Talk about a mismatch! The Zedd is made in Russia by Kizlyar Supreme
and the Foray is made in the USA by Benchmade.
Did someone let a lightweight in the ring with a heavyweight?
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| Today's match: Kizyar Zedd D2 VS Benchamde's Foray |
Let’s see what happen. There’s the bell.
Let’s start with the blade.
The Zedd uses D2 steel. D2 is considered by many to be the best knife
blade steel because of edge retention and corrosion resistant properties. The steel has high carbon 1.3% and less than
13% chromium. A lot of that chromium is
tied up as carbides and not available for corrosion resistance. These blades are hardened to 58-59 Rc.
Despite its drawbacks, too many
people like D2 to simply dismiss it out of hand. Just wipe it off with oil now and again and
it will be fine.
Foray uses CPM-20CV steel. This steel contains 1.9% carbon and 20%
chromium. The recipe is topped off with
a jigger of Vanadium (4%) and a dash of Tungsten (1%). I did notice that there are several different
formulas for 20CV stainless on the internet.
Here’s a link to the Crucible information sheet.
20CV is reported to have better
wear potential and edge retention. The
nature of powder metals, when handled properly, produces a finer grain with
smaller carbides and better properties.
Will 20CV become a world beater?
Well, that’s an answer we’ll have to wait for.
The Benchmade blade is hardened
to 59-61 Rc.
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| Both nice looking knives! |
The Zedd utilizes both a flipper
and ambidextrous stud. I like that
option. As their website says, “…let's
agree that it is not always a good idea to flip open a knife in public.” I would go farther and suggest sometime the
polite, two-handed opening is the way to go!
The Foray is set up for stud
only, but can be open with either hand.
Yes, I know you can pull the axis lock back and flip the blade
open. I also know in every knife class I
have taken, everyone who uses that method of opening their knife loses it at
least once during the practice drills.
People using studs and flips never drop their knife while opening
it. Something to think about.
There is no question the
Benchmade Foray is easier to open and close than the Zedd.
I wish the Zedd were set up for a
4 position clip. Unfortunately the
curved nature of the clip doesn’t allow it to be reversed. It is set up for tip up carry. That’s a plus. Nor is it set as deep pocket carry as the
Foray.
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| The Zedd D2 on left has a curved clip as compared to Foray straight clip |
Many of us remember knives with
molded plastic clips. They couldn’t be
moved and they didn’t allow for deep pocket carry, and we thought they were the
cat’s pajamas. But that was 20 years
ago. Almost all the better knives come
with moveable clips. While deep seated
knives are less noticeable, I’ve found them a little more difficult to withdraw
from my pocket.
Having ranted about that, I need
to point out that the Foray is only left/right tip-up reversible.
The Foray weighs 101 grams as
compared to the 141 grams the Zedd weighs.
That difference is less than a double shot of rye whiskey. That difference is not important to me.
The Zedd uses a liner lock and I
like the design, the entire thickness of the liner is behind the blade. The Foray has Benchmade’s Axis lock. I can’t go to war over which lock is better,
but I will say the axis lock treats lefties better than the right-handed liner
lock.
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| Kizyar's Zedd has the full thickness of the liner lock behind the blade |
Here’s the box score!
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Zedd
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Foray
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Blade steel
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D2
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CPM-20CV
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Blade length
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3.22 inches
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3.22 inches
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Blade thickness (max)
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0.11 inches
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.14 inches
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Handle
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G10 over metal liners
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G10 over stainless liners
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Operation
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Manual flipper and stud
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Manual stud
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Clip
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Metal
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Metal
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Clip position
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I position, right side tip up
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left/right reversible tip up
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Lock
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liner
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axis lock
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Handle thickness
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0.58
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0.56
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Over all open length
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7.87 inches
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7.34 inches
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Price
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$120
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$225
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Now, these aren’t my knives and I
can’t perform the indicated functions. That is, cut with them, carry them, use
them, resharpen them.
What do I think? Well, nobody pays full retail if they are
willing to do a little searching. Even
so, the Zed is quite a knife for the price.
I’m not a steel junkie and I
don’t mind sharpening my knives. The
larger, contoured handle of the Zedd fit my hand better in static tests. I still have enough hand flexibility to work
a liner lock with either hand and I liked the flipper/stud option.
For the money, I would go to go
with Kizyar Supreme‘s Zedd as a basic everyday carry knife.
