they charged $2,000. And people were willing to buy it.

This is a business, not Unicef.
 
Impulse said:
Sure they could make it a production knife, if they charged $2,000. And people were willing to buy it.
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+1, although I don't know that $2k is the correct figure. But unless I missed something, no one has mentioned an MSRP on this knife. I say I gotta have it, but I have no idea how much it will cost or whether I can afford it. While I think it is a bit unusual to have such a severely limited run of an award-winning knife, I still don't see what the big deal is. Maybe I'm not as big a fan of Kershaw as some on this thread are, but I've yet to run across ANYTHING limited to get me as upset as it seems some are here.

I've got 2 Kershaws and 2 ZT's. I want more Kershaws, and I'd love to get the ZT0888. But I bet even given a chance to get the 0888, I can't afford it. Or the cost will be such that it suddenly isn't as desirable to me. Would that cost be less if more were made? THAT I don't know. I don't know what percentage of cost is NRE, what is tooling maintenance (from more difficult machining), and what is material cost. From the way people are talking about the materials, I'm betting tooling and material are a majority of the costs, while NRE is relatively low. So I'm guessing the cost curve is going to be pretty flat, and this thing isn't ever going to be less than incredibly expensive no matter how many are produced. But the more that are produced, the less exclusive they are, the less desirable as collectors items, and the less KAI can charge to make it worthwhile to produce. So producing more of them or making them a regular production item isn't necessarily a good business decision for them. Of course this is all speculation.
 
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