Hey, everyone.
David C. Andersen here coming at you from the KnifeCenter, and today we’re pitting
two broad-bladed flippers head to head.
It’s the ZT 0456 versus the Kizer Sheepdog.
Let’s do this.
For a pocket knife that makes a statement, nothing speaks quite so loudly as a big broad
blade, and fortunately there’s some cool options on the market today that boast premium
materials and build quality.
Here are two of our favorites.
Representing the USA is the ZT 0456, designed by Dmitry Sinkevich, and competing for China
is the Kizer Sheepdog designed by Chris Conaway.
So let’s get down to business and talk about the blades.
The shapes aren’t identical, but they both make their presence known as soon as you flip
them open.
The ZT 0456 features a broad angular interpretation of a sheepsfoot design.
It’s made from CPM-20CV, which is a popular premium steel these days, and has a flat grind
and a swedge with a satin finish.
We’ve also got a stonewashed finish on the little bit of the flats and the flipper tab
that has been left unground.
Meanwhile, the blade on the Sheepdog is what happens when you scale a sheepsfoot blade
up to cleaver proportions.
In this case we get a stonewashed finish all around, with a flat grind, multiple swedges,
and premium S35VN steel.
It even has a little nock right here at the front corner to keep the shape from being
too static, and it echoes just a little bit with a similar nock cut out on the leading
edge of the handle.
Now, despite their girth, both of these blades deploy with ease, and as you’d expect, they
feature ball bearing pivots, so there’s virtually no resistance as they flick open.
The ZT has a big metallic sound when it opens; very industrial.
Meanwhile, the Kizer I find just a little more satisfying and even easier to deploy,
partly at least because of the weight of that blade.
Once you get that weight moving, there is no stopping it.
As such, it can get away with a slightly lighter detent than the ZT, making it a little bit
easier, and this knife even has that great drop-shut action.
And if you’re looking for that feature between these two knives, just know that the ZT won’t
quite do that.
Both of these knives are titanium frame lock models, but each has a very different character.
The Kizer is a bit more streamlined, with the ZT having a more angular aesthetic.
Similarly, each one is very hand-filling, but again in different ways.
The Sheepdog scales are fairly flat, but they do have very heavily contoured edges.
It makes them pretty darn comfortable for a folder.
We also get a trio of cutouts in the front that add some forward motion to the design
and subtract a little bit of weight.
We also get a blue anodized pivot collar and a machined titanium pocket clip to round out
the package.
The faceted handles of the ZT tie in with that blade shape, and the way they machined
it sort of has the effect of radiusing the whole handle.
Combined with the extra width versus the Sheepdog, this model fills my hand even better.
We also get just a little bit more blue than the Sheepdog to break up the overall gray
palette, including a blue metal backspacer, as opposed to the open-backed build of the
Kizer, and an oversized pivot that goes from blue to purple, depending on the light.
The ZT also opens up some space between itself and the Kizer with a lanyard hole and a blue
pocket clip that’s reversible for left or right carry.
The Sheepdog, however, is right-side only.
As far as the lockup, both knives are exemplary and virtually identical in feel and operation.
We get no blade play whatsoever, and each one of these models also has a lock bar insert
that incorporates an internally mounted overtravel arrestor, and these are gonna help these knives
stand up to a lifetime of hard use.
As always, this is where you guys get to declare the winner.
Would you take the angular and racey ZT 0456, or the undeniable cleaver shape of the Kizer
Sheepdog?
Be sure to let us know in the comments, and to get your hands on either of them, click
the link in the description below to head over to KnifeCenter.com.
But they mothe…
The Mothe Radio Hour…
Deepdog?
No, Sheepdog.
Can’t use that.
(I disagree.)
Coming at you from the YouTube Comment Section!
(Ah, it’s the same shirt. So I can just use yesterday’s bloopers, too.)