Hey guys and girls! Today we're gonna take a look at the Zero Tolerance 0801 flipper. The 0801 is a collaboration with Todd Rexford. As you may (or may not) know Todd is well known in the custom knife community with such great pieces of art like his Epicenter and the singularity model which this knife is based off of. So as you come to expect, a collab with ZT a leader in the production knife world would be epic... and that it is!
I have been carrying this ZT 0801 for a few weeks now and I can't seem to put it down. Like I said on my Instagram, This is quite simply the most enjoyable production knife I have ever owned and carried. Not only does the 0801 have beautiful lines, premium quality materials -- it functions just as good as it looks!
Specifications:
Overall Length - 8.20"
Blade Length - 3.50"
Handle Length - 4.70"
Handle Thickness - 0.51"
Handle Material - Titanium
Blade Material - Elmax
Weight - 5.85oz
Starting with the business end. The drop-point blade measures 3.50" with a ever so slight recurve towards the back of the edge. Some people tend to steer away from recurves because sharpening a recurve isn't straight forward like a straight edge blade. I haven't had to sharpen this blade yet, but I can't foresee any reason it would be any different than any other non-recurve blade.
The blade on the ZT 0801 is constructed using the same Elmax steel, which gives it an excellent combination of sharpness, edge retention, strength, and toughness. I've read about some people being leery about buying Elmax steel knives because of them losing their edges after the first few times of using the knife. Between my 0560 and this 0801 neither of them have had that issue. From my understanding that is caused by the heat treat being screwed up during the grinding process. And honestly, that could happen with any company. Whats most important is dealing with a company who stands behind their work. And ZT does just that. I got a 0560 from the small batch that had lockbar issues. I called in and they took care of me pretty quick and had a replacement sent out immediately. I was overly impressed with their customer service.
More about the blade, it has a beautiful heavy stonewash finish with what looks like a hazy mirror polish almost. Out of the box it was hair popping sharp. And after using it a few weeks it's still razor sharp! One one side you have the ZT logo , and on the other side you have the model, blade steel, serial# and Rexford Design on it.
The action is excellent! The ZT 0801 uses the KVT bearing system to make deployment of the blade smooth as glass and fast! Fresh out of the box you may feel the detent is to strong for your liking. But let me tell you, once it breaks in after a few days of playing with it. It's by far the best flipper action I have experienced with a production knife. Not even my more expensive 0560 even compares (sorry Rick). Like I was telling someone the other day, It's almost impossible to deploy the blade without it fully opening and locking up. The detent is just that dang good!
Lock up is super strong and tight. There is absolutely no movement in any direction. Here is a picture of the early lockup after a few weeks of use. You can also see the big detent ball in there as well as the stainless steel lock bar insert which also acts as an over travel. Closing the blade is super smooth. As far as blade centering, it still sits dead center after weeks of use as you can see here. I have some videos on my Instagram, please feel free to check out.
The body on the ZT 0801 is constructed using solid titanium handles with milled grooves that not only look great, but serve as a means of traction. It would almost appear that inside the grooves have been stonewashed but I'm not 100% sure on that. It looks nice though!
Holding the handles together are standoffs which means this is a open back knife. I really like stand off pillar design knives not only because I feel they look better, but cleaning is made easy. I just use some warm soapy water with a brush and some compressed air. No disassembly needed.
The back handle is very uniform to the presentation side handle. You can see there is a very generous sized hole for a lanyard. One thing I really like about the handles on this knife that some have overlooked in other reviews I saw on this knife -- the chamfered corners! The edges around the whole knife are chamfered which really allow you to get a firm grip on the knife without any hot spots. Here is another picture illustrating the chamfered corners.
The ZT 0801 comes with a deep carry pocket clip. If you enjoy deep carry clips than you'll love how it sits in the pocket nice and discreetly shown here. The only thing I dislike about this knife is the original clip is black in color. I feel that had they used a matching titanium or something that resembled a titanium finish it would have really looked much better. That's just my opinion though. I am sure a titanium clip probably would have increased the price on the knife well above their targeted range.
The other night I looked in my parts bin and came across a clip from my Kershaw One Ton. That clip works real well on the 0801 and sits the knife a little higher in the pocket shown here. The only downside is the clip has the Kershaw brandings on it. Not a big deal to me - form over fashion.
My final conclusion on the Zero Tolerance 0801: For under $200 dollars this is by far one of the best production flipper edc knives on the market. Between the perfect ergonomics and materials used, it really surprises me that this knife isn't closer to the retail cost of the 0560 or more. The flipper action is super smooth and FAST. Lockup is rock solid and out of the box razor sharp! Definitely try one out, for the price you can't beat it. You can get one from eknivesstore right now with free 2-day shipping.
If you have any questions please feel free to post them below or you can follow me on your favorite social media site and ask me there.
1 comments:
Wow, you seem to know a lot about blades, and your reviews are very good! Haven't you thought on beginning a blog about firearms and not only blades?
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