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

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?
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I appreciate the acknowledgment, Sal, but the excellent reputation you have built over those 47 years of business really speaks for itself. Like most folks here, I'm proud to carry your products. 10+ years is a heck of a long haul for somebody to have their undies in a bunch over a company. I don't know if a Spyderco truck ran over his favorite dog or what, but I sincerely hope that he can get over it and channel that hatred into love for something he does appreciate.

[subliminal message]bring back the Catcherman in H-1[/subliminal message]
 
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I guess that means that my version one Endura may company in a couple months!
Peace
Revvie
 
Byrd knives, I like very much. I have a Cara, & two Meadowlarks. Looking
forward to the second versions. :thumbup:
 
As far as a business/dealer stand point. right now I have only my top sellers of Byrd as well as Spyderco knives on my site. I have around 20 Byrd and 150 Spyderco. I was looking through all my records before I wrote this and I have sold more Byrd knives than I have Spyderco, remember I have only around 20 Byrd at a time and about 150 Spyderco and I still sell more Byrd than Spyderco. That says volumes about the following and fan base that Byrd knives have.
 
The Byrd Meadowlark was my first entry into knives. I just bought another one because I like it so much.
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Brisket,

Hey Payette,

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

sal
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I guess that post came off pretty rough, but here's my deal with knives. I'm a firm believer that folders have one role, and it's very limited-simple slicing tasks. I know there are some folders that will take light outdoor use, but as a guy that spends 80% of his freetime partaking in outdoor recreation, there isn't a folder in existence I'd trust to handle anything more than that. Do I use folders? Yes. I haven't spent more than 20 bucks on one in a VERY long time, but those I currently own have very simple, practical design (and materials) for outdoor use. I know the Military and Paramilitary (and other Spydercos) are both of strong design and quality and are favorites among the outdoor use community, but the way I see these higher end folders is money spent on materials and design to try to mimick the strength of a fixed blade when concealability and carry volume are of no real importance to me. This is why I believe the Byrd line is more practical than the Spydercos. They know their role-cheap, efficient well made slicers that I can maintain with a piece of sandpaper or an Arkansas stone. Hard high end steels and fancy locks and materials is just shifting the balance of cost/effectiveness in the wrong direction when a 12 dollar Buck Paklite skinner does the same job better.
 
I like the Byrd line, my G10 Raven is a great EDC. I actually prefer the comet hole to the round one on Spydies. I like the performance of the 8Cr13 for most cutting tasks.
 
well the quality-control for spyderco knives in china is geat now and keeps on getting better...

i own a tenacious and i love it... i also own a para-military and i love it... the para-military is in my knife-collection-pouch, and iam edcing my tenacious... i love it cause its great quality at a low price.. and iam not afraid to REALY USE it hardcore.. as i wouldn't be as lax towards doing the same with for instence my para-military which is like... 5-6 times the amount of the tenacious haha...

bottom line it really dosn't matter about the line-up they sell the knives in... as long as spyderco pump out great knives like these.... ill buy from any line haha ;).. although guys i tend to look at the knife in particular and not enter a place with the "line" like byrd line or just regular line up of knives... i just look for knives in particular and examine the steel/handle/lock...ect..ect.. thats what every1 should do instead of woory about what lineup spyderco put it in ;) later guys its past 4am
 
Some people think the Persistence and the Tenacious should be in the Byrd line, but it seems that the Hole vs. the Byrd hole is one of the main differences between the lines.

Some people like the quality of a Byrd knife and don't like the Byrd hole.


I can't wait for the new FFG Byrd models.
 
I think very highly of the Byrd line. It has great ergonomic models with very nice performing stainless steel and heat treat that seems solid. Reliability for me has been 100%.

The lockbacks I have had have been totally reliable and I think it should stay as their main lock mechanism due to this fact. Other locks are welcomed obviously but only if they could be made of equal quality and reliability. Im not really concerned about linerlocks and the framelock mechanisms but they do suffer easier from lower manufacturing costs that could hurt the Byrd rep. Tolerances, adjustment and the effect of wear seems higher causing quality requirements that may be more difficult to achieve on lower manuf costs requirements. The linerlock and framelock Byrd models I've tried have worked fine though.

The ergos on models I have tried are also very good. Robin is my all time favourite. As someone here already said, comethole actually works better than the round spyderhole for some of us. And I have owned most of Byrdies at some point. And the pricepoint is spot on... I love a quality knife brand I can actually afford many models from :)

I have had several Spydercos and the ergos and performance has never quite made the top for me. You can imagine how surprised I was when I first bought a Byrd. And then shortly after another...and another...For me, the Byrds hit the quality performance ratio that seems just perfect.

Im eagerly waiting for any news on new Byrd models and would only hope they(Spyderco) would expand the steel and material base on their Byrd line to include more exotic chinese hi performance steels and material colors, textures and patterns for us Byrd junkies :)

(fixed blades would be nice too)
 
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Mattman888 said:
Wait sal, If i understand correctly, there will be a Hawkbill version of the Caracara? in G10? :)
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No, sorry. There will be a hawkbill version of the Meadowlark in FRN. That doesn't mean a G-10 version isn't possible in the future.

sal
 
I'm a very small time dealer, I sell mostly to pay for my own toys, and Byrd knives have been a great product for me so far. Especially the G-10 versions. Granted, some of my customers can't be bothered to even hold one, but those usually pretty ignorant blokes who still think that you can only make quality knives with some magical proceedure in Solingen and everything else sucks.

I sell them to guys who are on a tight budget or just getting into knives and not comfortable spending too much money. Some of my customers buy Byrd models to try out a certain blade shape and see how they like it, or to try their hand at making mods.

I've sold loads and I've heard no complaints so far. The only ones with any issues I've seen were a couple of early Crows (the liner lock wouldn't engage properly) and an FRN Cara Cara (the clip screws didn't fit properly in the left side threads).

As a user, I've got no need for Byrd knives. When I need a low price beater I turn to Opinels, SAKs, Case CV knives or Moras. But that's just personal preference.
 
I recommended an early Byrd knife to a co-worker, one of the very first ones to hit the shelves. Unforunately it had blade chipping (more like crumbling) issues. That broke me from recommending the Byrd line. They may be better now (and I'm sure they are) but I'll never stake my recommendation on them again. I felt like an ass when that dude's blade edge fell apart. He tried to sharpen it out (again on my recommendation) and it fell apart again. Now I know how dentists must feel when people say "are you one of the nine out of ten dentists that recommend this crapola mouthwash?"

Lesson learned. As well intentioned as Spyderco is, at the end of the day this line comes from China. If you get one that rocks, it rocks. If you get one that sucks, it sucks. Not much middle ground. So don't make recommendations lightly folks. And don't make recommendations based on Spyderco's reputation for quality. This is a whole different ballgame. Make that a whole different league. :grumpy:
 
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Hey Harry,

The first run was awful and most were rejected. It wasn't until after we traveled there and set up our standards that we began to get the kind of quality we needed.

How 'bout I send you a byrd of your choice and we'll see if I can change your mind?
even one of the new "2" versions?

sal
 
Thanks for the kind offer Sal. But the dude is no longer a co-worker and the knife (as far as I know) has long since joined the worm farm at the landfill. Not only that but I'm sure that the Byrd line has improved greatly. There's no way Spyderco would have kept it in their catalog this long if it hadn't.

My point was that I rushed to judgement (using Spyderco's legendary reputation for quality as a reference) and recommended an unproven (at the time) line of knives and got my butt burned. As a result, I'd never recommend another Byrd without actually trying it out first. And I have no interest in that. Not being snooty or anything, but it would be like riding a Shetland pony to school when you have the keys to Dad's 'vette. Er, no brainer.

But thanks for the kind offer. Spyderco is the classiest act in the knife industry. You people are the rising tide that lifts the rest of the boats. :cool:
 
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