ZT 0308BLKTS...a Refined Beast

[stabman]

Early this month, I received a pleasant surprise from Thomas...the Zero Tolerance 0308BLKTS.
It is rather large; here it is with a Previous Zero Tolerance Beast, the ZT 0561, and the Spyderco K2:

Rather large, but the K2 is even larger in certain dimensions. The ZT is slightly thicker though, and more ergonomic in the hand.

It does work for food prep (the ham was mostly frozen still, so an ergonomic handle to cut forcefully and a sharp blade were of great assistance):

But some will wonder, "If I get one, will it make me happy?"
I say yes.

But what qualifies one to comment of matters of happiness, eh?
Let's consult this book, 50 Faces of Happy

That's right, I'm in it.
I am the 42nd face of happy, and apparently the only happy person the author ran across in Windsor, so there.

But how about woodsy use, right?

Well, as usual, some dork had gone and destroyed the site, so we had to reconstruct it yet again.
The ZT 0308BLKTS was of use for making the Y-shaped sticks pointy to allow cooking over the fire:

Didn't reconstruct the entire bench, but did reassemble one tripod for the purposes of holding the paper towel holder, garbage bag, and wet wipes:

 

[stabman]

I walked into the woods with no walking stick, but knew I'd be leaning heavily on one on the way out, so the ZT 0308BLKTS was used to fashion one.
The Y-shaped sticks allowed for drying the stick along the way:

Overview of campsite:

Working on the stick:

Fire!!!

Much food was cooked (and eaten), but no pics of that this time.

Having used the knife for a bit now I can say I really like it.
It carries well in the pocket, and has good ergonomics for actual use.
Flipper action is decent, and closing it is easy. My 75 year old father found the way the lock release is set allowed him to close it more easily than some of my other frame-lock folders.

It corrects all the things I was not as keen with on the early 0300 series.
I did not need assisted opening and a recurve blade. This knife opens quickly without any need of spring assistance.

The grind comes up so high that it might as well be considered a full flat grind...it almost is.
The tip, while still stout enough, is finer than on, say, the ZT 0550. You don't have to worry about snapping the tip, but it is still able to dig out a splinter get into corners when stripping bark off a stick you are shaping.

Some people may not like the cut-out "window" in the handle, but I find it does not detract from the looks in real life.
It also gives a handy grip spot for all those fans of "Drop Shutty" action...your fingers will be away from the lock-bar entirely as you "Oooh" and "Ahh" over the blade falling into the closed position. That ain't really my thing, but some folks really like watching that blade do it's thing, so for them it would be an added feature.

Overall it lives up to the post's title of being a Refined Beast.
It harkens back to the days of yore, early in ZT's history, while adding all the lessons they learned along the way making so many different types of knife.

Good job ZT.

 

[tony281sc2]

Great review and pics, thanks for sharing

 

[stabman]

Great review and pics, thanks for sharing

Thanks.

I always find that having pics helps when deciding on which knife to get.
And it's just fun to share as well.

 

[metsfan]

stabman awesome gift man! Thomas is the coolest cat I know in the knife game and he never disappoints when I’ve swung by the KAI booth at multiple BladeShows.

The 0308 is a monster of a knife and I love mine, you rock it hard man and enjoy it!

 

[DocJD]

Early this month, I received a pleasant surprise from Thomas...the Zero Tolerance 0308BLKTS.
It is rather large; here it is with a Previous Zero Tolerance Beast, the ZT 0561, and the Spyderco K2:

Rather large, but the K2 is even larger in certain dimensions. The ZT is slightly thicker though, and more ergonomic in the hand.

It does work for food prep (the ham was mostly frozen still, so an ergonomic handle to cut forcefully and a sharp blade were of great assistance):

But some will wonder, "If I get one, will it make me happy?"
I say yes.

But what qualifies one to comment of matters of happiness, eh?
Let's consult this book, 50 Faces of Happy

That's right, I'm in it.
I am the 42nd face of happy, and apparently the only happy person the author ran across in Windsor, so there.

But how about woodsy use, right?

Well, as usual, some dork had gone and destroyed the site, so we had to reconstruct it yet again.
The ZT 0308BLKTS was of use for making the Y-shaped sticks pointy to allow cooking over the fire:

Didn't reconstruct the entire bench, but did reassemble one tripod for the purposes of holding the paper towel holder, garbage bag, and wet wipes:

Hugely entertaining and edifying as always !

Thank you Stabman !

 

[stabman]

stabman awesome gift man! Thomas is the coolest cat I know in the knife game and he never disappoints when I’ve swung by the KAI booth at multiple BladeShows.

The 0308 is a monster of a knife and I love mine, you rock it hard man and enjoy it!

Agreed in both counts.
Will definitely get much use out of it.

Hugely entertaining and edifying as always !

Thank you Stabman !

Glad it was enjoyable.

 

[stabman]

The ZT 0308BLKTS will also help you when buying hardware supplies to fix stuff around the house:

Keeps your hand warm when it snows, due to the magickal properties of titanium

And poses majestically while having a nice walk and enjoying a cup of coffee:

 

[Blackfish775]

I walked into the woods with no walking stick, but knew I'd be leaning heavily on one on the way out, so the ZT 0308BLKTS was used to fashion one.
The Y-shaped sticks allowed for drying the stick along the way:

Overview of campsite:

Working on the stick:

Fire!!!

Much food was cooked (and eaten), but no pics of that this time.

Having used the knife for a bit now I can say I really like it.
It carries well in the pocket, and has good ergonomics for actual use.
Flipper action is decent, and closing it is easy. My 75 year old father found the way the lock release is set allowed him to close it more easily than some of my other frame-lock folders.

It corrects all the things I was not as keen with on the early 0300 series.
I did not need assisted opening and a recurve blade. This knife opens quickly without any need of spring assistance.

The grind comes up so high that it might as well be considered a full flat grind...it almost is.
The tip, while still stout enough, is finer than on, say, the ZT 0550. You don't have to worry about snapping the tip, but it is still able to dig out a splinter get into corners when stripping bark off a stick you are shaping.

Some people may not like the cut-out "window" in the handle, but I find it does not detract from the looks in real life.
It also gives a handy grip spot for all those fans of "Drop Shutty" action...your fingers will be away from the lock-bar entirely as you "Oooh" and "Ahh" over the blade falling into the closed position. That ain't really my thing, but some folks really like watching that blade do it's thing, so for them it would be an added feature.

Overall it lives up to the post's title of being a Refined Beast.
It harkens back to the days of yore, early in ZT's history, while adding all the lessons they learned along the way making so many different types of knife.

Good job ZT.

Love the Harleen backdrop. Stjepan Sejic is one helluva artist.