#zombie tools

[justlooksforstuff]

Making the Zombie Tools Legionnaire - A Roman Gladius - Spanish Celt Ins...

[erikacousland]

Baby Shark - Zombie Tools Doo Doo, Doo Doo, Doo Doo

Total Length: 15.25 in (.39m) Blade Length: 9 in (.23m) Handle Length: 6.125 in (.16m) Grip Size: 3.875 in (.09m) Steel Thickness: .204 in (5.2mm) Steel Type: 5160 Weight: 16 oz. (.45kg) Availability: 12-16 week wait Release Date: July 2019 Price: $239.95

It only takes one battle for warriors to learn an important lesson: Never underestimate the little guy. This is especially true with this “baby,” the latest member of the Sharkalope family. Possessing the bite of the full-size Sharkalope in the convenient size of a dagger, the Baby Sharkalope will quickly teach anyone that judging something by its size may be the last mistake an opponent will make. Pair it with our full-size Sharkalope and you’ll be able to use Espada y Daga—a traditional and badass Filipino sword-fighting technique—to slice through anything in your way.

The Baby Shark is a full tang blade in 5160 steel and comes standard with a black kydex sheath.

[erikacousland]

The Sharkalope - Zombie Tools Move quick and flick a sharp stick

Total Length: 26 in (.66m) Blade Length: 17 in (.43m) Handle Length: 9 in (.23m) Grip Size: 4.5 in (.11m) Steel Thickness: .204 in (5.2mm) Steel Type: 5160 Weight: 1lbs 13oz (.82kg) Release Date: April 2015 Availability: 12-16 week wait Price: $324.95

What strange beast crawls from the murky mangrove swamps of the Philippine archipelago? Lithe and fleet like the prey, yet toothed like the predator, an unholy confusion of genetics assembled by the summer typhoon? If your tongue has the famed agility of a Filipino knife fighter, perhaps you can pronounce its name in the native patois. Otherwise, you can call it the Sharkalope.

The Sharkalope is a mash-up of our favorite knife design elements from the most crazily diverse and fanatically passionate blade tradition in the world. We sought speed and perfect balance to accommodate the lightning fast strikes and quick defensive tip return favored by the Filipino martial arts tradition. At under 2 lbs and 26 inches long, it’s got the lowest mass-per-inch ratio of any blade we’ve made, and the over-sized handle inspired by classic Filipino ornamentation brings the center of balance to a point just above the hand. The Sharkalope’s weight, balance, and speed have made it a new test-cutting favorite around the shop, as it very literally cuts with a flick of the wrist and can be used in marathon cutting sessions without wearing you out.

The Sharkalope project was launched when we met a student of Filipino Martial Arts badass Ray Dionaldo, who turned us on to some videos. If you’ve never seen an FMA master in action, check out this video of Mr. Dionaldo making 10 cuts in 1 second, and this video which demonstrates the fluid beauty of the fighting style.

The Sharkalope comes standard with a Kydex sheath.

[erikacousland]

The Legionnaire - Zombie Tools We Don't Need Another Nero

Total Length: 27 in (.69m) Blade Length: 19 in (.48m) Handle Length: 8 in (.21m) Center of Balance: 3 in. (.07m) Grip Size: 4.5 in (.11m) Steel Thickness: .25 in (6.4mm) Steel Type: 5160 Weight: 2lbs 5oz (1.05kg) Release Date: March 2018 Availability: 12-16 week wait Price: $474.95

In these last days of Rome, you never know when you’ll be called upon to hitch up your Jovian moons and defend the gates against the barbarian hordes. And what better weapon to hold that line than the blade that tasted the blood of every thuggish clan from Cairo to Cardiff, and saw more mano-a-mano than a bathhouse on Spartacus Street–the Roman gladius.

The gladius and its distinctive blade geometry, appropriated from the Spanish Celts, was the business end of a fierce Roman combat discipline, its stout triangular tip used to jab at the enemy from underneath and around a shield. At the same time, its narrowing profile yielded a relatively low tip-weight, which made it wristy and dexterous when the retreating rabble of a broken enemy could be mopped up with a less conservative slashing attack.

In a modern context, these properties would make the ZT Legionnaire an ideal tool for close quarters home defense. The gladius is long and nasty enough to makes its point directly without need for fancy swordplay, yet its length and weighting allows for a quick and tight parry in closer confines.

The Legionnaire is handcrafted as if by Vulcan himself from 5160 spring steel with leather grip and Kydex sheath.

[erikacousland]

The Hellion - Zombie Tools Time to fight fire with fire

Total Length: 24.63 in (.63m) Blade Length: 16.9 in (.43m) Handle Length: 6 in (.15m) Grip Size: 4.5 in (.11m) Steel Thickness: .204 in (5.2m) Steel Type: 5160 Weight: 2 lbs 4 oz (1.02kg) Availability: 12-16 week wait Release Date: October 2019 Price: $359.95

When the gates of Hell are opened, and all manner of decomposing demons are loosed upon the Earth, it’s time to fight fire with fire.

The New ZT Hellion is a tongue of ferric fury fit to deliver a lashing. The blade profile is reminiscent of the ancient Hellenic kopis and the Iberian falcata, with its down-turned tip and bellied cutting edge, and its narrowing waist and wide bevel grind make it a fast, deep biting bitch. The tip return is flick fast, and the center of balance, at 4.5 inches down the blade, gives the Hellion silken cutting dynamics.

Like all ZT blades, the Hellion is a full-tang construction of American-milled 5160 steel, with aluminum slab handles wrapped in the finest Montana leather. Comes with black Kydex sheath.

[erikacousland]

The Xiphos: Scout - Zombie Tools Not your average tramp stamp

Total Length: 16 in (.41m) Blade Length: 9.625 in (.244m) Grip Size: 5.5 in (.139m) Steel Thickness: .25 in (6.4mm) Steel Type: 5160 Weight: 1lb 10oz (.49kg) Availability: 12-16 week wait Release Date: June 2020 Price: $339.95

Scout \ skau̇t \ : a soldier or other person sent out ahead of a main force so as to gather information about the enemy’s position, strength, or movements.

In order to perform this duty well, one must be light, fast, and silent. It is these qualities that were in mind when creating the Xiphos: Scout. Its shorter length lends itself nicely to be worn “scout carry” with the added benefit of detracting attention from that ill-conceived butterfly tattoo.

With its stylish asymmetrical handle, this blade is comfortable in the hand in either standard or reverse grip. While its leaf blade design will leave a significant impression on any that may discover your position. The blade is also well suited for delimbing foliage for creating camouflage or impromptu shelters.

The Xiphos: Scout is made from 5160 steel and handle slabs made from T6 aluminum. All blades come standard with a black Kydex sheath.

[erikacousland]

The Diphos - Zombie Tools Double-Fisted Destruction

Total Length: 35.5 in (.90m) Blade Length: 25 in (.64m) Handle Length: 10.5 in (.27m) Grip Size: 8 in (.20m) Steel Thickness: .25 in (6.4mm) Steel Type: 5160 Weight: 2 lbs 14 oz (1.3 kg) Availability: 12-16 week wait Release Date: March 2014 Price: $649.95

We’re always excited here at the ZT shop when we launch a new blade. The latest child glows with its aura of newborn freshness and enjoys its day in the sun…at least until the next blade comes along and usurps it.

But this one, the Diphos, where we’ve doubled-down on the hand we played with the Xiphos…aw shit, it’s got us in a lather.

What is it about the Diphos that’s making our britches a little too tight? First, the balance. The Diphos is a fullered* blade, meaning it has a concave channel running along its center, reducing weight from the quarter-inch steel all along the way, giving the blade balance and maneuverability. The center of balance—the point where the blade would sit perched on your finger—is about 3 inches from the top of the handle, which is well nigh perfect for this design. As a consequence, this full sized, 36-inch sword can be easily wielded in a one-handed slashing attack by a person with a modicum of combat strength.

Next, the blade geometry. Like the Xiphos, the Diphos features the leaf blade profile of ancient Greek design, skinny at the waist and broad at the cutting sweet spot. Now, all swords require a certain technique to cut well with a slashing strike. A leaf blade is more forgiving of poor technique because the arch is built into the blade itself, so that even if you swing the blade flat like a baseball bat, the leaf cutting belly will help get the cutting work done. So it’s a great blade for those new to swordplay.

Finally, the tip. The tip on both Xiphos and Diphos are just plain nasty. We hope to never see the wounds that would result from a full two-handed thrust to the torso, for they would be deep and they would be wide.

Which all boils down to this: the Diphos could fuck some shit up, if shit were in need of fucking. For the majority of us here in the shop, it’s the new golden child and the new go-to.

The Diphos comes standard with a Kydex sheath.

* Nope, it’s not a “blood groove”. And it’s not about increasing blood loss or reducing suction when pulling the blade out of a body or any of that hooey. The term for the groove is “fuller” and it’s all about engineering. A fuller removes weight from a blade without sacrificing structural integrity, using the same engineering principle as the I-beam in high-rise construction. More info here.

[erikacousland]

The Xiphos - Zombie Tools A back-talking bitch from Sparta

Length: 26 in (.66m) Blade Length: 19 in (.48m) Handle Length: 7 in (.19m) Usable Grip Size: 4.5 in (.11m) Steel Width: 0.25 in (6.4mm) Steel Type: 5160 Weight: 2lbs 6oz (1.07kg) Retails for $449.95

Oh, soppy knickers of Aphrodite, what the Spartans would have given for modern steel rather than old-school iron. The Zombie Tools Xiphos (Greek: “sword”) is modeled after the ancient Grecian weapon that defended liberty against overwhelming odds when liberty was but a whelp, yet, unlike the original blade, is made from quarter-inch spring steel that won’t bend under pressure or need re-sharpening every third neck she cuts. This 26-inch blade turns in the hand like a ballerina with a drug habit, a back-talking bitch whose double-edged tongue cuts both coming and going, with a tip that drives her point home when she’s ready to settle the argument, Q.E.D. Like all Zombie Tools blades, the Xiphos is sheathed with Kydex, full tang, and full of piss and vinegar.