I got my spyderco byrd crossbill in and though I'd post up a quick review. First thing I noticed was how heavy it is. I knew it was gonna be a bit heavier then most of my knifes but I didn't realise it would be as heavy as it is considering how thin of a knife it is. When you stick it in your pocket though, you don't really notice it and I think it could be that the size of the box it came to me in threw me for a loop as I am expecting other things in the mail. After a bit though, you get a bit use to the weight and now it feels normal to me. I guess I'm too use to carrying around my kersaw leek which is nearly weightless. The next thing I noticed was how hard it was to close. I mean this has gotta be the tightest hinge I have ever felt next to my cold steel gunsite. With some rem-oil and about 30 minuets of playing with it, it loosened up and with some Miltech1, it loosened up a tad more to where its still tight but at least I can use the comet shaped hole to open the blade with one hand and with a bit more playing with, hopefully it loosens up more to my liking. I've actually got it to the point where I can close it with one hand by holding down the release and flinging it foward to have my finger catch it and then I can close it by squeesing it shut in one fluid motion so I guess it did loosen up quite a bit form when I first opened it.
The Fit and finish are top notch and there is zero play in the blade. I've seen a youtube video which says there was a hair of vertical blade play but mines is as tight as a tiger! The blade does lock open with a confident click and I'd say if it didn't say it was made in China, I would never have known it was.
The clip is amazingly well made and I like the way its not as tight as my civilian which tends to ruin pants pockets as its so tight. It's tight enough to stays put though I think its because they laser cut a sliver of metal thru the clip which gives it this unique feel.
The blade is deceptivly short and I say this becuase when I compare it to my Civilian, it really looks just a tad shorter which really suprised me. I measured it which says half an inch shorter which is apparently right on but it looks nearly the same lenght and considering the spyderco civilian is one of the most aggresive/scariest things I have ever seen/owned, its a pretty good deal considering this knife cost me 20 bucks shipped to me. The blade I got is half serrated although its more like 65% serrated and 45% plain edged. The blade is very sharp though and I was easily able to shave my arm hair with it with easy which really did suprise me. Although the hawkbill blade is nearly as long as the civilian's, the shape doesn't seem as scary for some reason. The thinner reverse S curvy civilian blade is for some reason much more terrifying then the almost mundane radiused crossbill blade although the crossbill does have a lot more metal in its blade.
The handle is very nice and fits my hands nearly perfectly in both normal and reverse grip but I have small hands so that is something one might want to consider. I am able to get enough real estate on the handle though to be able to confidently hold it in a reverse grip. The handle thickness is just a hair thicker then my kershaw leek which is quite a bit thinner then my Civilian. It nearly dissapears in my pocket which I really like. There is no jimping on the back of the blade or anywhere on the knife but I dont really think it makes a difference to me. I might change my story if there is a lot of blood or grease on the knife but I have been keeping it fairly slick with oil as I'm breaking it in and holding on to it doesn't really seem to be very much of a problem for me.
So in the end, the quality is top notch and I seriously can't believe I spent only 20 dollars on this knife when my Civilian cost me sooooooo much more. The blade is unbelievably sharp right out of the box and it's thin enough to carry all day every day. I would highly recommend this knife to anyone. My only complaint is how tight the hinge was when I first got it although it does seem to be loosening up quite a bit and perhaps in a day or 2, I'll have it to the point where I like.
Hope this helped someone.
P.S. One last thing which has nothing to do with the knife and more about me is that the finish on the knife is very nice and polished right now. Personnaly I just throw my knifes in to my pocket along with my keys and other crap I carry around so I wonder how long it will stay scratch free and all pretty. Perhaps I'll get a G10 version soon if anythign happens to this one.
The Fit and finish are top notch and there is zero play in the blade. I've seen a youtube video which says there was a hair of vertical blade play but mines is as tight as a tiger! The blade does lock open with a confident click and I'd say if it didn't say it was made in China, I would never have known it was.
The clip is amazingly well made and I like the way its not as tight as my civilian which tends to ruin pants pockets as its so tight. It's tight enough to stays put though I think its because they laser cut a sliver of metal thru the clip which gives it this unique feel.
The blade is deceptivly short and I say this becuase when I compare it to my Civilian, it really looks just a tad shorter which really suprised me. I measured it which says half an inch shorter which is apparently right on but it looks nearly the same lenght and considering the spyderco civilian is one of the most aggresive/scariest things I have ever seen/owned, its a pretty good deal considering this knife cost me 20 bucks shipped to me. The blade I got is half serrated although its more like 65% serrated and 45% plain edged. The blade is very sharp though and I was easily able to shave my arm hair with it with easy which really did suprise me. Although the hawkbill blade is nearly as long as the civilian's, the shape doesn't seem as scary for some reason. The thinner reverse S curvy civilian blade is for some reason much more terrifying then the almost mundane radiused crossbill blade although the crossbill does have a lot more metal in its blade.
The handle is very nice and fits my hands nearly perfectly in both normal and reverse grip but I have small hands so that is something one might want to consider. I am able to get enough real estate on the handle though to be able to confidently hold it in a reverse grip. The handle thickness is just a hair thicker then my kershaw leek which is quite a bit thinner then my Civilian. It nearly dissapears in my pocket which I really like. There is no jimping on the back of the blade or anywhere on the knife but I dont really think it makes a difference to me. I might change my story if there is a lot of blood or grease on the knife but I have been keeping it fairly slick with oil as I'm breaking it in and holding on to it doesn't really seem to be very much of a problem for me.
So in the end, the quality is top notch and I seriously can't believe I spent only 20 dollars on this knife when my Civilian cost me sooooooo much more. The blade is unbelievably sharp right out of the box and it's thin enough to carry all day every day. I would highly recommend this knife to anyone. My only complaint is how tight the hinge was when I first got it although it does seem to be loosening up quite a bit and perhaps in a day or 2, I'll have it to the point where I like.
Hope this helped someone.
P.S. One last thing which has nothing to do with the knife and more about me is that the finish on the knife is very nice and polished right now. Personnaly I just throw my knifes in to my pocket along with my keys and other crap I carry around so I wonder how long it will stay scratch free and all pretty. Perhaps I'll get a G10 version soon if anythign happens to this one.
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