Dmitry Sinkevich

Kershaw Atmos Review

Look – We all try to stick to a budget. But as knife enthusiasts, we sometimes have a bit more difficulty than most. This is one of the reasons I’ve gravitated toward the shallow end of the blade pool. So, when the Kershaw Atmos made a big splash with some fellow reviewers, I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Buy the Kershaw Atmos at BladeHQ

General Dimensions and Blade Details

Let’s get the obvious comparison out of the way – Yes, the Atmos looks like a budget version of the Zero Tolerance 0450. And it should, considering they share a common designer in the great Dmitry Sinkevich. But, as you’ll see in the comparison photos, the Atmos is between 10 and 15-percent smaller in most of its physical dimensions. We’ll come back to this comparison later, but let’s focus on the Kershaw for now.

The centerpiece of the Atmos is its 3-inch drop-point blade, wearing a satin finish over its hollow grind and upper swedge. It’s been crafted from a 0.10-inch thick piece of Chinese 8Cr13MoV steel, which is sure to illicit groans from about 90-percent of the audience. Look – I don’t like this steel any more than you do. But, hang with me for a while, and maybe you’ll learn to look past it.

Overall, the Atmos measures 6.9-inches, nearly four of which make up the G-10 handle. There’s a stainless steel insert on the clip side, housing the linerlock mechanism. Kershaw has included attractive carbon-fiber overlays on each handle slab (read: stickers), which somehow manage to avoid looking tacky on this budget-minded blade. I’m not usually a huge carbon fiber fan, but the added layer brings the handle width to a pleasing 0.43-inches. Weight-wise, the Atmos tips the scales at just 2-ounces. For those of you keeping track, that’s within 0.1-ounces of the Kershaw Fraxion, despite housing a bigger blade and far superior design.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

Dmitry Sinkevich is a master of form, and the Atmos represents the very best aspects of his work. It cuts an attractive figure, with futuristic angles that somehow meld perfectly into my medium/large hand. It also manages to be more comfortable, practical, and carriable than its premium cousin.

Don’t believe me? Let’s break it down point by point. First, the grip. While I always adored the 0450 from an aesthetic standpoint, its hand-feel is always a bit of a disappointment. This is partially due to personal preference, since I find slab-sided titanium blades to be more difficult to grip. I’ll take G-10, Micarta, or even Grivory any day of the week. The Atmos’ G-10 and carbon fiber overlay provide solid purchase, even with damp or greasy hands. The jimping along the finger-facing portion of the flipper tab is a thoughtful touch, as well. While some may find it to be a bit aggressive, its extra friction really holds my index finger in place. Though we’re used to seeing flipper tabs pull double duty as blade guards, the setup on the Atmos feels extra secure.

Next, let’s cover the practicality of this blade. The hollow grind glides through onions, carrots, and cardboard with genuine ease. Yes, 8Cr13MoV is nowhere near as good as the 0450’s S35VN. But the grind, in conjunction with the thinness of the Atmos’ blade stock, allows it to cut far longer than you’d expect from a cheap Chinese steel. The ZT, on the other hand, features a saber grind with a tendency to split foods rather than slice.

We’ll wrap this portion of the review with a discussion of carriability. When I say that the Atmos is easier to carry than the 0450, I’m really making two different statements. On the scientific side, this is simply a more pocketable design. It weighs almost an ounce less than the titanium model (2-ounces vs. 2.9), and the deep-carry pocket clip is far superior to the semi-high ride affair on the ZT. It also manages to produce less of a hotspot under firm grip.

On the more personal side, I’ve found this to be an easier knife to use. Like, if someone asks me to cut a plastic tie-wire from a segment of steel grating, I’ll always hesitate before pulling out the 0450. It’s an attractive, expensive knife, and I find it difficult to shake the fear of dinging it up. But with the Atmos? Hell, it’s only $30. What do I care if the blade accidentally knocks up against a rock or piece of structural steel? It’s a more capable cutter, without the nagging pocket-jewelry connotation. Sure, it’s not the most hard-use tool on the table, but let’s be honest – Neither is the 0450.

Deployment and Lockup

The Kershaw Atmos is a fidgeter’s dream. I’ve spent more time playing with this knife than any other in my collection. Even the ZT0450 pales in comparison when it comes to fidget factor. There’s just something about the Atmos’ deployment – The snikt/clack that lands pleasantly on the ear.

The linerlock itself lands at a solid 40-50% lockup, with the blade flying through its arc after a firm press on the flipper tab. Kershaw has dialed in the detent to the point that it’s actually rather difficult to cause a misfire. Here’s a breakdown shot of the Atmos, showing the internal hardware responsible for its excellent action.

As you can see, Kershaw has included both metal washers and captive bearings. The setup works well, though the arrangement is a little strange. On the show side, the bearing is sandwiched between the washer and blade. On the clip side, the bearing rests between the washer and the linerlock steel. This is something you’ll need to remember during reassembly, if you want the blade to remain centered.

And you will need to take this blade down. See that deep hook on the blade tang? After household chores and a weekend of camping, gunk started to accumulate in its inner recesses. Thankfully, the simple screws and D-shaped pivot make disassembly a relatively routine affair. As mentioned, just be sure you’re putting the washers and bearings back in the proper order.

Even with proper oiling, however, the blade’s swing isn’t completely utterly smooth. I still encountered a bit of rolling friction when working it back and forth manually, but this is more than covered by the strength of its detent. When firing with the flipper, you’ll never notice.

Kershaw Atmos Review – Final Thoughts

Take a deep breath, fellow knife nerds. I have a confession to make: The 0450 is on its way out of my collection, while the Atmos is staying for the foreseeable future. It’s not a question of cost, since the ZT was provided to me for a previous review. Rather, it’s an issue of usability. Yes, the 0450 is fun. Its fit, finish, materials, and design place it in the pantheon of great EDC knives. But, for all of the reasons discussed above, I find myself drawn to the down-to-earth usability of the Atmos.

That isn’t to say the Kershaw is perfect, however. I’d love to see an upgraded version, maybe with 154CM, 14C28N, or another budget-friendly steel. Dmitry Sinkevich has come up with a world-class design here, and it deserves world-class materials. But, with an entry price of just $30, this is one of the best budget EDCs on the market.

Kershaw Atmos Folding Pocketknife (4037); 3-in. 8Cr13MoV Stainless Steel Drop Point Blade; Black G10 Handle with Carbon Fiber; Inset Liner Lock; KVT Manual Open; Reversible Deep-Carry Pocketclip; 1 oz

List Price: $33.94

Current Price: $28.50

Price Disclaimer

I recommend purchasing the Kershaw Atmos at Amazon or BladeHQ. Please consider that buying anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Zero Tolerance ZT 0450 Review

by Benjamin Schwartz 3 Comments

Despite positioning itself as a maker of hard use tools for hardcore individuals, Zero Tolerance has always had more universal appeal than its marketing would suggest – and I don’t think the company’s appeal has ever been wider than it is today.

Unlike sister brand Kershaw, there isn’t any internal division between ZT products: there aren’t ‘cheap’ and ‘expensive’ ZTs in the sense that there are cheap and expensive Kershaws; everything they make falls within the same general bracket of impressive machining and high-end materials; the price differences just indicate which high materials you’re getting and how much impressive machining you see.

Buy the Zero Tolerance 0450 at BladeHQ

And while ZTs may have been considered pretty pricey back in the day, as the market has shifted upwards their prices have remained relatively consistent, so that they seem more reasonable now than they did five years ago. So as the knife world has shifted into its current strata of price brackets, Zero Tolerance has found itself in a sweet spot between accessibility and quality.

All of this combines to put ZT pretty much at the center of current knife enthusiast culture. I’m sure there are soldiers, cops, and first responders who carry and use Zero Tolerence knives, but I would bet there are a lot more ZTs in the pockets of enthusiasts and on the shelves of collectors. That being said there has never been a ZT knife that really spoke to me.

I couldn’t find one that was ‘just right;’ this knife had a great design but is assisted, that one was the right size but inordinately heavy. It is this way for me with every knife ZT releases. Eventually, waiting for the Perfect Zero Tolerance became a kind of mania. Perfect design, perfect size, perfect price: I figured if I waited long enough such a ZT would come out.

But it never did, and eventually I got tired of waiting and picked up the knife that came closest to that ephemeral, unrealized Perfect ZT I have in my mind: the Dmitry Sinkevich-designed ZT 0450. It can’t possibly be perfect, but is it any good? Let’s take a look.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The 0450 has a blade length of 3 3/16”, a handle length of 4 1/8”, and an overall length of 7 3/8”. It weighs 3.04 oz. and is made in the USA. I want to mention here that this is a damn good looking knife. It comes up later and I don’t want to keep repeating myself in the interim, so just keep in mind that almost every inch of this knife is nice to look at.

The ZT 0450’s racy drop point is a good EDC cutter. It has much more straight edge than belly, which I don’t necessarily mind, and a very sharp tip. A chunky grind means two things: 1) both the tip and cutting edge are hardy enough to beat on, however 2) it isn’t as good of a slicer as you would hope for. Given the fast, futuristic, aggressive styling I was hoping for equally aggressive cutting performance but that isn’t what you get here.

However, trading some sliciness for durability isn’t exactly Faustian as long as cutting performance is still the favored attribute to some degree, and the 0450 meets this criterion. It’s best-suited for medium-duty tasks like cutting through cardboard or plastic, but you aren’t going to hate slicing food with it either. It works.

When Zero Tolerance began using Elmax a few years ago accusations of improper heat treating and burnt edges were leveled at them from the enthusiast quarter. The 0450 is made from S35VN, not Elmax, but there is a small portion near the tip of my 0450’s blade that looks burned:

From what I understand, this occurs during the edge grinding portion of manufacturing, and is localized to the burned area – in other words, if it is burned, it shouldn’t affect the performance of the edge in general – and my experience bears this out.

S35VN is great. I would almost say it’s boring, because it doesn’t have the epic abilities and tragic flaws of a steel like M4, but for the average user (and most enthusiasts are average users AT BEST) that is a good thing. I’m convinced that you could sharpen S35VN with even a rudimentary setup and some patience. The S35VN here performed just as well as I expected it to, and if there were any problems in the burned portion I didn’t notice.

Handle, Ergonomics, and Pocket Clip

One of my biggest ergonomic pet peeves is when a knife has a beak or a scoop at the butt end of its handle that either doesn’t accommodate all four fingers ahead of it, or that makes my fingers feel crammed because it ushers them too close together. I really want this issue to become the Too Many Finger Grooves of 2017, because it nearly ruined the Para 3 for me and designers need to stop doing it.

By all accounts it looked like the 0450 would have this problem, and even now I’m not sure that it doesn’t. I can get all my fingers between the finger groove and the beginning of the beak, but not easily, comfortably, or without premeditation; my fingers would never fall across the handle this way naturally.

But the way I think you’re supposed to hold the knife is how I ended up holding the Para 3: with my index finger in the groove, my middle and ring in the “valley,” and my pinky landing on the far side of the beak. This feels natural, but, again, it isn’t the natural way my hand wants to hold the knife.

If I just grab the knife without thinking, my pinky lands right on the tip of the beak. This doesn’t sound like it would be comfortable, but thanks to the big chamfer around the scales, the tip of the beak isn’t too pointy and it works. And even during hard cuts this wasn’t that uncomfortable because most of the pressure is focused on the portion of the knife between your thumb and forefinger.

So I don’t know where I come down on this. The way it appears the knife is designed to be held isn’t natural, and the way it seems natural to hold it doesn’t feel right, even if it isn’t intolerable. At the end of the day I guess I’m okay with this handle, because it allows for a very slim and stylish profile, and going into it you know the 0450 isn’t going to be an ergonomic masterpiece.

The 0450 itself is so very narrow that it would be a pretty decent carry regardless of what kind of clip it had. This is one of very few flipper knives whose flipper tab doesn’t annoy me in the pocket, and I think that’s a function of the knife’s extreme narrowness. The 0450 would be a great carry even with a bad pocket clip, but hey: the clip here is anguish free. The same clip seen on the Kershaw Dividend, and in that review I expressed a little anxiety about its stability over time, but I’ve had no issues here.

Deployment and Lockup

I’m going to grouse a lot in this section so I’ll say this up front: The ZT 0450’s action is fast, sure, very snappy, addicting, and fun. The flipper tab is well designed. It is a great example of why flippers are so hot right now. Okay, grousing starts now.

I was prepared for the lock bar issue, and it is definitely present: if your fingers are on anywhere on the lock bar, the detent is such that the knife will not open – it feels almost like you have a secondary safety feature engaged. When I first got the knife I had a couple attempted deployments where the blade refused to budge.

However, if you align your fingers with the clip it keeps them off the bar; now that’s where my fingers naturally goes when I flip open this knife. Still, not cool, and from what I’ve seen it’s present on newer models as well. I’d like to see ZT put this issue to bed.

I think ball bearing pivots are bad. I hope the recent issues with the Advocate will precipate a move back to traditional washers, which are more durable, have no moving parts, are easier to maintain, and don’t cause as much unnecessary wear. Ball bearings against naked titanium (as we have on the 0450) is probably asking for trouble in the long term – albeit in the long, long term that most of us won’t see, as we trade and swap knives and carry different ones on different days. But still.

I also think that the ZT 0450’s fall shut action is dangerous and not to be desired. I’ve cut myself more times on the ZT 0450 than any other knife I’ve owned, either because it rolled shut so fast I didn’t have time to get my knuckles out of the way, or I pushed it a little bit and it gained enough momentum to keep rolling when I didn’t want or expect it to. Not necessary.

Lockup via titanium frame lock with a steel insert, is good however. If you look at the knife from the side, it doesn’t seem that a lot of the blade tang actually makes contact with the lock face, and disengagement has no feedback or friction whatsoever, but there is no blade play and the lock has never been other than stable and reliable. The double over-travel stop provided by the insert and by the clip is a nice touch as well.

Zero Tolerance 0450 Review – Final Thoughts

There is no meaningful area in which the Zero Tolerance 0450 excels other than carry. It isn’t a great cutter. Ergonomically, it’s kind of a mess. The deployment is problematic. But I still like it.

As much as I hate to say it it comes down to the look. Sinkevich has one of the strongest aesthetics around and the 0450 benefits greatly from that. It isn’t my style necessarily, but we don’t see a lot of knives that are this visually confident, and I think I responded to that. If you showed me a less interesting design that had all of these quirks and problems, I would never even think of buying it.

Not exactly the resounding praise, but praise nonetheless. I can’t not like this knife, even if there are so many things about it that I don’t like. It stops just short of brilliance but looks stunning doing it.

Zero Tolerance Small Sinkevich Pocketknife (0450); 3.25” Stonewash S35VN Steel Blade with Satin Finish; Stonewashed Titanium Handle with KVT Ball-Bearing Opening, Frame Lock and Reversible Clip; 2.9 OZ.

List Price: $160.00

Current Price: $154.00

Price Disclaimer

I recommend purchasing the Zero Tolerance 0450 at Amazon and BladeHQ. Please consider that purchasing anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Fantoni CUT Flipper Review

by Dan Leave a Comment

Last Updated: January 1, 2018
We are in the midst of another Italian Renaissance. This time around it’s not a blossoming of politics and art, but of steel and titanium. The Italians are making some absolutely beautiful knives, and I can think of few examples that typify this as much as as the Fantoni CUT Flipper. At its core the CUT Flipper is a meat and potatoes knife. It is sturdy and well made, unpretentious, and intended for real use. Yet this knife has been elevated. The elegant design coupled with a fanatical attention to detail lifts the CUT Flipper from object to art.

Buy the CUT Flipper at KnifeArt

The CUT Flipper has been on my radar for several years. Carried by boutique purveyors and retailing for around $400.00, the CUT Flipper has eluded my grasp for some time. This is a collaboration between Fantoni and Dmitry Sinkevich, the same designer who brought us such things as the Zero Tolerance 0454 and many Shirogorov designs. The problem with the ZT 0454 and Shirogorov flippers is that you can hardly find them, let alone find them for a reasonable price. The CUT Flipper, while no means widely circulated, can still be found at retail (at least at the time of this article and for the past few years – Fantoni has never been known for high production volume). That places the CUT Flipper at a unique spot in the marketplace, and practically begs for a closer examination.

General Dimensions and Blade Details

The CUT Flipper has an overall length of 3.5″, has a 8.375″ blade, and weighs 5.3 ounces. This a larger knife meant for work. Some might call it a tactical knife. It’s obviously too big of a knife to carry around in an office setting, but it works fine with jeans and could certainly be an EDC item if you like carrying larger knives. There isn’t anything wrong with viewing this as a collectible either.

The blade shape of the CUT Flipper is an upswept modified drop point. I really love this blade shape, and I think it is part of the reason why I gave the Kershaw Turbulence such high marks. You have a high flat grind, swedge, and a neatly applied edge. The finish on this knife is very nice. It’s a high polish with a stonewash over it (or maybe a stonewash that was then high polished – hard to tell really). Regardless the blade has a deep luster that looks great and hides wear. It’s also a low friction finish, and it helps the blade slide through material.

Fantoni went with tried and true CPM S30V for their blade material. I have no complaints with the steel selection. I’ve had some issues with S30V in the past, but done right S30V is a proven steel. Here Fantoni has heat treated the blade to 60-61 HRc, and the knife takes a nice working edge that touches up easily on a strop or my ceramic rods. The CUT Flipper isn’t super thin behind the edge, but it thins out enough to be a capable slicer. It’s a good compromise between strength and agility. The upswept tip is strong, but the steep angle means that it isn’t my first choice for clipping coupons or other fine tip work. All in all, the blade lives up to its namesake, and it performs if you are looking to put the CUT Flipper to work.

As an aside, I know that Renzo Fantoni, the founder of Fantoni Knives, is a big fan of super steels. Don’t be surprised if Fantoni ends up producing a limited run these in S125V or some other insane steel.

Handle, Ergonomics and Pocket Clip

The handle of the CUT Flipper has a lot of really nice details – there is lot for a collector to admire here. 3-D machined slabs of G10 rest atop thick cut pieces of sandblasted titanium. All of the edges have been painstakingly radiused. At the end of the day construction appears simple, but that is only because they have pulled it off so flawlessly. I love the oversized hardware and how the backspacer was finished and slots around a lanyard pin. I’ll try to do my best with the pictures, but you really need to examine one of these in person to get a true feel for the workmanship.

In hand the CUT Flipper feels fantastic. It’s a larger knife and the handle is pretty thick, so those two factors add to this, but the slight pistol grip to the handle shape leave great spots for your palm and thumb. There is a a run of mild jimping that looks nice and serves its purpose, while the rest of the knife is devoid of aggressive texture. This knife feels natural in the hand and I had no problem breaking down boxes and carving up 2x2s with this.

The pocket clip is a simple bent titanium clip, and is given the same sandblast as the liners and laser engraved with Fantoni’s subdued logo. This is a small detail, but I like the choice of domed pocket clip screws – even they seem to be of very high quality. It is a sturdy clip that holds the knife steady, and reasonably low in the pocket. The handle is tapped for ambidextrous tip up carry, a nice nod to this knife’s utilitarian roots. At 5.3 ounces, the CUT Flipper is definitely something that you will notice in your pocket, but I don’t think the weight or the way the CUT carries is unreasonable given the size and construction of the knife.

Deployment and Lockup

The CUT Flipper is obviously a flipper style knife. If you prefer a non-flipper variant, check out the aptly named CUT. The flipping action on this knife is not something to write home about. You need to pushbutton (preload) the flipper to ensure a speedy and complete deployment, and that is a mild let down for such an otherwise fantastic knife. Still, the CUT Flipper is quite smooth and I still enjoy opening and closing it ceaselessly, periodically pausing to admire the blade or the gentle play of titanium and G10.

The CUT Flipper is a liner lock. The generous titanium liner engages fully and the blade locks up solidly and without play. It looks like Fantoni may have heat treated or carbidized the lock face, as there is slight discoloration in the last quarter inch of the liner lock – right where it meets with the tang of the blade. Performance of the liner lock is excellent and the blade centering is dead center.

Here is a shot of the CUT Flipper next to my Strider SnG:

Fantoni CUT Flipper Review – Final Thoughts

I can think of few folding tactical knives that have that holy trinity of form, function, and uber tight finish work. Some may argue that the “holy trinity” is just that: the Chris Reeve Sebenza, the Strider SnG, and the Rick Hinderer XM-18. Having owned two out of the three and handled several XM-18’s, I think the CUT Flipper belongs right next to these standard bearer blades. The CUT Flipper may not have the track record (or the marketing effort) of these other knives, but it certainly has the design chops, build quality, and functionality of these other knives.

This is a knife I have been drooling over for some time. Sometimes when that is the case I get a little underwhelmed when the actual knife arrives. Not so with the CUT Flipper. I think I actually like the knife more now that I have it. The CUT Flipper hangs with the best of them and has earned my wholehearted approval and recommendation. If you are at all on the fence about this knife, my suggestion would be to buy it with confidence. You will not be disappointed.

I would recommend buying the CUT Flipper at KnifeArt, as they are Fantoni’s only US dealer. However, their stock is limited.

I would also recommend purchasing the CUT Flipper at Amazon or BladeHQ, however, neither retailer seems to carry Fantoni Knives. Regardless, please consider that purchasing anything through any of the links on this website helps support BladeReviews.com, and keeps the site going. As always, any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.