Spyderco fan, don't shoot!!

flyfishrman

flyfishrman

Joined
Jul 23, 2006
Messages
507
I've owned and carried a Spyderco of some sort for the better part of the last 12 years. One short hiatus when I lost my Spydie Delica EDC. In any event I titled this thread the way that I did based on the question I'm about to ask.

Why the Byrd line?

If you own one what do you think? Just curious because Spyderco makes the best product for the money as is, why a lower priced import? Where are they made? I always carry a clip knife and Spyderco is my brand, just thought I'd ask about the Byrd line.
 
I think many people don't get further into knives because of really really crappy entry level (20$) knives (gerber). I think the byrd line will hopefully put them out of business...
 
There are thousands of people out there who won't look twice at a quality knife if they see a pricetag on it. Heck, there are thousands that wouldn't spring for a Byrd because it is too expensive. But the few who accidentally buy a Byrd get a real eye opener, and many of them never settle for less again. It is a great way to introduce people to the wonderful world of REAL cutting tools. I'm waiting to get my hands on the G-10 Flight, and I have more Spydies than even I can carry at once :D
 
One possible reason for the existance of the Byrd line is to usurp the rampant knock-off manufacturers. You might not notice them as much in the US, unless you hit up fleamarkets, but it's a problem elsewhere. So why not identify the best of the copiers, enter in to an agreement to get the best quality entry-level product in exchange for product design & developement, and together have a price-point that makes the knock-off mfr's loose their incentive to create junk.
 
Totally agreed with Phil. I used to carry a little Schrade "Raider" from Wal-Mart. And almost everything else I had used was of similar quality. No wonder I thought folders where crap.
 
i have 2 byrds, and i really like them both. i have the g10 cara cara and g10 robin. the g10 robin is now on of my favorite knives, and has probably cost me the least.

if anything, the byrds will cut into the spyderco sales because people can get quality folders for under $30.
 
we use the byrd kinves as a great choice for people on a budget at the knife store that i work at. people come in all the time and pick out a Eagle brand knife for 25-30 bucks and we will often refuse to sell it to them :D and in its place move them into one of the awsome byrd kinves which imo is the absolute best sub 30 dollar knife out there
 
I see the Byrds as more of a way to counter the CCCs that lots of people buy, hopefully they'll realise how good a knife it is, look around to see who makes them, and end up at Spyderco's doorstop.

Oh, and this is my personal opinion only, but I think it'd be a really good way of testing new concepts (if the factory in China can handle it) with less of the expense from tooling up a factory in the US or Japan.
 
With the Byrd line I can give a quality knife away as a gift without breaking the bank. I have described the G-10 Cara Cara to friends as....If it said Spyderco instead of Byrd on the blade it would sell for around $80-$100 reguardless of what country it was made in. That pretty much sums up my opinion.
 
While on a jobsite a few weeks back I became frustrated when I could not open a damn box because nobody had a knife - myself included. A gent on a shave site a frequent suggested the Spyderco line as a good place to start....specifically the G10 Cara Cara. I snapped one up and am hooked. This lead to additional purchases of a Delica, Calypso Jr. ZDP & a Lava on the way in. A $20 lead in purchase may just lead to additional sales down the line....

I might add that I also picked up a custom knife from GL as well. It's a beautiful knife and all, just a bit too much for a beginner like me.

Rob
 
I own two byrd knives, the starling and the cara cara. Both are great, the cara cara in particular is scary sharp and I plan on getting my brother one for his edc at his summer job. I got the starling as a gift for a friend and it is more then adequate for city life chores, the ladybug is $25 and the starling was $10, I probably wouldn't buy the ladybug but get him something else for a bit more.
 
I bought a Bryd knife when they first came out, mostly out of curiosity. Now I own 8 of them. You just can't beat the Quality for the money. :thumbup:
 
I have a black Raven Byrd knife. It seems to be a great knife for the price. However the engraved "CHINA" on the blade just makes me sick. Whether we want to believe it or not we are now in an economic war with China. A fool knows the cost of everything but value of nothing.
 
Because of the lack of really properly made cheap (only in terms of price) folders.
 
G-10 handle, dual metal liners, utilitarian blade, light (2.5 ounce), and inexpensive ($22). It may be the best value I have seen since I started collecting. Byrd rocks! :thumbup:
 
i have a spyderco and a byrd, and the G10 Meadowlark i have can't be beaten for the price. it is really solid.
 
messer454 said:
With the Byrd line I can give a quality knife away as a gift without breaking the bank. I have described the G-10 Cara Cara to friends as....If it said Spyderco instead of Byrd on the blade it would sell for around $80-$100 reguardless of what country it was made in. That pretty much sums up my opinion.
Click to expand...

Ill second this one, I have given knives as gifts for years and can tell you it is very hard to find a good inexpensive one hand opening pocket clip folder. I have tried, gerber, S&W, CRKT, and others, usually I find that these knives (with a few exceptions) either dont hold up, or are just not as well designed as spydercos. (rust is a real issue with many)

Until the Byrd line came out my choice was to give a knife that was less than the quality I would Like, or spend higher $ on a knife that may not be appreciated by a non enthusiast.

My only problem with Byrds is I find I want them for myself, but then again Its not too hard to afford an extra one :D
 
how awesome would a g10/frn byrd crossbill be? dude, those would sell like mad. i think every single one of us would buy one.
 
Hi Realstagman,

We try very hard not to "shoot" people under the shelter of our forums, both here and our site form.

We had noticed over the years that the major knife companies had moved to China. The disparity of price is difficult to ignore. Many use China pretty much for all of their models.

Most of the "Big boxes" that sell knives are price oriented. They also require larger quantities of knives than many of the smaller facories in the USA or Seki could deliver. In order to compete in that market (growing), China is the only game in town, especially when confronted with the fact that USA, Japan and European knife prices keep rising.

Some of the bigger players like Buck, Gerber and Benchmade chose to build their knives in China, and retain their company name. This will probably work just fine for them, and it permits faster recogntion and acceptance by both the dealers and markets.

Spyderco is more of a niche boutique company. We have a good reputation world-wide, at lest among knowledgable knife people (aficianados or "afis" as I've been calling them - you ;) ). I was concerned that in our case, making a slew of knives in China with the Spyderco label would soften our name in the broad market. Especially with our "round hole" trademark.

I recognize that is is harder and will take longer to build the "byrd" name, but felt that when "byrd" could stand on it's own, we would have choices with our designs. We trademarked the shape of the byrd opening hole as the overall "byrd" logo. I think we're in our 3rd year of production and 6th year of planning and design.

Kinda like Toyota - Scion

We will probably ultimately have to make a model or two in China, with the Spyderco name and round hole in order to compete with certain models from certain companies, but that is more of a "forced choice" and the model number will be very limited.

I will admit that creating an entire line of different, but related models was a challenging feat for Eric and I to accomplish, and it more than doubled our work load.

It was also challenging to find and train makers to meet our quality standards and philosophies.

Now that we have proven the quality to be acceptable, we have some collaboration designs in the works for byrd brand.

"byrd" has grown. The basic models: Cara Cara, Meadowlark and Robin are available in all stainless, G-10 and FRN versions (with nested steel liners), with and without teeth. The finch has ss and FRN versions.

The Flight, Pelican and Hawkbill models are available in all stainless with G-10 in the works.

There are two tools, the Harp & byrdrench. A novel lighter knife. A new unique diamond sharpener is already in production. We have an RIL (Reeve Integral Lock) or "frame-lock" version and several multiblade versions in the works.

What we need now is to "spread the word", but with a limited advertising budget. The forums are an important part of that "word of mouth".

We work on fixed margins, rather than "charge as much as the market will bear", so our prices seem to be quite reasonable. In my opinion, byrd is the best buy in the knife market today.

Hope that anwers your question.

sal
 
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