- Joined
- Apr 15, 2002
- Messages
- 3,375
Byrd pelican PE/SS
I received the Byrd Pelican from another forum member not too long ago but have not had the chance to really use it yet. I am going to refrain from commenting on the performance of the steel (8Cr13MoV) as enough has been said on it. I used a PE Byrd Raven for several months commercial lobster fishing and it is a suitable steel for an inexpensive working knife. It holds its edge for a good amount of time and is easy to field resharpen. It takes a toothy edge that I find excellent for cutting rope.
The Pelican is a sheepsfoot/wharncliffe hybrid. It has the ruler-straight edge of a sheepsfoot and wharncliffe. I like this for cutting rope as it keeps the rope from slipping off of the end of the blade when cutting with the edge up, as it will on a blade with some belly. There is more of a point on this knife than on the other sheepsfoot offerings by Byrd and Spyderco but it is not a splinter picker point like a wharncliffe. The knife opens by the trademark Byrd comet shaped opening hole. I prefer the round hole used by Spyderco or an oval opening hole to the comet shaped hole. The comet hole would make modifying the blade into an Emerson opener easier though, in my opinion. There appears to be less metal that needs to be removed in front of the hole to create an effective wave and the Pelican clip can be switched from tip down to tip up, although it is drilled for right hand use only. The Pelican is a lockback folder with a David Boye Detent in the lock bar to prevent accidental release when gripping the handle.
The knife is comfortable in a variety of grips. It sits naturally in the hand in a saber grip, although the tip of the clip digs into my palm when held tightly. This may create hot spots when cutting for an extended period of time. It is comfortable in hammer grips, with the edge in or out.
The tip of the knife is more acute than a typical sheepsfoot design and lends itself to detail cutting. The handle scales of the knife are slabs of stainless steel with chamfered edges to reduce hot spots. The handles are extremely smooth and slick however, and may lead to slippage when cutting with wet hands or a wet knife handle even with the ergonomic shape to the grip. This is a common complaint with all of Spyderco and Byrds stainless handled models. Addition of jimping on the spine and in the finger grooves of the handle may reduce this risk.
In the knife that I have, it came shaving sharp out of the box. This is typical for Spyderco in my opinion. The model that I got was extremely tight to open and was gritty out of the box. It is uncomfortable to open especially with the comet hole. It might be easier to do with a round hole as my thumb nail keeps catching in the comets tail. It opens smoothly until about 90 degrees and becomes tight. The lockup feels gritty as the blade engages the locking bar but it locks securely with no vertical or horizontal play whatsoever. In a white knuckle hammer grip with the edge in, I can get the lock to partially disengage even with the Boye detent but not enough to cause the blade to close.
I will always recommend the Byrd line of folders to someone looking for an inexpensive quality EDC. I will, however, recommend that you try to handle several first to ensure that you get one with good fit and finish as even the best quality control lets a few slip by. I would feel comfortable using mine in a hard use environment with a little oil to get it opening a little easier.
Some pix, sorry they arent that great:
Closed:
Opened:
Compared with a Spyderco Atlantic Salt:
And clipped to my pocket:
Pete
I received the Byrd Pelican from another forum member not too long ago but have not had the chance to really use it yet. I am going to refrain from commenting on the performance of the steel (8Cr13MoV) as enough has been said on it. I used a PE Byrd Raven for several months commercial lobster fishing and it is a suitable steel for an inexpensive working knife. It holds its edge for a good amount of time and is easy to field resharpen. It takes a toothy edge that I find excellent for cutting rope.
The Pelican is a sheepsfoot/wharncliffe hybrid. It has the ruler-straight edge of a sheepsfoot and wharncliffe. I like this for cutting rope as it keeps the rope from slipping off of the end of the blade when cutting with the edge up, as it will on a blade with some belly. There is more of a point on this knife than on the other sheepsfoot offerings by Byrd and Spyderco but it is not a splinter picker point like a wharncliffe. The knife opens by the trademark Byrd comet shaped opening hole. I prefer the round hole used by Spyderco or an oval opening hole to the comet shaped hole. The comet hole would make modifying the blade into an Emerson opener easier though, in my opinion. There appears to be less metal that needs to be removed in front of the hole to create an effective wave and the Pelican clip can be switched from tip down to tip up, although it is drilled for right hand use only. The Pelican is a lockback folder with a David Boye Detent in the lock bar to prevent accidental release when gripping the handle.
The knife is comfortable in a variety of grips. It sits naturally in the hand in a saber grip, although the tip of the clip digs into my palm when held tightly. This may create hot spots when cutting for an extended period of time. It is comfortable in hammer grips, with the edge in or out.
The tip of the knife is more acute than a typical sheepsfoot design and lends itself to detail cutting. The handle scales of the knife are slabs of stainless steel with chamfered edges to reduce hot spots. The handles are extremely smooth and slick however, and may lead to slippage when cutting with wet hands or a wet knife handle even with the ergonomic shape to the grip. This is a common complaint with all of Spyderco and Byrds stainless handled models. Addition of jimping on the spine and in the finger grooves of the handle may reduce this risk.
In the knife that I have, it came shaving sharp out of the box. This is typical for Spyderco in my opinion. The model that I got was extremely tight to open and was gritty out of the box. It is uncomfortable to open especially with the comet hole. It might be easier to do with a round hole as my thumb nail keeps catching in the comets tail. It opens smoothly until about 90 degrees and becomes tight. The lockup feels gritty as the blade engages the locking bar but it locks securely with no vertical or horizontal play whatsoever. In a white knuckle hammer grip with the edge in, I can get the lock to partially disengage even with the Boye detent but not enough to cause the blade to close.
I will always recommend the Byrd line of folders to someone looking for an inexpensive quality EDC. I will, however, recommend that you try to handle several first to ensure that you get one with good fit and finish as even the best quality control lets a few slip by. I would feel comfortable using mine in a hard use environment with a little oil to get it opening a little easier.
Some pix, sorry they arent that great:
Closed:
Opened:
Compared with a Spyderco Atlantic Salt:
And clipped to my pocket:
Pete
