 | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Tualatin, Oregon |
Key people | Jack Igarashi, Chief of North American Operations |
| Products | Knives |
| Website | https://zt.kaiusaltd.com/ |
Zero Tolerance Knives (ZT Knives) is a knife brand of Kai USA, headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon, United States. [1] Both Zero Tolerance and Kai USA are members of the Kai Group, a global cutlery company. [1]
The first ZT knives were produced in 2006 alongside Kai USA's longstanding, Kershaw Knives brand. [2] The original line of ZT knives included collaborations between custom knifemaker Ken Onion and Strider Knives. [3] [4] Early products were combat knives, but Zero Tolerance later expanded its market to include more general use knives. [5] All ZT products are manufactured in Kai USA's Tualatin, Oregon facility. [1] [5]
Over the course of the brand's history, eight individual Zero Tolerance knives have won awards at the annual Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia. The following models have received recognition:
| Year | Model | Designer | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Model 0500 | Grant and Gavin Hawk | Most Innovative American Design of the Year Award [6] |
| 2011 | Model 0777 | Kai Original Design | Overall Knife of the Year Award [7] |
| 2011 | Model 0560/0561 | Rick Hinderer | Collaboration of the Year Award [7] |
| 2012 | Model 0888 | Kai Original Design | Overall Knife of the Year Award [8] |
| 2012 | Model 0600 | R.J. Martin | Collaboration of the Year Award [8] |
| 2013 | Model 0454 | Dmitry Sinkevich | Overall Knife of the Year Award [9] |
| 2014 | Model 0562CF | Rick Hinderer | American Made Knife of the Year Award [10] |
| 2015 | Model 0999 | Kai Original Design | American Made Knife of the Year Award [11] |
Zero Tolerance Knives manufactures USA-made folding knives and fixed blades. [1] [3] The brand has worked with custom knife makers such as Les George, Jens Anso, Dmitry Sinkevich, Todd Rexford, Rick Hinderer, R.J. Martin, Tim Galyean, Grant and Gavin Hawk, Ken Onion, and Gus T. Cecchini. [1] [3] [12] ZT Knives has also collaborated with Emerson Knives. [1] [3]
A boot knife or a gambler's dagger is a small fixed-blade knife that is designed to be carried in or on a boot. Typically, such a knife is worn on a belt or under a pant leg. If worn around the neck they become a neck knife. Boot knives generally come with a sheath that includes some form of a clip. Most have double-edged blades, like a dagger, that range from 3 to 5 inches.
Strider Knives, Inc. is a custom and production knifemaking facility headed by Mickey Ray Burger, founded and based in San Marcos, California.
Spyderco is an American cutlery company based in Golden, Colorado, producing knives and knife sharpeners. Spyderco pioneered many features that are now common in folding knives, including the pocket clip, serrations, and the opening hole. Spyderco has collaborated with 30 custom knife makers, athletes, and self-defense instructors for designs and innovated the usage of 20 different blade materials.
Ernest R. Emerson is an American custom knifemaker, martial artist, and edged-weapons expert. Originally an engineer and machinist in the aerospace industry, Emerson became a knifemaker by producing knives for a martial arts class and making art knives early in his knifemaking career. In the 1980s he became better known for his combat knives and popularizing a style of knife known as the Tactical-folder.
Robert Waldorf Loveless, a.k.a. Bob Loveless or RW Loveless, was an American knife maker who designed and popularized the hollowground drop point blade and the use of full tapered tangs and screw-type handle scale fasteners within the art of knifemaking. He is cited by other knifemakers and collectors as one of the most innovative custom knife makers in the world.
Kershaw Knives designs, sources and manufactures a wide range of knives, including pocketknives, sporting knives, and kitchen cutlery. Kershaw is a brand of Kai USA Ltd., a member of the KAI Group, headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon, United States.
Blade is a consumer magazine about knife collecting. The magazine is based in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Ken Onion is an American custom knifemaker based in Kaneohe, Hawaii, United States who invented the "SpeedSafe" assisted opening mechanism for Kershaw Knives. Ken Onion was the Premier Knife Designer for Kershaw Knives.
The Linerlock is a locking mechanism for folding pocket knives. A Linerlock is a folding knife with a side-spring lock that can be opened and closed with one hand without repositioning the knife in the hand. The lock is self-adjusting for wear. The modern Linerlock traces its lineage to the late 19th century, but in the 1980s the design was improved by American custom knifemaker Michael Walker.
Cold Steel, Inc., is an American retailer of knives/bladed tools, training weapons, swords and other martial arts edged and blunt weapons. Founded in Ventura, California, the company is currently based in Irving, Texas, after an acquisition by GSM Outdoors in 2020. Cold Steel products are manufactured worldwide, including in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, India, Italy, China, and South Africa.
The CQC-6 or Viper Six is a handmade tactical folding knife with a tantō blade manufactured by knifemaker Ernest Emerson. Although initially reported as the sixth design in an evolution of fighting knives and the first model in the lineup of Emerson's Specwar Custom Knives, Emerson later revealed that the knife was named for SEAL Team Six. It has a chisel-ground blade of ATS-34 or 154CM stainless steel and a handle made of titanium and linen micarta. The CQC-6 is credited as the knife that popularized the concept of the tactical folding knife.
William Wales Scagel was an American knifemaker whose style had a profound impact on the cutlery trade, influencing it for over 100 years.
The Knifemakers' Guild is an American organization, based in Richfield, Utah, made up of knifemakers to promote custom knives, encourage ethical business practices, assist with technical aspects of knife making, and to sponsor knife shows. The Guild is composed of 300 knifemaker members and several thousand collectors, writers, and other investors as honorary members.
Gil Hibben is an American custom knifemaker from Wyoming who is based in La Grange, Kentucky. Hibben designed the first line of Browning hunting knives in 1968, the American Kenpo Knife for Ed Parker, and the Rambo Knife for the 1988 film Rambo III 2008 film Rambo. Hibben's "Fantasy Knives" have been used in over 37 films and television shows, particularly science fiction, earning him the title "Klingon Armorer" from the Star Trek franchise. Hibben currently serves as a President of the Knifemakers' Guild, a post he has held for fourteen years.
A. G. Russell was an American knife maker.
Jody Samson was a knifemaker and bladesmith from Burbank, California, who designed butterfly knives for Benchmade and the swords used in movies, including Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, First Knight, The Mask of Zorro, Blade, Blind Fury, Batman & Robin, Batman Forever, and Streets of Fire.
Walter Wells "Blackie" Collins was an American knife maker who designed and popularized the assisted opening mechanism and various automatic knife designs within the art of knifemaking. He is cited by other knifemakers and collectors as one of the most innovative knife designers in the world and was an author and the founder of what became Blade Magazine. Collins died July 20, 2011, in a motorcycle accident near North, South Carolina.
Robert G. Terzuola is an American knife maker who popularized the type of knife known as the tactical folding knife.
The Blade Show is an annual tradeshow for the cutlery industry. It is the largest event of its type in the world. The show is owned by Caribou Media Group and is hosted by Blade Magazine. The event has over 1,000 exhibitors and is the host for inductees into the annual Cutlery Hall of Fame. It also hosts the annual Blade HQ Balisong Competition, BladeSports International Cutting World Championships, Blade University, Knife of the Year Awards, and a variety of knifemaking classes and demos. The event takes place every year over the course of several days and brings in knifemakers and knife companies from all parts of world.
Shun Cutlery is a kitchen knife brand of the KAI Group, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. In the United States, Shun is sold by Kai USA in Tualatin, Oregon—alongside the Kershaw Knives and Zero Tolerance Knives brands.
