spyderco byrd or benchmade red?

9

97guns

Joined
Nov 11, 2007
Messages
138
ive owned one of each in the past, a byrd meadowlark and a BM pika and both left a lttle off the table for me. maybee its because im a huge benchmade blue/black fan and am kinda spoiled by them. i ended up selling off both china pieces but have had a couple of models catch my eye recently.
 
Benchmades all the way. Byrds have thumb holes- ughh.
Unfortunately, some Benchmades also have thumb holes.
Viva la thumb stud! (so you can open your knives quickly and without a wrist flick)
 
I've found great knives in both lines.

The Cara Cara is an amazing knife for the money, and so is the Vex.
 
I like my Monochrome (Red Box -Taiwan) better than my Griptilian (Blue box), and not because of the price differential.
 
i prefer the byrds.

give the g10 byrd flight a try, its really nice.

BY05G_M.jpg
 
jim preston said:
Benchmades all the way. Byrds have thumb holes- ughh.
Unfortunately, some Benchmades also have thumb holes.
Viva la thumb stud! (so you can open your knives quickly and without a wrist flick)
Click to expand...

The same reason you would pick Benchmade is the same reason I'd pick Spyderco. I love the thumbhole.
 
My Vex came with a sharper edge than my Meadowlark. But there is a substantial ($15) price increase.
The same reason you would pick Benchmade is the same reason I'd pick Spyderco. I love the thumbhole.
Click to expand...
The thing about thumbholes is that I've never been able to flick open a spyderco, byrd, or benchmade with the hole. I've been able to push them open, even do it relatively quickly with a push and a wrist flick, but to flick them open, just holding them, like I can with a thumb stud, I never have been able to do.
I was able to do that with a Mini-Grip of my friends, but it was 5 yrs broken in, and I had been practicing on a Byrd all day.
 
jim preston said:
My Vex came with a sharper edge than my Meadowlark. But there is a substantial ($15) price increase.

The thing about thumbholes is that I've never been able to flick open a spyderco, byrd, or benchmade with the hole. I've been able to push them open, even do it relatively quickly with a push and a wrist flick, but to flick them open, just holding them, like I can with a thumb stud, I never have been able to do.
I was able to do that with a Mini-Grip of my friends, but it was 5 yrs broken in, and I had been practicing on a Byrd all day.
Click to expand...

eh, there really isnt a need for flicking open knives, opening it normally with your thumb is simple and straightforward.

the g10 handle byrd knives are very nice.

the g10 flight is the best one inmop. its only 25.
 
Love the Byrds. Have about 8 of them in my EDC selection. Starting to like the ease of the teardrop over the Spydie hole. But you have to like the thumbholes to begin with. I do and all my knives have them.

Ironically, I just got a mini Pika in today. First Benchmade. Nice knife, needs a little breaking in. The Benchmades are little too tight to open for my liking. I bet they'll loosen up though. Also the hole is not 100% exposed when the knife is closed like the Byrds or Spydies and makes it harder to open.

Looking towards a mini Gript with the thumbhole next.
 
eh, there really isnt a need for flicking open knives, opening it normally with your thumb is simple and straightforward.
Click to expand...
And takes a long time.
If I didn't mind taking a while to open, I'd carry a Buck 110. Or a slipjoint.
Well, I do sometimes carry these knives. And I do sometimes carry the Byrd. It's a good knife, especially for the price. I'm not trying to badmouth Spyderco- they certainly are excellent users.
But don't try and tell me they look pretty, and they don't just snap open, very quickly, like thumb stud knives do. That might not bother some people, but I like speed.
My Dell Inspiron is a wee bit faster than my brothers MacBook. Guess which I prefer to use? You got. I like speed (although I would use the Dell even if it was a little bit slower, as it is a PC, that's a matter of preference)
My friend's XPS is faster than mine. Which do I prefer? Again, it's a matter of preference, but I like speed.
 
im with you jim, with my edc i like to pull it out flick it open cut the stuff and git 'er back in the pocket. ive been carrying my newly aquired military for a few days and its gettin' pretty quick. im thinking of trying to snag a vex off ebay foraround $25 to check out.
 
jim preston said:
And takes a long time.
If I didn't mind taking a while to open, I'd carry a Buck 110. Or a slipjoint.
Well, I do sometimes carry these knives. And I do sometimes carry the Byrd. It's a good knife, especially for the price. I'm not trying to badmouth Spyderco- they certainly are excellent users.
But don't try and tell me they look pretty, and they don't just snap open, very quickly, like thumb stud knives do. That might not bother some people, but I like speed.
My Dell Inspiron is a wee bit faster than my brothers MacBook. Guess which I prefer to use? You got. I like speed (although I would use the Dell even if it was a little bit slower, as it is a PC, that's a matter of preference)
My friend's XPS is faster than mine. Which do I prefer? Again, it's a matter of preference, but I like speed.
Click to expand...

In my experience, using Spyder holes is just as fast as flicking open Benchmades. Now, axis locks sure close faster. But the speed difference in opening is negligible. If you really like opening fast, a waved Spyderco will open faster than an axis Benchmade.
 
im a benchmade guy myself and this military is the first spyderco folder that ive aquired. im a huge fan of the axis lock but it just doesnt feel right to me with tip up carry. my presentation is actually a tad quicker with the millie's tip down carry vs BM's axis tip up carry, if the military had a finger flicker like crkt's m16 line it would be the perfect piece for me.
 
Yes, the finger flicker on CRKTs is the zenith of of knife-opening studs.
My hole experience is with a lockback. Probably better with a frame/liner/axis lock.
 
I have a Vex and a Fecas Snipe and was not impressed with the ergonomis of either, though the Vex was the better of the two. I consider the Byrd Cara Cara one of the best values out there. The ergonomics aren't the best but better than the aforementioned Benchmades. I am thinking about giving a Monochrome a shot.
 
jim preston said:
The thing about thumbholes is that I've never been able to flick open a spyderco, byrd, or benchmade with the hole.
Click to expand...

When you mean flick..do you mean by just with your thumb and not wrist?
Because on my byrd meadowlark i can do both.
-Flick open with just thumb movement.
-Flick open with thumb + wrist movement.
-Swing open (left to right)
-Swing open (down)

:0
 
jim preston said:
And takes a long time.
If I didn't mind taking a while to open, I'd carry a Buck 110. Or a slipjoint.
Well, I do sometimes carry these knives. And I do sometimes carry the Byrd. It's a good knife, especially for the price. I'm not trying to badmouth Spyderco- they certainly are excellent users.
But don't try and tell me they look pretty, and they don't just snap open, very quickly, like thumb stud knives do. That might not bother some people, but I like speed.
My Dell Inspiron is a wee bit faster than my brothers MacBook. Guess which I prefer to use? You got. I like speed (although I would use the Dell even if it was a little bit slower, as it is a PC, that's a matter of preference)
My friend's XPS is faster than mine. Which do I prefer? Again, it's a matter of preference, but I like speed.
Click to expand...

Maybe when you first get them, but I can flick my Caly 3 open just as easily as my mini Griptilian.

Of course, the ergonomics are set up in such a way that it's faster to open by hole than by flicking it.

And don't get me started on PCs vs. Macs. :rolleyes:
 
I wonder if part of the 'flicking' problem might actually be the difference between a liner lock vs a lockback? The lockback (like the Byrd) always maintains a little more pressure (and thus friction) on the blade than the linerlock does.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top