ZT0393, ZT0609

Razor

Razor

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 8, 1999
Messages
3,964
I was wondering how the members of the forum that have bought these knives like them? I like the looks of both of these knives and hope to buy both of these when I can afford them. I handled the 0393 at Cabelas and it felt great in the hand and solid as a rock. Their was no blade play, opened smooth as silk, and the blade was dead centered. I have not handled the 0609. I am for sure going to buy the 0393. Do you think a man would like the 0609? It sure looks nice.
 
Why the hell do I need to buy the pivot tool separately? It's so annoying. Why doesn't KAI just ship the tool and the knife together and add $16.95 to the total price? The current practice ruins an otherwise pretty good knife. It's not like there are multiple ZTs needing this tool.

To the OP - I do not own ZT 0609 but from the Internet picture, it appears length-wise ZT 0609 is close to ZT 0566, both falling into the smaller pack of ZTs.
 
sharp_edge said:
Why the hell do I need to buy the pivot tool separately? It's so annoying. Why doesn't KAI just ship the tool and the knife together and add $16.95 to the total price? The current practice ruins an otherwise pretty good knife. It's not like there are multiple ZTs needing this tool.

To the OP - I do not own ZT 0609 but from the Internet picture, it appears length-wise ZT 0609 is close to ZT 0566, both falling into the smaller pack of ZTs.
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Even worse that they never made one for the 0606, which was about double the price of a 0609, and apparently they had 2 tools for the entire company to assemble them. Which is idiotic and one of the reasons I stayed away from it. Like they made two tools, why not make as many tools as they made knives, add 20$ to the knife and ship a tool with each knife and make a note that they can't be replaced and if you lose it and need your knife serviced you have to ship it to KAI/ZT again.
 
I think the 0609 is great. It's my only ZT, but I've held others in stores. It's feels great in my XL hand, just enough bigger than the 0450 for my grip, but it feels great in pocket. Mine came with perfect action, so I've felt no need to adjust the pivot, fortunately. The detent was slightly stronger than I prefer initially but now is ideal. The blade is attractive, useful, and came very sharp. It's impressive how much cutting edge they fit into such svelte handle scales while maintaining great ergonomics.

I've looked at the 0393 but prefer the 0609's thinner blade stock, and the 0393's G-10 isn't to my taste.
 
I have both and they are two very different knives. Both fit my hand well and are typical ZT quality.

The 0609 is probably the more practical... A lightweight slicer with great ergos and some oth the thinnest blade stock ZT has ever used. A deep carry clip makes a big difference IMO.

Being a huge fan of the 0392, I love the ergos of the 0393, probably more so than the 0609. However, a slicer it is not, and unless you plan on puncturing the hood of a car with it, the 0609 is the better knife IMHO.
 
abbazaba said:
I have both and they are two very different knives. Both fit my hand well and are typical ZT quality.

The 0609 is probably the more practical... A lightweight slicer with great ergos and some oth the thinnest blade stock ZT has ever used. A deep carry clip makes a big difference IMO.

Being a huge fan of the 0392, I love the ergos of the 0393, probably more so than the 0609. However, a slicer it is not, and unless you plan on puncturing the hood of a car with it, the 0609 is the better knife IMHO.
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I agree about the clip. MXG Gear's deep carry clip works perfectly on the 0609.
 
Skip the 0609 until the tool is FINALLY out. I've only carried mine once, thinking that the tool was just on the horizon, but nope.
 
`br4dz- said:
Skip the 0609 until the tool is FINALLY out. I've only carried mine once, thinking that the tool was just on the horizon, but nope.
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I respect your advice, but in case someone is itching to buy the 0609 right away, I just want to offer the assurance that at least this one owner has a blade still perfectly centered and with no play after 3 months of use. Not sure what the average experience is.
 
I have the 0609BLK and it's great and everyone that I show it to likes it. Opens, Closes and Locks perfectly. Centering is spot on. I ordered a pivot tool a month ago or so, and I'm not freaked out over not having it, but I do not take my knives apart. Bought the tool b/c this is a keeper and who knows what condition it will be in in 5yrs.
 
I have both. Get them both! Both were perfect out of the box. The 609 is a better slicer, a bit lighter and feels great in the hand. The 393 feels a little more secure in my hand and would probably get the nod over the 609 in only really slippery conditions like cleaning a large animal or a lot of fish.
 
I’ve handled a bad copy (weak detent) of the 0393, two perfect 0609s, and bought an 0609. Since picking mine up, it has bumped the 0562 as my most carried folder.

My take:

I’ll be honest. If the 0393 had an uncoated blade, I’d have one. I love it in hand, the blade shape is good, and the size is right. Great knife. That blade coating kills it for me.

Even if the 0393 had a clean blade, I’d lean toward the 0609. I’m not a guy who chases light weight knives, or even cares about weight. I *have* had a specific interest lately in blade thickness around .12”, which made me look hard at the 0450 and 0609. Handling them side by side, the 0609 easily for the nod. They’re both great, but the 0609 is a masterpiece. Though the handle is thin, it has enough going on front to back to fill my large hands nicely in a full, four finger grip.

ypcbpZ0h.jpg


As you can see, the handle provides a perfect grip, without a bunch of dead handle hanging out. It’s exactly as much as it needs to be great in hand.

It also packs a lot of cutting edge for the handle length. Great blade shape, .12” stock, 20CV steel, fairly high grind, perfect sharpening choil, yet still brings the cutting edge close enough to your hand to allow power behind cuts.

This thing is gorgeous. Very easy on the eye. Very good action.

Still, everything about the 0609, except for the pivot tool situation, makes it a very high performing user. I haven’t had to make any adjustments to mine, and I can (literally) walk to KAI if I have a problem, but I don’t anticipate trouble.

I use the 0609 a lot, and it is a genuine pleasure to work with.
 
RBid said:
I’ve handled a bad copy (weak detent) of the 0393, two perfect 0609s, and bought an 0609. Since picking mine up, it has bumped the 0562 as my most carried folder.

My take:

I’ll be honest. If the 0393 had an uncoated blade, I’d have one. I love it in hand, the blade shape is good, and the size is right. Great knife. That blade coating kills it for me.

Even if the 0393 had a clean blade, I’d lean toward the 0609. I’m not a guy who chases light weight knives, or even cares about weight. I *have* had a specific interest lately in blade thickness around .12”, which made me look hard at the 0450 and 0609. Handling them side by side, the 0609 easily for the nod. They’re both great, but the 0609 is a masterpiece. Though the handle is thin, it has enough going on front to back to fill my large hands nicely in a full, four finger grip.

ypcbpZ0h.jpg


As you can see, the handle provides a perfect grip, without a bunch of dead handle hanging out. It’s exactly as much as it needs to be great in hand.

It also packs a lot of cutting edge for the handle length. Great blade shape, .12” stock, 20CV steel, fairly high grind, perfect sharpening choil, yet still brings the cutting edge close enough to your hand to allow power behind cuts.

This thing is gorgeous. Very easy on the eye. Very good action.

Still, everything about the 0609, except for the pivot tool situation, makes it a very high performing user. I haven’t had to make any adjustments to mine, and I can (literally) walk to KAI if I have a problem, but I don’t anticipate trouble.

I use the 0609 a lot, and it is a genuine pleasure to work with.
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I was going to add my thoughts, but this pretty well sums it up. The 0609 is an awesome knife.
One of the small details I really enjoy is the tapered end of the handle. It makes it really nice for getting your hand in the pocket.
This knife is great to carry and great to cut. It's my preferred edc.
 
I have both and love them. Pivot tool isn’t a concern for me at all as I haven’t had to disassemble my 609 yet for any reason, and I use my knives plenty.

609 is a nice, slim carry that’s great for those who like a smaller knife that’s still capable. 393 is larger but isn’t cumbersome in pocket and performs well in cutting (not as “slicey” as the 609 but it cuts apples, cardboard and rubber hose just fine) plus the tip is great for boring through leather or making pilot holes in wood.

Get them both whenever you can and enjoy them.
 
abbazaba said:
Being a huge fan of the 0392, I love the ergos of the 0393, probably more so than the 0609. However, a slicer it is not, and unless you plan on puncturing the hood of a car with it, the 0609 is the better knife IMHO.
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So, hypothetically, terrorizing head gaskets is off the table with the 0609. That's a deal-breaker for me.
 
I handled both of them before pulling the trigger on one, and in my opinion, the 0609 just felt cheap... The handle seemed really small compared to the overall size of the knife, and it was very blade heavy when open. I didn't like the finish on the Titanium and it just felt like a toy to me... I really liked the feel of the 0393 however, and I like it more and more every time I handle it!! After flipping it for a few days, the action is on part with the best flipper actions I've used... The only knife I've had that is affirmatively better, in my opinion, was a full custom Andre Van Heerden... It is, again in my opinion, on par with the Bodegas that I've owned. The 0393 was the best ~$200 I've spent on a knife, by far!
 
b00n said:
Even worse that they never made one for the 0606, which was about double the price of a 0609, and apparently they had 2 tools for the entire company to assemble them. Which is idiotic and one of the reasons I stayed away from it. Like they made two tools, why not make as many tools as they made knives, add 20$ to the knife and ship a tool with each knife and make a note that they can't be replaced and if you lose it and need your knife serviced you have to ship it to KAI/ZT again.
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This is one of the things that made me quit buying Microtechs. You already have a complete set of Torx tools and here comes Microtech with screws and pivots that you cant tighten or loosen up. Then when you finally say F it and go to buy a Microtech tool because the screws are getting loose and they cant tell you which size tool you need. Apparently there are different sizes (I guess like Torx) but the toole are like $20 a piece. Just as well Microtech are too expensive anyway.
 
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