- Zero Tolerance 0450 · Drop Point3.25″ blade · 0.121″ spine · 2.9 oz · ~1.01″ tall
Zero Tolerance 0450
The Dmitry Sinkevich design that made Zero Tolerance's reputation for thin knives, against the 0350's thicker assisted-opening build. A 3.25" CPM-S35VN blade on a full titanium frame lock at 2.9 oz -- four tenths lighter than the 0350 and a good deal slimmer in the pocket, with a bearing flipper instead of SpeedSafe.
- Blade
- 3.25″
- Weight
- 2.9 oz
- Steel
- CPM-S35VN
- Price band
- Premium
A titanium flipper light enough to carry every day
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Specifications
Manufacturer-published figures, cross-checked against zt.kaiusa.com.
- Blade length
- 3.25″
- Spine thickness
- 0.121″
- Blade shape
- Drop Point
- Grind
- Flat
- Steel
- CPM-S35VN
- Overall length
- 7.4″
- Closed length
- 4.1″
- Weight
- 2.9 oz
- Lock
- Frame Lock
- Deployment
- Flipper
- Handle material
- Titanium
- 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-S35VN
S30V with niobium swapped in for some vanadium: slightly tougher, noticeably easier to sharpen, marginally less edge retention.
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-S35VN knives
What owners say
Drawn from 73 owner discussions of the Zero Tolerance 0450 since 2024. The opinions are theirs. The specifications above come from the maker.
What owners like
- The flipper action is what owners rave about: a first-time ZT buyer was in love with how smooth it flips, one says the detent makes it fly open, another calls it like glass, and one says their $200 0450 had about the best action and fit and finish they have handled.
- Owners keep it for years: one bought theirs around 2015 and it has stayed in their collection longest, another has had theirs nearly seven years and calls it a beast, and an early-serial owner says it still gets pocket time against newer knives.
- At 2.9 oz on a titanium frame it carries easily, and owners call it not too big and not too small; one bought it as a gentleman's knife for church and dinners out while a Benchmade 940 handles their construction work.
- It shrugs off rough use: one owner has dragged theirs around and used it in a crawlspace and says it still looks brand new, and another calls it probably their most-carried modern folder and built to handle abuse.
- Skiff bearings transformed it for one owner, who says fitting them made their blue carbon fiber 0450 easily one of their everyday knives, and a collector runs them in all three of theirs.
- The aftermarket fixes its small gripes: one owner's clip swap got rid of a hotspot, another fitted a Lynch clip that makes it disappear in the pocket, a collector runs Suingab micarta and blue fat carbon scales, and one 0450 has had a full regrind.
- One owner sold theirs, instantly regretted it, and bought another.
What owners flag
- The blade is thick behind the edge: the owner who has kept theirs since 2015 admits it, an ex-owner found the cutting geometry did nothing special and compared it to a 940 that is tough but not a great user, and one user calls the factory geometry garbage under a reground 0450.
- The handle runs small for big hands: one owner with large hands calls it thin, short in height and not hand-filling, another finds it a tad small for their hands, and the 2015 owner calls it a little cramped.
- Ergonomics do not suit everyone: one ex-owner found them a little off, and another user hates the small nub near the base of the handle.
- Closing the frame lock can be awkward: one owner who paid around $250 says their partner finds it very hard to close, and they found the closing a little awkward themselves and went looking to upgrade.
- The tip can deform when dropped: one owner's S35VN 0450 landed on its tip and bent straight down rather than chipping, and another's edge micro-chipped near the belly the first time they dropped it.
- Some carbon fiber units disappoint: one 2024 0450CF had a thick, glossy coating with an orange-peel look on the carbon fiber scale, and another owner's 0450CF arrived unsharpened with what they call one of the weakest frame locks they have seen, after which ZT wanted $15 plus $15 postage for a parts kit rather than send them an extra washer.
Back around 2015, $180 bought the 0450 that one owner still has, and several owners say this is the knife that got them into flippers or collecting. They carry it for its action and its 2.9 oz titanium build, and one bought it as a dressier knife for church and dinners out. Three owners have kept theirs for years.
A thick-behind-the-edge grind is the main complaint, and one owner had theirs reground. Large hands find the handle thin and cramped, one owner found the frame lock awkward to close, and carbon fiber units have drawn complaints about glossy scales, a dull factory edge and ZT charging for an extra washer. Owners also swap in Skiff bearings and aftermarket clips, including one who removed a hotspot that way.
ZT's 0460 is the slimmer, more upswept alternative buyers weigh it against, along with the Pro-Tech Malibu, Spyderco Para 3 and Kershaw Blur. One ex-owner found it reminded them of a Benchmade 940, super tough and strong but not a great user, while one user calls it almost a hard-use Bugout.
Is my glossy 0450CF a fake?
Probably not. One owner whose 2024 0450CF had a thick, orange-peel coating on the carbon fiber called ZT with the serial number, and ZT confirmed it was a 0450CF built on 1/10/24 and sent to a verified dealer. Another owner said theirs felt the same way, and one user put it down to QC rather than authenticity.
Is the 0450 a good user or mostly a nice carry?
Opinions split. One ex-owner found it tough and strong but not a great user, with cutting geometry that did nothing special, and one owner had theirs reground. Others carry it hard: one dragged it through a crawlspace, and another calls it their most-carried modern folder.
Will the handle fit large hands?
Not always comfortably. Owners with large hands describe it as thin, short and a tad small, though one says it works fine and suits smaller hands well. Another owner calls the size, weight and action perfect.
ZT 0450 or ZT 0460?
One buyer torn between them liked the 0450's size, drop point and index choil but wished for narrower blade stock, and saw the 0460 as slimmer and lighter with a more upswept blade. One user picked the 0460 and another the Malibu.
What do people pay for a 0450?
Reported prices include $180 new in 2015, $185 on clearance in 2024, $230 for a blue carbon fiber model in 2024 and around $250 for another owner's, and $200 for one owner who rates its action and fit among the best they have handled. One owner bought one at a pawn shop for $100 in 2025 after someone had botched sharpening it.
Features
- Frame Lock
- Flat grind
- Flipper
- Made in USA
- Stainless blade
