- Zero Tolerance 0350 · Drop Point3.25″ blade · 0.121″ spine · 6.2 oz · ~1.48″ tall
Zero Tolerance 0350
The Zero Tolerance 0350 is a 3.25" drop point folder in CPM-S30V, hollow ground. The handle is G-10, secured by a liner lock. At 6.2 oz it sits 58th-lightest of the 61 EDC folders here, where the median is 3.2 oz.
- Blade
- 3.25″
- Weight
- 6.2 oz
- Steel
- CPM-S30V
- Price band
- Premium
Everyday carry and general utility
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Specifications
Manufacturer-published figures, cross-checked against knifecenter, knifeworks.
- Blade length
- 3.25″
- Spine thickness
- 0.121″
- Blade shape
- Drop Point
- Grind
- Hollow
- Steel
- CPM-S30V
- Overall length
- 7.6″
- Closed length
- 4.6″
- Weight
- 6.2 oz
- Lock
- Liner
- Deployment
- Assisted
- Handle material
- G-10
- Country of origin
- USA
Why a drop point
The default hunting and EDC shape, and the safest general answer. The spine curves down to the tip in a convex line, which keeps the point low and strong and leaves plenty of belly for skinning. It is hard to make a drop point bad at anything.
Every drop point here →About CPM-S30V
The long-time American benchmark. Holds an edge far longer than 420HC and still sharpens on ordinary stones. Chippy if you pry with it.
1-5 is a relative ranking drawn from published composition and hardness, not a lab measurement. Higher is better on every axis, and no steel is a 5 across the board — edge retention and toughness pull against each other. All CPM-S30V knives
What owners say
Drawn from 90 owner discussions of the Zero Tolerance 0350 since 2024. The opinions are theirs. The specifications above come from the maker.
What owners like
- Long service records come up often: one owner's 0350 from around 2009 still locks up perfectly and opens like a dream, another has carried theirs every day for about six years, one 8-year owner says theirs is still rock solid and in their rotation, and another has had theirs for more than ten years and does not plan to get rid of it.
- Owners treat it as a work knife they do not baby: one pries with its robust tip most days, another keeps it in their pocket whenever they are under the car, and a third saves it for garage and yard work because they do not mind scratching it up.
- The G-10 grip is well judged: one detailed review says the texture recalls a Paramilitary 2 under light grip without being as aggressive, with handle contours and thick liners that make it feel very sturdy. One owner with smaller than average hands says it feels perfect, and two others say it fits their hand well.
- The flipper action is strong and confident: one reviewer found both the spring assist and the detent very strong, another says it flips out with purpose, and an ex-owner says they never had to second-guess the lockup.
- Factory edges arrive sharp: even the buyer who complained about their scales said the blade came very sharp with no play, and an ex-owner remembers theirs as sharp as hell out of the box.
- Warranty service has come through on wear parts and breakage: one owner whose spring broke after years got a new spring and screw set by email, and another whose blade cracked after about ten years and several drops says ZT made it right.
- The assist is optional in practice: one owner of more than ten years removed it and says it is easy to take out if you do not want it.
What owners flag
- At 6.2 oz it is a lot to carry: one owner likes it but finds it a bit heavy depending on the pants they wear, another who carries it for work wants something more carry-friendly, a third calls it a tank they love but do not carry often, and one bought a small Gerber for the office because coworkers looked at them like Rambo when they opened the 0350.
- It drifts out of rotation for some owners: the one who got into knives with it reached for it less and less, another says it now only comes out when they oil the collection, one who re-bought it years later found it just okay, and another calls it clunky and heavy even for its size.
- Blades can crack at the thumb stud: one owner showed a cracked 0350 blade in 2026, another user says the pictured knife is theirs and failed after about ten years of use and several drops, and a third says it is not the first 0350 they have seen fail at the stop pin. Another user blames ZT's press-fit thumb studs.
- On the soft side in one test: one S30V blade measured 58.2 HRC, inside ZT's published 57 to 59 range but, according to another user, softer than most of the industry's S30V. One owner said the result made them cringe, though they use theirs a lot and have never had problems.
- Quality control lapses on some units: one 2024 buyer found the scales poorly done and inconsistent, one MagnaCut buyer found a missing washer and stripped nuts in the G-10 scales and waited a month on a $25 warranty repair that came back with untightened screws, and one reviewer's blade sits slightly off center.
- The assist spring is a wear point: one owner's flipper only fired the blade halfway on a weak spring, one opened theirs to find a broken torsion bar, and another's spring broke after years of use.
- Upkeep takes more effort than on a simple folder: one reviewer calls the recurve blade a pain to sharpen and notes the back spacer makes it harder to clean when it gets dirty.
Long service comes up again and again with the 0350, and owners choose it for work: prying, garage jobs, time under a car and years of daily use, with one owner's knife from around 2009 still locking up perfectly. Its 3.25 in S30V blade sits on a 6.2 oz G-10 handle, which owners describe as a tank.
A strong spring assist and a strong detent give it a confident flip, the textured G-10 grips well, and blades come sharp. The failures owners report are a blade cracking at the pressed-in thumb stud, assist springs weakening or breaking, and a few QC lapses in scales and assembly; ZT's warranty covered a cracked blade and a broken spring. One S30V blade tested at 58.2 HRC, inside ZT's spec but soft.
Spyderco's Paramilitary 2 is the knife owners carry alongside it or look at when it feels too heavy. One buyer choosing between it and the SOG Kiku XR was told ZT by most of those who answered, and one reviewer describes it as a more robust, slightly bulkier Kershaw Blur. One owner put it at $188 in 2024, and one got theirs for $105 shipped on eBay in 2026.
Is the ZT 0350 too heavy for everyday carry?
It depends on the owner. One who has been carrying it for work wants something more carry-friendly and is weighing a PM2 or PM3, and one user told them even a stock-clip PM2 carries a little better than the 0350. Another user calls it a great knife but a tank. Two owners who keep it use it for jobs: one any time they are under the car, one in the garage and yard.
Can you take the spring assist out?
One owner of more than ten years says it is easy to remove and runs theirs without it. Buyers who dislike assisted openers bring it up, and a reviewer notes that with the assist in, it fires hard and the detent is strong enough that accidental openings should be rare.
How hard is the S30V on the 0350?
One tested blade measured 58.2 HRC, which is inside the 57 to 59 range ZT publishes but on the soft side for S30V. One user explained that the thin blade coating does not affect the reading, and another argued the number makes no practical difference for most users.
What if the blade cracks at the thumb stud?
Those who answered agree ZT warranties it. One owner whose blade cracked after about ten years and several drops says ZT made it right, and others say these cracks are routinely covered while criticizing the pressed-in stud used as a stop pin.
ZT 0350 or SOG Kiku XR for a hard-use work knife?
Answers to one buyer leaned ZT. One owner calls it a beast, though they would pick a Microtech MSI over both; another says it has been their go-to for 8 years; one calls the 0350 a hall of famer that is beefy but still a good cutter. An owner of the SOG agreed with the consensus, calling theirs a decent beater but not the quality for the money.
Features
- Assisted opening
- Liner lock
- Hollow grind
- Made in USA
- Stainless blade
