I've never used the Spyderco... if you're looking at the drop-point version, the specs are sound and Spyderco is a reputable company, their VG-10 should hold its edge a good long while. Here is a review on the older model by a source I trust:
http://www.cliffstamp.com/knives/reviews/bill_moran.html
I'd be careful if your intended uses of this knife include batonning - the thin spine and wide belly with high-grind (excellent for field-dressing) are not well accommodated for strong lateral stresses and could fracture
if you aren't careful, not to mention that the handle is designed for comfort and not to be abused. The Moran
should make an excellent game-knife as well as a great field knife :thumbup: just be aware of its limitations. Also, that choil-groove doesn't appear large enough to comfortably fit your finger... but again, I haven't tried it, and it shouldn't really matter in most uses anyway.
Whatever knife you end up with, let us know what you think. Comfort in hand during use should be a high priority.
As to the sharpener, I have the same one with the addition of extra-coarse and extra-fine stones (for quicker resetting of bevels and more thorough polishing). It works quite well except on narrow-bellied and long knives in my experience, and neither the Moran nor the Vanguard will be a problem. Your Byrd is a good knife to practice on. Don't be afraid. My general utility edge-angle is 30-o inclusive (15-o per side) on knives of decent steel, which is the 2nd or 3rd notch on the guides. If the edge degrades too quickly at this level, I back off to 45-o inclusive. If it can't handle that, I get a different knife
How I sharpen: use a red-Sharpie to 'paint' the edge-bevel of the knife on each side. Make a pass on each side with the fine-stone at the angle desired and observe where marker was rubbed away - if the stone took marker from the very edge, then my selected angle is more obtuse than the bevel and i usually leave the knife at that angle and see how it performs. If it degrades to quickly in use, I'll resharpen at the more obtuse angle. If the marker is rubbed away at the 'shoulder' behind the edge, then the bevel is more obtuse than my selected angle and I'll then proceed to sharpen each side with a coarse (or extra coarse) stone to bring the bevel down to where I want it before polishing with the fine stone.
DON'Ts:
1) Don't over-tighten the aligner clamp - it's plastic and may bend and break
2) Don't hold the aligner when sharpening, hold the knife
3) Don't start with a fine stone if the edge is very dull or the bevel needs to be reset. The coarse stones should give you your edge, the finer stones polish that edge, reducing scratch size to eliminate the 'stress risers' that lead to quick edge-degradation.
4) Don't rush, take your time, practice and observe the edge, re-'paint' as needed to guide you in your progress.
5) Don't forget to wipe/wash your stones occasionally (water and cloth or paper-towel), as they remove metal from the edge they will become loaded, preventing further progress in sharpening.
6) Don't press too hard - if your stone is removing the marker, it is removing metal and that is hard enough. If it isn't removing the marker, add some pressure.
7) Don't focus on any one section of the blade for too long, this will lead to an uneven grind which can hamper cutting performance. Grind (sharpen) the
entire edge as evenly as you can on both sides - make a good number of strokes along the entire edge on one side, then do the same on the other, repeat. Many users like to feel for a raised 'burr' along the
entire edge of the opposing side before they'll switch to sharpening the other side.
8) Don't forget to 'deburr' the blade as you progress.
9) Don't maintain the same pressure as you bring the knife to its final sharpness, you want to lighten the pressure as you finish.
There's probably a lot more advice to be offered, but that'll give you a start. Watch some online videos demonstrating sharpening techniques. It's a basic skill and with the aligner kit you'll be good at it in no time. :thumbup:
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