So I went to buy a byrd...

J

jzmtl

Joined
Jul 29, 2007
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434
Well you guys suck, I never thought about getting a new knife till I started read this forum. Now I'm out $170 for knives and supplies. :p

So I read about the byrd knives, thought they are pretty good value so I went to take a look. Except I ended up with a Endura 4. :eek: (yeah yeah I know it's nothing to you knife nuts, but my previous knives are a 12 years old SAK and 6 years old gerber gator)

I gotta say it's night day compare to my other knives, the endura is so slick and smooth opening. Even compare to the byrd knives it just feels more solid and smooth. My only grip about it is it dosen't come with a belt sheath.

Now for my questions, what can you tell me about this knife, the VG10 steel, your experience, maintainence, and most importantly, what angle is the blade and anything I should know when sharpening it (I use a regular benchstone and 1500 grit sandpaper for final touchup).
 
The screw heads are torx, so you need a set of torx wrenches if you want to tighten the pivot or move the clip. You can take the knife apart, but I don't recommend it unless necessary. Some folks can't get theres back together again...not the knife's fault though.

Maintenance is pretty simple. Examine the notch were the lock engages periodically. A ball of lint will make the lock fail. The only times I've had lint trouble is if I forget my kinfe in my pants and it goes through the washer/dryer. Oil the pivot occasionally. The steel is pretty rust resistant, but it never hurts to add some protectant now and again. It sharpens fairly easily as well.

No advice on sharpening, everyone has their own preferences.

A belt pouch is counter-intuitive for the inventor of the pocket clip to provide. :)
 
Seriously, what's with all the torx? :mad: The only two reasons for torx is automation and tamper resistance, neither applies here.

I changed the clip position to tip down carry, then I relized even my smallest torx bit dosen't fit. I made do with a hex wrench so the clip is now in my preferred position.

I've been playing with it all evening long, must've open/closed it over 200 times now. :D
 
After reading umpteen threads/posts by people who take their D4/E4 apart and can't get it back together, maybe tamperproof Torx wouldn't be such a bad idea.

At least Sal hasn't borrowed the five lobe tamperproof fasteners that Leatherman uses. ;)
 
I found a small torx driver with 4 interchangeable double ended bits at Lowes for about 5 or 6 bucks. You could probably find something similar at Home Depot. I do agree that it's a bit of a pain to have to buy and/or carry an extra tool if you want to be able to do maintenance on your knives, but it's not really too big of deal. I've never had any trouble taking any of my knives apart and putting them back together, but I'm kind of a tinkerer by nature.
 
If they have Home Depot in Canada, they will likely carry the little torx driver that has all the heads needed for knife adjustments. It is roughly US$6. Maker is Husky.
 
They will have Lowe's in Toronto soon....get the Kobalt set :D They also make a little set that has the very small phillips and flathead sizes. 12 bucks and you have just about all the screwdrivers you need for fiddling with your knives.
 
jzmtl said:
Well you guys suck, I never thought about getting a new knife till I started read this forum. Now I'm out $170 for knives and supplies. :p

So I read about the byrd knives, thought they are pretty good value so I went to take a look. Except I ended up with a Endura 4. :eek: (yeah yeah I know it's nothing to you knife nuts, but my previous knives are a 12 years old SAK and 6 years old gerber gator)

I gotta say it's night day compare to my other knives, the endura is so slick and smooth opening. Even compare to the byrd knives it just feels more solid and smooth. My only grip about it is it dosen't come with a belt sheath.

Now for my questions, what can you tell me about this knife, the VG10 steel, your experience, maintainence, and most importantly, what angle is the blade and anything I should know when sharpening it (I use a regular benchstone and 1500 grit sandpaper for final touchup).
Click to expand...

I have another little question for you. WHY you people always ask about the knife after buying the knife? you can fing out about the VG-10 steel yourself... after all you own it and you use it (i'm talking about the experience). I do not torture my knives, but sure I put them through one or another task and see how they perform.

I just don't get it!

It's totally another thing if you say "I just bought this knife. i'll make this and that with it and i'll tell you something about it..." or " i own this knife... i did this and that with it and now it is durty...tell me how to clean it(dissasemble it)..."

Now and then people here say " I bought it...WHAT can you say about it? IS IT GOOD???"

Just use it! That is why you bought it, aren't you?

Have a nice day!:-)
I appologise to all offended, but that is my opinion!

MB1
 
MB1 said:
I have another little question for you. WHY you people always ask about the knife after buying the knife? you can fing out about the VG-10 steel yourself... after all you own it and you use it (i'm talking about the experience). I do not torture my knives, but sure I put them through one or another task and see how they perform.

I just don't get it!
Click to expand...

Because I have read all the technical aspects of it, I just want to know people's personal experience with it, and if there are any special things I need to watch for while using/sharpening/maintaining with this particular steel, that's all. If there are any it's better to know about it now instead of after damage is done, wouldn't you agree? :)
 
The E4 is a fantastic knife and my first Spyderco folder. It has not seen much pocket duty recently but I think it is time for a change.
 
jzmtl said:
Because I have read all the technical aspects of it, I just want to know people's personal experience with it, and if there are any special things I need to watch for while using/sharpening/maintaining with this particular steel, that's all. If there are any it's better to know about it now instead of after damage is done, wouldn't you agree? :)
Click to expand...

i've red you post in a completely wrong way... and now I feel a little stupid.

First i thought that you are asking what can you do with the knife. I totally agree with the sharpening and maintenance part.

Just in case you haven't found this... this is a post for assembly of delica 4.
http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21533&highlight=delica+lego

Sorry. I don't know why i got so annoyed. Maybe i need a holiday (it's been months since my last visit to the nearest mountain.)
 
MB1 said:
i've red you post in a completely wrong way... and now I feel a little stupid.

First i thought that you are asking what can you do with the knife. I totally agree with the sharpening and maintenance part.

Just in case you haven't found this... this is a post for assembly of delica 4.
http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21533&highlight=delica+lego

Sorry. I don't know why i got so annoyed. Maybe i need a holiday (it's been months since my last visit to the nearest mountain.)
Click to expand...

Haha, no worries, we all had our moments like that. :D
 
yablanowitz said:
After reading umpteen threads/posts by people who take their D4/E4 apart and can't get it back together, maybe tamperproof Torx wouldn't be such a bad idea.

At least Sal hasn't borrowed the five lobe tamperproof fasteners that Leatherman uses. ;)
Click to expand...

Yep, I'm one of those morons:o. I took apart my E4 Wave and now it's all in a sandwich bag. I'm still trying to figure out who I can send it to.
 
I sharpen my E4 with a green DMT diamond sharpener. Just put a little water on the sharpener, lay it on the edge of a table, and move the blade lightly along edge first. It sounds strange, but after enough sharpening, I can tell by the level of resistance I feel between the knife and the sharpener if I'm at the right angle. I keep my E4 shaving sharp, and in my limited experience and opinion, VG-10 sharpens easier than 440-C (my Benchmade Griptillian) and AUS-8 (Benchmade Ambush).

While on this subject, is Cold Steel's VG-1 the same as VG-10?
 
melt said:
I sharpen my E4 with a green DMT diamond sharpener. Just put a little water on the sharpener, lay it on the edge of a table, and move the blade lightly along edge first. It sounds strange, but after enough sharpening, I can tell by the level of resistance I feel between the knife and the sharpener if I'm at the right angle. I keep my E4 shaving sharp, and in my limited experience and opinion, VG-10 sharpens easier than 440-C (my Benchmade Griptillian) and AUS-8 (Benchmade Ambush).

While on this subject, is Cold Steel's VG-1 the same as VG-10?
Click to expand...

No. I believe someone will chime in shortly with details. But again no, it's not. :)
 
Here's some info on the comparison between VG-1 & VG-10 as this was a question I had answered just a couple days ago myself.

VG-10 - is a high carbon stainless steel, similar to 154CM with less molybdenum and the addition of cobalt and a small amount of vanadium. The vanadium acts mainly as a grain refiner in the small amount present in VG-10 and the cobalt is promoted to enhance carbide stability. VG-10 is a high wear resistant stainless steel in the same class as 154CM however has better edge stability and offers superior corrosion resistance and extended edge retention.

VG-1 – this is the steel now being used by Cold Steel in a number of their Knives. It is new to me and this is what Cold Steel has had to say about it “When considering a new material for a performance upgrade for the Cold Steel® Tanto, we tested seven different grades of steel including Shiro 2, V-SP-2, 10A, 440C, VG-10, ATS 34, and VG-1. Physical testing for sharpness, edge retention, point strength, shock, and ultimate blade strength showed that while many of the steels had increased performance in one or two testing categories, only one, VG-1, showed the greatest performance increases in the most critical categories. With an outstanding ability to retain an edge and proven strength in point and blade tests, VG-1 will provide Cold Steel® customers with superior performance previously unavailable in a stainless steel blade” and this is from the maker From raw material with fewer impurities, the ingot is made by latest refining technology. It has fine and ductile structure and is easy to forge by fire. Heat treatment is also easy to apply to and the product is corrosive resistant.
Blades made of VG1 meet these four major requirements for a good blade;

hard
ductile
abrasion-resistant
corrosive-resistant
VG1 contains 1.0% of C and hard primary carbide and secondary carbide co-exist in the substrate, which enhances its abrasion resistance. 14% of Cr also contributes to improvement in corrosive-resistance and strength. Mo together with Cr forms hard double carbide helping improve in abrasion resistance and corrosion resistance.
(Cold Steel Master Hunter)

Unfortunately, this is not great, but from what I can determine, VG-1 is a slightly upgraded version of VG-10 with a little better tensile strength, meaning it is probably a little less likely to break under stress. I would imagine that corrosion resistance on both is about the same and edge retention may slightly favour the VG-1.
Click to expand...

Hope that helps?
 
I'd also like to add that the steel itself while it can 'influence' the edge retention, is not the sole deciding factor. How the manufacturer tempers the steel during production, also has a huge impact. (Eg, Buck Knives. They use a variety of steels, but probably the most common one is 420HC, not necessarily the best steel out there when put up against S30V's and whatnot, but the way they temper the blade, gives it great edge retention capabilities...this can also affect the ease of sharpening)
 
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