Byrd knives

H

h3n4

Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
63
I know Spyderco is behind this budget line, but are these blades any good? I am not looking for the ultimate knife, but a decent EDC knife that could take a good edge and be comfy in the hand. Especially the Crow model looks good and I'd like to hear any comments you guys might have on it. Is the 440 blade good, how about the liner lock, handle? Or should I maybe buy a S&W pocket protector instead? It is lighter and smaller, kinda suitable as an EDC, but how about the blade steel in that knife?

Thanks in advance!
 
Hi H3N4,

The byrd line is a low cost alternative to Spyderco knives. They are manufactured in China.

The are designed by Spyderco's design team. Manufacture is controlled by Spyderco. Steel is 8Cr13MoV which is a chrome-moly steel with the approximate performance of AUS-8. Rc runs a little harder than AUS-8 (about 60-61).

The first byrd models that came out about 3 years ago (green micarta scales) were not very good and were dropped.

The next (current) attempt has been more to Spyderco's liking.

Customer respone, performance and reliability has been very good on these models Since they were introduced them about a year and a half ago.

The Cara Cara, Meadowlark, Robin and Finch are out in stainless scales. (lock-backs).
The Cara Cara and Meadowlark are scheduled to be out in FRN next month. (also lock-backs).
There is a FRN Finch already out.
The Flight, Crossbill and Pelican are out in Stainless scales only. (lock-backs).
The Raven, Crow are aluminum scales (Walker Linerlocks) and the Starling is FRN is a lock-back. On the Raven, Crow and Starling, the scales and blades are black. The Raven & Crow are sceduled for non blackened blade versions soon.

They have won the Blade Magazine's "Best Buy" award in 2005 & 2006.

Hope that helps.

sal
 
H3N4 - I can recommend Camillus CUDA EDC, although made in Taiwan, it is very good knife with reasonable price.
I would avoid Smith and Wesson knives.
 
I was given a Cara Cara as a gift. It has as good a lock up and as nice a fit and finish as my finests most expensive knives from Spyderco, BM or any other company. I don't carry it much due to the weight and the size since I generally prefer a 3" blade but you can't knock the quality and from what I can tell the blade holds up well to use. I have used it although not as much as one I carry everyday. I've had it almost eight months and did take it with me on three road trips since I made it my travel knife. I've never had to sharpen it yet. Overall I'm very impressed with the knife. For the money these cost you can't beat them in my opinion.

STR
 
You cant go wrong with Byrd Knives, excellent value for the money.

However, I also recomend the Camillus CUDE EDC, its my EDC and theres no better value for the money.
 
i have the crow. I think it's a bargain for $20. The blade had a really bad burr on it when I got it, so it needed to be well sharpened before I started carrying it. i like the look of the crow, enough heft, and the handle is kind of cool. the grip looks like feathers. opening is very easy and smooth (but seems to be securely closed when closed) , lockup seems solid no blade play on my knife.
 
I rather like the looks of the Crossbill and the Pelican. I'll probably end up with one or both of those down the road just to have them. I'd probably trade my Cara Cara for one if I thought it would happen but its a fine knife too. Just not used that often.

STR
 
I've got the Cara Cara, Pelican and Crossbill they are great knives for the money I plan on buying the G10 Medowlark, Flight and Robin from New Graham when I get the funds.
 
I have a Meadowlark and a Crow. Both are exceptional values for the money (They run about $40 CDN here). My Crow has lived thru a couple of renovation projects on a couple of revenue properties I purchased and is still ticking fine (This would include scraping paint/glue/grout, cutting/digging out wall anchors, cutting/trimming drywall/insulation/vapor barrier, stripping wire just to name a few things). My Meadowlark hasn't been used quite as hard, but it's fine as well. I'm waiting impatiently for the FRN Meadowlark to appear up here:)

- gord
 
Hi Gord,

I've been carrying the prototype FRN Meadowlark for a few weeks.

While I will admit, they are not Spyderco quality, they are very good and present excellent value for the price paid.

The FRN Cara Cara and Meadowlarks use the same patterns as the SS and G-10 versions:

blade steel - 8Cr13MoV
FRN scales & backspacer (black only at this time)
Nested stainless steel liners
All Screw construction

The Robin is also coming out in a G-10 version which will be followed by an FRN version.

We're hoping for a positive reaction from the designs.

sal

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The entire "business chain" from; raw materials, invention, design, manufacturing, marketing, selling, distributing, shipping, warrantees, insurance, credit, etc. ALL EXISTS to service the ELU (End Line User). Remove the ELU from the equation and the entire business chain falls like a house of cards. We all work for you!
 
gordonk said:
My Crow has lived thru a couple of renovation projects on a couple of revenue properties I purchased and is still ticking fine (This would include scraping paint/glue/grout, cutting/digging out wall anchors, cutting/trimming drywall/insulation/vapor barrier, stripping wire just to name a few things).
Click to expand...

Seriously, I wouldn't have been a bit surprised if you'd said it lived through 50 such renovation projects, or 100 even. Our grandads used their knives for years and years on end, and good knives now are as good or better than what they carried back in the day.
 
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