Spyderco Ti UKPK and Byrd Tern Passaround Review

[mann0mann]

I'll try to break this up a little into separate parts, take it easy on me guys...first time doing a pass-around and doing a formal review on BF.

Background

To give you some quick background on myself. I am a Spyderco-nut. I started collecting knives as a child with my grandfather, got away from it as I grew up, got married, started a family and many years later I came back to it. In a short time, I found Spyderco knives and have pretty much fallen in love.

My EDC rotation is constantly different but I regularly go between a Sage 1 & UKPK FRN Lightweight. If you would have asked me about 6 months ago if I would ever even consider a slippie I would have laughed it off. On a whim I purchased a UKPK because I had recently picked up a Caly and Caly 3.5 and really liked the ergonomics of these models.

For me, I’ve found the choil on the UKPK’s alleviate 99% of my fear of the slipjoint and I work in a retail environment and am in front of the public a lot (I own a hobbystore) and find that being able to one hand open and close so easily makes me feel more comfortable using a knife in front of strangers. And for most of my EDC are pretty lightweight duties – I open a lot of boxes, a lot of plastic packages and cut a lot of cardboard. As much as I love some of these big blades – that’s honestly as much hard use my blades will get and as “tactical” my situation will be. ;-) haha.

Still doesn’t keep me from buying every cool knife I see though!

First Impressions

After tearing into the package like a little kid, I immediately got into both boxes to check them out.

Ti UKPK -

My first thoughts were to take note of how much thicker the handle is from the FRN version and how much more (I hesitate to use the word heavy and scare anyone off) “substantial” the Titanium version is.

I also took notice to the titanium handle. I’ve never had the luxury of owning a Sebenza and I’ve yet to pick up a Sage 2. The only real exposure I’ve had to a Titanium folder has been my Chokwe, which is pretty new and not carried much. I was a little surprised at how much “pocket wear” showed on the handles. It’s nothing bad, and as the week has gone on…it’s less noticeable to me. But it’s a finish I’m sort of on the fence about. I think in one hand I sure wouldn’t want to own a $300-$400 sebenza and have this kind of a finish, but I’m basing that off price and the fact I don’t think I could enjoy a knife that pricey.

The titanium gives off sort warm feeling in the hand compared to Aluminum or SS handles and as I mentioned as I’ve carried this a few days, I’m feeling like it’s got more and more “character” in the handle than anything else.

Byrd Tern –
The Byrd I really dismissed at first. I have sort of a love/hate relationship with the Byrd line. I actually like the way the teardrop opening feels compared to a spyderhole (feels, not looks) and I love the idea of inexpensive, quality made knives from Spyderco. However I’ve tried pretty much all of them – Raven, Crow, Cara Cara, Robin, Catbyrd and Flight. Only a handful have I really enjoyed and only have kept two.

I find myself wanting to love the knife because of the pricepoint, but then the forum snobbery in me takes over and I always wish I just put the money towards a slightly better model. It’s been a constant personal struggle to find knives that are cheap enough to use & enjoy but not too expensive to feel like I can’t carry them.

So my apologies for that tangent, but the Byrd felt like a lot of Byrds I have unboxed. It was extremely lightweight, didn’t really seem that impressive in terms of materials and seemed too small. I honestly overlooked and focused a lot of my attention on the UKPK.

 

[mann0mann]

Usage

I brought both knives to work with me everyday and put them through the same paces as I would with any of my EDC knives. I actually let an employee who is also a Spyderco/Knife enthusiast carry the Byrd for part of the day as well.

Both knives handled themselves just fine in my environment. I noticed that the FFG ground of both knives, especially the UKPK really made a noticeable difference in cutting carboard compared to the hollow ground FRN versions I own.

The s30v blade of the Titanium UKPK is also slightly thicker 0.5mm than the FRN versions, which I felt was also noticeable and appreciated.

The weight of the Titanium UKPK was a little more noticeable than I anticipated. Again, I’m making comparisons to the FRN version I own…but the FRN it’s hardly noticeable in your pocket. It’s also shorts season out here in California and I always feel like knife weigh becomes more of an issue to me during the summer.

The Byrd became a real surprise to myself and my coworker in use. It’s a feather in your pocket and it fit even real well in the coin pocket of jeans. It ate through a bunch of carboard all week and the edge was still great (where the s30v rolled in one spot).

 

[mann0mann]

Final Thoughts

Ti UKPK – I really like the materials and build quality of this knife… The titanium handles make me want to consider a Sage 2 more seriously. The FFG Leaf Blade shape is a favorite of mine. There is absolutely no blade play in the knife, the blade is centered perfect and I like the thicker more substantial feeling the handles gave in terms of grip. However for me, like others have echoed the spring on the knife was softer than what I liked. If it could come with the forked spring that are included on the newer FRN models I think I would give it a serious consideration.

Byrd Tern - For a budget knife under $25 it definitely has it place, you get G10 scales, deep pocket wire clip and it’s size is what I ended up liking a lot. It’s sort of like having a mini-caly. If there is a Caly 3 and a Caly 3.5 this would be like the slipjoint version of a Caly 2.5 in my mind.

I’d love to have a Spyderco Caly-ized version of this knife. Same handle ego’s, lock-back and FFG leaf Blade shape would be pretty killer!

 

[mann0mann]

Lastly, I just wanted to comment on the slipjoint springs of all these knives -

Spring Comparisons –

I wanted to participate in this pass-around because I now own 3 Spyderco Slipjoints (2 UKPK FRN’s and a Squeek) and all three have different spring tensions and feel to them. I’ve become kind of interested in this and differences. I had heard the G10 UKPK springs were considerably stiffer than the FRN versions and I wanted to see how this Ti version fared.

This is what I have determined from Spyderco’s forum and from the birthdate on the boxes. The G10 and Ti UKPK’s both used longer springs that go the entire length of the handle and essentially incorporate a backspace into the knife. The FRN versions use a spring about 60% the size of that.

It also sounds like from feedback from Sal on Spyderco’s forum that the Springs on the UKPK’s have evolved over time and I think I can attest to that based on these knives and their box birthdates.

Ti UKPK Novemebr 2011
Black FRN UKPK May 2011
Grey FRN UKPK March 2012

If you look at the face of the spring you can see if it is split or not. The Ti UKPK is not, the Black UKPK I have is not however the more current Grey UKPK I have is.

Sal is quoted as saying on the Spyderco forum – “We've been using the new split spring for quite a while and it is considerably stiffer in the open position.”

And apparently they even have been working on advancing the springs in the slipjoints even further and we may see another running change as well, as Sal posted this in the same thread –

“We're always working on improvements for all of the models. It's a daunting task.

We've even invented a new spring for the Slipits, but the thresh-hold for what's "just right" is more challenging than it might appear. Changes are made slowly and tested before they can be introduced. We hold heat treat to 2 points RC, not many out there doing that. And even that makes a big difference in the spring tension. We try different materials, different thicknesses, different Rc's. It's easy to make a stiffer spring, but you may not be able to open it one handed if the spring is too stiff. A fine point to reach.”

Of all five Spyderco slipjoints I have now tried, I definitely prefer the spring rate and detents of the split version the best. Here’s my unscientific way of describing it. To me there is the tension of the spring when open I refer to as the "action" and you close it, I will call that the “Break” of the Joint/Spring.

There is also a mid-point detent on these knives when the blade is at a 90 degree angle to the blade.

The Ti UKPK an Squeek have very similar feeling springs to me. The action is smooth and the “break” is pretty soft. When holding the Ti UKPK, I can break the joint with my index finger with minor effort. The midpoint detent is where both of these knives seem to be stiffer. And IMO, I’m not a fan of this. It sort of forces the blade to lock at this midpoint and requires more force than the break of the joint, so what I find is the blade will snap when closing and I think the risk of getting a pinky or some flesh bit in the process is a possibility.

The Black FRN and The Byrd Tern are also very similar feeling springs. The action is smooth and the break is even softer than the above two knives. There is also very little midpoint detent as well. If these knives didn’t have the choil, I think it would be a bigger concern.

The Grey FRN UKPK I have with the split spring is what I prefer the most of the five I’ve handled - The action is smooth, maybe just slightly stiffer, more after the mid-detent and towards the full opening of the knife.

The break of the joint is considerably more stiffer. It easily takes TWICE if not more force to break the spring, in fact it almost requires two hands. Using the same test of trying to close with just my index finger on the blade, it is nearly impossible to do with just the force of my index finger and the grip of the knife...

Everything about the action of the forked spring version is great IMO. The mid point detent is still soft enough that opening the knife is easy and there is no fear of it collapsing shut on your fingers if you don't make it past the first detent or it slapping on a close. But the final "lock" is great.

Strong with just the right amount confidence needed and force to break the joint.

 

[frank k]

Thanks much for the detailed reviews!

I am also finding myself carrying SlipIts more and more; for my EDC uses, a lock is not needed or even desirable about 98% of the time. For me, Spyderco's choil design goes a long way to make a slip joint safe and secure for most light cutting duties.

The new split spring seems like a great improvement; I thought the Slipit springs could stand to a tad stiffer in general (especially the original version of the FRN LWUKPK).

 

[m@tt]

Good stuff, thanks.