CE Byrd Meadowlark..Chisel Ground..did I make a mistake??

J

jackjr

Joined
Jan 2, 2007
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16
Hello, All:

So I am basically a total n00b at knives. I've done a lot of reading lately, trying to figure all this stuff out.

I figured my first "good" knife would be a Byrd G-10 Meadowlark. All the good praise and reviews seemed to point to that as being a good knife to fit my needs. I then went with the CE because I thought the serrated edge of the knife would come in handy for certain applications.

Well, I was reading a post about the CE Meadowlark (and I assume most serrated knives), that said the plain edge of the blade is a chisel grind. From what I can gather, the chisel grind is supposed to be an inferior edge to other grinds.

I want my knives to be as sharp as possible. I was assuming the plain edge of the CE Meadowlark would be as sharp as the full PE Meadowlark.

Did I make a mistake?? Should I sell the CE and get a PE Meadowlark instead?

I'd rather have a sharp knife then use of a serrated edge. I just thought the serrated edge would be an "added" feature.

Thanks for the help and opinions!!!

-Jr
 
I've never seen a combo edge Meadowlark in person, but none of my combo edge knives are chisel ground on the plain section of the blade. I don't see why the Meadowlark would be any different. The serrated section is indeed only ground on one side, but the plain section should be ground the same as a full plain edge knife. Don't worry, you made a very good choice with the Meadowlark.

Just out of curiosity, could you provide a link to the post you read stating that it's chisel ground?
 
Yes, from what I have read the CE Byrds are chisel ground, even on the plain section. They are actually pretty easy to sharpen, as the bevel is usually longer and pretty easy to lay flat on the stone to match the angle. You just sharpen until you raise a burr, then give it a couple light passes on the backside of the blade to deburr. I think in Cliff Stamps review of a CE Cara Cara, he said the plain edge portion was at 20 degrees, included, which would actually match up nice with the sharpmaker.
 
jackjr said:
Hello, All:

So I am basically a total n00b at knives. I've done a lot of reading lately, trying to figure all this stuff out.

I figured my first "good" knife would be a Byrd G-10 Meadowlark. All the good praise and reviews seemed to point to that as being a good knife to fit my needs. I then went with the CE because I thought the serrated edge of the knife would come in handy for certain applications.

Well, I was reading a post about the CE Meadowlark (and I assume most serrated knives), that said the plain edge of the blade is a chisel ground. From what I can gather, the chisel ground is supposed to be an inferior edge to other grounds.

I want my knives to be as sharp as possible. I was assuming the plain edge of the CE Meadowlark would be as sharp as the full PE Meadowlark.

Did I make a mistake?? Should I sell the CE and get a PE Meadowlark instead?

I'd rather have a sharp knife then use of a serrated edge. I just thought the serrated edge would be an "added" feature.

Thanks for the help and opinions!!!

-Jr
Click to expand...

Be careful and sift thru some of the info you get on here. There is a gaping difference between opinion and speculation , truth and fact. You will get all four here and it is hard to tell the difference sometimes.
There is nothing wrong with chisel ground blades , it is not an inferior grind , it is however not a lot of peoples cup of tea.
Why sell it ? Keep it and buy another , then another - decide what you like best for you , dont let someone else decide what you prefer.
 
I stand corrected. I did some additional searching, and it appears that the Byrd combo edges are indeed chisel ground. I find that interesting, but as others have stated, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. You still have a great knife that will perform very well.
 
All Emerson knives are chisel ground. Ask Ernest Emerson or anybody who owns an Emerson knife if chisel grinds are inferior to a standard V grind.

In short, they are not.
 
rebeltf said:
Why sell it ? Keep it and buy another , then another - decide what you like best for you , dont let someone else decide what you prefer.
Click to expand...

I planned on selling it because I was going to use the Meadowlark as my main EDC knife and didn't want to keep it if it had a bad grind. But, I don't even have the knife yet so I can't say for sure what I'll want to do. I may be satisfied with it and keep it.

True that there may not be anything "wrong" w/chisel ground blades, but the consensus amongst experienced posters seems to be that they are not the best grind for different reasons.

-Jr
 
I got the Spyderco Byrd cara cara today, with the combo edge, it's a chisel grind, I'm usually not a fan of chisel grind, but this thing is really sharp and nice! I don't think you will be disappointed.
 
the only thing "wrong" with chisel grinds are that most chisel grinds are ground "lefty" and most people are right handed. if you get a custom with a "righty" grind then that's different. the earliest folders i used were chisel ground and i thought nothing of the "wrong" grind until i wanted to make precision length cuts. it was only then that the grind messed me up. it's kind of like torque steer in a car.
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone :thumbup: You are making me feel more confident about the chisel grind.

The knife should be here tomorrow. I'll check it out and report back what I think.
 
Look over in the "Toolshed" forum for information on sharpening chisel grinds. They take a good edge and with a good edge they cut well. That having been said I prefer a bevel on both sides of the blade. Personal preference.

With price of Byrds so low, get both. It's not worth the bother of selling one.
 
Since it's only the edge bevel that's CG, it doesn't cause the blade to cut diagonally like you get with wrong sided CG primaries; like on the BM Emerson I had. That was really bad, but the Cara Cara I have can slice a piece of paper straight.
 
the only emerson which is close to being a conventional "V" grind (like a spyderco delica) is the CQC12 irregardless of what EKI calls it, not that its a bad thing but its not a conventional "V" grind.

i forget the actual terminology EKI uses but it does tend to confuse folks imho.

also there is nothing wrong with a CG blade imho, its just a little different is all.
 
I received the knife today.

I am very impressed with it and will keep it. The edge is really sharp. It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be. It doesn't weigh much and fits neatly into my pocket. This is a perfect "take to work" knife.

I think I'm going to get the bigger Cara Cara in PE to go along with my Meadowlark.

-Jr
 
The chisel grind knives I have are sharp as Hades On Fire! Nothing wrong with the chisl grind unless you don't know how to sharpen one. JMHO
 
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