- Joined
- Aug 26, 2010
- Messages
- 270
Hi,
I picked up a Spyderco Byrd Meadowlark 2 recently and I thought I would post a review from an amateur standpoint. Ill try to get to the most important things that I found interesting or worth talking about rather than talking about specs. The knife specifications can be inferred from the picture or can be found online.
I know that this type of review is probably gonna be looked over by most members here but I figured that I would do it for the sake of those who like lower priced knives.
Got this knife for about 25 bucks.
As you guys can see this knife is very Delica like in appearance. Major differences are that the steel is not VG-10, rather it is 8Cr13Mov. FRN is also higher quality on the Delica. The lower quality FRN shows in the Meadowlark but it does feel more durable. To me the Meadowlark's FRN feels more "toy like".
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A size comparison:
As you can see a very moderately sized knife. Blade is 2 and 7/8", good for those 3" blade length limits. Total open length is nearly 7".
---
Now on to the aesthetics. As mentioned before, this lower end Byrd knife does not compare too well to the typical Spyderco knives. The quality is slightly lower and it shows. But keep in mind that I got this for 25 dollars. On ebay there is one with a starting bid of $5 and some that are not bidding for under the price I paid. For that price I can deal with some of the flaws I am about to mention.
The clip quality I was kinda disappointed with. It feels and looks roughly cut. Also it scuffed a bit already. But does that mean that it loses its function? No, not at all. In fact the clip functions just as good if not better than clips on other knives. Oh yeah the clip's contact point is the the flat part of the handle where it says "byrd meadowlark", that way it won't rip up your pants.
If you guys can see the torx screws they are kinda "soft". I used careful pressure and the correct torx screw to test it out but the screws are already beginning to strip a tiny bit.
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Jimping is coarsely cut. Still works great though. You can kinda glean the quality of the clip from this picture. Sorry, the best I can do with an archaic 6mp camera.
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Interesting bi directional grip design. Functions like the volcano grip. But dare I say this "Byrd grip" is more grippy than the volcano grip?
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When I disengage the back lock the blade comes down making a V shape. They must have put a lot of factory grease on it! The first time the blade touched my finger giving me a good scare. Good thing it wasn't too sharp out of the box! A few swipes on a ceramic rod and some stroping fixed that up the dullness.
The best way to make the blade not close so far in is to clean it and tighten up the blade screw. However, I got used to the loose disengagement in a few minutes. So now I let the end of the choil hit my finger when it closes so I won't get cut. Absolutely no blade play by the way.
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Interestingly there is a choil on this knife with jimping. However I found it too small for my index finger. Keep in mind my fingers are long but they are not fat. All in all, the choil is a good feature just not great cause it is too small. Here are some measurements.
To me the choil doesn't really matter too much. On a comparable knife, the Delica, there is no finger choil at all.
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Overall is this knife worth it? Definitely. Am I happy with it? Not as much as I could be. Maybe I just need time to warm up to it. There is just something about these Byrd knives that gets me. Not sure if it is that weird "talon hole" ( still functions on par if not better than the spydie hole ) or the interesting Avian-like influences, but there is just something preventing the Meadowlark from being my one of my favorite or even average knives... yet.
I am sure this knife functions great. Great ergos and blade shape. I am not afraid to beat this knife around or stab a rock. But the Aesthetics just aren't right for me. The pictures online and even my pictures make it look great, but in real life it has this lower end aesthetic (design) quality and material quality (I still like 8Cr13Mov) to it that makes it well, lower end.
Well these are just some observations. Hopefully they helped. Feel free to ask questions and I can follow up with answers/pictures. Thanks for reading.
I picked up a Spyderco Byrd Meadowlark 2 recently and I thought I would post a review from an amateur standpoint. Ill try to get to the most important things that I found interesting or worth talking about rather than talking about specs. The knife specifications can be inferred from the picture or can be found online.
I know that this type of review is probably gonna be looked over by most members here but I figured that I would do it for the sake of those who like lower priced knives.
Got this knife for about 25 bucks.
As you guys can see this knife is very Delica like in appearance. Major differences are that the steel is not VG-10, rather it is 8Cr13Mov. FRN is also higher quality on the Delica. The lower quality FRN shows in the Meadowlark but it does feel more durable. To me the Meadowlark's FRN feels more "toy like".
---
A size comparison:
As you can see a very moderately sized knife. Blade is 2 and 7/8", good for those 3" blade length limits. Total open length is nearly 7".
---
Now on to the aesthetics. As mentioned before, this lower end Byrd knife does not compare too well to the typical Spyderco knives. The quality is slightly lower and it shows. But keep in mind that I got this for 25 dollars. On ebay there is one with a starting bid of $5 and some that are not bidding for under the price I paid. For that price I can deal with some of the flaws I am about to mention.
The clip quality I was kinda disappointed with. It feels and looks roughly cut. Also it scuffed a bit already. But does that mean that it loses its function? No, not at all. In fact the clip functions just as good if not better than clips on other knives. Oh yeah the clip's contact point is the the flat part of the handle where it says "byrd meadowlark", that way it won't rip up your pants.
If you guys can see the torx screws they are kinda "soft". I used careful pressure and the correct torx screw to test it out but the screws are already beginning to strip a tiny bit.
---
Jimping is coarsely cut. Still works great though. You can kinda glean the quality of the clip from this picture. Sorry, the best I can do with an archaic 6mp camera.
---
Interesting bi directional grip design. Functions like the volcano grip. But dare I say this "Byrd grip" is more grippy than the volcano grip?
---
When I disengage the back lock the blade comes down making a V shape. They must have put a lot of factory grease on it! The first time the blade touched my finger giving me a good scare. Good thing it wasn't too sharp out of the box! A few swipes on a ceramic rod and some stroping fixed that up the dullness.
The best way to make the blade not close so far in is to clean it and tighten up the blade screw. However, I got used to the loose disengagement in a few minutes. So now I let the end of the choil hit my finger when it closes so I won't get cut. Absolutely no blade play by the way.
---
Interestingly there is a choil on this knife with jimping. However I found it too small for my index finger. Keep in mind my fingers are long but they are not fat. All in all, the choil is a good feature just not great cause it is too small. Here are some measurements.
To me the choil doesn't really matter too much. On a comparable knife, the Delica, there is no finger choil at all.
-----
Overall is this knife worth it? Definitely. Am I happy with it? Not as much as I could be. Maybe I just need time to warm up to it. There is just something about these Byrd knives that gets me. Not sure if it is that weird "talon hole" ( still functions on par if not better than the spydie hole ) or the interesting Avian-like influences, but there is just something preventing the Meadowlark from being my one of my favorite or even average knives... yet.
I am sure this knife functions great. Great ergos and blade shape. I am not afraid to beat this knife around or stab a rock. But the Aesthetics just aren't right for me. The pictures online and even my pictures make it look great, but in real life it has this lower end aesthetic (design) quality and material quality (I still like 8Cr13Mov) to it that makes it well, lower end.
Well these are just some observations. Hopefully they helped. Feel free to ask questions and I can follow up with answers/pictures. Thanks for reading.
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