Thoughts on SpyderCo Byrd Knife Quality?

K

katguy

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Aug 19, 2024
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I have a lot of SpyderCo Byrd knifes. I like the steel. It is tough, stainless and easy to sharpen. IMO, their Rescue models are some of the best you can get.

However, many of the knives come with stripped screws and missing parts out of the box. I have to use parts from spare knifes to fix them. I have enough spares to do this, but it's getting to the point that every Byrd knife I get needs parts to fix (especially washers) and stripped pocket clip screws. And the screws are too long for tip down carry and require shortening to work.

SpyderCo is a great company and I love them. But they are really doing an injustice to low-price consumers by selling these Byrd knifes broken from the factory. I know 50 bucks is cheap these days for a knife, but it's a lot of money to some people and getting a defective knife like this really reflects poorly on SpyderCo.

What do others think? Should I keep fixing these myself from spare parts or should I send them all to SpyderCo for warranty repair? Straight from Knife Center (new in the box) to SpyderCo to fix.

Appreciate your thoughts.
 
I’ve never bought a Byrd knife but I have seen and handled them in mall stores years ago. In terms of fit and finish and “feel,” there is quite a discernible jump between the quality of the Byrd knives and even the entry level Spydercos like the Endura and Delica. Even my Resilience and Tenacious knives feel one or two notches above them.

IMO, especially if it’s going to be your long term carry, it’s worth investing even on a standard Delica or Endura. The S35VN Tenacious is also great and I’m quite happy I got one.

I agree with you that the Byrd line, even as a budget option, is a weak point of Spyderco’s fleet. If you don’t mind Chinese-manufactured knives, I can recommend Civivi too.
 
The Byrds work just fine for a lot of people, particularly those who aren't knife aficionados (nerds). I don't care for them personally, but my SIL who was gifted one (as a volunteer park guide) thinks it's great.
 
I stopped buying Byrds because of all the stripped screws. The camel that broke the straw stack was back a few years ago when I got my hands on one of the titanium Byrds and it had the same issue. At that point I decided if even the “high end” Byrds suffered from the bad hardware issue, it was no longer worth spending money on any of them.

And the FRN scales for them were never very comfortable either. Spyderco definitely knows how to do tooling for comfortable handle ergos but they dropped the ball on the Byrd handle tooling.
 
I think 15-20 years ago, they offered a good "Spyderco Lite" option. According to Sal, they shopped and kept close tabs on the factories to make sure they were putting out a good product at a good price. I think any of the Byrd knives were a good value at $25 when an Endura commanded $70. Then the Tenacious came out. A Spyderco branded knife of Chinese origin that had almost the same fit and finish as something like an Endura but came in at $35. Suddenly, the Byrd line started to look pretty bland.

Flash forward 10 years and China steps up its entry level knife game. Politics aside, you cannot deny that China really started to crank out some really high quality to dollar stuff at that time and continues to this day. Sadly, I don't really think that the Byrd line can compete with something like Civivi.
 
Thanks guys... One reason I stick with SpyderCo and Byrd is because I like back locks. IMO, they are the strongest lock you can get on a folder. I agree Civivi and Sencut have way better quality, but unfortunately, they don't make back locks.
 
there was a time where good reliable quality while being lower cost Chinese made folders were kinda rare and byrd filled that hole well.

over the years the prices have gone up the quality has gone down and many other brands have come in and filled that hole. I dont see much use for them anymore for myself.
 
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These days it costs almost as much to ship this price category of knife back to the maker as the knives themselves cost.
 
I realize the price point is low, but if they came with stripped screws that would bother me to the point of not buying them going forward.
 
katguy said:
strongest lock you can get on a folder
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A statement with very little meaning to me considering the scope of use for a folding knife. The number of times liner locks that have failed on me is zero. And I have used a lot of liner locking folders. If lock strength is your metric, then first of all you limit yourself from many good value knife options out there, and second, why Spyderco and Byrd when there is Cold Steel?
 
That's a good question David. I like Cold Steel too, but the serrations on Byrd/Spyderco cut much better. If Cold Steel used normal serrations, I'd buy more of them.
 
katguy said:
That's a good question David. I like Cold Steel too, but the serrations on Byrd/Spyderco cut much better. If Cold Steel used normal serrations, I'd buy more of them.
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Nope they definitely do not cut any better !

But they do sharpen much , much easier . :cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
katguy said:
I have a lot of SpyderCo Byrd knifes. I like the steel. It is tough, stainless and easy to sharpen. IMO, their Rescue models are some of the best you can get.

However, many of the knives come with stripped screws and missing parts out of the box. I have to use parts from spare knifes to fix them. I have enough spares to do this, but it's getting to the point that every Byrd knife I get needs parts to fix (especially washers) and stripped pocket clip screws. And the screws are too long for tip down carry and require shortening to work.

SpyderCo is a great company and I love them. But they are really doing an injustice to low-price consumers by selling these Byrd knifes broken from the factory. I know 50 bucks is cheap these days for a knife, but it's a lot of money to some people and getting a defective knife like this really reflects poorly on SpyderCo.

What do others think? Should I keep fixing these myself from spare parts or should I send them all to SpyderCo for warranty repair? Straight from Knife Center (new in the box) to SpyderCo to fix.

Appreciate your thoughts.
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I bought a Byrd almost 20 years ago when they were a new line for Spyderco. At the time, the quality was excellent (no stripped screws). The steel performance was equivalent to that of a lot of other knives. And they were a good value. Haven't bought one since. I was unaware of the drop in quality. That change is unfortunate.
 
I've never gotten a Byrd with stripped screws, but I don't buy many of them, either. I do know this, though. If you fix it yourself instead of sending it in for warranty, Spyderco doesn't see the problem, and they can't fix what they don't see. Complaining on the Internet is not nearly as effective as sending them in so they can examine it. If they get a lot of them back, they know there is a problem that needs to be corrected. If they don't get any back, they don't know there is a problem, let alone what the problem is or what needs to be done.
 
withdrawn
 
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I only have one Byrd that I bought because I wanted a cheap knife for the few times I would need to go to one of the cities that has a 3 inch blade limit. Didn't want to get something expensive that I'd almost never use so I picked up Byrd. Seems decent, no stripped screws, it opens and closes smoothly, and for what I wanted the steel is fine. Let's pretend I didn't end up with another three or four knives for this rare use haha. I handled a few in the store and they all seemed to be pretty good. Maybe it was a better than average batch?
 
Sal Glesser said:
Thanx for the feedback.

sal
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OK I'll give you some feedback . . .
brace yourself . . .
As far as I could count I have at least seven Byrd knives (that have the singular thumb hole shape) . . . maybe another one at work .
All purchased new and on the scary big river .
I am super picky and such a mechanic nut that my eye cannot fail to pick up flaws .
I do not recall ever having a gripe about one of my Byrd knives . Many of them are spydie edge because I was pursuing "the prefect knife " for a task at work that I do several times a week while unpackaging machines . So far the nonByrd Ambitious is about what I was looking for but the Robin is right up there at the top as well. Robin's a Wharnie ; I went that way for a while during the search
.
Side note : the SnapIt diving serrated knife might just be the grail but I could never bring myself to pay like $130 and take the hook clip off to find out . Was looking for a very pronounced curve near the tip , and serrated all the way to the tip . The ARK serrated would have been my grail but we won't open that can of crawlies again .

I must add , though , I have stayed out of the China thread , closer to home, all the China made Spydercos (round hole) have been super good / no problems including my Rescue Thin Blue Line . That's around nine or ten knives there (a couple at work).
So take that Sal !
🎉🩷👏
PS: maybe these stripped out anomalous knives were returns after the first buyer used it to learn they should not handle tools.:rolleyes::confused:
PPS: the Spyderco Rescue 3 blue line is made in Japan. It was such a great price I just assumed it must be the former makers we were discussing.
 
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