ZT 0550 VS 0560 VS 0562 VS XM 18 3.5 - Comparison and Discussion

[@Shanes_Sharp_Sheet]

I know man, I have almost every zt model ever made, including all variants of the 0560 (excluding bw) I love zt knives for what they are, I carry and display them proudly, I almost got sick when they come out with that little slip joint lol, I'm sure it's great or whatever, but I miss the old school zt. Great vid mc!

[@wOrdTHANATOS]

ZT groups on Facebook you will find alot of them guy's

[@i6am6the6thorn]

This is officially the longest video I've watched on KZbin, but with that being said, I really enjoyed it. I'm pulling the trigger on getting an 0562ti to temporarily give me a fix before I get an XM-18 \m/

[@chandlerruoff6866]

The original 0560 and 0561 were identical except for the color of the scale. The first runs had a few issues such as lock geometry, but the main one was a problem with ZTs heat treat on the Elmax blades. There were reports of peoples edges going dull after just a day of normal use, and edges even chipping horribly just from cutting a ziptie. Elmax was a big deal back then. ZT was putting it on all their new models, and a lot of other companies were doing the same, but this controversy made everyone think Elmax was a crappy steal and stopped buying knives with it. Nowadays you rarely see Elmax unless you ask for it on a custom. As time went on, the 0561 was discontinued, but they kept the 0560 and added a lockbar insert around the same time the black wash version came out. it was fully discontinued around the time the 0562 came out, which is basically an updated 0569. The 0560 was supposed to be similar to the xm18, but a lot of people didn't think it was similar enough, so ZT made the the closest knife possible to an xm18 without actually making an xm18

[@AbyssalTentacle]

i had one of the early serial 0561 with the brown scale , the lockup and geometry was terrible . Horrible blade play and lock failure , lock stick , etc the whole works . The Elmax was really soft and would roll easily . Really turned me off ZT since

[@Xyrium]

I have two of the 0550 gen 3. However, I will say, also being an owner of the XM18, while I prefer the action on the 0550, as well as hand feel, the XM goes one step further in hard use by adding the travel stop bolt (what'ever it's called) behind the blade during full deployment. The 0550 depends on the handle itself ONLY, and while it has the bar in place, the blade never comes in contact with it during use. Let me add that anyone using a folder for "hard use" is hard headed anyway.

[@badgercptusmc]

Thanks for the good comparison. I just scored a 0566CF and a 0562 both lightly used from my local knife store. All good info.

[@nymphetamean]

Hello! Just to throw it out there since it was mentioned in the video - the ZT 0560 Gen 2 does, in fact, xome with the lockbar insert. I repeat, 0560 Gen 2 - Black G10, texture milled titanium, lock bar stabilizer AND the lock bar insert to improve the wear resistance on the titanium lock face - ELMAX blade. I have one - paid $300 secondary awhile back - same price as my ZT 0562OrBlk sprint in CTS-204P. Totally worth it - both of em. Just as nice as my XM18 3.5 Gen 6.

[@mikegivens2621]

I was searching the shelves at my little local knife shop when I had to hit the brakes on an upper EsEE and RAT shelf when I spied a row of six ZT boxes in the back left corner. At my amazement I see a 0350TS and at this time I'm grinning then I decided to take a couple pictures with the trusty Moto e5 cell phone. (At this point I had never owned any ZT's) I get home later that day and I start zooming in on the model numbers and the prices. I know you're really wanting me to hurry along with this story. This one certain knife is shaped a lot like my Kershaw Link except with cf scales and it's priced at 135.⁰⁰ and I'm thinking I could make some money on this one. So I pick up the 0770cf the very next day and absolutely fall in love. Enough so that I research another ZT that I knew nothing about but like the dark Titanium frame and blade. The 0095bw and see that I could make money with it's 143.⁰⁰ tag and now I'm to the next that was pleasing in looks the 0460 ti at 153.⁰⁰ so now I'm thinking about making enough money of these several knives that I can possibly have enough to buy a new MKM or Fox... anything Italian. BUT THE ONE that wasn't that pleasing to my eyes that I didn't like because it had strange looking Black notched G10 scales without a flipper also. So I'm back at the shop the next day trying to decide my next pick and I have the owner unlock the glass door to the EsEE case and I'm going through and testing the flippers on these new in box discontinued ZT's when I pick up the "ugly notched G10 scale and that's when I see that I'm now holding a brand new vertical clip hole GEN2 0550 that I've seen you speak highly of and the sticker on the box says 143.⁰⁰ Well we both know that I'm now needing an aftermarket scale for my bnib R.Hinderer Zero Tolerance 0550 Thanks for all the great stuff you put out for us all. Your's truly, new ZT fanboy

[@Joker-yb6ks]

I love zt 0562ti, 0562ts, 0393, 0450g10,leatherman charge tti, leatherman free p4 and leatherman surge, everyone i hard to use and hard work, cheap price and save money, i won't buy 450usd knife to hard use, because i not collector,i buy knife only to use.thank and good review.

[@imageman52]

Don't worry, MC, I am confident that Hinderer will continue to work in collaboration with ZT because it accomplishes two things he wants: it provides Hinderer a revenue stream based upon a scale of production he cannot duplicate, and because that revenue stream is sourced upon a far wider consumer group than Hinderer can access with his in-house production line, i.e. those who either cannot or will not pay the higher price the Hinderer-produced lines demand. I am also confident that ZT would not allow any other outsider to out-bid them for the Hinderer alliance and that the only way a company other than ZT would take up the Hinderer collaboration would be if Hinderer could be convinced a better production quality could result, which is unlikely within the consumer-price framework ZT allows.

[@InConsulting]

I have the o560 BW with the lock bar insert, on the hunt now for xm-18 3.5. Lots of after market mods for it, which makes it appealing.

[@profesorEDC]

Awesome MC! Luv'd it, just missed the 0566.

[@sixate]

ZT's Hinderer colabs are what got me into high end knives. I've owned a couple XM-18's and a 24, but regrettably sold them. Been trying for 2 years to get the ones I want, but have failed. 😞 I would love for ZT to go back to their roots. I've owned more ZT's than any other brand, but their current knives are stale and boring. I just bought a mint 0561 for $200 for sale on Blade Forums last night. I was stoked to get it at that price. Literally cheaper than new. My main EDC has been 0560BW for years, and it's so smooth and been beat on, perfect knife for me. I once dropped it in a river while steelhead fishing and nearly lost it. I love the knife so much I went fully under in 42° water to find that knife. Who does that? 😆

[@5OclockSharp]

Funny thing is, Hinderer was collaborating with Gerber before ZT, nobody mentions those. In fact, their Torch 2 is the closest thing to a production XM-18 design wise, with a partially serrated hellfire grind. I wouldn’t be surprised if the ZT collaborations cease. When they first came out, XM-18s were hard to get and were selling for like 2x retail. That isn’t the case anymore, so the need for an accessible, production model is diminishing.

[@metal_complex]

Actually, there's a current 2nd shortage of Hinderer knives. They are currently selling for well over retail on the secondary market. Some rare variants are selling for well over double.

[@donaldwortham2409]

The zt 550 gen1 is made like the chris reeves umnanzaam just broke a old one out. The older gens and rick knives have the inserts and indent on outside. I think my gen 1 can take on a new Hinderer

[@UltimateEnd0]

IDK maybe XM-18 gen 6 is the pinnacle of refinement and sophistication? Hinderer is probably going to start a completely new knife with XM-18 gen 6 features.

[@mark.lizettegrant]

I want the 560 and the xm 18 thank you for the content and very nice knives

[@ajamesg77]

Great vid. As an OH boy the hinderer knives have always ruled my collection, whether a collaboration or an original. That said, I am trying to track down an XM-18 3.5” gen 6 deep swedge spear to purchase and cant find one anywhere. An ideas??

[@knifelife7777]

I just got a brand new 0550 1st gen with box and everything for $200. I’m getting a copper shred carbon fiber scale , bronze screws and lock bar insert, and bronze deep carry clip asap. I’m waiting for the scale to be made but in the mean time I’m going to order everything else.

[@MrSudheerkenguva]

Hi, where did you get 0550? I want to buy one from long time. Could you tell?

[@metal_complex]

It's discontinued. Check ZT knives b/s/t group on FB. Everything is secondary market now.

[@MrSudheerkenguva]

@@metal_complex thank you. I found a new one in a website called blazinblades...do you know if it is legit? I am not from the US, so i know very little about dealres. Please advise

[@metal_complex]

Be careful there. I've never heard of it, but that doesn't mean it isn't real. There are definitely clones out there, and the 0550 has been discontinued long enough that any "new" listings should be carefully examined.

[@MrSudheerkenguva]

@@metal_complex sure.. thank you..one more question...in terms of toughness which is good cold steel ad 10 or 4 max scout that has been recently launched...cant decide between these two

[@jasonmcelveen6295]

ZT and Kershaws makes the best knives IMO.

[@apex_alchemy_knives]

Love love love the Hinderer ZT

[@2apunky441]

Cool video. Do you have any interest in reviewing a ZT 0452cf?

[@wOrdTHANATOS]

ZT groups on Facebook you can get a brand new 550 for 240 the price they came out as bnib

[@frankiejdwm_edc1037]

Really? I gotta get back to FB all these knife groups seem pretty cool.

[@frankiejdwm_edc1037]

Waited till today so I could watch thus while eating lunch, like I planned to do last week, when it disappeared😆🍔😆

[@jerrydonquixote5927]

All I can say is whoever sharpened that '0550 knows how to sharpen a knife!

[@mktoysreborn]

Wich do u prefer zt0620 in ElMax or zt0550 gen 2 in s35vn?

[@beefcurtainz69]

What exactly is wrong with a lockbar when it has lockbar geometry issues? The lockbar insert is shaped wrong and causes the knife to unlock without physically moving it out of the way? Not too familiar with what that means

[@metal_complex]

Yes, in some cases. Can be that, or a combination of the insert and blade tang geometry 👍

[@mikegivens2621]

Dear MC take a moment to look at my background profile picture on my BIGMike Givens facebook account. It's the actual shot of the several discontinued ZT's that I found in my little mom and pop knaf and pewpew shop. You might get a kick at the prices if you take the time to zoom in on the "soon to be rehomed" blades I was referring to in my story. Hope I brought a smile to your face my friend 😁

[@metal_complex]

😁👍👍

[@wupwop]

Heck yeah

[@inntit4093]

Sorry MC, I couldn't through this one :D :D