Personalized Knife

• Self-personalized
• Based on a Zero Tolerance 0762
• CPM 20CV blade steel

Carrying a knife on oneself on the daily is as important as making sure you have your wallet, keys, and smartphone in your pocket before you walk out the door. These essential tools allow us to not only go about our daily business efficiently, but reflect our personal style as well. 

Each one of these EDC pieces is chosen by its user to reflect their utilitarian needs and can also show off their individuality. Does your phone live in a rugged impact-resistant case or does it reside in a simple leather-wrapped case instead? Although every item in an EDC setup can act as a reflection of its owner’s taste and lifestyle, we’d say that the knife is speaks the most about its owner and is the centerpiece to one’s EDC loadout. 

Mark Rivers, owner of the featured blade, is no stranger to the Zero Tolerance (ZT) brand, having owned several of the knifemaker’s classics like the model 0302 and 0350. He even owns some of ZT’s Hinderer iterations like 0556 and 0560. Of all the ZT knives in his collection, he carried and used the model 0804 most. Mark told us that the model 0804 was the lightest and slimmest ZT knife that he owned, which made it an easy choice for an EDC knife.

The 0804 put in years of steady service until he caught wind of another model that would usurp his EDC knife of choice. When Mark heard about a ZT folder that weighs less than three ounces, he was sold. 

ZT’s 0762 might weigh the same as other mini lightweight folding knives, but it has a usable blade measuring 3.4 inches long and has an overall extended length of 8.1 inches. The ergonomics of the handle shape and the placement of the jimping on the spine of the blade lend increased leverage and grip when going about cutting tasks.

With all the positive design aspects of the knife, there were two things that Rivers wanted improved. First were the cutouts on the scales. When kept free of lint and debris, the multiple layers of titanium “windows” set this knife apart from other boring tools. As good as it looked, the cutouts tended to accumulate a lot of pocket lint. Second was its factory anodizing. When cleaned with alcohol, the titanium parts of the knife displayed a rich, deep blue color. But after a short time using and handling the knife, the titanium parts changed to a purple-pink hue instead. 

Rivers wasn’t a fan of the color change and lint collection, so he went about fixing those issues. He also wanted to put his own spin on the knife by adding his own look to it. He went ahead and augmented his 0762 by personalizing it himself by removing the layer of titanium pieces between the knife’s carbon fiber scales and its inner liner. The factory blue titanium parts were removed and used as a template to create a solid plate. 

The knife’s lock bar, pocket clip, and back spacers were then stripped of the factory blue anodizing and hand-rubbed to effect a smooth finish. All the bare titanium parts were then etched in acid, which gives Rivers’s 0762 the lightning-strike finish. 

We must admit that it’s a simple enough procedure but, the results are quite, pardon our pun, striking. The lighting-strike motif and mixture of colors look good amid the carbon fiber framing. The decorated solid plate also helps deter pocket lint from creeping into the knife’s inner workings, solving Rivers’s pet peeves with the factory 0762. With the two problem areas fixed, the 0762 continues to be a centerpiece in his rotation of EDC knives. Images by: Carlo Cabrejos 

Specs
Personalized Zero Tolerance 0762
Owner: Mark Rivers
Zero Tolerance 
Model: 0762 CF/20CV 2TN
MSRP: $425
URL: zt.kaiusa.com