Let's talk about Bird knives...

Fletcher Knives

Fletcher Knives

STEEL BREATHING BLADE MAESTRO
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Aug 30, 2007
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Who among you owns and uses the Spydie Bird knives with 8Cr13MoV stainless steel blades and what do you think of them? Do you find it to be an adaquate steel? What do you think of its ability to hold and edge?
 
I have a Raven that i got partially serrated, in the 8Cr13MoV steel. I love it. With a properly sharpened and polished edge, I can whittle and scrape old, hard, dried out branches, and it still shaves afterward. I got tired of the serrations, though, and ground them off with my HF cheapo belt sander, with no noticeable difference in edge holding, and now I have a nice, if a little odd-looking, plain edged Raven. I like it.
 
I have a Persistence which has 8Cr13MoV steel. For a work knife, I love it. The steel holds a workable edge for quite a long time. By "workable" I don't mean hair-shaving sharp. The corrosion resistance is pretty good as well and I haven't had the edge roll or chip yet.

If you want a knife you can put to hard use and not worry about losing it or damaging it, a Byrd knife or Tenacious/Persistence are excellent choices.
 
I have several Byrd knives. One sits on my office desk for daily use, opening letters, cutting boxes, etc. I no longer have a box cutter in the office like I did before. It's a good blade, don't anyone tell you it's not. Sure, it doesn't keep a razor edge as long as VG-10 or S30V, but it's still damn good. It's 80% there at 1/3 of the price. It also takes a wicked edge with a lot less effort. It was my first edge that could widdle hair. If you've used Aus-8 blades before, it's very similar. I prefer the g-10 handled Byrds but you lose a bit of cost saving. Everyone sings praises of the Tenacious/Persistence pair and they have the same blade steel.
 
I never bothered because I think they're ugly as hell, but I just saw a review on the Byrd Wings and am thinking about picking one up. Looks like it would fit into the hand well, and build quality seems really good.
 
I have a Byrdrench that is great. I love the knife on it. I asked for a Wyngs for Christmas...we'll see:)
 
The Byrds are the best $75 knives you will ever buy for $30. ;) I'd rate the 8Cr13MoV steel just above AUS-8 for edge holding, toughness and rust resistence.
 
I like the Byrds, it's cheap and good. But I don't like too much this blade steel.
8Cr13MoV and G10 is a way to make good cheap folders. It's good because you will don't cry if you lose one.
 
I dont use 'em but I have nothing against them, I just dont like back locks and the catbyrds styling doesnt appeal to me. :/
 
I have the g10 meadowlark, and the raven. EDC'd the m'lark for a while and the blade stayed sharp for longer than expected around the mailroom, although a tad on the weighty side compared to my frn delica. Great bang for buck and wouldn't be too crushed if I lost it. Good users.
 
My favourite Byrd, the Wings is a lot of knife for $30+ and with linerlocks too although I would prefer lockbacks. Just don't fancy having my thumb in the path of the blade while trying to close. Being lefty doesnt help either.:p
 
I've got a G-10 Cara Cara, FRN Cara Cara, FRN Meadowlark, fully serrated G-10 Crossbill, plain edged G-10 Crossbill, a Finch, and fully serrated Cara Cara Rescue. They're all great; perfect fit and finish, nice ergonomics, and the steel (8Cr13MoV) holds a respectable edge.

In terms of China-made Spydercos, I own a few Bugs, a Honeybee, one plain-edged Tenacious, a fully serrated Tenacious, and Persistence. They're great as well. I must say that of all the knives I mentioned in this post, the Persistence finds its way into my pocket the most.

In all of those, edge-holding is pretty much on par with AUS-8 with a good heat treat. Corrosion resistance seems to be a bit better than AUS-8 as well.
 
I really like this steel. I'd put it about AUS-8. The Byrd line has great designs and low cost with great fit and finish. They're tough as can be too!
 
I have a smattering of them, but I own a whole bunch of Catbyrds because they are some of the best low-cost framelocks you will ever find. I picked up another one after I found out they were being discontinued.

I think the steel is slightly less rust resistant than AUS8. I left one of my Catbyrds on the deck railing overnight during a summer rain shower and it had some pretty noticeable rust spots the next morning where the drops had stood.

It doesn't hold an edge as well as Beretta's treatment of AUS8, but it's a better edge holder than any CRKT knife I have ever used. I would put it on par with Buck's 420HC in terms of edge retention---and that's meant as a compliment.
 
Yeah, the Byrds really are as good as the others have stated. I have a Cara-Cara, Meadowlark and a Raven. I was so impressed with the Cara-Cara I bought my brothers one.
My youngest bro USES his big time. I need to get a pic of that knife because it is beat to hell. I just sharpen it up for him and it's off to the races again.
Edge holding is just like was stated above. Very comparable with AUS-8, maybe a bit better. No better go-to knife when your concerned about scratching up nicer knives.
 
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