Can Spyderco outdo the Crossbill: a semi review

juremablanco said:
Hey Ghost,

Just wanted you to know that I cleaned up my worker Crossbill today for the umpteenth time. Now, keep in mind that this knife cuts into #2 copper wire (and I mean it literally cuts into the copper) that's coated in thick plastic insulation several times a day when used to strip the wire for switches on powerlines. That basically means alot of force against the blade in a variety of positions. Lockup is still a hundred percent and no blade play. After 5 minutes on the sharpmaker the blade was again shave sharp.

But, I absolutely do think that the warranty is designed not to be used, at least by a good percentage of buyers who might have problems. Like rebates, the reason rebates are so popular with manufacturers is that they KNOW that a certain percentage of people won't send them in or will send them in incomplete or will send them in late. That's money in the pocket of the manufacturer.

Oh, I do agree that there certainly are alot of knives priced much higher than the Crossbill that aren't nearly as well made or durable.
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Sorry I didn’t respond to your post sooner, it somehow slipped by me even though I thought I was looking for this thread.

Thanks for giving me an update as to the usage of your Crossbill. Mine doesn’t see nearly that much, none of my knives do

I think I understand what you mean about the warranty. I used to sell them for a major electronics retailer, and know that they understand that some people won’t use the warranty. Based on my experience with Spyderco, I don’t believe they expect people not to send in a knife, but like I said, most people won’t send in a $20 knife, IMHO.

. You should keep these updates coming, as its fun to hear how well a knife can perform. From the sounds of your post, the Crossbill is a pretty tough knife.
 
I have been using the a Crossbill for the past week breaking down boxes and pallets of hurricane supplies (and a Meadowlark for about a month now) and I am COMPLETELY impressed by them both. The edgeholding has been very good (better than my Mini-Griptillian, and almost as good as my Stretch), honestly far better than I expected. They cut circles around all the Kershaws and Gerbers that everybody else has been using around here.

The fit and finish is quite good; amazing IMHO for the cost of the knives. The opening holes were a little odd at first, but I don't even notice it now. I recommend them very highly and plan on giving a few of them for Christmas presents. :thumbup: :thumbup:
 
Hey Revolvergeek,
Thanks for reading. Man, I thought this thread was dead already. If you like the Crossbill, you should check out the Spyderco forum early next week (I'm guessing the timing). There are some interesting tests with the Crossbill comming up. ;)

I just heard from someone esle that the byrd steel was better than the 440c of the Mini-Grip. Never used a BM myself. On my byrds, I've found that if I sharpen them at straight 30 degrees, the edge has a tendency to roll (however, it's easily stropped out with cardboard). When I follow up at 40 the problem seems to go away.

The byrds seem to keep getting better and better. The just came out with the Raven/Crow, and the ergos are even better on my Raven than my previous byrds.
 
Got one of the Crossbills here, it fits my hand quite well & it's my new favorite box cutter.
Don't know how the steel will hold up over time, but I think it's a good value for the price.
Denis
 
DPris said:
Got one of the Crossbills here, it fits my hand quite well & it's my new favorite box cutter.
Don't know how the steel will hold up over time, but I think it's a good value for the price.
Denis
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Actually, it holds up pretty well IMHO. It isn't VG-10, or S30v, but it’s not bad. Sal has said that it is “similar in it’s properties to AUS-8, and has been HRC tested at 60-61. Some have even said that it outperforms BM’s 440c, however I have no experience with any BMs.

Here is a link to a an interesting testing done with the Crossbill.
http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17731
 
I'm looking forward to the Crossbill being available again. I will get one when I can find one :thumbup: .
---Tom
 
sigarms said:
I'm looking forward to the Crossbill being available again. I will get one when I can find one :thumbup: .
---Tom
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They've been on back order since early July. I've noticed two dealers on ebay who get them once in awhile. There's one up for auction right now. I bought one from him, and so did someone else I know.
 
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