Zero Tolerance has announced a couple of new folding pocket knives at the 2016 SHOT Show.
We have posted about the brand and their knives a couple of times, and hold them in high regard. Zero Tolerance is a USA manufacturer of heavy duty knives. Their products aren’t for everyone, and they’re far from being inexpensive.
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Most Zero Tolerance knives feature premium steel blades, some have super-premium steel blades.
Pocket knives are universally handy. You might think that an EDC-style flipper or folding pocket knife might not be as work-friendly as a simple utility knife with disposable blade, but they seem to be gaining in popularity.
A few years ago Milwaukee came out with inexpensive folding knives. They too have jumped on the trend and are coming out with EDC knives later this year.
If you ask me, your first EDC (everyday carry) folding pocket knife shouldn’t be a Zero Tolerance. You should at least try one or two less expensive brands first, to help determine what kind of knife style works best for your needs and preferences.
Kershaw, Zero Tolerance’s sister company, makes some excellent USA-made folders, such as the Link, for under $50, and Knockout, which is ~$56.
You can buy a ZT knife for as low as $140 (the 0350 SpeedSafe spring-assisted folder), sometimes less if you find a good sale.
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Here’s a look at past years’ new releases:
- New Zero Tolerance Knives for 2013
- New Zero Tolerance Knives for 2014
- New Zero Tolerance Knives for 2015
My last Zero Tolerance knife review was the 0450, which came out last year. It’s a more minimalist and almost elegant-looking flipper knife.
Following are the 6 new Zero Tolerance knife designs that they’ll be launching in 2016. If history is any indication, it’ll be months before any of these new Zero Tolerance knives hit the market, giving you plenty of time to save your pennies.
Most of these new-for-2016 knives feature a S35VN stainless steel blade, which is made using high quality powdered metallurgy for a tough and wear-resistant blade. Some feature a CTS-204P powdered metallurgy steel blade, which ZT says is tough, wear-resistant, and corrosion-resistant.
Zero Tolerance 0095BW
The ZT 0095BW has a pointer “harpoon-style” blade that I suppose would be well suited for piercing tasks, or anything that requires very fine tip control.
The unique blade and decorative 2-tone pivot hardware give it a distinct appearance.
Personally, I don’t think this design is well suited for casual applications, but that’s just me.
- Blade: 3.6 in
- Steel: S35VN
- Blade finish: Tungsten DLC BlackWash
- Titanium frame lock with hardened steel lockbar insert
- Reversible pocket clip
- Handle: Titanium, BlackWash finish
- Closed length: 4.9 in. (12.4 cm)
- Overall length: 8.4 in. (21.3 cm)
- Weight: 5.3 oz. (150.3 g)
MSRP: $275
Early Street Price: $220
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Zero Tolerance 0220
The new Zero Tolerance 0220 comes from a collaboration between ZT and Danish knifemaker Jens Anso.
Zero Tolerance says that the 0220 has a sleek and practical design with custom touches, and I think I could agree with the practical part.
Its blade is a modified drop-point style with slight recurve, which should make it a good performer at whatever you throw at it.
A nice touch is the orange-anodized aluminum backspacer, which has a built-in lanyard attachment loop.
- Blade: 3.5 in. (8.9 cm)
- Steel: S35VN
- Blade finish: stonewashed
- Titanium frame lock with hardened steel lockbar insert
- Reversible deep-carry pocket clip
- Handle: Titanium, bead blast finish
- Closed length: 4.9 in. (12.4 cm)
- Overall length: 8.4 in. (21.3 cm)
- Weight: 6.2 oz. (175.8 g)
MSRP: $275
Early Street Price: $208
Coming Soon(via BladeHQ)
Zero Tolerance 0450CF
The new Zero Tolerance 0450CF is similar to the ZT 0450 flipper knife I reviewed last year, but with a carbon fiber scale and black DLC finish on the blade and back handle scale.
The green anodized spacers are a nice touch, although the red spacers from the 0450 might have looked just as good, if not better.
I found the 0450 to be a spectacular knife, and it’s also more compact than it looks. I prefer the looks of the 0450 over the 0450CF, but that’s just me.
The carbon fiber handle scale on the 0450CF seems to shed a fraction of an ounce off the weight, so you’re buying the 0450CF more for its blackout looks and carbon fiber appearance, rather than weight savings.
- Blade: 3.25 in. (8.3 cm)
- Steel: S35VN
- Blade finish: DLC coating
- Titanium frame lock with hardened steel lockbar insert
- Reversible pocket clip
- Handle: Carbon fiber front, titanium back
- Closed length: 4.1 in. (10.4 cm)
- Overall length: 7.4 in. (18.8 cm)
- Weight: 2.7 oz. (76.5 g)
MSRP: $225
Early Street Price: $180
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Zero Tolerance 0456
The new Zero Tolerance 0456 looks like somewhat of a stubby knife (which I like).
It’s not quite as compact as my much-loved and well-used Spyderco Techno that I reviewed here, but it’s still smaller than many of the other knives ZT is coming out with in 2016.
The ZT 0456 (I love that number!) is based off of “The Pole,” a design by Belarusian knifemaker Dmitry Sinkevich.
Zt describes this as offering premium cutting power and standout looks that are just waiting to be shown off. The blue anodized pivot and pocket clip do appeal to me, as does the “3D rayed handle contours” and two-tone stonewashed and satin finish blade.
The blade shape kind of reminds me of the modified sheepsfoot profile found on the Benchmade mini Griptilian knife that I reviewed here.
- Blade: 3.25 in. (8.3 cm)
- Steel: CTS-204P
- Blade finish: two-tone
- Titanium frame lock with hardened steel lockbar insert
- Reversible pocket clip
- Handle: Titanium, stonewashed and satin finish
- Closed length: 4.5 in. (11.4 cm)
- Overall length: 7.7 in. (19.6 cm)
- Weight: 6.6 oz. (187.1 g)
MSRP: $275
Early Street Price: $240
Coming Soon(via BladeHQ)
Zero Tolerance 0804CF
Zero Tolerance and Todd Rexford collaborated to produce the 0804CF knife.
I own a ZT 0801, another Rexford collaboration, and while it’s a great knife, I don’t see much appeal in this new 0804CF. To me it looks a little too boxy and maybe even bulky. But, looks aren’t everything.
Despite its size, the 0804CF is quite a bit lighter than even smaller knives, thanks to its weight-saving carbon fiber handle scale.
- Blade: 3.9 in. (9.9 cm)
- Steel:CTS-204P
- Blade finish: tungsten DLC coating
- Titanium frame lock with hardened steel lockbar insert
- Reversible pocket clip
- Handle: Carbon fiber front, titanium back
- Closed length: 4.9 in. (12.4 cm)
- Overall length: 8.9 in. (22.6 cm)
- Weight: 5.1 oz. (144.6 g)
MSRP: $350
Early Street Price: $280
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Zero Tolerance 0909
The Zero Tolerance 0909 is quite different than the other new ZT knives that are coming out in 2016.
First, it’s a liner lock, not a frame lock. That’s not bad, it’s just another choice for users. It seems that this design choice also makes the knife more slender than if it were a frame lock knife.
Second, it has a textured G-10 handle. G-10 is a glass-fiber-reinforced polymer which can be quite grippy, but also sometimes abrasive. In my experience, Zero Tolerance does a great job with G-10.
The 0909 resulted from a collaboration between ZT and Les George, who also worked on the 0900 that came out last year. The ZT 0909 is based on George’s Talos knife design.
- Blade: 3.8 in. (9.7 cm)
- Steel: S35VN
- Blade finish: stonewashed
- Liner lock
- Reversible deep-carry pocket clip
- Handle: textured G-10
- Closed length: 4.75 in. (12.1 cm)
- Overall length: 8.5 in. (21.6 cm)
- Weight: 7.5 oz. (212.6 g)
MSRP: $225
Early Street Price: $180
Buy Now(via BladeHQ)
Bryan
I like some of their designs and materials but 90% of their knives are just too heavy to carry as an edc unfortunately. I have the 0770cf and love it because it’s 3oz. Wish they’d make some more knives in the 3-5oz range.
Jim D
I just wish they would make some knives that weren’t a million dollars. LOL
Nathan
I wish they and Kershaw weren’t japanese owned.
meh. are they good products – sure. Are they mostly marketing – sure.
I’d perfer to spend my money on benchmade, leatherman or buck if I had a choice.
Jim D
I have carried all of the above and I still keep going right back to Kershaw. Kershaw out performs after a lot of abuse and their customer service is great. I had to order the little safety plastic piece because I sometimes close the knife with the safety on and it severs it. They sent me a dozen with the little allen screws for free without any questions at all.
Another benefit is the unmatched opening system. When you are holding something with one hand and need to cut, the knife comes out and opens quicker with less effort than any other knife I have used.
I collect a lot of knives and carry a good variety but when I know my blade is going to be tested to the limits, I always grab the Kershaw. I just haven’t been able to justify the price tag on the Zero’s yet, plus I’m married so that doesn’t help!
Stuart
Do you know of comparable quality knives, made from the same or similar materials, that cost notably less?
Yes, there’s a lot of marketing tied into making premium knife brands look better to justify their high prices, but I haven’t really thought that about Zero Tolerance.
Nathan
benchmade and buck both make knife blades out of same or similar metals as ZT. By that I mean they both offer S30V models.
I would say short of the CF handle stuff – that nobody really needs if you want to get down to it – a benchmade is as good as either.
I don’t go looking for 300 dollar pocket knives, wouldn’t carry one and sure as hell wouldn’t use one of those in or around my job. I would use something made of a 400 SS, and something with metal handles or chemical resistant plastics. Not CF, not Ti, and no fancy finishes to get destroyed by actual use.
my bigger issue with them is all the made in america show for a company owned by japanese.
but either way. next up discussions on which watch, tag, rolex, omega or apple.
Alan
Zero Tolerance builds some of the best knives on the market right now. Don’t know why it matters that they’re owned by a Japanese company. Different strokes for different folks, I also don’t understand how a knife having carbon fiber or titanium would keep it from being a useable knife either.
As far as the new models go, the 909, 804, and 456 are definite buys for me. The Anso is boring, the 450CF is too small for me handle wise, and I prefer the Russian market 0095 to the blacked out model.
Eric
I agree, I love ZT knives. Being in the military, I love stuff made in USA as much as the next guy, but the Japanese know cutlery! All my kitchen knives are handmade in Japan and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Michael
9090 looks like something I would like. Now if you want an inexpensive hard working knife and you’re not a knife snob, the Kershaw filter is one you can use and abuse. And, if you loose it, you’re out $15 at Walmart. If you can afford the expensive knives , then I would buy them too.