This Byrd won't fly

T

tomcrx

Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
953
After reading the glowing reviews on many Byrd knives I decided to make the plunge. I bought a Plain edge, black anodized, Crow.

It arrived shaving sharp and I really liked the ergonomics of the handle. It reminded me of one of my favorite Spyderco designs, the Spur, but a tad larger. The lockup was tight with no play.

Then the disappointment hit in less then 24 hours after I received it. I was cutting fuzzsticks and doing some whittling. I dropped the knife and it stuck point first in my deck. Total distance of drop about 16 in into soft pine board. The blade then developed a slight up and down play, about 1/16th". If I push the liner lock manually further to the right, it will lock tight. Use though will eventually bring back the blade play.

Maybe I got a lemon and the heat treat on the liner was no good, but such mild use should not induce this degree of lock failure. I am really down about this. I know it is only a $20 knife but I expected more since it has the Spyderco name on it. I assumed the QC would be just as good.

I feel that Spyderco gave me the Byrd with this one :)
 
I love my Crow been EDC for several weeks now came sharp stayed sharp and when it finally got dull my edge pro gave it a razors edge. Of course I didn't drop mine. My guess is you have a burr on either the liner or the blade that is keeping the lock from engaging fully. Try working it back and forth see if it will wear down or try disassembling and do some light honing on the surfaces.
 
tomcrx said:
I know it is only a $20 knife but I expected more since it has the Spyderco name on it.
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No, it doesn't have a Spyderco name. That's a Byrd... Have you looked at the warranty or called / e-mailed to see if it is under warranty?

Sorry that your Byrd didn't live up to your expectations. I've never really bothered with the Byrds myself.
 
CuriousOne said:
No, it doesn't have a Spyderco name. That's a Byrd... Have you looked at the warranty or called / e-mailed to see if it is under warranty?

Sorry that your Byrd didn't live up to your expectations. I've never really bothered with the Byrds myself.
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Appreciate your concern and after this I won't bother with the Byrd's either :)

A few points though:

Byrd knife is a division of Spyderco, Spyderco does all warranty work on the knife, www.byrdknife.com redirects you to the Spyderco home site and the address of Byrd Knives is on Spyderco Way in Golden. Also a quote from the box..."Engineering, ergonomics, quality control,safety testing, and close tolerance manufacturing are controlled and overseen by Spyderco. So in my mind Byrd is a Spyderco brand.

The knife is under warranty, it is only 24 hours old. But with $5 bucks shipping both ways what is the point for a knife that cost $18.50 shipped? Also having such a failure does not give me confidence in the next Byrd knife that reaches my hand.

The knife is not breaking me financially, but I am disappointed in myself for having such high expectations.
 
That sucks. I'm sorry to hear that.

Personally I think a $20 knife is a throw away knife. Liner locks are also not the best. I would have picked a Byrd with a lock back instead. I wouldn't pay $5 in shipping to fix an $18 knife.
 
Take some time to enjoy your knife by ripping it apart and tinkering with it, I do that 1st thing anyway. Learning the guts of your knife is a good thing. And to me, a liner lock, (although I own some myself) is the worst lock idea ever. I own 3 Byrd lockbacks and they are all 100% tip top tools. They are NOT cheap knives, rather they are inexpensive knives. And they are surely not throwaways, so if you decide to chunk it, chunk it to me!!

And what kind of barbarian drops a knife on a soft pine board anyway?:D:D
 
I have a Crow and I like it a lot. For the price it is a beater I can replace when it eventually wears out.

I personally don't like liner locks that much. Pretty much all liner locks freak me out. I'd recommend getting a Meadowlark G10, that is a really stout blade. The lock sure wont be as touchy as the liner lock.
 
Hi Tom,

I would ask that you send it in.

We're sorry for the inconvenience, but it does get you a new knife and we get to see what happened. QC is also about knowing what happens in the "real world".

We'll pay to ship it back to you.

Try not to think of it as a $20 knife. Think of it as a $50 knife that you got very inexpensively because Spyderco is intorducing a new line.

sal
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Tom,

I would ask that you send it in.

We're sorry for the inconvenience, but it does get you a new knife and we get to see what happened. QC is also about knowing what happens in the "real world".

We'll pay to ship it back to you.

Try not to think of it as a $20 knife. Think of it as a $50 knife that you got very inexpensively because Spyderco is intorducing a new line.

sal
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:thumbup::thumbup: So true Sal!!
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Tom,

I would ask that you send it in.

We're sorry for the inconvenience, but it does get you a new knife and we get to see what happened. QC is also about knowing what happens in the "real world".

We'll pay to ship it back to you.

Try not to think of it as a $20 knife. Think of it as a $50 knife that you got very inexpensively because Spyderco is intorducing a new line.

sal
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Thanks Sal. I will ship it to the warranty address listed on the box. Hope it helps you improve your QC.

This is the first issue I have had with a liner lock. I know that people on BF in general look down on liner locks. From personal experience I have only had catastrophic failures with traditional lockbacks.

From an industry standpoint what has a higher failure rate? i.e. percent of returns for lock failure. Liners or lockbacks?

I know you probably can't answer but it would be an interesting statistic to see industry wide from quality manufacturers. It would probably but a final answer to all the heated debate :)
 
I've seen well-made linerlocks (as on the Military) but I also note that the "TV shopping channel"-type cheapo knives are almost universally linerlocks, so I've always assumed they were easier to manufacture.

I should note that I recently bought a Byrd Crow and Byrd Raven at the Spydie Outlet Store (both linerlocks) and they are quite impressive. They're also the only linerlocks I own (not counting the not-quite-linerlock on my Victorinox OHT :D)
 
I still remember in the mid-late '90s when some knife "experts" (usually some martial artists) were touting the linerlock as a vastly better and safer system of locking a folder open than a lockback; how lockbacks/front locks are so easily defeated and linerlocks were nearly infallible. I'd always had my doubts, though.

If I were to pick up a Byrd, I'd definitely go with the G10 Cara Cara or the smaller version of that. It's unheard of to get a true quality lockback working knife with a G10 handle for such a low price.
Jim
 
Thanx Tom, We appreciate the effort.

We've not received any Crows or Ravens back for lock problems. Please call it to my attention, I'd like to get it under a scope.

Any lock made well should perform well. It's the "made well" part that's harder than it might seem.

We make more lock-backs than linerlocks, so we get more back, but lock failure is not common as is usually poor user maintenance.

sal
 
I've put my Meadowlark up against similar knives from other respected manufacturers (sometimes costing 3 or 4 times as much) and it has performed just fine.
 
Gotta say it again: Sal is a stand-up guy.

I have a Meadowlark, and gave a Cara Cara in G10 to my brother. He is absolutely enamored with it, constantly showing it off to friends.
It has bitten him twoce and he is still grinning ear-to-ear.

Keep up the great work, Sal.

Tomcrx, hopefully you will get a positive resolution to your issue.
It could very well be a design or manufacturing flaw...but, it is likely one of those "stars lined up just right" things.
You know what I am talking about: things that appear to be "miraculous," such as when I saw a patient after a horrible car accident where the car was mangled beyond recognition, yet they only sustained minor lacerations and a tib fracture.
Perhaps the knife had a tiny burr somewhere, and the drop was at a perfect angle to produce maximum shearing force, which caused the problem.

Sal can probably figure it out.
 
I don't usually buy tac folders much anymore, I'm more of a multitool guy, but I bought a byrd G-10, and FRN meadowlark, just for the heck of it. I must say that these are great knives. Quality wise, I would have paid a bit more for these knives, as the fit and finish is great. I'll have to echo what Sal just said, it's like getting a $50 dollar knife for $20. P.S. This experience makes me realize how cool tactical folders are, and makes me want to buy a few more...I'm eyeing up the Delica 4-50/50 edge...:)
 
suedeface said:
I don't usually buy tac folders much anymore, I'm more of a multitool guy, but I bought a byrd G-10, and FRN meadowlark, just for the heck of it. I must say that these are great knives. Quality wise, I would have paid a bit more for these knives, as the fit and finish is great. I'll have to echo what Sal just said, it's like getting a $50 dollar knife for $20. P.S. This experience makes me realize how cool tactical folders are, and makes me want to buy a few more...I'm eyeing up the Delica 4-50/50 edge...:)
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Well seems you have more self restrain than I do. I was going to buy a byrd too, but came home with a endura.
 
Hi Tomcrx, sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with your Byrd. I'm not sure I would call 1/16" blade play a lock "failure". That is a significant amount of blade play, but I don't think it constitutes lock failure. Lock failure is when the lock disengages and the blade closes unintentionally. I have a Crow and I've never been anything but happy with it, it's really quite amazing that such a nice knife can be had for such a low price. I'm not personally a fan of liner locks at all. The Byrd backlocks are quite nice. If you're worried about a lock that won't fail- try a compression lock!
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Tom,
We're sorry for the inconvenience, but it does get you a new knife and we get to see what happened. QC is also about knowing what happens in the "real world".

Try not to think of it as a $20 knife. Think of it as a $50 knife that you got very inexpensively because Spyderco is intorducing a new line.
Click to expand...

This is why I'm proud to use Spydercos! Well, that and the fact the knives are so good. :D


Chris
 
I have four or five knives in the Byrd series and never had any problems with any of them, I truly think you got a lemon because I have beat mine up pretty good and still works perfect. Don't let this stop you from buying Byrd knives.
 
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