Zero Tolerance 0350 Review

The best survival knife is usually the blade you have on you when faced with a bad situation. As most know- its difficult to get away with carrying a fixed blade on most occasions (possibly even landing you in jail in some areas). I do try to carry one when I can. Usually riding in my EDC bag. However there are times I don't have one with me. For those times I wanted a beefier/no-nonsense folder to keep me company. I searched the web over the course of a few weeks and came across a video displaying the ZT 0350 in a survival scenario (video posted at the bottom of the article). I was impressed by the toughness of this blade in the video and decided to give it a try.

This particular ZT 0350 was a limited edition run from BladeHQ. It features orange G10 handles. So I don't loose the knife by sitting it down somewhere and leaving it behind. Also getting away from that "tacti-cool" look that may scare some when you whip it out in public.

Lets go over the specs of the ZT 0350:

• Overall length: 7.75"
• Blade length: 3.25"
• Blade thickness: 0.125"
• Blade material: S30V
• Handle length: 4.50"
• Handle material: G10
• Weight: 6.2 oz.

The ZT 0350 is by far the heaviest and beefiest folder I've used. But again, that's what I was looking for. If you want a dainty pocket knife; look somewhere else. Due to it's weight it took some getting use to as an EDC knife. The handles do give a variety of carry options with its quad mounting system (pre-drilled holes on each side of the handle for tip-up/down or right/left hand carry). There is also a lanyard hole if you so choose to loop some paracord through the handle. 

The knife features a "modified recurve" blade design. I've read mixed reviews with some points being valid. The only concern I noticed was with sharpening. It took some finesse but wasn't impossible. Outside of that I really didn't have any problems with normal cutting task. While on the topic lets go over sharpening. After putting the knife through the paces and dulling the blade;  I had no problems sharpening the S30V steel with a DMT Sharpener (pictured above). It took a hair-popping edge fairly easily. This particular model features a nice stonewashed blade. Aiding in hiding blemishes the blade may incur. 

The spine of the blade has a thumb ramp for applying more force when cutting something tough. Deployment of the blade is by way of Ken Onion's speed safe design for one-handed opening. The blade has a lever that flicks the blade out with intense speed. While not an essential feature it does add to the "cool" factor. 

The ZT 0350 has a traditional liner lock built from stainless steel. Even though there are a ton of locking mechanisms on the market; I tend to like liner locks. They are simple and effective. 

This limited edition model pretty much sold me when I saw the orange grips offered. I'd like to see them offered in their general production of the ZT 0350. The G10 grips are excellent quality and provide a sure grip. Even when they were wet I had no problems. 

I do notice a rattle in the main retaining screw when the knife is opened. When I tightened the screw to stop the rattling it prevented the blade from opening and closing. This could be nothing but I thought I'd mention it. I've noticed no failure in the knife so it may be a fluke. 

If your looking for a folder that can handle serious task this is definitely it. If I did not have a fixed blade on me this would be the next best thing. Don't take my word for it- check out this Bug Out Scenario Field Test by Dan from the Daily Prep: