Zero Tolerance ZT0545
Franz Shubert’s Winterreise is a work of profound sadness. Based on a poem by Wilhelm Muller, the piece details a winter journey by a man struggling with grief from the end of a relationship. As he plunges in to deeper levels of despair, his sadness transmutes into existential dread. Hope is obliterated by the unrelenting Prussian winter. Add to that the fact that Shubert was starting to feel the mental and physical effects of syphillis that would ultimately kill him and Winterreise is one of the darkest and bleakest pieces of symphonic music ever written. It is literally and metaphorically about being lost and directionless in the wilderness.
And so you can probably guess where this intro segues to knives. Zero Tolerance shot on to the scene in the early 2000s as a brand focused on high end tactical production knives. And they were pretty good at it, though in retrospect tactical knives at the time tended to be pretty crude by nature and so making good ones was really just not making bad ones. After that period, Zero Tolerance shifted and became a brand that made really high quality production knives, though still with a tactical bent. They did collaborations with hot custom makers and their knives gave the masses the ability to own something similar to a sought after custom.
But two things happened that resulted in ZT being on their own Winterreise for most of the last decade.
First, the slabby, bulky designs that ZT specialized in fell out of popularity on the heels of the Benchmade Bugout and, for enthusiasts, the TRM Neutron. Knife buyers, both in the general public and the IKC, were looking for slim folders that carried and cut well. The use of high end PM steels made it such that these thinner folders basically had no toughness penalty for being slim—chemistry overcame geometry to deliver thinner blades that were equally tough (compare how the A2 Bravo 1 and 3V Bravo 1 LT from Bark River were designed) ZT’s formula of thick titanium framelock flippers with equally thick blade stock didn’t follow this trend.
Second, the overseas brands caught up to and then surpassed ZT in terms of execution and design. Reate and WE were among the first high end Chinese brands and when they first came out people scoffed at the idea of paying $300 for an overseas made knife, especially when ZT was making good stuff in America. But then Reate and WE started making stuff that was just better. Line up the ZT0055 to the WE Knives GTC Solid SLT. The WE Knives version has everything the ZT has, plus it is a full integral AND has complex machining on the handle and a true duplex grind on the blade. ZT kept cranking out one new slabby framelock after another while the enthusiast knife market moved on to Reate/WE and self-published blades and everyone was obsessed with the Bugout.
Then, like a bolt of lightning, the ZT0545 came to market. There was no fanfare, no big press push, just an announcement one day and the knife a few days later. ZT’s Winterreise is over. This is a great knife. Let’s take a look.
Here is the product page. There are no variants yet. Here is a written review. Here is a video review. Here is my review sample (purchased with my own money and mine to keep):
Quick Review Summary: The best ZT ever.
Design: 2
The Bugout Revolution was the same thing in the knife world that Lotus was in the racing world. Some of Lotus competitors thought the idea was crazy and globbed on more and more power with more and more weight. Now we all know, having watched modern motorsports, that weight is much more important than horsepower. And we know that thin is better than thick in EDC knives. Why use all these high end steels with their high hardness and then make it as thick and slabby as 1095 on a KaBar? The design of the ZT0545 embraces the Bugout Revolution and the benefits of thin blade stock. Magnacut is high hardness. Make it thin and the knife works better AND is easier to carry. Yay!
And the ZT0545 IS thin. Really, really thin. The entire knife is thin and well proportioned. It has a tall slicey blade and nicely shaped handle. It also has a great little pocket clip, but more on that below. The entire knife, while still looking like a ZT, feels like a modern knife, a post-Bugout Revolution folder. And combining those to things make it a really great knife.
Fit and Finish: 2
No loose pivots or wonky screws, everything is buttoned down nice and tight. I like that a thin flipper can also be a solid one. A bunch of companies could stand to learn this lesson. You can make a flipper and not have a loosey goosey pivot. Again and again each facet of this knife is just buttoned down. The grinds are even, the machining on the handle, even the unnecessary greeblie bits, is good. The chamfers are pretty complex but they are evenly done all around the knife. The stonewashing is excellent. This is just a well made knife. I will note that this is a well done knife with a comparatively low degree of difficult. Still, its very nice.
Grip: 2
The shape of the handle and the cut of the chamfers is excellent and provides a lot of grip. The stonewashed titanium isn’t too slick either. But I do want to take a second to talk about the indent on the lock side. Its cool. It is a not-so-subtle hint that you shouldn’t rest your fingers on the lockbar (a perennial problem ZT alone seems to suffer from). Over the years, knives have tended towards the same direction that spacecraft have taken on screen. Compare the model of the Enterprise from TOS to the model of the Falcon in Episode 3. They are about a decade apart, but the difference is stunning. The Falcon looks like a real ship covered in vents and pipes and tubing. The surface of the ship is covered in details that model makers and special effects folks call greebles. It was a term that came from physical model making, where pieces from other model kits were added to provide visual interest and surface detail. I am okay with it on ships, but on knives, I need some more reasons why.
The Benchmade Mini Grip had a lot of “texturing” and I think that’s fine. Its a functional thing. But when you get to a knife like the Mini Bodega, the RSKAOS, or this knife to a very small degree, some of the surface details are 100% not functional, like the pocket under the lockbar. They look cool, I guess, but taken to an extreme like on the RSKAOS, it makes the knife visually confusing and, I think, ugly. It also impacts pocket carry negatively. Here the ZT0545 keeps it limited to just that little pocket, which definitely lightens the knife, but I think I would have preferred the milling to be internal. It is fine here, but I hope that ZT doesn’t take this further and make it part of a new aesthetic. Visual confusion is not welcome. I also suspect that it will appear dated in time. Think about the timeless knife designs, something like the Sebenza—no frills, gills, or greebles to be found.
Carry: 2
Thin, light knives are just better, especially if we are talking about folders. And one of the follow on effects of being a slicey knife is that they tend to be better in the pocket. The ZT0545 is no different. This is an excellent knife in the pocket and it slides in and out nicely. Don’t worry, I’ll get to the clip below. Suffice to say, its excellent.
Steel: 2
Magnacut is great. Its the new M390, its everywhere. And that’s a good thing. Thoughtlessly good steel is a huge positive. But here, again, slicey knives are better. If you are going to thin out the blade, using a high hardness steel is better. You can make your blade thinner without sacrificing much in the way of durability. Given all of the ancillary benefits of making thin knives, its almost like ALL folders should be thin (which they should).
Blade Shape: 2
Sure, this could have been some vague leaf-shaped or drop point blade, but why not go the clip point route and make it a bit cooler? I love this choice in the same what that I liked the Space Opera Retro Western feel of the setting in Firefly. Carbon fiber handles, state of the art steel, and cool retro clip point blade. Its not a choice I would have made designing this knife, but it is definitely the right one. It is also proof that design by numbers (or by preferred feature) in knife making is not the right way to go.
Grind: 2
A few months ago I got to handle some knives I don’t really pay attention to—kilobuck production knives from overseas. In particular I got to handle one that, for reasons I am unsure of, the IKC goes crazy for every time there is a release. It was good. It was well made. It looked cool. It felt and carried like a boat anchor. And after a few flips and a cursory check of the fit and finish, I handed it back to its own and had zero desire to go buy one. Nothing disincentivizes a knife purchase for me like a 3/16” blade of M390. When you add in the bulky titanium handles, it was a big fat no from me. I get thick fixed blades—they have to do a lot of work and hold up despite a lot of thrashing, but no one with a $1,100 production folder is batonning with it unless they are doing so as a stunt. So what’s all the extra bulk for? I don’t know. And when I pick up and carry something like the ZT0545 I am blown away by how much better of a knife this is than that portly, slabby mess. Thin is in.
Deployment Method: 1
I love the minimized flipper tab. I like the texture on the tab itself. And the knife deploys consistently, but it lacks the snappy, kinetic feel of the best flippers out there. Compared to something like the Indiana Knives EDZ, the ZT0545 feels very 2003. Now not everything needs to a Roosevelt when opening, but for a $272 knife, I expect something smoother than this. Of the criticism out there of this knife in the IKC, this is the only fair one. It could be and should be smoother. After all, quite a few Civivis, CJRBs, and the like have perfect flipping action at 1/10th the price.
Retention Method: 2
Number 1 question on IG: do I like this clip? Answer: Yes, 100%. It is so small and so discrete that almost no one will do well playing my favorite knife-related game show “Guess the Blade.” In fact, most people won’t even recognize it as a knife. The clip is surprisingly strong, and, despite its size, works very well. It is not my favorite production clip, that’s still the wire clip, but it is excellent. Think of it as a simplified version of the mini split arrow clip on the Mini Bugout and you will be fine.
Lock/Blade Safety: 2
With just a little cut out, the ZT0545 makes for an excellent knife to engage and disengage. There is no lock rock or blade play when the knife is in the open position. One weird thing is that as it rests in the blade well, there is a bit of “gushiness” at the end of the blade path. That is, I can close it and then push a bit more for it to really close.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: High
Better deployment would make this knife so much better.
Fett Effect: Low
This will look the same for a decade. If that’s what you like, then this is your jam. Sebenza this is not.
Value: Moderate
With excellent materials, and nice fit and finish this is a good knife. At $272 its pretty expensive. Its not a better knife than the also made in America TRM Neutron 2, which is about $100 less, so there is that. But its an okay value for a big maker. The Magnacut Mini Adamas is $375. So see, its kinda, sorta, maybe a good value.
Overall Score: 19 out of 20
The ZT0545 is an excellent folder and an ideal EDC. It fixed a lot of the mistakes of the shortlived ZT0707 and is a superior platform for variants. I’d love to see new handle materials on the show side and new colors for the accent pieces. The blade’s thin profile brings ZT in line with current trends and the unconventional pocket clip is excellent. The action isn’t up to par with other knives in this price range from overseas and US producers, but is fine. Overall, this is a great knife and the best ZT ever.
Competition
Competition in this part of the market is extremely stiff. The very best knife on the market, the TRM Neutron 2, is roughly the same size with very good materials (thought a slightly inferior blade steel) and comes in almost a full $100 cheaper. Fortunately, a knife can still be great and not best. Its kind of like Willie Mays—he is clearly a Hall of Famer, but if he were the threshold to get in, there would be 4 people in the Hall of Fame (Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Walter Johsnon, and Barry Bonds, for the record). Compared to another Magnacut EDC folder, the Hogue Deka, the ZT0545 comes up better. I love the Hogue Deka but it lacks that the polish that something like the N2 or the ZT0545 have. I’d love to see this against Giant Mouse’s Magnacut folder the Tribeca. I do think this knife is just straight up better than the Bugout and the Mini Bugout. It is also clearly a better value than the Magnacut Mini Adamas. With Benchmade’s prices going up, it is harder and harder to recommend them over other knives. Compared to the Spyderco Native 5 in Magnacut, I like this knife better, but there it is a matter of opinion. The ZT0545 is a great knife, the best ever by ZT by a country mile, and one of the best available, but there are better, strictly speaking. Where would a Magnacut Dragonfly 2 fit? Only time will tell…
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