Should you aren’t aware of Oregon-based Zero Tolerance knives, I’d wager you’ve most likely heard of Kershaw. The 2 are sister corporations, each a part of the Kai group. Provided that the pair are headquartered just some miles down the highway from me, I’m greater than aware of them and lots of of their merchandise.
The first distinction between the 2 manufacturers is that whereas Kershaw has design and high quality management right here in Oregon, they use Chinese language manufactured components to maintain the prices in line on their budget-based knives. Zero Tolerance then again, is a no-holds-barred American-made model, with costs that replicate the care and high quality that go into the ultimate merchandise.
I’m not primarily a knife reviewer, and this isn’t a knife-centric web site. I took the prospect to overview this knife as a result of I’m bored with working with low- to mid-grade knives that simply don’t maintain up over time.
Should you’re searching for a “adequate” or a “twice-a-year” tenting or bushcraft knife, you may need to transfer alongside to the following publish. Zero Tolerance knives are reputed to be made for individuals who make their very own shelters, hack their very own trails, baton through wood, and count on to slice simply by a steak on the finish of the day.
With that, let me introduce the Zero Tolerance 0006. Let’s take a crack on the ZT-0006’s specs as supplied by Zero Tolerance earlier than hands-on time.
Technical Specs:
- Blade Metal CPM 3V
- Blade Size 6 in.
- HRC 59-61
- Blade End/Coating Bead-blasted end and Cerakote coating
- Blade Thickness 0.19 in.
- Deal with Materials G10
- Deal with Thickness 0.7 in.
- Total Size 10.7 in.
- Weight 10.3 oz.
- Kydex Sheath Included
- Made In The USA
First a fast visible inspection. The ZT-0006 seems like a bayonet, which is anticipated because the design is impressed by the ZT-9 bayonet. The 0006 was shrunk down a bit, and turned extra right into a climbing/camp knife.
The backbone is thick with a pleasant taper in direction of the entrance. The handguard is pretty small, however it’s giant sufficient to guard your hand. The Cerakote end is effectively utilized.
The textured G-10 deal with is comfortably beveled, missing coarse edges however offering sufficient grip even for a harsh stab (extra on that later).
After which there’s the sting. Most manufacturing unit knives include an excellent edge on them — you’d count on that — however the ZT-0006 has them beat. I’m shocked there isn’t an animated gleam of sunshine working down the blade with a cartoony “SHING” noise accompanying it while you take it out of the sheath.
Total, a wonderful presentation.
I needed to check that edge, then beat it up, then take a look at is once more and see the way it holds. First, the paper take a look at.
It’s easy actually, maintain a bit of ordinary printer paper up, place the knife within the center, and see how simply it slides down by the paper. If you need to noticed forwards and backwards, or if the paper has tear marks as a substitute of a clear slice, the knife isn’t sharp sufficient.
The ZT-0006 simply slid by the paper, with far much less resistance than my Emerson Seax, and about on par with my Morakniv (which has a blade about half the thickness). To date, so good.
Batoning is a take a look at practically everybody makes use of with tenting and bushcraft knives, and for good motive. It’s a practical use for a knife that is perhaps your solely trendy device in an emergency state of affairs. Place your knife on high of a bit of firewood and use a thick stick as a hammer to pound the blade by the wooden.
I took the ZT-0006 by a few thick items of wooden with no hassle. That huge backbone shook off the hammering with ease, and to this point the sting nonetheless seems image excellent. No rolls, no chips.
Sharpening sticks is one other widespread take a look at with actual world utility, whether or not you’re getting a stick able to roast some meat over the fireplace, or sharpening some stake poles for a survival shelter. Even when the youngsters simply want marshmallow skewers, it is a fundamental job. Inexperienced wooden is way simpler to shave down, so I discovered some more durable branches across the property and went at them.
The ZT-0006 pivots properly in my hand as I pared the sticks down, once more exhibiting the great stability of texture vs “non-cheese grater” of the grip.
Any knife you’re hoping to have on you in an emergency state of affairs or on a looking journey could find yourself doing greater than slicing kindling. It could find yourself getting used defensively or to interrupt downn an animal. The time period “tactical” is used within the promoting in any case. I used to be missing in contemporary mammal corpses, so I went to the following smartest thing: ballistic gelatin.
Lengthy held as the usual for ballistic testing, gelatin calibrated to 10% is the FBI ammunition testing protocol medium. It’s lower than stellar for a knife as I discovered, however nonetheless makes for a helpful train.
I jabbed my gel block from just a few totally different angles and with a pair totally different grips on the knife. Every hit was between 3 and 5 inches deep, however it wasn’t lengthy earlier than I found the issue with gelatin and knives.
Ballistic gelatin may be very “dry.” It doesn’t really feel slippery like Jell-O, it’s extra like an enormous, partially dehydrated gummi bear. Stabbing in? Okay that’s positive. Powerful, however positive. Pulling the knife out? It’s kinda like beginning an engine with out oil. Punching an affordable folder by the aspect of a (bloodshot) deer’s ribcage is way simpler than doing that in gel.
In comparison with actual world experiences, I don’t assume this was a very enlightening take a look at, however value a attempt. The “bloody” ballistic mannequins typically seen on Solid in Fireplace and Garand Thumb’s YouTube channel are far more life like, given the lubricating impact blood has, and the general moisture content material of meat.
Time to get the ZT-0006 into some filth. No, I’m not going to throw it at a metal plate or drop it onto a concrete flooring, however I do know I’m not the one one who’s ever dropped a knife across the camp web site. Will the sting maintain up?
At that time I anticipated to see at the very least a pair small rolls, provided that I practically needed to stand on the deal with to get the blade midway down into the dry, hardpacked summer season filth, had shaved a pair branches down, had hacked into the aspect of a log, had batoned a small pile of kindling, and had murdered a small dice of gelatin. The ZT-0006 took all of it like a champ, with nothing to indicate for it however some minor blemishes on the Cerakote. The sting continues to be in incredible form.
In any case that I listed above (and an excellent bit extra) I used to be hungry. I grabbed just a few apples off one in all my bushes and went for a sequence of skinny slices during, core included.
The thickness of the backbone precludes preserving the semi-transparent slices during the apple, however slicing was nonetheless simple no matter which a part of the sting I used to be utilizing.
The ZT-0006 blade is fabricated from CPM 3V metal. This can be a premium, American-made metal, well-known for its edge retention, resistance to chipping, capacity to carry a positive edge, and distinctive toughness.
There’s no such factor as a free lunch, so all of that efficiency comes with two prices. The primary is that this isn’t a chrome steel (that are softer and fewer sturdy, however resist rust), so it is going to oxidize when you don’t deal with it. That Cerakote end will assist in that regard. The second value is, effectively, value. American metal and workmanship don’t include “Made in China” worth tags.
So in the long run, you need to ask your self, am I available in the market for a “adequate” knife that may deal with just a few leisurely tenting journeys (and will likely be changed just a few instances in my life), or do I need a top-of-the-line knife that your youngsters can combat over while you’re within the floor?
I’ve damaged and worn out a dozen lesser knives between looking, tenting, and through my time as an Military Ranger. Once I realized I used to be now not a child residing paycheck-to-paycheck anymore, I adopted the “purchase as soon as, cry as soon as” coverage at any time when potential. The ZT-0006 is the type of knife Mad Max will discover laying on the outskirts of the post-apocalyptic wastelands, flippantly oiled and nonetheless with a honed edge.
I’m only one man with one opinion, and that opinion is that $320 (of ever-inflating {dollars}) is a worthwhile worth to pay for a knife this good that may final a lifetime.
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