Benchmade Vex, I'm impressed.

psycho78 said:
The Byrd looks like one of the 200 shop at home knives you can get for 20 bucks.

The Vex....looks like a Benchmade.
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Like Padawan said, that's your opinion. I opened up my G-10 Cara Cara and the lock up on that thing is unreal. It has no blade play and A LOT of steel in contact on lockup. The steel is also very good, not just for a $20-$25 knife but for most any knife. It gets really sharp without the burring issues that I have had with AUS 8 (or Carl64 has had with the Vex), with a little bit better edge retention. If you prefer to spend more (about $17-$20 more) for better looks go for it, that is your prerogative. But to dismiss the Byrd because you don't like the looks is really doing a diservice to what a great performance knife bargain it is.

Mike
 
I dismissed the Byrds because of low height grind, and hollow grind. Not good grinds for my purposes.

Phil
 
phatch said:
I dismissed the Byrds because of low height grind, and hollow grind. Not good grinds for my purposes.

Phil
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Sharpen them flat to the stone on a DMT X coarse and your problem is solved. Seriously, my Cara Cara is at 10 per side now, and could go thinner. and while the saber/hollow isn't my first choice for a grind, it does make it very easy to thin the knife out, and it is still pretty durable considering the factory edge thickness (which is pretty thin as pocket knives go, but still durable). In fact the new Grips now have a hollow saber grind, so even Benchmade is going that route with thier grinds.
 
gunmike1 said:
Sharpen them flat to the stone on a DMT X coarse and your problem is solved. Seriously, my Cara Cara is at 10 per side now, and could go thinner. and while the saber/hollow isn't my first choice for a grind, it does make it very easy to thin the knife out, and it is still pretty durable considering the factory edge thickness (which is pretty thin as pocket knives go, but still durable). In fact the new Grips now have a hollow saber grind, so even Benchmade is going that route with thier grinds.
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It's not the cutting edge. Spyderco makes sharp knives. Hollow grinds hang up in deep cuts, cardboard for example. And even a low saber flat grind is too obtuse for my preference.

Phil
 
phatch said:
It's not the cutting edge. Spyderco makes sharp knives. Hollow grinds hang up in deep cuts, cardboard for example. And even a low saber flat grind is too obtuse for my preference.

Phil
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I realize the issue with low saber hollow grinds, and how they bunch up on deep cuts. If you sharpen it flat to the stone, as I have several of my saber hollows, you can significantly thin out and raise the saber grind pretty quickly, greatly increasing cutting ability, or better yet send it off to Tom Krein to have him put a high and very thin hollow grind on it. I prefer full flat grinds or very high hollow grinds myself, but the low saber hollow grind is at least better than the low saber flat grind, as it takes much less work to raise the primary grind and thin out the knife. For under $25, with G-10 in a very good steel I'm willing to put up with the hollow saber in the Byrds. But, if you don't like to grind by all means get what you want. I was just pointing out how easy it is to modify it.

Mike
 
"The Byrd looks like one of the 200 shop at home knives you can get for 20 bucks.

The Vex....looks like a Benchmade."

That is pretty much what I thought. I have a feeling that Spyderco didn't make the hole round for a reason. I don't think they wanted to bring the regular Spyderco product line down to the level of the Bryds. I am not saying there is anything wrong with the Byrds but it is the same thing with Lexus and Toyota. They are the same company but you need a separation so one branch can carry the fame while the other one makes you lots of money from the poor.

It reminds me of a quote from Col. Sanders I saw on Good Eats, "Feed the rich and get poor, feed the poor and get rich." Spyderco and Benchmade are smart to cash in on there well deserved good names by offering a lower priced product line. Spyderco chooses to distance themselves from there Byrds while Benchmade makes it a lower level in there company. I am not saying either way is better.
 
it is reversible...and it is far from economy,,,it is on par with many blue class knives,,you will like it :)
 
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