New ZT?

I've actually been wanting more "plain" designs like this. I never liked what I consider goofy stuff like flippers and recurves or weird shapes. It just looks like a plain knife made of quality materials. It's kind of what I always wanted from ZT. Like a ZT 550 but less fat.

Too bad about the puke green color.
 
Someone1 said:
At least spyderco comes up with innovative designs. The latest Kapara is a great example of a newly designed knife. Good God, when will ZT come up with something innovative?
Click to expand...
While these new designs don’t seem too great, they did come out with a lot of good ones this year like the 0609 series and the 0393s.
Not to mention the cool sprint runs of the 0095...
 
Last edited:
I really like the looks of it! I’d call this one a very useable design, one that could actually be carried and used in an EDC capacity.
 
Someone1 said:
At least spyderco comes up with innovative designs. The latest Kapara is a great example of a newly designed knife. Good God, when will ZT come up with something innovative?
Click to expand...

I love me some Spydercos, but I'm sorry, what? The Kapara looks to more of EXACTLY THE SAME from them lately. Compression lock (done on the PM2, one of the most popular EDC knives ever), standard stand-off construction (countless Spydercos), carbon fiber scales (ditto), S30v blade (yaaaawwwnnnn.....also ditto), different material backspacer (ditto)...what am I missing? Where's the innovation? If nothing else, the Kapara is exactly what the Emerson collab is: Spyderco/ZT making another designer's design in a more available format. Soooo....?
 
Someone1 said:
At least spyderco comes up with innovative designs. The latest Kapara is a great example of a newly designed knife. Good God, when will ZT come up with something innovative?
Click to expand...

They aren’t typically the ones coming up with the designs, although they do have some in house designs. They work with designers just like Spyderco does. Spyderco is probably the most ambitious when it comes to trying out new locks, features, steels etc but to say ZT hasn’t had innovative designs I can’t agree with.

What about the ZT Mudd? Or the Speedsafe knives? The 452 was one of the first affordable and commonly available folders in the long thin sabrelike Russian designs. Their composite blade knives?

Or how about the 055 which was a very unique design with the dissapearing flipper? The 560 was one of the first knives at that price with that level of milling on the Ti. Then there is the adjustable steel lockbar insert on the 777.

They do tend to play it safe by only making liner/framelocks though. It seems like people really like it when they release a more affordable version of a highly desired knife giving the public more access. Knives like the 562 put a sort of xm18 in everyone’s hand or the 560 put an xm24 back when XM24s could only be bought by service members or on the secondary market for like $1000.

I’d like to see an integral knife from ZT. How about a more affordable Rassenti Snafu or Druid? I bet that would make the public happy.
 
Lapedog said:
They aren’t typically the ones coming up with the designs, although they do have some in house designs. They work with designers just like Spyderco does. Spyderco is probably the most ambitious when it comes to trying out new locks, features, steels etc but to say ZT hasn’t had innovative designs I can’t agree with.

What about the ZT Mudd? Or the Speedsafe knives? The 452 was one of the first affordable and commonly available folders in the long thin sabrelike Russian designs. Their composite blade knives?

Or how about the 055 which was a very unique design with the dissapearing flipper? The 560 was one of the first knives at that price with that level of milling on the Ti. Then there is the adjustable steel lockbar insert on the 777.

They do tend to play it safe by only making liner/framelocks though. It seems like people really like it when they release a more affordable version of a highly desired knife giving the public more access. Knives like the 562 put a sort of xm18 in everyone’s hand or the 560 put an xm24 back when XM24s could only be bought by service members or on the secondary market for like $1000.

I’d like to see an integral knife from ZT. How about a more affordable Rassenti Snafu or Druid? I bet that would make the public happy.
Click to expand...

Accurate.
 
Quiet said:
I love me some Spydercos, but I'm sorry, what? The Kapara looks to more of EXACTLY THE SAME from them lately. Compression lock (done on the PM2, one of the most popular EDC knives ever), standard stand-off construction (countless Spydercos), carbon fiber scales (ditto), S30v blade (yaaaawwwnnnn.....also ditto), different material backspacer (ditto)...what am I missing? Where's the innovation? If nothing else, the Kapara is exactly what the Emerson collab is: Spyderco/ZT making another designer's design in a more available format. Soooo....?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't have chosen the Kapara as an example of Spyderco innovation, agreed.

However, I definitely think they innovate far more than ZT does. All the different locking mechanisms, blade steels, blade shapes, stock thicknesses, handle designs and materials, opening methods (that new upcoming Spyderco with a flipper, hole, wave, and compression lock), price ranges, designers, etc...
 
marrenmiller said:
I wouldn't have chosen the Kapara as an example of Spyderco innovation, agreed.

However, I definitely think they innovate far more than ZT does. All the different locking mechanisms, blade steels, blade shapes, stock thicknesses, handle designs and materials, opening methods (that new upcoming Spyderco with a flipper, hole, wave, and compression lock), price ranges, designers, etc...
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to say that ZT innovates more than Spyderco. However, ZT DOES do very well in bringing innovative designs to the market, just like Spyderco does. Stating that ZT does not innovate just comes across as an ignorant statement.

Sure, it just so happens that the majority of ZT's lineup tend to be more affordable/approachable versions of what are usually midtechs/full customs from makers which are exceptionally expensive, but really, that's fine with me. I think ZT does just fine even if they often release knives which are in formats (primarily flippers/framelocks) that people are getting tired of.
 
I have not been a fan of the recent ZTs, but this one looks awesome! I love the no wave and washers, could do without the yellow/green carbon fiber tho... thankfully we are in a golden age of after market scales/handles.
 
Quiet said:
Also, what about RJ Martin's see-through pivot on the 0609?
Click to expand...

Innovative on an affordable folder. I think people are pissed off about them not having the tools for it.

Wish they would have done see through pivot that doesn’t need proprietary keys.....

SanRenMu pulled it off.

9008_1-700x700.jpg
 
Quiet said:
I'm not trying to say that ZT innovates more than Spyderco. However, ZT DOES do very well in bringing innovative designs to the market, just like Spyderco does. Stating that ZT does not innovate just comes across as an ignorant statement.

Sure, it just so happens that the majority of ZT's lineup tend to be more affordable/approachable versions of what are usually midtechs/full customs from makers which are exceptionally expensive, but really, that's fine with me. I think ZT does just fine even if they often release knives which are in formats (primarily flippers/framelocks) that people are getting tired of.
Click to expand...
Depends on what you mean by innovative, I guess. I kind of agree with him. I'm not even saying that's such a bad thing if they give their target audience what they want, but it seems to me like the only things ZT innovates with are inconsequential (see through pivot and hiding flipper tab, as examples).
 
Lapedog said:
American made titanium framelocks for these prices IS a ZT innovation.
Click to expand...
Is it though? Either a real innovation or one specific to them? Serious question.

And even if it is, that isn't really a recent innovation, relatively speaking.
 
Last edited:
Ok, so the moldy green CF is pretty ugly, worse than I thought it would be. It's light enough that I'd probably buy one anyway, and have someone make custom scales for it--if, and only if, it can actually be opened with the thumb disk. I have to wave my 0630 open or open it with two hands, it's impossible to open with the thumb disk.
 
evilgreg said:
Ok, so the moldy green CF is pretty ugly, worse than I thought it would be. It's light enough that I'd probably buy one anyway, and have someone make custom scales for it--if, and only if, it can actually be opened with the thumb disk. I have to wave my 0630 open or open it with two hands, it's impossible to open with the thumb disk.
Click to expand...

Is your index and middle fingers pressing against the lock bar? I can open mine fine with my thumb but need to take care to relieve pressure on the lock.
 
evilgreg said:
Ok, so the moldy green CF is pretty ugly, worse than I thought it would be. It's light enough that I'd probably buy one anyway, and have someone make custom scales for it--if, and only if, it can actually be opened with the thumb disk. I have to wave my 0630 open or open it with two hands, it's impossible to open with the thumb disk.
Click to expand...

Yeah that’s really odd. I can open every Emerson ZT I have come across with the thumb disk with zero issue. It should be able to be opened like that.

This new ZT 640 doesn’t have a wave. However it has a section that makes it look like it might be able to be front flipped.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top