Zero Tolerance 0550 in depth review & discussion

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This thread is intended to be a resource for people who want an understanding of this knife beyond the raw data. Participation is welcome. Please note: this review will split a lot of hairs and completely ignore or poke fun at things other people discuss in reviews. The reason is simple: all knives cut stuff. If we didn’t split hairs, we would all be carrying $5 folders.

Overview: the 0550 is a weightlifter, not a bodybuilder. There is no spray tan. This thing shows up to do work. I don’t really consider it a tactical folder. It’s more of a Camp Knife. No. Really. It’s basically a Hinderer Camp Knife. See?

This brute is a blade you carry when you don’t just want a blade; this is for people who want their EDC to be able to handle anything from opening mail to opening buildings. This thing is not a Delica. If you are the type of person who gets offended by the weight of this thing, I offer this advice: Exercise. Learn about nutrition. Stop expecting a blade that comes in a box that says “Proudly overbuilt…” to weigh less. Look elsewhere. This is not for you.

Construction:

The blade is a 3.5″ long, .156″ thick drop point with a swedge on the spine. The steel is CPM S35VN, which is very similar in edge retention and corrosion resistance to the very popular CPM S30V, while offering increased toughness– it should chip less, and should withstand side loading a bit better for those who insist on prying. This steel is as good as or better than what you get on many high end folders like Striders or Sebenzas. The grind is a high flat grind.

Lock up is outstanding.

For perspective:

This pic shows the similarity in cutting edge and overall blade length as compared to the ESEE 3, which is a dedicated outdoor/survival blade.

What you may not quite notice in that pic is that the 0550’s .156″ of blade thickness beats out the .125″ on the ESEE 3.

Right now, you may be asking, “so what? It’s not a fixed blade!” You’re right. The 0550 isn’t a fixed blade, BUT… ask yourself what you would really use a 3″ camp knife for. Are you doing heavy batoning or prying with it? Probably not. Yes, an ESEE 3 will work better for those tasks than a 0550 will, but the reality is that the 0550 is easily capable of anything short of the work you’ll reserve for a heavy chopper.

This beings us to it’s chunky form. 6oz? .57″ grip? Wow! Are we looking at design failure? Did Rick Hinderer fail miserably at equaling the Endura? No. The goal here was clearly *not* to make a light knife for Nutnfancy fans to carry in their fanny packs. Hinderer showed us clearly with the 0560 and 0566 that he knows how to make excellent, slim feeling grips and understands how to reduce weight when he wants to. The 0550 is fat for a reason.

That is a grip comparison between the ESEE 3 and the 0550. Note that reviewers of outdoor blades often discuss hand fatigue over extended use, and that knives with fat handles (Mora, etc) are praised for being hand filling. The fat handle of the 0550 is intentional. This is the kind of handle you want for extended work.

Speaking of holding it:

It feels excellent in a strong hammer grip, and is very comfortable in a saber grip. This blade has no jimping on the back of the handle, but does have a bit on the back of the blade for control in the saber grip. There is no choil above the handle, but the cutting edge comes close enough to the hand to easily support fine tasking. The G-10 offers great, very functional traction. That is the only reason to keep the scale, because it is ugly as sin. That’s not subjective. In this case, it’s a fact. Babies will cry. Dogs will bark. Birds will fly away from it. It offsets the ugly by being outstanding in hand.

Reverse grip is *extremely* comfortable. Draw cut grip?

In draw cut grip, assuming right hand, tip up carry, the gen 1 pocket clip is in a bad spot. The tip of the clip comes up under the tip of my ring finger in a way that causes me to put pressure on it. That is not comfortable, and makes me wonder if it could eventually loosen the clip. Other than the clip position, the point of the finger groove pokes into the palm a little, as well. I have done a little draw cutting with this. It worked fine, but I didn’t like how it felt at all. This is not a common need, of course.

Snap cuts are also not a common thing to use a folder for, but guess what? The 0550 is about as perfect for that as a folder can be. The run of jimping on the pinky area of the grip and the fattening and curve at the back lend this very well to getting a great two finger grip. Throw on a paracord fob for the last two fingers and you’re suddenly holding a respectable snap-chopper. I wouldn’t attack trees with it, but I have used this to break into cardboard where there were no edges to start on, and this would easily handle clearing small branches– especially when you consider the massive stop pins and the fact that you’re swinging 6oz of knife.

Deployment… Good grief! Mine came with a diamond hard detent. It would not move with one hand until I broke it in a bit. It still won’t move if you touch the lock bar even a little. This is how I have to open it:

Note that my middle finger is not putting pressure on the lock bar. I’m pulling down slightly with my ring finger to help load pressure on the thumb stud, directed from 6 o’clock to 11 o’clock.

A motion similar to finger snapping throws it out.

Some reference pics…

Vs Manix 2 and ESEE 3 for size:

Vs 0566 for size:

In conclusion:

This thing is a monster. It is not a great choice for people looking for a sleek, lightweight, FFG slicer type of EDC. It is absolutely awesome for people who want a single solution for everything from opening blister packaging to extended wood work.

If you don’t carry it every day, it’s not every day carry.

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