Your opinions why the ZT 0909 only lasted one year?

Buzz deficiency.

The saddest truth is that we live in a time where social marketing trumps all. Don't be fooled into thinking that a product lives and dies on the sum of its own merits. I know of too many products that were paragons of their class that have been all but forgotten due to the lack of celebration by the celebrities whos opinions seem to carry sufficient weight to start a wave of positive "attention" from the consuming masses. This knife didn't do well because the reviewers and the public were not "inspired" to notice it. Liner lock, blade steel, g10 scales are not the reason this knife didn't move. It didn't move because the folks who's opinions we trust are bored by this type of knife. This was a Buck, Gerber or CRKT knife wearing a ZT badge. Don't take offense, I am not belittling those brands at all. Those brands represent the knives of the working world. Knives for the ladies and gentlemen who only touch or think about their knives when they need to cut something and none of whom are ever going to read or care about why we think any knife wasn't a sensation.
 
I didn't like the design when it was released, but it's grown on me. I love the little 0900, and was seriously considering picking up a 909 to match, but you only have so much knife money.
 
silverds said:
This knife didn't do well because the reviewers and the public were not "inspired" to notice it.
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I think you're giving said reviewers far too much credit. From what I've seen, people use videos/review to gather more information and form their own opinions, pulling info from multiple sources. What the videos/reviews generally do, is put a new product in front of people that they may not have known existed otherwise. Granted, buyers can't form an opinion if they didn't know a product existed.
 
SpySmasher said:
LOL. Hahahaha.

You said something I didn't understand so I asked what you meant. If you're gonna be so defensive about a simple question I retract it. :rolleyes:
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Man that was close. I was afraid that my defensiveness would be mistaken for a simple inquiry as to why you were seeking further exposition of my personal opinion. Either way, I'm pleased with the outcome.
 
austonh said:
I think you're giving said reviewers far too much credit. From what I've seen, people use videos/review to gather more information and form their own opinions, pulling info from multiple sources. What the videos/reviews generally do, is put a new product in front of people that they may not have known existed otherwise. Granted, buyers can't form an opinion if they didn't know a product existed.
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What do you mean?






I'm kidding, you make a fair point. Points actually.
 
It's all my fault, guys, and I'm sorry. ZT discontinued this knife because I've said here on a couple of occasions that the 0909 is one of my favorite folders of all time. Companies always discontinue anything I like, so I should have known better than to shoot my mouth off about how great it is. If I'd only had the good sense to say that I hated it and thought it was garbage, it would have gone another 10-15 years. :(:D
 
Hi! I don’t know about possible reasons why the 0909 has been discontinued. Can it be that this was a collaboration agreed since the beginning with a specific time-frame? It’s surely a pity :(. I love my ZT 0909. I agree it’s maybe a bit too much knife for an urban EDC but it’s very often in my pocket when hiking or when out on factory floors. It’s a very good outdoor and working knife, in my opinion. Great blade shape, very comfortable handle and super strong lock :thumbsup:. I put it through rather demanding tasks and it always has performed as a champ. Hope ZT will keep something similar in their products line for the future.
 
G. Scott H. said:
It's all my fault, guys, and I'm sorry. ZT discontinued this knife because I've said here on a couple of occasions that the 0909 is one of my favorite folders of all time. Companies always discontinue anything I like, so I should have known better than to shoot my mouth off about how great it is. If I'd only had the good sense to say that I hated it and thought it was garbage, it would have gone another 10-15 years. :(:D
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I have to say that you aren't alone, I love this knife, so.... it was doomed.
I prize a good worker over any other attributes. I work in construction and wear blue jeans to work all day and prefer a larger, heavier knife to use as work knife. I am a little over 6'2" and weigh about 280 lbs, so an ounce or two on a knife makes me laugh. Don't care. To me, the handle is just a tiny bit small as I can cover the whole thing with my palm with nothing sticking out either side. I don't have really large hands, but good sized palms like a lot of us older tradesmen. But it is comfy in use and doesn't slip. I actually like the small clip as it draws absolutely NO attention. So I can easily use it out on site for its cutting duties and not have to hide it in the truck if I take a client to a better restaurant, or have a client feel uncomfortable because I have an obviously large knife in my pocket. I have never been one to show off my hardware and the clip works to hold the knife in my pocket without problems.

While it doesn't open my mail, it does trim boards and moldings, clean up saw cuts, open caulk and adhesive tubes, cut fiberglass banding materials, dig splinters, do a little light scraping, sharpen my pencils, pull on occasional nail/staple out of my shoe, cut a shingle or two, strip wire (cut small gauge), break down cardboard for disposal, open supply packaging, etc. It is in use all day long. It has served me equally well on my hiking and outdoor activities by easily making kindling, cutting up small game, making a walking stick, etc.

I like it enough unlike the guy earlier that opined that a user of this knife would outgrow it or simply grow tired of it and move on, I bought another when I found it on sale.

After reading a lot of opinions on another thread here, other comments on this knife here, and on a couple of other sites as well I think it boils down to some of the things that have been said here. First, no real flash to this knife. No "zing", no "sizzle", not even an unusual design. Nothing for a collector. It isn't pretty, either. I have read comments in more than one place that people didn't like the hex nut on the pivot. I though it was genius, as the other side has the same pattern milled into the G10 so I could actually pull the blade or adjust it by using one common wrench or socket! And the internals are solid on this knife as well. I routinely clean all the crap off it/in it with charcoal lighter fluid (the only thing that dissolves some of the adhesives I use) then put some handy light oil on the pivot and it is back in service.

I have read that it was designed as a practical work knife, for first responders, blue collar types of all manner, and anyone that wanted a hard worker that was easy to maintain and carry. Most folks like to show off their knives and no one that I show this knife to can figure out why I spent the money on it. My Spyderco Valloton they "oooohhh" and "ahhhhh" over and ask to look at it even though they have seen it dozens of times. It's pretty! But the 0909 is a head scratcher for them. Since most of the folks that buy knives these days in this price range don't use this type of knife as a tool (just look how giddy with excitement they are when they post a picture of their knife dirty, with a scratch, or with outdoor scenery as a background) I don't think there was any real appreciation for the 0909 for its intended use.

Robert
 
L.H.S said:
Both of the knives you mentioned were designed and introduced years ago. You're almost helping my point, which is that ZT and its main customer base has moved away from simple "hard use" knives.

A knife with a well designed handle doesn't need jimping in my opinion. On knives I use hard, aggressive jimping is more often an annoyance than any help.

Frame locks are not better for "hard use" than liner locks. It's a myth pushed by makers because they're simple to produce. The whole "your grip holds it closed" thing only applies in a small portion of scenarios. Most frame locks are made of titanium, which is inherently less strong than steel of the same thickness and length, and have a cutout that leaves less material than most liner locks.
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Oh no, you figured out the secret that your hand usually isn't helping hold a framelock shut most way you hold a knife? Maybe if your grip was more MANLY!!! (Lol)

Some folks swear to me that when they hold a framelock knife that they are reinforcing the lock. In my hand atleast the lockbar usually sits in the crook of my fingers where very little pressure is exerted on it. Also there is the fact that I usually am not gorilla gripping my knives when I use 'em.
 
I love the 0909, and own two different versions of it. But......the pocket clip sucks, and on the early production one the scale bevels are sharp, and not as comfortable in hand as the newer and smoother one like Munchy pictured in post 16.
 
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Never handled a 0909 but it doesnt look half bad.

Sonnydaze said:
I am not fond of the 0909 blade style, the basic design, the use of steel, the clip location and the scales. And, of course, the ridiculous weight...which is totally unnecessary. I understand that some folks love the heavier ZT's that can pry wood screws out of a 2x4" without any blade damage. Opinions go across the board and we accept that...well...many of us do.
I've owned a ton of ZT's and have admired the run of the 550's, the 560's...etc. I've sold all those over time, and the ONLY one that has survived is a 770CF.
This one is VERY special. At 4.32" closed length...it's a tiny bit short for my hand, and it's never been carried or used. The 3.2" blade operation is just plain perfect. I had one earlier and sold it...realized my error and quickly bought another nib several yrs ago. It is never carried...just occasionally pulled out of the box and admired. The carbon fiber feels excellent; the blade is the limited edition in M390.
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Beautiful knife.

That and the 777 - just wow.
 
Meh,

920 is the Les George ZT I would most like to try out.

Also I feel like the 804 and the 909 both fulfil the same sort role.
 
Munchy said:
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I love this knife so I'm sad to see it not do well. A couple of improvements in my opinion would be a different pocket clip that matched the overall robustness of the knife, and maybe add thumbstuds/"blade stops" for an alternative way to open it. It's heavy, but I enjoy that aspect when it comes to a ZT. As for the scales and steel, I think they're perfectly suited for this hard-working knife!
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I think you are spot on mate. Give it studs and an emerson style clip and you have a homerun.
 
I had to Google it but if I were looking for a Les George colab I'd probably buy the Pro-Tech over the ZT with the nut hanging off the pivot.
 
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Talos.
 
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