I've disliked every ZT knife I've gotten my hands on to date. Not for the build quality, which is stellar, but the ergos aren't for me, and I simply hate the aggressive jimping and placement of such. The knives also feel like bricks in my hands. I also love my Gunhammers. I own 5, including the forum knife. But those are purely personal preferences, and many people love the very knives I've disliked. As has been mentioned, on the other hand, many people have had sharpness issues with HTM knives. That's not a problem for me, generally, because all of mine have come shaving sharp, and I have no issues doing my own sharpening. But, it's still worth paying attention to for some.
I'd probably be a bit wary of buying HTM knives from some of the larger retailers. Some retailers will check the knives and will take care of you. Others won't look at what they're sending out before it gets there, and there are definitely quite a few with bad QC floating around. I was unimpressed with the level of communication offered, and, while Darrel's designs are generally my favorites, I've been a bit soured by some of the recent happenings. I've had virtually no issues with any of mine, however. I'll likely pick up an AXD at some point, but that's going to be direct from HTM, and I'll follow my own advice and request a hand-picked one.
Time will tell how Darrel and crew will sort out their current customer service and quality control issues. I'd love to see them take a note from Kershaw or Ka-bar's customer service teams. I love that Ka-bar's designers and head engineers will come on the forums and chat with customers, and will always go out of their way to offer service to anyone who has had an issue. And Kershaw's customer service has always been stellar, and the quality is definitely excellent. There are definitely some designers and makers who I will never do business with because of their attitude. I sure hope Darrel and HTM doesn't end up in that crowd.
