ZT MUDD full photo review (+EDC in Honduras)

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Honduras EDC review: (ZT MUDD, Kershaw Zing, Kershaw S110V shallot)

As some of you know, I recently went to Honduras for 1.5 weeks for a mission trip. I went with my church youth group, and we taught English at a local bilingual school, as well as performed puppet shows, songs, and did arts and crafts for the kids. I chose to take three knives with me, out of my 16 or so total, and these were the ZT MUDD, the Kershaw orange zing, and the Kershaw S110V shallot. This review will focus primarily on the MUDD, as I used this knife the most.

Let’s start off with impressions out of the box:

I acquired an x-out MUDD, as they are less expensive, and I knew that I would use it harder :D.

Here are some “out of the box” photos: (sorry for the homemade quality :eek:)





The first thing that anyone would notice is that this knife is GRIPPY. The G-10 is very aggressive, and feels quite tacky in the hand. For some, this is a plus, for others it could be a con, as it will tear up pockets if you don’t bend the pocket clip out a little. For me, I just bent out the pocket clip, and waited to see how the G-10 would turn out after using it a lot.


Some cool modifications I found on other forums: some installed tritium rods in the 3 slots on both sides of the knife for enhanced knife visibility in the dark. Others have applied glow-in-the-dark pain in the pivot “bowl.” These can be found on candlepowerforums.

The frame is made of 7-series aluminum. There is a thread on the difference between the strength of 6-series aluminum (used in most flashlights such as Surefire, Olight, Fenix, Nitecore) and Knives (Kershaw, ZT, Benchmade) and 7-series aluminum (custom flashlights, ZT MUDD.)

Info, courtesy of cutter17:
The frame is indeed 7075 aluminum alloy and this alloy is about, if not the, strongest aluminum you can get. There is a thread on the Kershaw forum about the Mudd in which Gavin Hawk, co-designer of the MUDD, mentioned how Kershaw used the 7075 aluminum in place of the 6061 that is most commonly used in Kershaw's, and most other companies lines of knives. Kershaw really went the extra step to make this one more rugged, heavy duty knife.



Here is some info about 6061 and 7075 aluminum alloy's;

6061 is alloyed with 1.0% magnesium and .6% silicon. Tensile strength range 20 to 42 KSI. Good formability, weldability and corrosion resistance. Used for engineering and structural applications, boats, furniture, transportation equipment, etc. Conforms to AMS QQ-A-250/11 and ASTM B209.
7075 is heavily alloyed with zinc with lesser amounts of magnesium, copper and chromium. One of the strongest of the aluminum alloys, its use parallels that of 2024 with 7075 selected when higher mechanical properties are desired. Forming operations are limited. Also available as Alclad for improved corrosion resistance. All 7075 flat products conform to ASTM B209; 7075 Bare conforms to AMS QQ-A-250/12, Alclad 7075, AMS QQ-A-250/13.

I know that this frame is anodized, and I believe it is Type III Mil-spec, just from my experience. I scratch up Type II after using it a bit in my Kershaw Blurs, but this handle just doesn’t want to become marked up! :eek: I’ve tried blue jean buttons, other knife spines, and the like, and it all just rubs off with a finger. It may be an even tougher coating than my Type III anodized ZT 0610ST auto’s (6-series aluminum by the way) handle.




Notice the blade is perfectly centered (even though my focus is near the spine, sorry)

Well how does this sucker open you ask? Well at first it feels smooth, yet “tight.” After 1000’s of opening though, it becomes smooth enough to flick open. The thumblugs (they aren’t really studs) are excellently made and ZT checkered them for full traction.

As you may have heard, this knife can be easily opened from the pocket in a wave-like fashion. This is true, and it is very easy to do so.



The blade thickness near the pivot and thumblugs is approx 3/16th’s of an inch thick, and nicely tapers down to a usable tip. The blade is made of 154CM steel, and is coated with Tugsten DLC with Rockwell hardness in the 80’s. The two white seals are made of polyurethane, and stop water, sand, grit, sludge, and of course mud from gunking up the pivot assembly. The actual pivot looks to be slightly larger than 3/8th’s of an inch in diameter, but the entire assembly which locks into the G-10 scale is slightly over ¾ of an inch in diameter. You need a spanner wrench to disassemble the knife completely, if one wishes to do so.

The screws locking in the G-10 are T-6 torx heads, while the pocket clip screw and the single body screw are T-8. This knife has an entirely wide open construction, so that all of the sludge that you bury the knife in cleans out quickly.
 
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Ok enough describing the itty bits and pieces of the knife! How does it look and feel in the hand?

As you can see, with my medium sized hands—this is an adequately “big” knife. I had initially thought that it would feel “blocky” just from looking at it in pictures, but the handle was surprisingly comfortable for me, and there are quite a few hand positions that the handle accommodates for various sizes of hands.


Hand position 1: This is for you clyde’s. Your pinky goes to the end, your index finger fills the gap, and your thumb rests on the jimped handle and checkered thumbstud. My hands are too small to fill the knife like this.


Hand position 2: This is for us “regular” sized knife knuts. The second and third finger fill the gap, and the pinky comfortably rests in front of the indentation in the rear. Thumb can either go in the swoop (next photo) or on the lugs and handle as in this picture as well.


Hand position 3: This is for you control freaks. You gotta make your fuzz stick perfect, and nothing else will cut it. Notice how the index finger rests on the outer portion of the handle, while the thumb fills the swoop. The third and fourth finger fill the gap, and the pinky goes wherever. Although this looks quite dangerous for the index finger, I tried it myself, and there is no way your hand or fingers are going to slip if you grip it like a firm handshake.


Reverse Ice pick:


Maybe I’m overthinking grip ideas in the above photos, but I think the Hawks and possibly ZT thought out at least two of the above.

To be continued.... please do not post a reply until I am finished with the review.
 
Great review kg! Bless you for going on the mission trip and following the Great Commission!:thumbup:

The ZT0500 MUDD is one of my very favorite knives. Of the dozen or so knives I now have, more often than not, I wind up with the 0500 or 0200 in my right front pocket. I wrote a thread several weeks back about using the MUDD outside my house in preparation of the coming of Spring. Used the MUDD for all my cutting chores that day and subjected it to dirt, sand, and a little mudd. I also had some light prying that I did with it. All in all it came through with flying colors. The polyurethane seals on this knife are the real deal.

The frame is indeed 7075 aluminum alloy and this alloy is about, if not the, strongest aluminum you can get. There is a thread on the Kershaw forum about the Mudd in which Gavin Hawk, co-designer of the MUDD, mentioned how Kershaw used the 7075 aluminum in place of the 6061 that is most commonly used in Kershaw's, and most other companies lines of knives. Kershaw really went the extra step to make this one more rugged, heavy duty knife.



Here is some info about 6061 and 7075 aluminum alloy's;

6061 is alloyed with 1.0% magnesium and .6% silicon. Tensile strength range 20 to 42 KSI. Good formability, weldability and corrosion resistance. Used for engineering and structural applications, boats, furniture, transportation equipment, etc. Conforms to AMS QQ-A-250/11 and ASTM B209.
7075 is heavily alloyed with zinc with lesser amounts of magnesium, copper and chromium. One of the strongest of the aluminum alloys, its use parallels that of 2024 with 7075 selected when higher mechanical properties are desired. Forming operations are limited. Also available as Alclad for improved corrosion resistance. All 7075 flat products conform to ASTM B209; 7075 Bare conforms to AMS QQ-A-250/12, Alclad 7075, AMS QQ-A-250/13.
 
Great review kg! Bless you for going on the mission trip and following the Great Commission!:thumbup:

The ZT0500 MUDD is one of my very favorite knives. Of the dozen or so knives I now have, more often than not, I wind up with the 0500 or 0200 in my right front pocket. I wrote a thread several weeks back about using the MUDD outside my house in preparation of the coming of Spring. Used the MUDD for all my cutting chores that day and subjected it to dirt, sand, and a little mudd. I also had some light prying that I did with it. All in all it came through with flying colors. The polyurethane seals on this knife are the real deal.

The frame is indeed 7075 aluminum alloy and this alloy is about, if not the, strongest aluminum you can get. There is a thread on the Kershaw forum about the Mudd in which Gavin Hawk, co-designer of the MUDD, mentioned how Kershaw used the 7075 aluminum in place of the 6061 that is most commonly used in Kershaw's, and most other companies lines of knives. Kershaw really went the extra step to make this one more rugged, heavy duty knife.



Here is some info about 6061 and 7075 aluminum alloy's;

6061 is alloyed with 1.0% magnesium and .6% silicon. Tensile strength range 20 to 42 KSI. Good formability, weldability and corrosion resistance. Used for engineering and structural applications, boats, furniture, transportation equipment, etc. Conforms to AMS QQ-A-250/11 and ASTM B209.
7075 is heavily alloyed with zinc with lesser amounts of magnesium, copper and chromium. One of the strongest of the aluminum alloys, its use parallels that of 2024 with 7075 selected when higher mechanical properties are desired. Forming operations are limited. Also available as Alclad for improved corrosion resistance. All 7075 flat products conform to ASTM B209; 7075 Bare conforms to AMS QQ-A-250/12, Alclad 7075, AMS QQ-A-250/13.

Thanks brother! :thumbup: :)

I'm going to add that to my review, I hope you don't mind. I knew you posted that info a while back.

I still have more info to add, so keep your eyes peeled everyone!
 
I'm curious as to the cost and where you found it if you don't mind.
 
I'm curious as to the cost and where you found it if you don't mind.

You can get these x-outs at the Kershaw warehouse sale, the first weekend in December. IIRC they're around $100, but don't quote me on it.

It's usually quite hard to find the cosmetic blemish on these knives. I still haven't found one on this MUDD, except for perhaps two dings underneath the coating that are the size of a period on my MUDD. They're amazing deals.
 
I'm curious about how you feel about the clip.

I've been hearing stories about how the clip feels flimsy or that it can move too much laterally.

Honestly, that's just about the ONLY thing that's been holding me back from getting one.
 
What? You didn't bury it? :D

Nice review of a great knife! Now send it to Tom Krein! :D
 
I'm curious about how you feel about the clip.

I've been hearing stories about how the clip feels flimsy or that it can move too much laterally.

Honestly, that's just about the ONLY thing that's been holding me back from getting one.

As it arrives the clip can feel a tad flimsy and it does move side to side a little. I love a tight pivot on my knives and adjusted the pivot to get that. You can imagine the feel I got after that! But I love the idea of the clip design, and it was a rather simple fix. I removed the clip as it is held in place by a single screw, a 4-40 one though, so a single screw is plenty strong. I simply used my dremel to elongate the hole. This allowed me to push the clip further down so that it rested between what I call the "ears" at the back of the handle. Also had to use the dremel to round off the square of the clip to allow that downward movement. While I had the clip off and dremel in hand I shortened the clip, redid the bend, and put it back on. Now the horizontal part of the clip rests between the ears at the rear, and there is only about an inch of clip, but plenty enough to hold it in place, especially since I bent it inward to make it fit tighter. The clip still places all, but a really tiny bit of handle, of the knife in my right front pocket with a bonus of the shorter clip looking like the clip of a fountain pen! Took completely all play out.
 
I'm curious about how you feel about the clip.

I've been hearing stories about how the clip feels flimsy or that it can move too much laterally.

Honestly, that's just about the ONLY thing that's been holding me back from getting one.

I will discuss the clip in greater detail, and you'll get the first scoop!

The clip in mine moves very slightly side to side. I cranked down on the screw, and it's fine for jeans pockets. The clip, however does allow jeans material to slip up and through the gap between the knife handle and the clip. I found this happens with flimsier material in pants/shorts, and that jeans usually didn't have a problem in my front right pocket.

I didn't really understand completely what cutter said directly above me (I'm going to have to read it a couple times :D ) but from eyeballing it myself, all you would have to do is chop some clip off at the screw-in end, redrill a hole higher up in the clip, and then put it back together. This would make the clip sit lower in the handle, and the top of the clip would be flush with the handle--thus no more material catching. I will probably be doing this sometime, as an experiment, and I'll add it to the review. :)


@ MMMortorcycle, I hope to show some abuse (gasp! :eek:) photos, including the "dreaded" burying in real mud (for other knives that'd ruin a pivot) eventually.

Keep the questions coming guys, sorry I can't update this fast enough!
 
"all you would have to do is chop some clip off at the screw-in end, redrill a hole higher up in the clip, and then put it back together"


That is what I meant!:D Only I didn't redrill a new hole as much as I just slotted the existing hole. That way I could slide the clip a little bit to set it exactly where I wanted it, but drilling a new hole would work as well.:thumbup:
 
"all you would have to do is chop some clip off at the screw-in end, redrill a hole higher up in the clip, and then put it back together"


That is what I meant!:D Only I didn't redrill a new hole as much as I just slotted the existing hole. That way I could slide the clip a little bit to set it exactly where I wanted it, but drilling a new hole would work as well.:thumbup:

Ok, thanks cutter17. Great minds think alike :p

Thanks vic, it'll be filled with more pictures and info as soon as I have the time, so keep your eyes peeled.
 
Guys, try pulling out your Mudd without putting pressure on the clip (squeezing the clip towards the handle is what I mean) and try to pull it out with your finger under the clip (opposite to the butt of the handle of the folder).

Try it, a bit painful but it works and with practice it does not hurt anymore and you don't have to mod your Mudd. Try it with you flimsy pockets with the ridge fully inside the clip (including the bend) and it work for then too!
 
Guys, try to pull it out with your finger under the clip (opposite to the butt of the handle of the folder).

Try it, a bit painful but it works and with practice it does not hurt anymore and you don't have to mod your Mudd. Try it with you flimsy pockets with the ridge fully inside the clip (including the bend) and it work for then too!

This is what I do now--lifting it by the clip. Works fine. :thumbup:

Some Honduras pictures will be added soon... along with more text :D

EDIT: Here we go! When I cut up the various fruit, I purposely smeared whatever slimy stuff I could all over the knife from the avocado and mango:

Here is a picture of me cutting up a fresh avocado:


Fresh mango :D : (doesn't this make you hungry?)



Closeup of a mango bit on the G-10 scale. If you haven't tried yet, mango is incredibly slippery, but the rough textured G-10 still had some grip left even after it was covered in yellow goo. The overall bulky profile, with indentations for your hand, however, helped with the grip most, as the G-10 "pockets" would be crammed full with mango. The thumb ramp's checkering made sure that your hand would not slip forward, as this was one messy knife:



Clean up: (Don't want stick mango in my pockets)



Abuse photos, plus conclusion and write up for shallot and zing will come next!
 
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Nice review and images knivesandguns! Does anyone know if the little brother the Kershaw RAM uses 7075 aluminum alloy in it's frame?
 
The 6061 series of aluminum. But, knives have been using the 60 series for years and nothing is wrong with the aluminum, just that kershaw used the higher grade for the MUDD. Even Grant said that they, the Hawks, use the 60 series!

Btw, Cold Steel advertises several of it's knives as usinf the 7075 series of aluminum!:eek::thumbup:
 
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