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[firefighterguy]

Hey guys, I wasn’t sure where to post this but I just got in my 0393 today and I am not sure if I should send it back or if this is normal. I’m not a huge knife guy so I wanted to ask.

The action is very stiff and gritty. It feels like there is sand in the pivot. I thought maybe the pivot was over tightened so I loosened it 1/4 turn and it caused the blade to rub the titanium on the presentation side. So I re tightened it and lubed it with some nano oil. It’s still the same. It doesn’t come close to falling free like my 0562 does.

I just know that a $240 knife should not feel like this. The blade is centered at the tip but the Middle of the blade almost rubs the presentation side of the frame and is off centered.

What should I do?

 

[kylemiller]

What should I do?

Can you exchange it for a new one at your dealer? I'd imagine they're out of stock though.

 

[halden.doerge]

View attachment 856984 Hey guys, I wasn’t sure where to post this but I just got in my 0393 today and I am not sure if I should send it back or if this is normal. I’m not a huge knife guy so I wanted to ask.

The action is very stiff and gritty. It feels like there is sand in the pivot. I thought maybe the pivot was over tightened so I loosened it 1/4 turn and it caused the blade to rub the titanium on the presentation side. So I re tightened it and lubed it with some nano oil. It’s still the same. It doesn’t come close to falling free like my 0562 does.

I just know that a $240 knife should not feel like this. The blade is centered at the tip but the Middle of the blade almost rubs the presentation side of the frame and is off centered.

What should I do?

Does the blade rotate freely when you disengage the lock bar, keeping the detent ball off of the blade tang, but then feel rough when the detent ball is touching the blade tang? If so, I’d say try oiling the detent ball. That’s a common issue.

 

[firefighterguy]

Does the blade rotate freely when you disengage the lock bar, keeping the detent ball off of the blade tang, but then feel rough when the detent ball is touching the blade tang? If so, I’d say try oiling the detent ball. That’s a common issue.

Would that make it feel really gritty? It does seem to rotate more freely when I do that. I hope this is just my ignorance. Does the detent track need to be worn in?

 

[halden.doerge]

Would that make it feel really gritty? It does seem to rotate more freely when I do that. I hope this is just my ignorance. Does the detent track need to be worn in?

Yeah, it can make it feel gritty for sure. It’s actually the friction from the detent ball on the track. A bit of lube on the detent ball should clear it right up. And it will break in over time as well.

If lube doesn’t help, I’d say you have a different problem, not sure what.

 

[bflying]

Would that make it feel really gritty? It does seem to rotate more freely when I do that. I hope this is just my ignorance. Does the detent track need to be worn in?

It's also possible that a burr or debris is in the pivot or bearing area. I've had a number of knives that felt that way out of the box. Sure it's more fun to open perfection, but I'm not always that lucky. Sometimes I have flushed the pivot with wd40 with some success. Other times required a quick disassembly and wipe down.

 

[tyyreaun]

The action is very stiff and gritty. It feels like there is sand in the pivot. I thought maybe the pivot was over tightened so I loosened it 1/4 turn and it caused the blade to rub the titanium on the presentation side. So I re tightened it and lubed it with some nano oil. It’s still the same. It doesn’t come close to falling free like my 0562 does.

As others have mentioned, this is definitely not normal. Mine just arrived as well and it doesn't have any of that.

 

[tyyreaun]

As I mentioned in the above post, my 0393 just arrived. I only had a minute to handle it - need to head out, but initial impressions:

• Feels great in hand. I was worried the G-10 scales would be overly textured - they're not. They're grippy but still feel pretty smooth, almost like a dimpled texture - not sure how else to explain it.
• Action seems fine as far as ZTs go. Mine has a little bit of side to side blade play when the blade isn't locked open but it seems to go away when it's fully deployed. Need to play with the pivot a bit. Otherwise, it's centered and seems fine in all other regards
  
• It seems to deploy easily using the thumbstuds. I know other ZT Hinderers like the 0562 didn't

 

[Dfunk1210]

That is not at all normal in my opinion. Its unacceptable. Talk to the dealer for replacement.

 

[firefighterguy]

Ya it’s going back. I’m sure I got a lemon but I started looking at it closer and it has all sorts of issues with the anodizing. I’ve never had a knife with anodized titanium but I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t look like this.

Is yalls anodizing splotchy like that??!!

I oiled the detent and it didn’t change a thing.

This sucks. I’ll probably have to wait forever to get a replacement. Oh well!

 

[b00n]

We had a bit of a discussion about returning disassembles knifes to dealers lately (and what a hassle it is for the store). You might be better off talking to ZT/KAI at this point, for one depending on how little the dealer checks returns it might end up going to another customer and secondly, it really does look like a warranty issue AND they might be able to get you a new one quicker since it REALLY looks like you a good a lemon.
I cross my fingers that it really is just that and not a sign of "let's rush these out the door" although from the handful that are out, the others seem to be fine. Do you have a a very low Serial No. ?

 

[bflying]

Because anodizing is light refraction through a micro thin growth, anything on it can change the perceived color. Even simple fingerprints can make a difference. Notice that it is very different around the pivot that you oiled. Try cleaning the surface with a cloth or cotton ball and rubbing alcohol. See if those splotches go away. I'm not saying that it shouldn't go back, but if you've never had anodized Ti before, you will most likely see the same thing cosmetically with a replacement also.

View attachment 857039 View attachment 857036 View attachment 857036 View attachment 857037 View attachment 857038 View attachment 857039 Ya it’s going back. I’m sure I got a lemon but I started looking at it closer and it has all sorts of issues with the anodizing. I’ve never had a knife with anodized titanium but I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t look like this.

Is yalls anodizing splotchy like that??!!

I oiled the detent and it didn’t change a thing.

This sucks. I’ll probably have to wait forever to get a replacement. Oh well!

 

[firefighterguy]

Serial number is 0388. I only took out the pivot screw and those two that hold on the g10. Once I realized what it looked like I knew it was going back. I’ll tell the dealer I did that and ask them how to best proceed. I would never try to be dishonest or anything like that.

 

[b00n]

Because anodizing is light refraction through a micro thin growth, anything on it can change the perceived color. Even simple fingerprints can make a difference. Notice that it is very different around the pivot that you oiled. Try cleaning the surface with a cloth or cotton ball and rubbing alcohol. See if those splotches go away. I'm not saying that it shouldn't go back, but if you've never had anodized Ti before, you will most likely see the same thing cosmetically with a replacement also.

Fair point, might be just just oily discoloration after oiling the pivot and handling the scale, but I feel like he would be better off talking to the dealer before fuzzing around more with it. He can always try that later if they tell him "Well we can take it back and you get a new one in two months or a refund now" , he can decide to keep it, clean it, see if that changes the color, but then he'd still have the centering issue.

 

[Vernal]

I just got my 0393 yesterday and here are my thoughts -
The blade looks and grinds are sweet and in my opinion the edge is sharper than in most production ZT’s.
The handle assembly reminded me of a high end Kershaw but it has pleasant looks and really good grip ergonomics. The anodized scales are perfect, I think oil or maybe sweat-humidity might have temporarily changed the hue of firefighterguy anodizing.
It flips on par with the 0392, very quick and snappy lockup.
My next step after flipping and cutting with it for a day was to do a total disassembly and to my surprise the blade rides on steel raced rolling bearings not the typical KVT plastic races. The whole bearing and pivot assembly was totally dry during my inspection. ZT may use a dry lube at the factory but I went ahead and used some full synthetic gun oil M-Pro7 on everything and reassembled, also dabbing the dedent ball with a droplet.
It flips even smoother blade now, the blade is dead on centered and ready to go.
This jr Hinderer is not as solid as its 0392 brother but it’s pretty close and for a lot less money.
My only worries about the knife is where the G10 scale on the lock bar side spans the actual bar with no backing and is very thin, over time with daily use I’m not sure this will hold up.
I will still give it a thumbs up especially with the 20CV blade.

 

[basmca]

View attachment 857039 View attachment 857036 View attachment 857036 View attachment 857037 View attachment 857038 View attachment 857039 Ya it’s going back. I’m sure I got a lemon but I started looking at it closer and it has all sorts of issues with the anodizing. I’ve never had a knife with anodized titanium but I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t look like this.

Is yalls anodizing splotchy like that??!!

I oiled the detent and it didn’t change a thing.

This sucks. I’ll probably have to wait forever to get a replacement. Oh well!

what kind of BM style CQ is this from ZT...
must've been Monday morning after a late sunday party for whoever put that guy together at ZT.

 

[Rival1314]

The discoloration is almost definitely from oil, I lightly spray a microfiber with windex for quick cleans. For a full clean when disassembled I use standard dish soap and a microfiber. If after a full cleaning (no lube) you still have gritty action then I would be concerned. You really shouldn't need much (if any) oil at all for most ZT's.

 

[sharp_edge]

View attachment 857039 View attachment 857036 View attachment 857036 View attachment 857037 View attachment 857038 View attachment 857039 Ya it’s going back. I’m sure I got a lemon but I started looking at it closer and it has all sorts of issues with the anodizing. I’ve never had a knife with anodized titanium but I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t look like this.

Is yalls anodizing splotchy like that??!!

I oiled the detent and it didn’t change a thing.

This sucks. I’ll probably have to wait forever to get a replacement. Oh well!

Thanks for sharing. Could you please update us whether the discolor was due to oil or is it truly a late Friday afternoon product?

 

[Dfunk1210]

Like all above said, the color change is likely due oils from the hand and other sources. Alot of blue anodized titanium tend to turn purplish with hand oils. That so far seems slightly the case with this knife. It remains a good color regardless.

Also if you had planned to send it back to a dealer, taking apart the knife is bad etiquette. We could have better warned you before suggesting you mess with the insides

 

[firefighterguy]

Thanks for the input everyone. The knife is on its way back to ZT now. I talked to the dealer first and then ZT. ZT was very surprised and asked me to send it directly to a supervisor to get resolved. It was great CS imo. I understand bad ones slip through the cracks so I’m going to let them resolve it.

As far as the anodizing, I’m sure you guys are right about the oils. The lighting in the picture doesn’t show the color well but it’s not purple it’s the color of titanium. I’ll let ZT give an opinion on it before I comment anymore on that. Quite honestly I don’t really care so much about the anodizing. It’s the action and blade being off center that is the reason(s) why it’s going back.

A simple 1/8 turn of the pivot screw makes the blade rub on the titanium frame. It was like this from the factory. I attached a picture of what it looks like after loosening the pivot slightly. The tip is still centered but the blade is touching the frame.

Also, I haven’t “disassembled” the knife. What I’ve done has been disclosed to ZT. I’m not trying to pull anything over on anyone. I just got a bad knife and I’m trying to handle it the right way.