REVIEW—Zero Tolerance 0770: released a few weeks ago…discontinued already?! Act fast!

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  • NickZac

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 12, 2007
    3,412
    Baltimore, MD
    BREIF REVIEW – Zero Tolerance ZT0770
    A few weeks ago, it finally started showing up at dealers after a three year wait...then ZT removes it from their website and production ceases?!? If you want one, you may want to act fast!!!
    pic.php


    ---Background---
    One of the most anticipated knife families in history is Zero Tolerance’s 077x line…it’s also one of the most popular knife families in history to see such an ill fate, and the similarities in naming, design, and ZT’s poor communication on the topic of 077x production constantly confuses prospective buyers in terms of which product is which. Thus far, five different knives exist in the 077x family. This review pertains to the 0770, the least expensive (and smallest-sized) knife in the family. For those curious on this history of this product family, I have made a brief summary.

    The ZT0770 is the spawn of the ZT0777 (prototype), ZT0777 (original model) and ZT0777M390. ZT introduced the original 0777 in 2010-2011. It used a full carbon fiber handle, in combination with titanium to form a modified Reeve Integral frame lock, with a composite blade that used Vanax steel and Damascus merged to form a single blade. It won the Blade of the Year at Blade in 2011. It took a few years before any made it to the market at all. When they did, a few hundred of the original models were made and ZT then stopped production. The blade was hard to make, gorgeous, and ridiculously expensive. The demand for this model has only grown since. With so few of these knives on the market, private sales have cleared $2,000.

    ZT then introduced the 0777M390 (pictured below with my 0770). With the same handle/lock/blade style, the only difference was the blade was now one made with Bohler M390 super-steel. This run was also very short (perhaps 1,000 or so made with a stonewashed blade and another 1,000 with a black coated blade.) These knives quickly started selling for 2-3 times the MSRP of around $350. Final production figures on both this and the original are somewhat debated.

    Around the time of the original 0777, ZT announced the 0770. The 0770 is a smaller aluminum-handled version of the 0777, with an ELMAX blade and a liner lock versus the frame lock. This knife was intended to be a production knife, but many sources have noted that production of this knife is already over and done with (and it only started being available about a month ago after 2.5+ years of waiting for it to see the mass market). So it presumably carries the ill fate of the 077x line…and will likely increase in value if production has already ceased. It has since been removed from Kershaw/ZT’s website, suggesting this in indeed the case and production is winding down or completed. The SRP was around $150.

    ZT announced a third 0777 variant named the 0777CF shortly after they announced the 0770. This would be the same size and materials of the 0770, but use a handle made of a much more basic carbon fiber handle than the more expensive variants. MSRP is set for $225. It is unclear if this item will ever see mass market. Like other 077x knives, it has been on the radar for a few years but without much discussion from KAI as to what the status is.


    ---The 0770: My Take---
    At first glance, the 0770 looks rather plain. The handle is black aluminum, the blade is a satin-stonewashed finish, there aren’t too many angles, and the markings are minimal. It’s a very clean looking knife and visibly charming through its simple (and yet elegant) styling.

    Intended as a smaller and cheaper version of the 0777, it incorporates a 3.25 inch ELMAX blade with a basic handle, liner lock, and deep-carry pocket clip. As you can see, this knife does not have thumbstuds. It only has the built-in flipper, but it is not a TRUE flipper. Unlike the 0777, the 0770 is an assisted opener that uses Kershaw’s SpeedSafe technology. Push the flipper so the blade opens about 35% and the SpeedSafe torsion bar will propel the blade to its full open-locked position. In order to avoid accidental engagement, the ball detent is MUCH stronger than on the 0777 and so it takes substantially greater force to move the blade from closed to the point in which it is propelled open. So there is a good chance users will love one style and dislike the other…I personally prefer a manual flipper if there are no thumbstuds…however, I also prefer flippers that have thumbstuds in addition to the flipper (such as the Rick Hinderer XM-18 or ZT0300).

    The handle itself is well shaped, and handsome. It is simple yet ergonomic, and hands of all sizes can get a comfortable grip. I was hoping it would have excellent the spine jimping like the 0777, but unfortunately it has a much simpler pattern.

    The blade shape is a really neat design. The cutting edge is technically on three different planes and it helps deliver even force when your hand moves in the fashion of a ‘stroke’ by adjusting the cutting plane as you move your arm/wrist throughout the stroke. This gives some serious slicing power and it’s fantastic for cutting fibrous objects like rope, and for controlled cuts such as coring an apple. A knife this sized with this handle and blade shape/geometry/steel is at home in the kitchen performing the tasks one would use a paring knife for. It slices, dices, and chops well. Kershaw (ZT’s parent company) is well-known for some unusual blade styles that attempt to increase cutting/slicing capability through geometric design…the 077x series has followed this tradition (and improved it).

    The blade steel is simply golden. It is made from a powdered steel, called ELMAX (by Bohler). ELMAX is capable of being hardened to 60-61 HRC, but with substantially greater toughness than older stainless steels…many other stainless steels can become quite brittle at this hardness, risking excessive micro-chipping and premature edge deformation. ELMAX does not…even at 60 HRC, it’s tough as nails…and ZT does an excellent job at hardening this steel (along with the other 5+ powdered steels they use). As a steel with superbly balanced properties, it has excellent edge retention, fantastic toughness/impact resistance, fantastic corrosion resistance, and is very easy to sharpen and very easy to get to a point in which it can slice and ‘bite’. This last part is why I especially like the most recent generation powdered stainless steels…

    …this video illustrates why…
    http://youtu.be/kC_mEGxRdpE?t=1m20s
    (link will start at 1:20 for the cutting to skip the demo)

    Presumably, one of the reasons ELMAX gets so screaming sharp is the very uniform carbide distribution that steel freaks constantly are praising ELMAX/M390 for. There are very few steels on the market with the edge retention, toughness, and simultaneous ease of upkeep like ELMAX. If you are yet to own a knife with a blade made of one of the most recent powder steels like S35VN, ELMAX, M390, or CTS-XHP, you will be really happy with it. Think balanced properties of 154 stainless with similar ease of sharpening, but better in every category and with a huge increase in toughness.

    The robustness of this knife is without question. The pivot joint uses ZT’s most recent technology which is more or less an oversized pivot joint with heat-treated hardware designed specifically to hold up to frequent usage and to retain grease within the pivot system even when the knife is exposed to harsh conditions. The standoffs (backspacers) are oversized, secured with thick bolts, and there are three of them (many knives only have 1 or 2). For only 3.25 inches, the blade is pleasing (but not too) thick at .120 inches (and the grind tapers well so it can still slice despite being a beefy blade for a knife of this size)…and of course with the blade steel being ELMAX, it’s going to give good performance with even heavy usage.

    One thing that does not suffer here though, is weight & bulk. The use of aluminum has saved a ton of weight, and at only 3.75 ounces, it is less than half the weight of most other ZT folders. This smaller size/lighter weight/slimmer profile makes it more attractive for Every-Day Carry (EDC) for those whom are looking for a medium-sized knife. And a thin handle (with a thickness of under ½ an inch) also aids in making the knife a compact EDC.

    The pocket clip continues ZT’s trend of designing better pocket clips for their knives. It is a “low-rider pocket clip” and it sits DEEP in your pocket, doesn’t wobble around, and is quite comfortable. However, it sits so deep that IMO it is much more enjoyable to use with a lanyard to help retrieve the knife from the pocket (as shown in the pictures). The 0770 can accommodate tip-up carry only, for both left and right hand carry (however, keep in mind the lock is right-handed).


    ---BUT, I didn't love it all...---
    Unfortunately, I have two really big issues with this knife. The first is the liner lock. It is deep inside of the aluminum handles and it is hard to get good leverage on, especially with larger hands. Many people may not be able to close it with just one hand. The other issue is that the aluminum is quite slippery. These two issues magnify each other…if you can’t get good leverage to push the lockbar over to close the knife, and that knife happens to be slippery, it sets the stage for the knife to slip while attempting to close a ‘live’ blade. This combined problem is further magnified by the knife being assisted opening…you have to use physical force to close the blade against the torque the torsion bar is making that is used to open the knife…and so if you slip, the blade is going to open up and move quickly.

    Yeah…I cut myself…and the resulting trauma was quite deep and took a week of butterfly closures to keep the flap of skin closed. My hands are average size and I own hundreds of knives…this is probably one of the five most difficult knives I own (or have handled in general) in terms of ease of one-handed closing. Smaller hands will work better and I imagine practice will overcome this…still, I wish ZT would have textured the aluminum handle and/or flared the liner lockbar out more from the inside handles to make it easier to close. As much as I enjoy the rest of the knife, these two issues are enough reason that I will probably never carry this…my general dislike of liner locks as locking mechanisms isn’t helping either, as I find them to be far more prone to failing when dirty, harder to physically use, more prone to developing blade play, harder to ‘tune’ and service, and not nearly as strong as the Reeve Integral Lock (AKA the Frame Lock) used on the Chris Reeve Sebenza, Kershaw Chive/Leek, ZT 0300, 0560, 0561, 0550, Benchmade Skirmish, Spyderco Ti-Sage, among others.


    ---Conclusion---
    I figured I would write this up and throw it out there while models were still available for reasonable prices. It’s a highly awaited knife, and other than my issues with the handle being slippery and lock to engage, it’s an awesome knife. If nothing else, it’s an awesome investment given the 077x line has made many a knife nuts some serious change (a buddy bought an original 0777 for $450 and sold it for $1,700 cash + a $500 knife!) ZT has a huge following and so anything that is limited or discontinued is a good investment given how many ZT enthusiasts there are. If you are looking for a knife in this class, you may like this knife…but I would advise ensuring that you are able to disengage the liner lock easily, as you may find other knives in this class are much easier for true one-handed operation.

    If this is a size/style knife that sparks your interest, you may also like the Spyderco Sage 2, Titanium (model SSC123TIP). While slightly smaller, the ‘Ti Sage’ uses titanium handles with a Reeve Integral Lock…I find the Ti Sage to be much easier to open, much, much, much easier to close, grippier from the textured titanium, far easier to self-service (most users will not be able to service the 0770), and a beefier build in general…the prices of these two knives are similar. While I am a hardcore Chris Reeve Sebenza user, the Spyderco Ti Sage is one of my favorite knives made to date, and I think many people interested in the 0770 will fall more in love with the Ti Sage if they have a chance to handle the two together.

    So it’s an awesome knife, but it does have some drawbacks, which other knives in this size/price/style/class do not. Financially, it's a pretty good bet to go up in value...and if you want one, now is the time to act before dealer stock depletes and the secondary market is the only place to get these!!! Your mileage may vary…


    ---The Specs---
    • Model: Zero Tolerance 0770
    • Overall Length: 7.57"
    • Blade Steel: ELMAX
    • Blade Length: 3.25"
    • Blade Thickness: 0.12"
    • Handle Material: Aircraft Grade (Black) Aluminum
    • Handle Length: 4.32"
    • Handle Thickness: 0.46"
    • Weight: 3.75 oz.
    • Pocket Clip: Right/Left Hand, Tip-Up only
    • Opening Mechanism: Flipper + Kershaw SpeedSafe Assisted Opening
    • Lock Type: Liner Lock (Stainless Steel Liner)
    • Country of Origin: USA parts and USA assembly
    (no link to the website because ZT has recently removed it, suggesting the end of production)


    ---Pictures!---

    The ZT0700
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    f_zpsaa3620f2.jpg



    The ZT0770 and the ZT0777M390
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    h_zps32da1fec.jpg


    i_zpsb5327b86.jpg



    The ZT0770 & The Hand
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    o_zpsa6d2dbd3.jpg
     

    ThisGuy918

    Active Member
    Nov 11, 2011
    233
    This isn't real surprising. This series has been a headache from day one. The thing I keep thinking is that ZT/KAI doesn't want to over power and poop all over the opposing party. They seem to just want it to go away and move on. The other customs in the pipeline will cover this up and in six months or less it will be forgotten. Personally I could care less even though I love ZT. This series of knife really doesn't appeal to me compared to the other models. Especially not when there are models I don't own yet that are not far off of the 140 dollar price the 0770 commands. Throw the price of any of the 0777's in there and I become even less interested.
     

    NickZac

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 12, 2007
    3,412
    Baltimore, MD
    I agree. It isn't that the 0770 is a bad knife per-say, but that at $140 it is in a price class where there are a ton of nice knives. Also, at the price-point, there are a lot of makers using titanium Reeve Integral Frame Locks over liner locks...which is a major improvement IMO. Just compared to Spyderco's offerings alone, it's in the price class with the Sage 2 Titanium and Paramilitary 2. And both of those knives really, really, really shine brightly...and I think most users will probably opt for a Sage or ParaMillie if given the chance to handle it side-by-side with the 0700.
     

    ThisGuy918

    Active Member
    Nov 11, 2011
    233
    After looking at the 0566 and 0770 side by side I decided to give the 0770 a try. For no other reason other than it is different. I do agree that the texture is a bit too slick and smooth but no worse than a lionsteel SR-1. The lockbar is ok but not great. I plan to carry it for a week and report back.
     

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