As you can see, they are both rather "large" knives - that grid is 1/2" per square, by the way, and sorry it is a little dirty, that is my machining workbench:
When closed the Milie is a tad larger overall:
When opened the different is a little bit more noticeable, length-wise, as the Milie has a longer blade:
Not only the ZT is significantly heavier, but it is also thicker pretty much everywhere:
The blade shape/grind tells you all you need to know as to the intent/usage for each knife - the Milie "is" the slicer out of the two - can't argue with the physics here:
The ergonomics on the ZT are fairly good, but this particular area bothers me a little bit. Note how the G10 scale is not cut all of the way to match the liner here - it makes operating the frame lock much harder than it needs to be. Here the Milie shows a huge opening which makes unlocking easier, even with gloves - as a LEFTY, this makes the ZT harder to use compared to the right-hand version of the Milie:
The jimping is very nice in the ZT. The edges are a tiny bit sharp, so I would gently file those down before using it, but along with the 3D shape of the scales, the ZT has outstanding "gripiness" (I know, a made-up word) in the hand - feels very secure in the hand:
So my take:
- Opening: flipper vs. big hole in the blade: Once you put your hand/finger aligned with the flipper "lever", the ZT opens "like magic" - very fast. But the big hole in the Milie is fast as well. Picking one method over the other is more of a personal preference, but not enough for me to pick one over the other. To me it is like a draw - they both open fast enough for me, but in terms of "coolness" the ZT has the "wow" factor (which might be intimidating to non-knife people).
- The Milie is designed to cut first. It is clearly "the" slicer out of the two. The Milie is also significantly lighter in the pocket, and slightly thinner - easier to EDC in plain clothes. But compared to the ZT, it does not look it could/would take as much abuse or "hard use" as the ZT.
- The ZT would be my choice as a firefighter, or any other line of work/usage where the knife might see some abuse - it seems/feels like a tank, and it does weight more as a result of its construction. But it is not as specialized in cutting as the Milie due to is thicker blade/grind - that is an important sacrifice the ZT makes in order to be a "stronger" knife. I would be more "afraid" of damaging/breaking the Milie under hard use - not so with the ZT. In your hand, the ZT oozes confidence - it feels like you can't hurt it (not easily at least). The gripiness of the ZT is definitely better to me than the Milie with the CF scales. I am not saying that the Milie is slippery, but that those 3D textured scales on the ZT "do" work extremely well.
- Ideally, I would love to EDC both - I would then be prepared for anything from normal cutting chores (Milie) to hard use/battling Zombies (ZT).
Which one I plan to carry as EDC most often (and not because this is a Spyderco forum): the Milie. Why? Because for "my" typical needs/uses, I need more of a cutter/slicer than an "indestructible" knife. If I knew before hand that I might need a stronger/heavier duty folder, I would leave home the Milie and take the ZT.
Will
