Zero Tolerance ZT0350TS G10 Handle Folding Tiger Striped Blade with SpeedSafe Review

Who is Zero Tolerance?

Zero Tolerance is an American knife brand that is part of the Kai Company (along with Kershaw, Shun). Its best seller is a strong foldable knife named ZT300.

Its smaller brother is a better, smaller knife, the ZT350.

What about the ZT350?

Let’s talk first about the blade of the knife. The blade is forged in a Martensitic stainless steel, a new kind of material among the knife manufacturers, the CPM S30V. This Vanadium base steel features amazing mechanical traits, especially when we talk about its durability, which is something around 58-61 HRC (this is more valuable than a D2). This steel is also corrosion resistant (it’s a stainless steel) and seems to be longer lasting than other types of common steel (D2 or CPM 440C).

Some mention though this stainless steel is not the longer lasting out there and that it is a bit more difficult to sharpen it. Despite this, this stainless steel is still one of the best materials for cutlery.

The blade of the ZT350 comes with a Wolfram (Tungsten) black cover.

zt0350 open

Let’s talk about the handle. It’s made of G10 (laminated glass fiber) which gives great endurance to use and is also very lightweight. The structure of the handle (including the safety) is made of Titan. The belt loop is made of stainless steel.

The knife is around 175 g, which is not much for a knife that may become your EDC knife as long as the law allows you to.

The folded knife is 11,7 cm and open it’s 20cm long.

The blade is 8,3 cm and the thickness is maximum 4mm.

These are decent measures for a multi-tasking small knife.

Even more, this makes a great “friend” to take wherever you go. The comfortable thickness of the blade and the stress resistant portends make this small knife a great option to consider.

When it comes to the shape of the knife we have to talk about the handle’s shape which is squared, but efficient. There are 2 areas of grip for the thumb, with very deep notches. These two zones allow wield the knife as readily in one direction than in the other with good adhesion. Professionals will appreciate the good grip with gloves, facilitated by the simple but effective relief of platelets G10. The support spring is extremely powerful and allows an opening in a few tenths of a second by a simple press of one of the two opening systems, which also gives a wonderful sound of strength and precision. The first opening system is a flip-up on the top of the knife. Pressure with the index is very intuitive and a person not familiar with the knife will be able to open it almost as fast as the knife owner.

Once you unfold the blade, the flip-up serves as a guard for the finger and avoids overflow on the blade. This makes it very safe to use.  The second opening system is standard, with the locking pin.

I only regret the lack of a chamfer on the blue area to facilitate opening by the lock pin. But there is no reason not to use the flip-up system much more efficient.

The blade is full for the ZT350 model, semi notched for ZT350ST. At the end of it, there is a hole on the stick to add a piece of Paracord or a strap.

Quality and Assembly

zt0350 open side

The first thing that came to us when handling the knife, the first time was that this is one solid and precise knife! This is one great, really made in our USA knife.

The cuts of the knife are fair and precise. Safety starts in perfect position every time

After long use, there were no opening flaws. The belt clip can be screwed to 4 different locations and the left- handers can adapt the knife to their configuration clothes.

One the downside, the 2 American screws require belt clip American Allen key which are not included and are difficult to find. They are also too small for effective tightening. This problem may be solved by hacksaw in a notch with a screwdriver.

Final word

This folding knife is of excellent craftsmanship, size, neither too small nor too big, making it an ideal everyday companion.

It excels when it comes to manufacturing, assembly and performance of the opening system. The belt clips and the four positions are a plus, also.

Unfortunately, there is no chamfer for opening by locking pin.

Check out pricing and reviews on Amazon.

Or head on to our tactical knives page to see more knife options.

 

 

 

Robert Dwayne

Robert Dwayne

To say that I am an outdoors enthusiast is probably an understatement. I am hyper passionate about everything outdoors: hiking, survival, hunting. On this website I am sharing my stories and experiences, and I hope you'll find inspiration to take up your own adventures!

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