Let's Talk Zombie Tools : yes, this again

DPC said:
Flamethrower is the only answer (re)Kill it with fire!

I am not into this zombie trend at all, but I wonder why on earth would people like to chop down zombies, given the fact that they are full of biological goo and are probably infectious. I do not understand.
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It is not as loud as shooting them, it is not as messy as bashing their brains in and nothing else is more reliable at killing them (or air-suckers) with as little noise as possible. And burning them is totally impractical. It takes too long to kill shamblers with fire, as it would have to destroy the brain and until that happens, the zombie will keep walking and basically be a torch that sets everything ablaze until the flames do their job. Also, flamethrowers use fuel that you should be using for living and polluting the immediate breathing air around you. If the zombies don't kill you, smoke inhalation probably will. To beat the zombies with fire like a boss and then die because of the smoke, would be a n00b-move.
 
I owned one of their larger models. I believe it was the Hellion. As a "zombie tool", ie: chopping limbs, severing heads, wall art... its perfect!. They live up to the marketing no doubt. Beefy, scary, wicked etching, durable handle, etc.

However, if you are looking for optimal performance, I would probably go another route. The edge geometry is not optimal for practical camping style chores. I didnt use it enough to test the quality of the steel or the HT so that might be something else to be concerned about.

Keep in mind that my thoughts come from having only owned one of their designs.

Cheers!
 
Can anyone tell me if they would recommend these as survival knives? They look great and stray from your traditional knife and would certainly catch someone's eye if they saw you using it, but do they only function as display pieces? Or are they capable as a knife you could depend on?
 
jball1125 said:
I owned one of their larger models. I believe it was the Hellion. As a "zombie tool", ie: chopping limbs, severing heads, wall art... its perfect!. They live up to the marketing no doubt. Beefy, scary, wicked etching, durable handle, etc.

However, if you are looking for optimal performance, I would probably go another route. The edge geometry is not optimal for practical camping style chores. I didnt use it enough to test the quality of the steel or the HT so that might be something else to be concerned about.

Keep in mind that my thoughts come from having only owned one of their designs.

Cheers!
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I ordered a Hellion last Saturday night. I'm a huge fan of khukri/kopis/falcata type blades and have been looking for one for a long time. The ZT Hellion was the best option I've found for what I was looking for: the weight seems to be about right, and it's overbuilt full slab tang, and made out of a good steel for a sword. I could care less about the whole zombie thing.
 
In terms of "zombie mechanics", are they the ones who change your oil then leave the drain plug loose?
 
Here's a couple of zombie blades I'm quite fond of... They are not my designs, but I've made a couple of them for my own pleasure. I still have the warg sword on my bench, not much left to do to finish it, I just got busy on other things.
 

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crimsonfalcon07 said:
That REALLY depends on the grind. I had some that I think was tempered around that range which rolled an edge while chopping some green wood. I'd definitely be inclined to temper 5160 softer. 3V, on the other hand, you can temper hard (up to 60, in fact), without sacrificing toughness.
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If I'm working with through hardened 5160 I tend to temper the whole blade to 59-60, then differentially temper the non-cutting areas back to spring (bright blue) with a torch and heat sink paste. That combined with a reasonable convex grind makes a very tough, very sharp sword. Just takes some fiddling.
 
I got my Hellion in the mail today. I love it. Unusual for a forward curved chopper, it is very fast and remarkably agile. Overbuilt? Sure. But very graceful too. Wicked cutting power against Styrofoam blocks. It for sure seems to be a very rugged sword.

The leather wrap on the hilt is well done and the grind lines overall are very good. I like their new ferric chloride finish better than what they were producing a few years back.

Apocalypse ready sword? Yes I believe it is.
 
Don't understand this obsession with purpose-built zombie killer tools. What's wrong with my ESEE Junglas? It's 1095 steel, coated, easy to sharpen, and the mirror polished edge doesn't rust as easily.

"Swords" I don't get. They're heavier than holy hell, and you can't swing them indoors. I'd also put my faith in something you can use to hack down small trees than something that typically snaps in two when you swing it at a tree.
 
Noctis3880 said:
Don't understand this obsession with purpose-built zombie killer tools. What's wrong with my ESEE Junglas? It's 1095 steel, coated, easy to sharpen, and the mirror polished edge doesn't rust as easily.

"Swords" I don't get. They're heavier than holy hell, and you can't swing them indoors. I'd also put my faith in something you can use to hack down small trees than something that typically snaps in two when you swing it at a tree.
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That's the point with Zombie Tool's swords: they're built like suped-up machetes to NOT break if you hit something like a tree. 5160 is very shock resistant steel and their stuff is full scale tang.

My Hellion is 26" overall length and only 2 lbs. It's light, quick, and agile. With a blade length of 20" that's only 2" inches more blade than an Ontario USGI machete and would certainly be able to maneuver indoors. It's a short sword, not a claymore. I put it through some chopping this weekend and it is for sure a very rugged blade.
 
crimsonfalcon07 said:
Noctis, I think you would be well advised to do a little more research. Start here: http://www.thearma.org/essays/weights.htm

If you don't like them, fine. But your opinions could stand a little more basis in fact, in my estimation.
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My apologies, though classifying "medieval" weapons is a bit of a chore, given that it ranges from light one-hand swords like a cutlass to the large claymores(which to me is the first thing to come to mind).
 
Wolf_1989 said:
That's the point with Zombie Tool's swords: they're built like suped-up machetes to NOT break if you hit something like a tree. 5160 is very shock resistant steel and their stuff is full scale tang.

My Hellion is 26" overall length and only 2 lbs. It's light, quick, and agile. With a blade length of 20" that's only 2" inches more blade than an Ontario USGI machete and would certainly be able to maneuver indoors. It's a short sword, not a claymore. I put it through some chopping this weekend and it is for sure a very rugged blade.
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How's the heat treat on it? I had a Kris Cutlery katana out of 5160 myself, supposedly Rc 60 through hardened, but blunted easily after a few cuts, which to me suggests it's either a lot softer than stated, or the heat treat was poor.

Though to be honest, I would think Rc 56-58 would be preferable if you want toughness.

Still, my point was, the Junglas is not a typical machete. It's easily twice as thick as a machete and also has a full tang(canvas micarta too). And I'd be very comfortable with using it to cut down a small tree.

Thing is, the price point of a ZT blade seems more than a tad high. I'd probably go for a Knife Research Legion for less. Shorter blade, but I see Sleipner steel as an upgrade.

I just see myself paying a premium for the zombie label and the exotic design, when a quality tool for chopping purposes could do the same job and either provide better prices, or better quality materials.
 
Noctis3880 said:
How's the heat treat on it? I had a Kris Cutlery katana out of 5160 myself, supposedly Rc 60 through hardened, but blunted easily after a few cuts, which to me suggests it's either a lot softer than stated, or the heat treat was poor.

Though to be honest, I would think Rc 56-58 would be preferable if you want toughness..
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I dont think anybody would make a sword with an RC of 60 thoughout. Was it a good source where you got this info? Machetes are usually low to mid fifties BTW.
 
Numbers are from a sword-forum.com review, and most people usually get their specs from the manufacturer site(now uses a different steel, differentially hardened, supposedly Rc 63-64 at the edge). Might just be overblown numbers IMO. Though I believe my junglas is Rc 58-60 when I searched around for the specs, I don't think it's a huge issue if the blade is thick, and helps the blade keep a razor keen edge(something I like for chopping).

And these days with modern PM steel technology, I think it would be more likely to have harder steels without giving up much in the way of toughness(see CPM 3V).
 
Noctis3880 said:
How's the heat treat on it? I had a Kris Cutlery katana out of 5160 myself, supposedly Rc 60 through hardened, but blunted easily after a few cuts, which to me suggests it's either a lot softer than stated, or the heat treat was poor.

Though to be honest, I would think Rc 56-58 would be preferable if you want toughness.

Still, my point was, the Junglas is not a typical machete. It's easily twice as thick as a machete and also has a full tang(canvas micarta too). And I'd be very comfortable with using it to cut down a small tree.

Thing is, the price point of a ZT blade seems more than a tad high. I'd probably go for a Knife Research Legion for less. Shorter blade, but I see Sleipner steel as an upgrade.

I just see myself paying a premium for the zombie label and the exotic design, when a quality tool for chopping purposes could do the same job and either provide better prices, or better quality materials.
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Heat treat seems to be very good. I spent some time wacking hardwood blocks with it and the edge retention is a good bit better than on my Ontario and Tramontina machetes. Flexibility is good and it's not at all whippy. No blunting, no edge rolling. No sets. It cuts great.

And part of it IS the exotic design. I have thing for falcata/kopis/khukri type blades and this is one of the better modern versions out there IMO.
 
Wolf_1989 said:
Heat treat seems to be very good. I spent some time wacking hardwood blocks with it and the edge retention is a good bit better than on my Ontario and Tramontina machetes. Flexibility is good and it's not at all whippy. No blunting, no edge rolling. No sets. It cuts great.

And part of it IS the exotic design. I have thing for falcata/kopis/khukri type blades and this is one of the better modern versions out there IMO.
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I too like the khukri blade styles, so much that I had to order a second Spyderco Schempp Rock so I could have one in each hand :D. It's not a zombie slayer, but you could lop off a limb at the joint.

My obsession however is in maximizing the "specs". I would think for the same price point you could afford to have something of the same size, length, and shape custom made with a steel of your choice as well as the knowledge that the heat treat is top notch.

I say that only in that I paid about $260-$275 each for a Ronin Dojo Pro Ko-Katana and a full size Katana, both in 1060 steel and have real silk ito wraps, buffalo horn, and rayskin. I think it would depend on steel choice and "extras", but I would think a custom khukri with G10 handles and something like CPM 3V would hover around the $500 range, maybe even less.

Again, not really saying Zombie Tools are bad(how can I if I don't have one?), just that I've had custom made stuff before, and it's something I'd want to look into if I'm going to commit over $300 to something that might be expected to kill zombies(or pesky shrubbery).
 
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