Drop + Brad Zinker Dogtooth Frame Lock Knife Reviews | Drop

Nov 2, 2018

Verified Buyer

Fit and finish was excellent, color (blue) matched screen shot nicely. Knife's action was smooth, can be opened and closed one handed. S35 blade was sharp, but not as sharp as other MD knives I have ordered. Deep carry pocket clip is well done, and others will not be able to tell what is on the other end of the clip. Good for nervous workplace scenarios! Real issue: detent is loose and knife can be snapped open without using the flipper tab. This happens about 50% of the time when a moderate force shake is given to the knife. An unreliable detent is acceptable on a $40 cheapie knife, but at this price point, I expect better, and indeed my MD / Ferrum Forge Buc is 100% reliable at the exact same price. MD customer service was excellent and has sent a replacement out. Hopefully that one will be properly tuned - the knife is attractive and useful, and appears well made in most categories, so I hope the replacement is trouble free. EDIT: Second knife had same issue, w blade flying open with a shake or two. Either i have bad luck or other owners do not perceive this as a problem. Returned both knives to MD, who handled the return with excellent and rapid service.

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Nov 14, 2018

Rosebud41It's an issue on mine too. Came here to see if i was the only one 😩

Nov 14, 2018

Nov 15, 2018

KavikFunny thing is that I now have three other MD / WE knives (two FFs and the Laconico) and all of those are rock solid actions, opening when "requested" and immovable to shaking. All those other knives have thicker blade stock and non-skeletonized frames, so I'm thinking either WE builds those sort of designs more reliably or the Zinker design here did not use a proper detent. Anyway, I think many users like the gravity knife effect and so are not overly troubled by it if it's found. A lot of cheaper Chinese knives sold on MD have the same defect / feature. For both professional and legal reasons though, I need a knife that stays closed when shaken!

Nov 15, 2018

Nov 15, 2018

Rosebud41I have this issue with many knives I own, including other MD collaboration knives. The Buc and Prism both shake open, the Falcon does not. It's such a fine system, between the placement of the detent ball and hole, the diameter of the hole, the placement and thickness of the stop pin, and the side of the blade that contacts the stop pin.... Any one of those could be off by just a few thou of an inch and it can throw the whole thing off. Heck, even the lock bar could be a hair out of alignment when it was bent to shape. On this one specifically, i can see the ball isn't fully seated when the blade is closed, but haven't decided yet if I want to return it and take a gamble on the next one, or open it up and see what can be tweaked to help it line up better

Nov 15, 2018

Nov 15, 2018

KavikIt seems to be a general issue with flippers at all price points from many makers - locks are either too loose or too sticky. For me, the magic number is $100 - less than that with dysfunction and I'll poke around in the knife to see if I can fix it; more than that is usually a return. Anecdotally, my Buc is very solid.

Nov 15, 2018

Nov 15, 2018

Rosebud41I need to set a magic number for myself lol I like to fiddle too much sometimes, and don't know when to quit before I start. Just recently took the backspacer of a $200 Minitherium to a belt sander after filing down the blade side of the stop. Improved the detent strength, didn't fix it completely, should have exchanged it immediately 🙄 Oh well though, it makes the hobby more interactive and interesting, right? 🤣

Nov 15, 2018

Nov 15, 2018

KavikSure, some folks might like the chance to take an injured knife and make it whole, definitely a valid concept, and when seen as part of a hobby, perfectly sensible. For me though, I think accepting pricey knives that need remedial work sends the wrong message to manufacturers - mainly that full spectrum QC is optional. Considering my $20 to $40 RATs have always been perfect. I think good quality can be had at virtually every price point, with some TLC from the maker.

Nov 15, 2018

Nov 15, 2018

Rosebud41100% agreed I'm going to have to give it some thought. I've only just recently got around to the idea that a weak detent is even something worthy of a return, considering how subjective that can be. That said, i like the look and feel of this knife, and would like to see it working well rather than exchanged and ultimately returned if the second one is the same (or worse)

Nov 15, 2018

Nov 15, 2018

KavikAgreed, this was a handsome knife, and the finish in particular seemed a) rich and b) durable, a rare thing with colored knives IME. Worth the effort --- but what does disassembly do to the MD warranty? That potential issue, more so than ideology, was my main reason for opting for the return in this instance. Worst case = disassemble, still can't fix, and now return is not an option.

Nov 15, 2018

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Nov 15, 2018

Rosebud41Unfortunately, I have no idea.... They claim they have a warranty here, but they have yet to post anything with actual details in it for reference 🙄 Kinda reduces their liability to zero, we're stuck relying on them to be honorable if we have issues

Nov 15, 2018

Nov 16, 2018

Rosebud41The detent on mine is perfectly dialed in. I can’t make it fail and it doesn’t kill my finger when I open and close it repeatedly. Detent issues are so frustrating and seem to come down to luck of the draw.

Nov 16, 2018

Nov 16, 2018

KavikYou might want to exchange yours. The detent on mine is really nice. I’m like you though, I’d be worried that I’ll go through the trouble of shipping it back and waiting a couple of weeks for the replacement and the new knife will be the same or worse. I also worry about getting someone else’s returned knife which will undoubtably have issues.

Nov 16, 2018

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Nov 16, 2018

DougFLA123I think that's it, no real way to predict. My theory that thicker stock / FF designs are less flickable was invalidated by Kavik's "gravity Buc". My cheap Ruikes and RATs were all rock solid, but an equally cheap Tangram flicked itself open as I unboxed it. Detents are hard to get right!

Nov 16, 2018

Nov 16, 2018

Rosebud41You would think that with tight tolerances and precision machining, consistent detents would be the norm.

Nov 16, 2018

Nov 16, 2018

Rosebud41Kavik has big cojones...he’s not afraid to get right in there with a hammer and chisel to fix an issue! Me...I rest my knives on soft pillows at night. : )

Nov 16, 2018

Nov 16, 2018

DougFLA123The apparent hit and miss ratio on the vaunted WE assembly line surprises me - looks like even production within the same model line is uneven. Also odd is that there is no final QC test for detent strength before the knife gets boxed up. Would be a five second test, and would really boost a brand's rep if detents were consistently tuned across production.

Nov 16, 2018

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Nov 16, 2018

Rosebud41Maybe the QC on detents isn’t a concern of manufacturers because most people get a knife with a weak detent and just live with it. I received a knife with a weak detent from KnifeCenter and at the time I felt like I’d just be a big baby/complainer if I returned it so I didn’t and I regret it. I would totally return a weak detent now. Most of my WE knives have really nice detents, but a couple of them are not very good.

Nov 16, 2018

Nov 16, 2018

DougFLA123Perhaps the dark truth is that some (many?) users like a gravity blade feature. Plus, as is the case with the Tangram Santa Fe that I received, the designated opening method may be difficult / unpleasant, so being able to shake the knife open might be the best way to actually deploy it...

Nov 16, 2018

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Nov 16, 2018

Rosebud41Yes, that’s possible. A weak detent and poor centering are real pet peeves of mine.

Nov 16, 2018

Nov 16, 2018

DougFLA123Lol i dunno about hammer and chisel.... but this was one of the tools I used on my last big fix haha

Sometimes you can pamper with pillows, but sometimes you gotta beat 'em into submission 😜

Nov 16, 2018

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Nov 16, 2018

KavikLol. Nice belt sander!

Nov 16, 2018

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Nov 16, 2018

DougFLA123Yeah, it's holding up pretty well so far :) Bought it for the spindle sander functions, but the combo with an oscillating belt sander and the adjustable angle table has been pretty amazing But I'm just now remembering this is happening in a review thread, not a discussion thread, and we're getting way off topic lol 🙊

Nov 16, 2018