How do you rate Zero Tolerance on a scale of 1-10?

I give them a 10 based on the myriad products they produce, the quality of the products, the style diversity and bringing new collaborators into the fold for their customers to sample.

They are very artful in their use of 3d machining techniques, and they do all of this while producing their Kershaw line of products for the lower priced entry items.

Benchmade makes fine products as well, just not as many of their designs move me to purchase them.

best

mqqn
 
I've only ever owned some full size and mini-Grips, a 581, and a 940.
For as popular as the 940 is, I really thought it felt flimsy.
Returned the 581 5 minutes after I opened it.
The first ever "expensive" knife I bought was a mini-Grip. I was very excited for it and remember opening the package and thinking, "This was $75?"

On the other hand, every ZT I've owned (with the exception of the 0770cf) felt very solid and reliable in my hand.
I've owned the 0303, 0550, 0560, 0562, 0620, 0450, 0450cf, and probably one or two others that I'm forgetting.
I'd choose any of those ZTs for use over any of the Benchmades I've handled, any day.
I'm sure there are Benchmades that are a lot more capable than the few I've encountered, but I'd rather spend my money on a ZT.

So, IMHO:
ZT = 8
Benchmade = 5
 
Until recently I never seriously considered any of ZT's knives since they were too big and bulky for me. That all changed with the ZT0450. A blue camo anodized version caught my eye and I decided to give it a try. It's still bigger than any of my other EDC knives but slim enough to not matter. The design, materials and finish are all top notch so it would get an easy 10 out of 10 from me if the crappy pocket clip didn't necessitate that I throw down another $20 to get the deep carry Ti clip that it should've shipped with in the first place. So I'll give ZT and 8.5/10 rating.
 
Ive owned a ton of their products. I would not say they make the best I have ever seen but I do think they make an excellent product, have the best warranty period and they listen to their customers when it counts. On a scale from 1-10 I would give them a 9. Nothing is perfect so I don't really give anything a 10. But even if I got a 1 from ZT I know they would make it right. And that to me counts.
 
Would say 7. As high as a production knife can go.
8-9 going to mid-techs and customs.
10 going to highest level custom work.
 
I would give the Zero Tolerance line of knives, a solid 9+.

Quality, customer service, & their warranty, make a ZT's a great brand to buy. :thumbup:
 
I'd give them an 7.5
I think they make good stuff with good materials. I like that they are doing lots of collaborations with custom makers now which makes for some great affordable designs (compared to the customs directly from the makers). I'd like to see some smaller/thinner designs with the higher end materials as most are super beefy/big pocket fulls.
 
Solid 8, I think that their style of more heavy frame lock style of knives make them seem higher quality than benchmade,
 
Maybe a 6. IMO most of their designs are just too heavy, pricey, poor cutting geometry, everything's a flipper and those damn pocket clips. Someone must like these things, cause they sell a lot of knives, right?
 
marcinek said:
My sentiments exactly. No appeal to me whatsoever, and I find the actions of their representatives here a further detriment.
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I found their representative here (back when they had a subforum) to be quite pleasant. :)

He was certainly far nicer to the whiners and dicks that popped up than I would have been.

The knives are of excellent quality, and I always found them to cut things quite well.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I rate them awesome!!!
(yes, awesome is now officially a number ;) )
 
7. I've had 5 in my possession, and 2 had issues. Customer service seems great, though. Not a fan of how they do limited editions.
 
I give them a solid 9. They need more variety in designs for edc carry but they have shown with the 0770cf and 0450cf does that they can make excellent, lightweight and tough knives.

I've also spoken on the phone with their customer service and they're great. No wait times, knowledgeable and friendly American representative, great policies.
 
I give them a 7/10. I feel like they are very innovative but sometimes they're knife designs dont make sense to me. I feel they try really hard to make designs that sell but don't always try to perfect their designs like Spyderco for instance. For example, I recently purchased the ZT 0620CF stupidly thinking this would be an "everything knife" for me. I appreciate the strength of the frame , pivot, and bearings. I thought the tanto tip would be very strong as well as a tanto should be. I wanted to test the tip so I stabbed it into a 4x4 and not too deep either, applied some side torque and Snap! The tip broke off. I've stabbed a benchmade presidio way deeper than that and the tip held up. So I don't get the design! Why have such a sturdy frame lock with such a weak tip?! The lock up was tank like and took battoning without any damage to the frame lock. Why so heavy and "overbuilt" with such a delicate tip? Customer service was fantastic tho. I paid $35 for a replacement blade and they sent me a brand new knife!! I'm sure there will be ZT knives that I love in the future but I haven't found one yet.
 
Knifelove777 said:
I give them a 7/10. I feel like they are very innovative but sometimes they're knife designs dont make sense to me. I feel they try really hard to make designs that sell but don't always try to perfect their designs like Spyderco for instance. For example, I recently purchased the ZT 0620CF stupidly thinking this would be an "everything knife" for me. I appreciate the strength of the frame , pivot, and bearings. I thought the tanto tip would be very strong as well as a tanto should be. I wanted to test the tip so I stabbed it into a 4x4 and not too deep either, applied some side torque and Snap! The tip broke off. I've stabbed a benchmade presidio way deeper than that and the tip held up. So I don't get the design! Why have such a sturdy frame lock with such a weak tip?! The lock up was tank like and took battoning without any damage to the frame lock. Why so heavy and "overbuilt" with such a delicate tip? Customer service was fantastic tho. I paid $35 for a replacement blade and they sent me a brand new knife!! I'm sure there will be ZT knives that I love in the future but I haven't found one yet.
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I had a 0620CF and returned it because I felt like the tip was fragile. You just made me feel pretty good about that decision.

Also, welcome here! :)
 
If you're choosing between ZT and BM, I'd say find the knife you want and get it! Both of these companies put out top notch stuff. Just with the ZT's just double check the dimensions, some of them are bigger than they look, and heavier! (808 looks tiny, but is a wide chunk) I've gotten into trying some anodizing work, so I appreciate ZT's Ti framelocks. and they are almost always super smooth. Both have crap clips, but the ZT's at least have a lot of people making nice replacement hardware for them, so a better clip is usually part of the equation. If you have a legit problem, ZT will take care of you for sure though!
 
Radjxf said:
Maybe a 6. IMO most of their designs are just too heavy, pricey, poor cutting geometry, everything's a flipper and those damn pocket clips. Someone must like these things, cause they sell a lot of knives, right?
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I'm curious about your comment on the cutting geometry. I admittedly don't cut everything with mine and gravitate toward a serrated 350 for my hard work chores where I can gnaw through tough stuff.

However, just last night I used my 0909 to make lemon twists for my wife's martini. I usually use a Case Stockman that I have popping sharp, but I was curious how badly I could mutilate the poor lemon with my big chunky folder....admittedly, this was not first martini I partaken of the evening when I got the idea:eek:

I'm picky about my lemon twists. I want them translucent. Suprisingly, the 0909 took that skin down to paper thin with one draw cut. What few spots I went back to shave down came away cleanly sliced, no scraping.

I was incredibly impressed for I knife I have done nothing to short of taking it to a loaded strop from time to time.

Like I said, that's not a be all end all test for the cutting ability of a knife, but it shocked the heck out of me that it outperformed my trusty Case.
 
mqqn said:
I give them a 10 based on the myriad products they produce, the quality of the products, the style diversity and bringing new collaborators into the fold for their customers to sample.
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If you happen to like flippers that are either frame or liner locks, perhaps. If you're like me, however, they really don't offer anything of interest due to the fact they only offer flippers with either frame or liner locks.

I have no reason to doubt the build quality, but I'd like to actually see some variety in their designs. How about a different lock? If they're all gonna be flippers, why not try a front flipper like you see on a Burger EXK1? How about go out on a limb and design something in-house?
 
I give ZT a 9 out of the box. Once you use their warranty service they become a 10.
 
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