ZT 0454 Stonewash MagnaCut CF Bronze carbon fibre titanium EDC folding pocket knife. Length of closed knife 10.9cm 8.1cm high-grade CPM-MagnaCut stainless steel blade. Stonewash blade finish. Black carbon fibre insert. A plate incorporating the framelock, in stonewash-finish titanium. The Zero Tolerance stonewash finish is, according to the Tellknives staff, one of the best on the market! Black stainless steel pocket clip. Pinball function. Bronze anodised aluminium pivot screw. The Zero Tolerance ZT 0454 MagnaCut CF EDC folding pocket knife is also available in a version with a satin-finish blade and blued carbon fibre, with a blue anodised aluminium pivot screw.

The military orientation of the Zero Tolerance brand of knives in its early days is by no means the same as it is today. The ZT brand (which belongs to KAI, which also owns Kershaw) has reoriented its positioning towards a more urban-chic destination, targeting a young, affluent clientele that is more concerned with design than rock-solid solidity.

In doing so, the ZT brand has lost many of its early fans (including the author of this commentary) and finds itself in direct competition with other brands such as WE Knife Co, LionSteel and Benchmade, whose urban chic positioning is nothing new. At the time of writing, this risky gamble doesn't seem to have been won, because the Zero Tolerance brand's new products are (alas!) too rare to attract the customers it certainly needs. Meanwhile, the competition is not standing still.

Let's hope that this ZT0454 MagnaCut generates good sales, and that it can thus help to finance future models... with a military orientation such as the late 0200 or 0100!

Take heart, Mr Zero Tolerance!