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I realize it's the current trend, but I'll never understand marketing any folder with a bearing pivot as "tactical". Any decent force laterally on the blade is going to create deformations along the track of the bearings at the pivot and ruin the smooth opening action.
Granted they applied a large amount of force; they claim there was no marks left after their 66lbs test, but I would bet there is under close inspection. Heck, most ball bearing pivots get indents in the race from tightening the pivot too tightly. Since these bearing flippers are meant to be as smooth as glass, the user can usually detect even the most tiny deformations that the bearings glide over.
It would be great to see the industry move towards those roller bearings that Shirogorov uses, as they clearly understand the importance of distributing the lateral loads and compression from the pivot screw over as large of an area as possible.
Or, just use phosphorous bronze washers.
And the hardened washers in this knife aren't anything special; they and the brass caged pivot bearings are the same ones you'd find in many other Chinese brands like CH knives that go for around $70.
Anyways, the knife is too nice to pass on, I love Terzuola designs.
When you put ceramic bearings against steel, even hardened, put it under tension, then put additional load on top which is leveraged by the length of the blade, you're going to leave a permanent mark that's detectable while opening and closing. That's not basic "statics", that's basic physics.
This is clearly as fruitless as reasoning with a flat-Earther. You keep buying bearing pivot folders and I'll keep avoiding them.
By the by, I like certain blades on PB washers more than bearings. Stuff like my Kizer GPB work magnificently on their combination PB and teflon washer sets.
And it's not just the steel washers either, the blade gets dented from the bearings as well - I've had it happen on a ZT 0801 with an Elmax steel and a Spyderco Southard with a CTS-204P steel. From light duty chores too, nothing like the hot supper my bronze washer folders can get.
It's just amusing to me how people have said this is a non-issue since the inception of bearing pivots, yet the industry is clearly moving from riding on Ti to steel washers, fewer bearings to multi-row bearings, and ball bearings to roller bearings.
Ask yourself why there's an continuous effort to increase the area of contact between the blade and the bearings, when clearly fewer points contact would equate to a smoother opening/closing action from less friction.
Hopefully the snake will eat its own tail and we'll all be back to regular flat washers eventually.
I'm also going to say this, if people are cranking down their pivots so tight as to cause ceramic to actually dent and deform steel, maybe they shouldn't be disassembling / tweaking their knives. They clearly don't have the sense to dial it in without causing damage. I have an hard time believing that dents like that could possibly come from regular use.
You're options are also not that limited. Pretty sure John Gray doesn't use bearings. Most of Sal Glesser's designs are on PB washers. Chris Reeve, Al Mar, Rick Hinderer... the list goes on. It's not some incurable epidemic that is inescapable. If it's not your fancy, look elsewhere and snag non-bearing driven knives here when they pop up.
Finally, if they are flavor of the month (as you seem to believe) you have nothing to worry about.
Instead of blaming users who have never had such issues with negligence, again I implore you to ask yourself why the contact area keeps on increasing like I already mentioned. Why they keep addressing and revising and modifying to solve a non-issue.
This whole thing reminds me of the crowd who used to always tell others not to worry about Ti lockbar wear, that it was a non-issue. You're fidgeting with your knife too much, they'd say. Of course, most of the industry has now decided to correct this non-issue with a steel lockbar insert.
You don't have to buy anything you don't like. Why spend the time and effort trying to convince other people to not buy something YOU don't like?
And maybe you can be so kind as to quote where I was trying to convince others to not buy something I don't like instead of sharing my personal experience and opinions.
What other purpose (aside from promoting disinterest in the product) should people glean from your fervent argument against bearings? Why are your personal experiences somehow more valid than those expressed by myself and others? Why did you, when approached with factual information, choose to make ad homenim attacks on the credibility of another poster.
One can argue from personal experience all they like, but the plural of anecdote is not, nor ever will be, fact.
@Marrenmiller made some pretty standard and decent points from a simple physics perspective. Points I generally agree with. You aren't likely to damage your bearings, races, or washers with standard use. A number of sources have show that the amount of forced required to cause compression damage on hardened steel is beyond what you'd typically see out of regular use. If your using your blade as a pry bar, or banging on the pivot with a hammer, maybe you'd see pitting, but with both of those actions pitting should be the least of your concerns. And again I'll say it, anyone putting exceptional strain on a pivot by extreme over tightening probably shouldn't be tweaking their knives.
What other purpose? You mean aside from discussing a product in the section dedicated to discussing said product? I never encouraged anyone to buy or not buy something based on my opinions, that's just one of the many things you decided to insinuate based on your personal assumptions. By your logic any and every negative review of a product or service could be dismissed as promoting disinterest in a product. I'm sorry(but not really) that my own experience doesn't comply to your ideals.
Perhaps you can direct me towards these people who show their $800 bearing folders being used on some meaningful tasks and coming out unscathed afterwards, because all I ever seem to find is a sea of glam shots without even a spec of dust on the pristine factory edges.
Fun fact with the Zaan is that it uses a ceramic ball as a detent and lockbar contact; great in theory because the lockup geometry won't be affected due to lockbar wear, but the ceramic ball will cause an indent and spot-wear that clearly shows on the bottom of the blade tang instead.
On to the next point, when someone gives a negative review, the intent is to keep people from purchasing a product. That's the whole point of reviews. Negative reviews do not endorse, positive reviews do endorse. Given your belief that even on hardened steel washers this knife is destined to pit and become damaged through the use of bearings, it's easy to assume you don't endorse it. Am I wrong in that assumption?
Repeating a fallacious claim does not make it less fallacious. Just because you've never personally seen someone use an expensive knife with bearings hard does not in any way mean it doesn't happen.
The overall point and the thing you keep missing is simple: You're asserting this is a huge problem and yet there is no evidence that it's a widespread issue aside from the same one-off pictures we've all seen a dozen times over. There should be thousands upon thousands of videos and photos of this phenomenon, but there simply aren't.
Unless you can actually show this is a serious issue, it's to the point where it's not worth debating. This almost entirely boils down to personal preference.
You describe the group of people mentioning this subject as small and vocal, yet you can't even provide an example of someone using an expensive bearing folder for any task that's remotely challenging so you'd just have me take your word that it happens.
For me it makes more sense; of course the group of vocal people are going to be small when one can hardly find a single source of someone hard using a bearing pivot folder.
And yes, you're wrong again in your assumption. I never stated a knife would eventually become damaged through the use of bearings nor did I ever make any endorsements for or against them.
What I stated was that bearing pivots are not suited for hard uses which "tactical" knives would typically be subjected to, as those tougher tasks are likely going to cause noticeable wear or deformation.
Bearing pivot folders are perfectly suitable for EDC use in urban environments where it's relegated to light duty chores like opening packages and mail and I have no qualms against those who even use it for nothing more than a fidget toy.
I'm vacating myself from this discussion before any more of my words are twisted around to better suit your argument. Like I said to the other person, you keep buying bearing pivot folders and I'll keep avoiding them.