Zero Tolerance 0450CF; Folding Knife with 3.25” DLC-Coated S35VN Stainless Steel Blade, All-Black Carbon Fiber and Titanium Handle Scales, KVT Ball-Bearing Opening, Frame Lock, Pocketclip; 2.45 OZ.

Very sleek, beautiful knife & a fantastic EDC. (Thoughts comparing the ZT0450CF to the Kershaw Leek CF)I had originally bought a carbon fiber Kershaw Leek and was pretty satisfied by it, however there were a couple of things that left me wanting more after using it. One: the style of the Leek was attractive, but not quite as appealing or eye-catching as I was hoping for. The quality of the Leek is not in question, it is a very good knife overall, but I wanted something that would ultimately be my Every Day Carry. Two: the action (both opening and closing) was not to my satisfaction. The Leek is an assisted open, which I found to be a little bit too jolting. The torsion bar used for the assisted opening system also provided an additional drawback to the closing/folding of the blade, which left me wanting. Closing the knife is doable with one hand, but I prefer a much easier one-handed close. So those two things in mind, I decided to look into the ZT line up and to try out the 0450CF. I ordered it and once I received it, within a day of using the ZT0450CF, I knew I had a replacement EDC.So first off the build quality, pretty equal to the Kershaw Leek, except for the blade is a more premium steel, S34VN (ZT) vs CPM154 (Kershaw). This is a relatively minor thing anyway, both are good and for EDC's you can't go wrong with even the Leek. I prefer the black DLC coating of the 0450CF, but that's a matter of simple preference. Looking at the alignment, the blade closes and is perfectly centered in the handle, as well.Next is the opening system. Despite being a manual open, the 0450 is buttery smooth at opening. Really, it's as easy as the assisted open system with the Leek. The benefit to me though, is not having that spring-loaded thrust. The 0450 opens easily from any angle with the push of the flipper tab. And it's this easy to open right out of the box.Then when closing the 0450, that is where it really sold me. Right out of the box, I was able to press the frame lock with my thumb, begin closing the blade with my index finger, move my thumb out of the way and nudge the blade a little more with my index finger and it would close the rest of the way on its own. Super, super smooth, super fast, and easy one-handed close. The Leek would require my index finger and then sometimes my thumb to finish guiding the blade all the way to the closed position due to the torsion bar's tension.I also really like the green standoffs of the 0450CF. It gives just enough splash of color accent to the dark, stealthy knife.There are a couple things that I do like about the Leek slightly more than the 0450. The first one is the lock-type. I like the liner lock of the Leek as opposed to the frame lock with the 0450, but that's simply a preference and only really affects the outward appearance of the knife itself. The second is the flipper tab. I think the flipper tab on the ZT0450 is a little too aggressive-looking. I think a slightly smaller tab could have sufficed. I also like that the pocket clip is able to be flipped from the blade tip down (stock) to a tip up orientation. I prefer the tip up, which is the only option for the ZT0450, but it's nice to have the option.It's also worth mentioning, that the 0450 comes in an unusually large size box for the knife size, whereas the Leek comes in a slender, much more ideal-sized box for the knife. Just a little bit of an oddity that I think could be improved upon by ZT.The blade itself came pretty sharp-- sharp enough to cut through paper, but not glide through the slice smoothly. Your mileage may vary on the sharpness of the blade, but mine wasn't incredibly sharp.Overall though, the ZT0450 is the winner as my EDC. It's a tougher pill to swallow since it's more than double the price (almost triple) of the Kershaw Leek, but to me it is worth it. As something that will be with me practically all day, every day, the material upgrade, the look of the knife, the feel, it's just worth the premium.

Awesome EDC

WOW!! this is the best purchase i have made on here, the build quality, weight, and action is incredible - perfect size as well!! amazed by ZT!!

I have been looking for a great EDC carry for a while. My criteria were; 1) decent steel. I know high performance steels are all in fashion, but any steel that takes a scary sharp edge and holds it for at least a little while is fine. 2) Reasonable blade length. 3 inches is about minimum but I’d be happy with 2 ½”. It shouldn’t be so long that it’s dangerous to use a tip grip for fine work and too long to pocket well. Length is less important to me than 3) width. I love the leaf shape of Spyderco knives. You can grip the blade and just expose the tip for nearly surgical work. But they are often so wide that they take up too much pocket space when clipped. But some are so narrow that they are dangerous to work with in that way. 4) easy open. I don’t care how it works. Flippers are OK. Spyderholes are OK. Assisted are OK. As long as they work well and allow one hand opening. 5) Folded size. The knife shouldn’t be too thick. I didn’t want a frame lock with exposed frame, but…. It must ride in the pocket well.You may have guessed, this knife has it all covered. It’s smaller than I expected, and when I opened the box I was disappointed and sure I was going to be sending it back. But it pockets very well. I find the phrase “disappears in the pocket” to be pure BS – nothing that clips to your pocket disappears. It’s always in the way to some extent. I have the Cold Steel Lucky 2 and *it’s* in the way. This is way bigger than that. But I have about 2 dozen knives on my dresser, This is the easiest one to get along with. I have zero problems with the working of the exposed lock bar. I don’t like the look of the non-show side with the exposed bar, but I guess that’s saving some frame thickness. The steel is excellent, and somewhat overkill for me. I do like the black coating. It remains to be seen how durable the coating is. The carbon fiber looks great and is light. The whole thing is light. The blade is just wide enough for a safe tip grip. As expected the flip mechanism is smooth and flawless. It opens one handed like it’s automatic. One hand close works OK, but I am not entirely happy with having my fingers in the way. I guess I’d prefer an axis lock.Ah, yes. The clip. The clip works. It leaves about 1/2 inch exposed. I am considering a deep carry clip, but really it should have *come* with a deep carry clip. Yeah, they are more expensive to make and I understand this knife is in a very competitive price tier. Ugh. I don't know. I do know I'm not a real fan of the clip. So aftermarket will have to do.So, the knife is near perfect. It’s not the big hunky knife I am used to from ZT, but that’s exactly what I was hoping for. Nice job on this one! If you are looking for a great everyday pocket knife that isn’t cheap hunk of mall junk, won’t break the bank and will be with you until the sun burns out (unless you lose it, anyway) this might be your knife.

This is by far the best pocket knife I've ever owned. The carbon fiber and titanium make it really light weight. I believe this is the perfect size for EDC. I've had this for years now and I've never had any issues with it. The clip got scratched from putting it in the same pocket as my keys so I bought replacement clips from Etsy. Other than that, it's been solid. I haven't sharpened it yet. From what I know, Zero Tolerance will sharpen it for you for free if you send it to them. I just haven't felt the need to sharpen it yet. I might buy another one as a backup. It's going to be hard to find another pocket knife I like more than this one..