Spyderco's Byrd line: what's the point?

O

oguruma

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Jan 3, 2010
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I was under the impression that Spyderco's Byrd line was going to handle all of their low-cost Chinese-made knives, and the Spyderco line would produce all the American or Japanese-made knives. However, the Tenacious, Persistence, and now the Bug are all produced in China, but are still being sold as Spyderco's, so what exactly is the point of the Byrd line-up? Why not just produce all of their blades as Spyderco?
 
Because some of the Byrd knives look really cool.





Honestly, I tend to agree with you. Why make a "low end", and a "high end" line of knives, if your going to have lower end knives in both lines?
 
I think they came up with the Tenacious because they thought people would want a 'real' Spyderco (i.e. one with the spider logo) at a non-Spyderco price.
 
Chinese companies are getting better at quality control. In my experience the first Byrd production batch was hit and miss. Some people complained about the first Tenacious knives.

The last Chinese knives I bought (both Spyderco and Byrd) are much better. I don’t feel the Tenacious knives I own are ‘lower end’. The Byrd knives are also pretty good.

My guess is that Spyderco feels it needs lower priced knives in the current market and believes the Chinese company they are working with, can now deliver the right quality. The company had to be sure and prudently tested the Chinese suppliers and the market without risking the Spyderco brand name.

To be honest: I prefer VG-10 steel and ‘Seki-City Japan’ on the blade. But I can’t argue with the value of the Tenacious.

Rafael Herschel
 
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I have to agree, from my point of view as a customer the line between Spyderco and Byrd has become very blurry. My first thought when I saw the Persistence and Bug lines was that it was all over for Byrd, as the brand was no longer needed. I'm glad to find this isn't the case because I've liked the Byrds I've owned, but the distinction between the brands isn't clear to me any more.
 
The original plan to make all Chinese made models under the byrd brand was modified due to market direction and demands.

The "new" Cara Cara2, Meadowlark2 and Robin2 versions are due soon.

sal
 
What's the point? To sell more knives. When people stop buying Byrd knives, Spyderco will stop making them.

There were probably several reasons for creating, and maintaining the Byrd line. Some may have been intentional, some not. I saw the Byrd line being specifically a low cost line of products, not necessarily a Chinese line of products. Being made in China was a practical decision, not a nationality decision. Establishing the line also warmed up the somewhat reluctant markets to the inevitable Chinese manufacturing. I would not be surprised to see more Chinese Spyderco knives, once the customer base grows up a little. The capability is clearly there. The overall market for Spyderco-branded Chinese-made knives, not quite.

As long as buyers are classifying Chinese made knives as "Chinese first, knives second", I think you'll likely see the Byrd line remain with sparse and novel Chinese Spyderco offerings being made.
 
Sal Glesser said:
The original plan to make all Chinese made models under the byrd brand was modified due to market direction and demands.

The "new" Cara Cara2, Meadowlark2 and Robin2 versions are due soon.

sal
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:thumbup: Love the Byrd knives.Keep them coming!
 
the byrd line are about the best low cost knives i've encountered. we carry them working cows & tearing up cedar & cactus on my brothers ranch.if we lose a knife we do'nt get a sick feeling in our stomach like we do losing a millie or a great eastern.
 
The "new" Cara Cara2, Meadowlark2 and Robin2 versions are due soon.
Click to expand...

Yesterday I received my Urban back from the Spyderco service center (super job) along with a 2010 Supplement Catalog. As I was looking over last night in bed I soon realized that I would soon be buying my 1st (Cara Cara 2) and most likely my 2nd (Meadowlark 2) Byrd knives. I had to get out of bed and go get my regular catalog to look up the Cara Cara and the Meadowlark as I didn't remember them striking my fancy before and was wondering what all they changed. The Spyderco team really nailed it with these design revisions.
 
Sal Glesser said:
The original plan to make all Chinese made models under the byrd brand was modified due to market direction and demands.

The "new" Cara Cara2, Meadowlark2 and Robin2 versions are due soon.

sal
Click to expand...

Any idea how soon?
Will they be in the same price range as their predecessors?

I was going to order a Cara Cara (or a couple) as a cheaper EDC knife, but based on the pictures of the cara cara2 i might wait!
 
Part of the byrd concept was probably a marketing scam so as to not "dilute" the brand name "Spyderco" with the concept of "chinese." Spydercos have been made all over the world, with no change in name until they started to be made in a communist country. The scam didn't work because all the dealers sold Byrds as the inexpensive Spyderco so in the end there was no real brand distinction. The scam was not even really needed since the consumer didn't care that much about whether or not the knife was made in china. That's why we have inexpensive spydercos made in China now. I'd bet in a few years there may not be a Byrd unless it exists as a product line for some family member to manage.


When Byrd came out the warranty different from Spyderco at 1year. However, now the 2010 print catalog has just an indemity statement for the Byrd warranty and the website only lists the Spyderco warranty. Makes you wonder what the true warranty is for Byrd knives. Per the print catolog there is none.
 
Byrd was a step in the right direction for Spyderco-the direction of practicality. Their blades have never struck me more than overhyped, overpriced letter openers. Why? Impractical hollow grinds, absolutely no belly and wayyy too fragile of a point for anything more than the most basic cutting tasks. Not to mention most of the steels they work with are too damn hard to sharpen on the go... So for this purpose why not use a well constructed 20 dollar folder than a well constructed 150 dollar folder? I have a Raven-it doesn't get much use other than the occasional flick of the wrist to pass the time and limber up my stiff hand joints... I do however think that the meadowlark with aluminum scales is a real piece of work. It has sex appeal, I'll give it that...
 
Part of the byrd concept was probably a marketing scam so as to not "dilute" the brand name "Spyderco" with the concept of "chinese." Spydercos have been made all over the world, with no change in name until they started to be made in a communist country. The scam didn't work because all the dealers sold Byrds as the inexpensive Spyderco so in the end there was no real brand distinction. The scam was not even really needed since the consumer didn't care that much about whether or not the knife was made in china.
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The use of the word scam clearly implies that deception is used to take advantage of another. It is a very negative term and I find that implication totally unfounded. The Byrd knives are featured on the company website and inside the Spyderco catalog. In the 2009 catalog it states, "byrd knife products present astute knife buyers economical hardwording knives and tools backed by Spyderco's 33 year golden reputation." In the 2010 catalog it states, "Byrds are produced in China. This was a serious consideration for Spyderco to manufacture knives there." The dealers sell Byrd's as inexpensive Spyderco's because that is what they are. Where is the deception in that?

My view is that the Spyderco/Byrd correlation is not unlike the Lincoln/Ford, Acura/Honda, etc. brand correlations that exist in the automotive industry. It is simply a marketing strategy where a single manufacturer can simultaneously target market two somewhat diverse consumer groups, not some grandiose scheme to defraud consumers.
 
Hi Brisket,

Thanx much for the defense. In my 47 years of business, I have never before had someone make the accusation that what I was doing was a scam.

My dear Mr. Brownshoe and I have been argueing over Spyderco for at least 10 years. His dislike for Spyderco is passionate and he rarely posts about Spyderco in other than some negative fashion. Many that have been visiting this forum for many years probably recognize this.

I have tried in the past to quell his fire with no good fortune. We have somehow attracted a lifetime dissenter. That little bit of "Yin" in a large field of "Yang". I guess we appreciate his attention?

Hey Payette,

Thanx for the kind words...........................I think?

I should inform you that we never made a Meadowlark with aluminum scales. We did make a Raven with Aluminum scales a number of years ago.

I would suggest that those interested in our byrd line should try them out for themselves and form their own opinions.

The Cara Cara, Meadowlark and Robin are/will be available in G-10, Stainless and FRN scales. The new "2" version has a finger choil and full flat grind. They are/will be also available with plain edges and teeth, clip point, hawkbill and Rescue, generally under $40 MSRP. (Please forgive the shameless plug :o)

thanx.

sal
 
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brownshoe said:
Part of the byrd concept was probably a marketing scam so as to not "dilute" the brand name "Spyderco" with the concept of "chinese." Spydercos have been made all over the world, with no change in name until they started to be made in a communist country. The scam didn't work because all the dealers sold Byrds as the inexpensive Spyderco so in the end there was no real brand distinction. The scam was not even really needed since the consumer didn't care that much about whether or not the knife was made in china. That's why we have inexpensive spydercos made in China now. I'd bet in a few years there may not be a Byrd unless it exists as a product line for some family member to manage.


When Byrd came out the warranty different from Spyderco at 1year. However, now the 2010 print catalog has just an indemity statement for the Byrd warranty and the website only lists the Spyderco warranty. Makes you wonder what the true warranty is for Byrd knives. Per the print catolog there is none.
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I think you misspelled "scheme" as "scam". There is no fraud involved, so the word scam is unwarranted.
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Brisket,

Thanx much for the defense. In my 47 years of business, I have never before had someone make the accusation that what I was doing was a scam.

My dear Mr. Brownshoe and I have been argueing over Spyderco for at least 10 years. His dislike for Spyderco is passionate and he rarely posts about Spyderco in other than some negative fashion. Many that have been visiting this forum for many years probably recognize this.

I have tried in the past to quell his fire with no good fortune. We have somehow attracted a lifetime dissenter. That little bit of "Yin" in a large field of "Yang". I guess we appreicate his attention?

Hey Payette,

Thanx for the kind words...........................I think?

I should inform you that we never made a Meadowlark with aluminum scales. We did make a Raven with Aluminum scales a number of years ago.

I would suggest that those interested in our byrd line should try them out for themselves and form their own opinions.

The Cara Cara, Meadowlark and Robin are/will be available in G-10, Stainless and FRN scales. The new "2" version has a finger choil and full flat grind. They are/will be also available with plain edges and teeth, clip point, hawkbill and Rescue, generally under $40 MSRP. (Please forgive the shameless plug :o)

thanx.

sal
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Hi sal, i wanted to say that I don't find your Byrd line in any way a Scam. I see it, as intended, as a tough entry level knife.

Also, any specifics on the date? Would it be within the month?
 
Sal your byrd line I think is amazing. It gives people like collage students with little or no income a viable quality folding knife for a inexpensive and competitive price. I especially like the Cara Cara because it gives me a viable tactical self defense folder (yes I know how much you people hate that) that has similar great ergonomics I would expect out of companies like Cold Steel, Emerson, Benchmade, ect. at about 5 times less the price, with no sacrifice in actual function in role. Cant wait for CC2, I actually prefer the Cara Cara vs the endura on the looks side.
 
I have to say I'm really happy the Byrd line exists. I have several non knife people as friends that do want to carry a knife. Especially since they're getting tired of asking me to cut things for them. While the Tenacious and Persistence are both value priced Spyderco knives when one of these NKP looks at the price of a Meadowlark over the price of a Persistence, well they're going to save the 10 or so dollars and still have a quality EDC. It's also been helpful when someone asks me what a good brand is that's reasonably priced. I can tell them to go look at the Byrd line instead of listing a dozen individual models from Spyderco (if they made the Byrds under the parent name). They'd never remember that many names. They can just search Byrd and get all the info about the line.
I'm happy the brand exists and hope that it continues. While I've carried a Delica since 1998 a Meadowlark has squeezed it's way into my EDC rotation and I'm looking forward to the new version.

It's also allowed me to afford a quality EDC to give as a gift. Several of my friends now have Byrds in their pockets.
 
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