Zinker / Massdrop Dogtooth Framelock

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dgaddis

Joined
Dec 26, 2018
Messages
77
Got this in yesterday, haven't seen much chatter about it here.

PROS:
  • Same size in the pocket as a Leek, but comes with a deep carry clip and has a longer blade with better steel, grippier in the hand and lighter at least compared to a stainless framelock Leek, no assist.
  • Super sharp out of the box
  • Quality is spot on, I can't find any machining imperfections anywhere. Blade perfectly centered, even grind on both sides of the blade, etc
  • Not quite fall-shut, but just give the blade a tap and it'll drop shut.
  • I like that the bolts for the clip are countersunk so they're not sticking up taking up space
CONS:
  • Personal preference, I'd prefer a stonewashed or acid etched clip. I know the shiny polished finish matches the hardware on the knife, but I like more subtle clips that don't draw attention to themselves when the knife is in my pocket. I may de-polish it at some point...
  • The detent was STIFF. No, I wasn't holding the lockbar. Coupled with the aggressive/sharp-ish jimping, it hurt my finger to open the knife. I set the pivot as loose as possible without any blade play and fiddled with it (opening and closing) for a good hour and a half or so last night and it didn't loosen up or wear in any. So this morning I put a teeny tiny itsy-bitsy chamfer on the detent hole in the blade (used a cone-shaped grinding bit on a Dremel, and a very light and quick touch to the hole). Much better now, still a bit stiff, but doesn't hurt to use the knife, and deploys reliably every time. I can shake it loose if I try really hard, but you've really got to sling it around hard, it ain't coming out on accident. I don't recommend trying that yourself...but if you do, baby steps. I can just barely see the chamfer, can't really get it in focus w/the iphone camera (attempt below) and that's all it took to make a noticeable difference in the action.
Overall, I really like it, and it's kicked my Leek out of pocket. I've only had it for ~24hrs, but after easing up the detent, so far so good.

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In that last photo, looking at the detent hole, around 10 o'clock you can see a little bright spot on the edge of the hole - that's the chamfer catching some light. It's tiny.
 
Additional cons (maybe only for me, but here you go):
  • The name of the store that sold it to you slapped on the blade
This isn't an anti-massdrop thing, it's a general principle, for what it's worth.

I won't buy a knife with knifecenter, or bladehq or knivesshipfree or SMKW billboarded on it either. This "store that sold it to you" billboard garbage is a trend I hope dies a quick death.
 
Yeah I get that people don't like the massdrop logo, and you're not alone in not liking it, but it's not big enough to bother me. I bet a little work with a scotchbrite pad would get rid of it (and change the finish of the blade, but using it will do that anyhow).
 
The good thing is the logo is smaller and alone on this model... making it easier to be rid of... Seems to be more prominent on the keen and right next to the steel label to boot...
 
Philosophical question - why is it okay to label the kind of steel, but no brand billboarding?

If it were up to me (and it's totally not haha), there'd be zero writing or branding on anything.
 
dgaddis said:
Philosophical question - why is it okay to label the kind of steel, but no brand billboarding?

If it were up to me (and it's totally not haha), there'd be zero writing or branding on anything.
Click to expand...

You get to Nascar-level billboarding pretty quickly if you keep with that thinking:

S30V Benchmade McHenry & Williams Design KnifeCenter.com USPS Bob Sanderson

1. The steel type (informative at least)
2. The logo of the brand (seems reasonable)
3. The name of the designer (OK . . . I guess)
4. The name of the website you bought it from (I need this why?)
5. The name of the company that delivered it (ok, what?)
6. The name of the postal carrier that put it in your mailbox (mailman Bob is swell, but screw off Bob)

Let's add a paypal logo too, because you paid that way. Maybe a Comcast logo for providing you the Internet service you used to browse the web store you bought it from too, why not.

I own vendor exclusive releases from multiple online knife stores, none of which feature their name prominently splashed across my knife for no good reason, exclusive or not.
 
dgaddis said:
Philosophical question - why is it okay to label the kind of steel, but no brand billboarding?

If it were up to me (and it's totally not haha), there'd be zero writing or branding on anything.
Click to expand...

Honestly, it just seems tacky to me. Sure, I get that Massdrop made these knives happen... but I think their logo/name takes up way too much of the blade. I would rather see them do something like Collector Knives has done with their Lionsteel colabs:

maxresdefault.jpg


Maker/Manuf. labeling is prominent, and you get a small, elegant logo from Collectorknives to let you know they had a large hand in making it happen... without overshadowing the actual maker.

If Massdrop had a small logo like that, I would see no issue with it.
 
I LOVE my Dogtooth it an awesome knife. I think I like it more than my Laconico Keen.
 
I'm not a big fan of logos either. My MD FF Gent select has a rather subtle logo. ZT and Benchmade are ridiculous.

I have been looking at the CF Zinker. I'm a sucker for CF.
 
I like this a lot. I like the blade shape, and that it has a deep carry pocket clip.

Hate the massdrop logo too. I'm not big on billboarding on my blades.
 
I own a dogtooth as well and totally dig it. The action on mine was dialed in from the very beginning for mine. The massdrop thing doesn’t bother me. I went with the stonewashed version, which I am glad I did. I have not carried my urban trapper since..
 
Deinos said:
Honestly, it just seems tacky to me. Sure, I get that Massdrop made these knives happen... but I think their logo/name takes up way too much of the blade. I would rather see them do something like Collector Knives has done with their Lionsteel colabs:

maxresdefault.jpg


Maker/Manuf. labeling is prominent, and you get a small, elegant logo from Collectorknives to let you know they had a large hand in making it happen... without overshadowing the actual maker.

If Massdrop had a small logo like that, I would see no issue with it.
Click to expand...

The CK exclusives aren’t made based on designs provided by CK. In the very long thread about the Lionsteel Roundhead, Mike from CK describes his process as giving the manufacturer an “outline of what I want,” funding the production, and selling what they come up with.

That’s a pretty substantial difference from Massdrop, which hires an OEM to make product to its spec, just like tons of other brands. Nobody complains about Spyderco buying a design and having an Asian OEM make it with the Spyderco logo on the blade.

If anything, CK does the same thing Massdrop does on a lot of its knives: include their branding and the branding of the designer on the blade. Although Massdrop always puts its branding on the lock side and the designer on the show side...
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
That’s a pretty substantial difference from Massdrop, which hires an OEM to make product to its spec, just like tons of other brands. Nobody complains about Spyderco buying a design and having an Asian OEM make it with the Spyderco logo on the blade.
Click to expand...

That's not exactly how Massdrop works. I believe all of "their" knives are collaborations. This one is with designer/custom knife maker Brad Zinker (that's what the BZ on the blade stands for). They have a bunch of Ferrum Forge designed knives (Buc, Doa, Gent, Crux, Falcon, etc), and a few other collaborations as well. Massdrop isn't designing these knives, they're just paying to have them manufactured and handling the sales.
 
I understand the dislike for the Massdrop logo based on it's appearance. It's wide and hard to miss. I've long wished that they'd develop a symbolic logo using their standard font in some sort of "MD" thing.

I don't understand the problem that some of you have with the logo in terms of it's place on the knife. Massdrop IS NOT just the person who sold you the knife. They fill a much different role than a retailer and as such it's not unreasonable to expect them to claim a spot on the blade.

It's an industry standard for a manufacturer logo to be on a production knife. It's also nearly standard for a designer's mark to be on the knife (when the knife is designed by an "outside the house" designer). In the case of the MD collaborative knives, that's exactly what's happening. Consider the Zinker in this thread, it's a Brad Zinker design so we get his stylized "BZ". If Brad were designing this knife for Spyderco, Zero Tolerance of Cold Steel, we'd also be getting the Spydie logo, the "ZT" and/or "Cold Steel".

True, this knife isn't manufactured by Massdrop, it's made by WE Knives, but as a consumer you have NO relationship with WE knives over the Zinker Dogtooth. Your entire relationship for this knife is between you and Massdrop. They handle sales, ordering, logistics, customer service, warranty and repair. If you contact WE or Mr. Zinker about an issue with your Dogtooth, they'll refer you to Massdrop. WE knives (and the other MD manufacturers) are incredibly silent in this partnership and I'd imagine Massdrop's assumption of liability helps to keep the prices of these collaborations down.

Like it or not, Massdrop is assuming the customer support role traditionally played by the manufacturer in these collaboration knives. As such it's acceptable and even normal for them to claim a spot on the blade typically filled by the manufacturer. BHQ or other knife retailers don't offer service, support and spare parts. Comparing the Massdrop logo to an imagined BHQ logo is a logical fail.

Hell, Massdrop even takes it one step further. Commonly the manufacturer mark is on the show side of the blade and the designer mark is less obvious on the lock side. Massdrop pushes the designer mark to the forefront and places it on the show side and takes their place on the lock side.

Is it ugly? Yes.
Is it out of line with a standard seen every day on thousands of other production knives? No.

I understand that many of us love a sterile blade, but that's not what happens in the production knife world and wishing it from Massdrop makes no sense.
 
I had a couple MD knives...i cant deal with the "billboard".
Sold them both. Nice blades tho.

The MD/Zinker is an attractive knife. I like the look. Unfortunately, as long as "massdrop" is plastered on the blade, ill pass.
 
Let me explain a little more. To me, the clean lines, modest logo (small) makes an amazing looking folder. Kinda like a nice car. Audi has small symbols on the car...but if they etch a huge "Audi" symbol in the side of the car...im out.
 
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