Kershaw/Zero Tolerance: 0560

[Mark76]

Since a few months I am the proud owner of a Zero Tolerance 0560. I sharpened with my WEPS up to the 10K Choseras and it is wickedly sharp. See the knife database for the settings.

The 0560 is one of my favorite knives. It feels (and is) solid like a tank, yet is pretty light. In that respect it is quite different from other Zero Tolerance knives. I liked the 0300, which is also built like a tank – until I felt it. It is ridiculously heavy for a pocket knife. The 0560 weighs exactly the same as its smaller brother the 0550. And it has the great Hinderer look.

When I’m not at work, this knife is usually in my pocket.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[wickededge]

I’ve had a chance to handle a lot of these knives, mostly sharpening at shows and expos and also a few sent into the office. I agree with you Mark that they’re super tough and light enough for a true EDC. Unfortunately, I don’t own one. Yet. I plan on picking one up, I’d like to see how it performs, how it holds its edge. What can you tell us so far about the steel and edge retention?

-Clay

[Mark76]

I am very happy with the Elmax steel of my 0560. I sharpened the blade up to 10K when I first got the knife at a 20 degree angle. I probably could have gone much lower, but that was about the factory edge and I wanted to test it.

I now have the knife for about two months. I’ve used it almost daily for the regular EDC tasks: boxes, plastic, paper, light woodwork. And… cutting chicken bones, since my girlfriend got one of her kitchen knives chipped doing that. (I asked her to use one of my fixed knives, but my 0560 is always nearby… 🙂 ). The 0560 survived everything beautifully. The least I can say is that it doesn’t chip easily.

I have stropped it about 4 times since then with 1 micron diamond stuff and it still performs like after the first sharpening: it shaves arm hair easily and cuts copier paper without any rags.

My only niggle is that I cannot get it really shaving sharp. And by shaving sharp I mean that it should comfortably shave facial hair. (Totally unimportant for normal use, but the WEPS has made me into a sharpening nut – thanks, Clay 😉 .) In that respect it is a bit like S30V.

Which brings me to another topic: which are the steels that take the best edge? Which steels can you get to shave your face comfortably? Any ideas about that?

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Josh]

Thanks for the review mark! That sounds like a sweet knife! I have the same question about the different kinds of steel… I am wondering which ones are more suited for a toothy edge and which ones, like you are asking, hold a finer edge (for the likes of shaving facial hair.

On a side note, i just ordered a spyderco manix xl in s30v i’ll have to post a review on soon 🙂 also got a junglas!

[Scott]

I have a couple of ZT 350’s and a 360. I ordered a WE Pro Pack 2 which I have not received yet, but I have a question. The 350’s are recurved blades and I wondering how the flat stones work on the edge in the valley of the recurve. Will I be limited to the curved stone that is offered as an accessory to sharpen this valley or recurved section of the bade? I kind of hope not because there are limited grit surfaces on the curved stones while I will have the full spectrum of flat stones. But I know there are a whole lot of ZT 350’s out there and presumably being sharpened by WEPS. I have seen on the forums that many will not buy the WEPS because it doesn’t work on recurves and I can not find any Youtube demos of a ZT350 being sharpened with a WEPS.

Would really appreciate hearing from someone with experience in this.

Thanks
Scott

[Josh]

It won’t be a problem Scott… may I refer you to this thread dealing w/ that very issue.

You will be able to at least use the diamonds up to the 1k without issue, and the strops without issue, the only thing I can see giving you trouble is if you were to try and use the regular flat ceramics on it… the corners on the regular ceramics would shave off on the knife edge in that case. I would go from the 1k to the ceramics that are designed for the re-curves, and then on to the strops if you want a mirror edge. hope this helps…

oh, btw, here is a 0350 I sharpened…

[Scott]

It won’t be a problem Scott… may I refer you to this thread dealing w/ that very issue.

You will be able to at least use the diamonds up to the 1k without issue, and the strops without issue, the only thing I can see giving you trouble is if you were to try and use the regular flat ceramics on it… the corners on the regular ceramics would shave off on the knife edge in that case. I would go from the 1k to the ceramics that are designed for the re-curves, and then on to the strops if you want a mirror edge. hope this helps…

oh, btw, here is a 0350 I sharpened…

First, let me say how impressed I am with the responsiveness of this forum group. Thanks Josh.

So, wow, that edge looks great on your ZT350. That is what I want to be able to do. I am a bit confused because Clay only sells one set of curved ceramics which are under 1000 grit, I think they are 400 and 800 or maybe 600 grit ceramic curved. He calls them “course” and “fine”. Would I progress from the 1000 grit diamond stone to the lower 600 or 800 ceramic cured to get that mirror finish? Or, are you getting curved ceramics outside the WE website store?

Thanks again

Scott

[Wayne Beatty]

beautiful, What stroping did you take it to (grit) and for how long?

[BassLake Dan]

I am very happy with the Elmax steel of my 0560. ..

My only niggle is that I cannot get it really shaving sharp. …

Well I can’t imagine what the problem is there. Of all my newer ‘particle steel’ knives I like Elmax and the way ZT handled the treatment of the steel the very best of all of them. I guess we all have our problem knives, for me it is the sebbie.

Anyway your comment above made me drag out my pocket carry 0560 and see how sharp it is after a week of on and off duty of doing the usual for me that include everything from trimming a rib-eye on the grill to opening the occasion box. You can see from the chart below that the heel is getting duller thru this use, but portions of the curve of the knife are still at shaving sharp, reading numbers as low as 140g, which is within 20g of a reference double edge razor blade. I know for a fact that I can get my example of the ZT0560 to a flat 170 Apex push Cut sharpness all the way across the blade using a WEP. That is easily sharp enough to shave with. I can not comment on the ‘comfort shave factor’ as I never really tried to actually shave with it, I just am reading the numbers..

above Chart/ data generated by: HowSharpIsIt.com

Here is a picture of the Out of Box factory Edge on the ZT0560: It takes some work, of course, on your WEP to get this to the ‘shave point’

[Brian Ledford]

I have a 0560 and can`t get it sharp on my wicked edge to save my life.
I see videos on youtube of people poping hair on there edge but the only way i can get my knives to that point is hand sharpening. What am i doing wrong ?

[wickededge]

Brian – How long have you had your sharpener and which stones do you have?

I have a 0560 and can`t get it sharp on my wicked edge to save my life.
I see videos on youtube of people poping hair on there edge but the only way i can get my knives to that point is hand sharpening. What am i doing wrong ?

-Clay

[Brian Ledford]

It`s the pro pack and I have had it for a couple weeks. I bought a angle cube and im setting the angles with it and I have noticed that the angle changes as I lift the stones while resting on the edge of the knife. I think it from the movement or play in the arms. I sent a email today about some of the new arms.

[cbwx34]

oh, btw, here is a 0350 I sharpened…

Awesomeness defined!! :woohoo:

Nice work, razoredgeknives!!!!

[Josh]

beautiful, What stroping did you take it to (grit) and for how long?

man, it’s been a couple of months since I sharpened that… so I can’t tell you exactly. I know I went from my 1k diamonds, to the 1200/1600 ceramics (curved I believe? not sure), to the 5k/10k choseras, and finished on somewhere around a 1um loaded strop. I put a 1k/14um stropped microbevel on this edge at 21*/side

[wickededge]

I’ve had my 0560 for a while now and I’ve been loving it. It’s been my EDC both around town and in the mountains. It’s strong, smooth and it takes and holds a great edge. So far, I’ve used the Pro-Pack II and the Angle Cube to set the angle precisely at 19 degrees and finished it with Micro-Fine ceramics. The edge is extremely aggressive and has held up remarkably for over a month without a touch up. I did pick up one little chip in the belly of the blade, near the tip, not sure what I did to cause it, maybe a big metal staple on a box I was opening. I’d recommend this knife to anyone. I’ll post more if/when I tinker with other geometries and finishes.

-Clay

[Author]

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