Chuck
Wong Tai Sin, Other

Apr 18, 2021

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Handle Feel, Handle Material

not for heavy duty tasks

My primary uses are: opening letters, cutting open many online purchase packages, sharpening wood pecks, and making thick hifi cables. Look and ergonics are perfect for most cases. However, the handle and material seems a bit narrow and less grippy (not to the extend of slippery). So, for heavier duties like sharpening wood pegs, and cutting thick boxes seem to require me to hold the blade tighter. I definitely cannot use it to cut the jacket of thick hifi cables, which I do a lot. I think the handle being slim, and my hand being big are two reasons the ergonomic does not give me the confidence. Might have to do with the torque and lever action when doing heavy duty cutting that requires finesse. Since my use is a bit different from most I guess, I don't want to give this a 4 star, because it is really beautifully made compare to my other ones. But if there is a 4.5 stars, I will do it.

Santi
New mexico

Aug 13, 2023

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Ease of Use, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Sheath, Weight

Cons: None

Quality

I have a nice collection of knives but ZT knives are probably the best quality hands down. Smooth action sturdy design and extremely sharp blade.

Pappy
New York

May 22, 2021

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Pocket Clip

EDC? You Betcha!

This was an expensive knife for me, one of my first $200 purchases...! I had not really expected to carry it; it was just a wild idea to add a classic to my rather pedestrian utilitarian collection. But somehow it seems to work its way into my pocket on a daily basis. Did I just say 'Utilitarian'? For my medium sized hands, the fit is perfect; the action is flawless; the blade is a very useable shape and maintains its edge beyond expectation, but takes an edge with minimal fuss, when necessary! And, it's beautiful, with the classic 'Knifeness' look I greatly appreciate! I have ventured into even higher ticket knives in recent months. I like them, but they do not make their way into my pocket with any regularity, though not because of their expense, but rather their lack of the 'Utilitarian' assets I find so beneficial in my ZT 0450CF! Yes! It's my EDC, and I cannot imagine any knife ever replacing it!

Awacs
OR

Jul 04, 2020

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality

Cons: None

Terrific little knife

What a great little knife! First impressions: it looks even more compact than described. The blade is dead centered. In general, I dislike carbon fiber, with two exceptions: pipes on Ducati motorcycles, and a very few knife scales. This is one of those knives. Thank you, ZT, for not adding color, which to my eyes looks tacky. The all-black pattern has a beautiful but slightly subdued chatoyancy. Pure class. The scales seem smooth at first, but then you realize there is just enough texture to give a great grip.The green back spacers are a nice touch, although they have grooves that make them directional, and on mine they are oriented haphazardly. I'm sure I can rotate them if it bugs me. The blade flies open with a thumb flick, no wrist action needed. Lockup is solid (about 50%), no play in any direction. My immediate impression was, what a solid little package this is! The blacked out blade looks fantastic, and fits with the dark theme. With unlined carbon fiber and titanium, this is obviously a very light tool. I happen to appreciate a little heft in a knife, but this feels substantial yet light. I have large hands, but this little knife fits very well and will probably be carried a lot. The blade came fairly sharp, but needed a few strokes on fine and ultra fine Sharpmaker stones. After that, it push cut paper, and slid through cardboard like nothing. I found it easy to close. The clip is fine, but I'm not very picky. Overall, a great knife from ZT.

Matan D
UK

Nov 03, 2016

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

An awesome EDC flipper

This is one awesome EDC! I bought this stealthier version of the 450 as I don't like a shiny or metallic looking object in my pocket side. I used to carry a larger 4" blade but decided to go a little smaller and lighter and have a flipper instead of a thumb stud opener. Zero tolerance make amazing value for money blades that don't cost like a custom folder yet feel so good and have great high end materials and action. This design is so light in the hand and so easy to carry I sometimes have to check it's actually still in my pocket, I ordered a black titanium deep carry clip to replace the original that both looks great and hides the knife completely when carried. The action on this folder is sharp, easy and crisp. It locks firmly and also easy to unlock and feels safe as you do it one handed due to the flipper tab closing against your thumb when the lock is engaged allowing you to move it away for a full blade closure. The knife came very sharp and has an awesome tip. Fit and finish are very good and all the materials are top quality. I am quite sure this will be my regular EDC for a very long time.

Dylan
Singapore

Aug 30, 2016

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Perfect EDC

This knife... I'm trying to think of pros and cons, but I'm having trouble coming up with the "cons". This beauty may seem too light at first glance, but it feels like a true extension of my hand. Cutting with it feels so effortless, especially since it came with a razor sharp factory edge. All the complaints about how you can't put pressure on the lockbar is true, but it's so easy to just move your finger on the well-placed pocket clip. If you are interested in this knife, just buy it, you won't regret it.

Cavedog
-

Sep 06, 2017

Pros: None

Cons: None

Lock bar detent fixed on newer models

pros: - weight - style - blade and handle materials - fit and finish - action! cons: - does not come with deep carry clip from the factory Picked up this knife 8/30/17 and the detent will not prevent me from opening the knife with a finger on the lock bar unless there is substantial pressure. Looks like they've somewhat fixed the detent issue. This knife is a near perfect EDC.

Derrick K
Cincinnati , Oh

Aug 12, 2016

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Pocket Clip, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Thoroughly impressed with this knife. Replaced my Delica 4 as a EDC utility blade. Arrived in less than two days from Knife Center. Do not delay.. Buy today!!

Jeffery W
Billings , Mt

Mar 22, 2017

Pros: Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Handle Feel

Great little knife!

I had bees looking at the ZT 0450cf for quite a while before I bought it, so when it came I was very excited. The blade did not disappoint. It the S35VN holds its edge very well. I use it as my EDC and have cut quite a bit of cardboard, as well as opened many packages with it. It definitely holds up! It took about a day of flipping to get the mechanism broken in, but once I did it flips open will a simple press. It does have a pretty strong detent, but I actually prefer that. The only reason that I gave it four stars instead of 5 is because the handle is quite small and I have Large hands. The bottom of the handle comes to a dramatic point that create a hotspot in hand after a bit of use. Overall it is a fantastic knife. I would expect no less from ZT.

Andrew
Calgary, Ab

May 26, 2017

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: None

Great EDC

The blade came with a small nick in it otherwise it would've been a 5 star review

Constantino Batzakis
Miami, Fl

Dec 07, 2023

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Handle Material, Lock Type, Overall Quality, Pocket Clip, Weight

Cons: Lock Ease of Use

Very goog knife, although it needs a bit of getting used to.

It's a very well constructed knife, with good materials and a high quality finish for the price. It's my first ZT knife and my first over $200.00 pocket knife as well. I'm happy with the price paid for the construction and blade material (S35VN). However, I have one complaint. Right out of the box the knife was unopenable. It came extremely stiff. So much so, I thought it could be a serious problem. So, I decided to open it a good 30 times without the flipper tab to smooth everything out and see if that helped. Openning it in this manner was very easy and smooth. Surprisingly, it was very easy to open with my left hand, using the flipper, after those intial ~30 opennings. Seeing this, I changed it again to my dominant hand (right) and was right back to the extremely stiff, barely openable action. After a bit of examination I discovered it wasn't the knife action at all nor any part getting hung on another. It was that, being a frame lock, in this particular knife, it's amazingly easy to put a bit of pressure on the locking part and making it very problematic to open. Having said this, excellent knife, very sharp edge from the factory (not hair splitting sharp but very good, about the same as my two Benchmade Bugouts), very nice feel on the hand and beautiful to look at. The blade shape and size seems to be well suited for most basic cutting tasks. I recommend it for everyday carry.

Russ
Mesa, AZ

Jun 02, 2020

Pros: Weight, Ease of Opening, Handle Material, Blade Material, Overall Quality, Blade Sharpness

Cons: Pocket Clip

Very Nice Upscale Small EDC Knife, But. . .

My first impressions are consistent with other reviews, but one major deficiency (in my view) forces the loss of a star. And that is, NO TIP UP CLIP OPTION, which is odd and frankly disappointing on a $200 knife. It seems that the default clip position on many/most other knives is tip up, but for some reason ZT has chosen to eliminate even the option on an otherwise very nice EDC knife.

Sully
New York

Nov 28, 2024

Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Handle Material, Lock Type, Overall Quality

Cons: Ease of Opening, Handle Feel, Lock Ease of Use, Pocket Clip

Meh

Not great. Blade kind of thick so it’s not a good slicer. Kind of small so it doesn’t fit my hand that good, stock clip sucks. Not the best flipper. I was disappointed.