I own a shit ton of knives -benchmade, kershaw, winterbladeco, spyderco, etc. I always wanted a Microtech and finally took the plunge. I was in Asheville,  
NC and realized that they are now HQ’d there. 

Stopped by and picked up this guy back in November of ‘25. I seldom carry the knife and when I do i baby the hell out of it. 

I had it in my shorts pocket over the weekend with the key fob from my Jeep - just the fob, nothing else attached. Other than a round of frisbee golf I spent the better part of the weekend with my ass on the couch or a barstool. 

I pulled the knife out today at work and saw that the finish has some wear. I was shocked that contact with a plastic key fob could cause that. I emailed Microtech and inquired - I thought DLC coating was supposed to be very strong?  I got a quick response that the scales are anodized aluminum, not DLC (just the blade, clip, screws are DLC coated). That was it. 

WTF?  I responded - even if it’s anodized aluminum surely it shouldn’t have taken such a beating from contact with plastic?  Have yet to hear anything further. 

What do you guys think?  I’ve put many other knives through far greater paces and never experienced this kind of poor finish on the scales. I really hope they offer something to make it right. 

Ultratech ZBP Shadow DLC - Extremely Disappointed