Are the Spyderco Byrd knives worth it?

C

camper20-05

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Jul 18, 2015
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I'm looking for a cheap, entry-level Spyderco knife. Are the Byrd knives any good or should I buy a used "normal" Spyderco knife?
 
Theyre really nice, and match their seki counterparts in toughness in my experience, the build quality is similar, but the seki will have slightly better fit and finish. You may not notice a huge F&F difference but if you nitpick you can find stuff. The price difference comes from that vg10 in my eyes, if you can do without the vg10 youll love them. The steel they use has a spot on heat treat, spyderco doesn't associate itself with anything thats not serviceable and dependable. You should go for it, for the price you can beat on it and you wont feel bad. Im sure it will surprise you with its performance.
 
Byrd knives are the only " Made in China " knives that l own. I own a Flight and a Crossbill. The 8cr13MoV is like AUS-8 in terms of edge holding , Rust resistance and Ease of Sharpening. They are good ; affordable ; serviceable folders.
P.S : Just don't expect VG-10 level performance with the blades and you should be fine.
 
Depends on your likes, wants, and needs. An FRN Byrd Cara Cara 2 won't hold and edge as long as an FRN Endura 4, and it only has a 1 year Warranty. OTOH, at one of my favorite dealers, it will cost you $20.37, while the Endura 4 will cost you $68.94. That's a considerable difference, for two knives of similar size and construction. If you take excellent care of your tools, and are willing to pay for superior overall quality, then go with the Endura. If you're someone who occasionally loses knives, breaks them doing things that normally follow the statement "hold my beer and watch this", or just want a knife you can use for nasty jobs without hesitation, then the Byrd might very well be the more sensible choice.
 
I really really really like my resilience I just got, the persistence or tenacious are from the same lineup. Just looking at the picture the FnF is better on them then the byrd knives. Awesome g10 handles too.

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And an image that doesn't belong to me but wasn't taken with a Potatocam 2000

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The resilience is pretty big and might not be a good edc for others (I like big knives), but for less than $40 i'd say the persistence or tenacious are one hell of a deal.
 
I think the Tenacious is a better value but the one Byrd knife that I own is worth its price.
 
Drop the $20 and get one for yourself to decide! :)

I own a CC2 and just love it. Its inexpensive so I can beat the crap out of it and just get a new one when it gives out on me. It has taken a beating so far and no issues.
 
I own a Stainless Meadowlark Byrd and a Resilience , for the price I paid I have no complaints , but.............
although I don't actually have anything against any knife made in China under the Spyderco umbrella , I just didn't feel that I owned a real Spyderco until I bought my first Delica .
Look for a deal on a Dragonfly - Delica - Endura depending on your size requirements , you won't be disappointed .

Ken
 
I have a few Cara Caras and have gifted several more. They are tough, handy and take a nice edge. It would be a great steel to learn sharpening on. It takes a pretty biting edge with little effort compared to the high wear steels a lot of us like so well. Yes, I recommend them as first knives and as spares or knives for folks not wanting to spend a lot but requiring the features and most of the performance of expensive knives..

joe
 
The tenacious series in general has a better edge grind on them for the non chisel ground Byrd's I've had to reprofile all of the ones that I've had. Once reprofiled they work really well and are in some ways more convenient in that they have a really flat handle scale making them a great EDC. I.E. the Cara Cara 2 is like a skinny Endura. I had the chisel ground CE version and it was a scalpel out of the box and very tough. The non CE one's I've had to reprofile. If I had to be really honest I would take a Rat 1 or Kabar Dozier over any of the non hawkbill or chisel versions for EDC.
 
Anther great byrd knife that you don't hear too much about is the Raven 2. The Raven 2 has a much beefier blade (spine thickness) than both the Cara Cara 2 and the Tenacious. The Raven 2 comes with a nicer steel CTS-Bd1 (IMHO) and the blade is made by Carpenters made in the usa. They are all great knives just a couple of my opinions.
 
I have a serrated Hawk bill and it's a piece of junk, poorly groud serrations, 2 of 3 clip screws stripped from factory etc. Save your money and buy something else.
 
I picked up a Byrd SS Flight to toss in my toolbelt, where knives go to die. I guess I got a good one, because it survived a prolonged house remodel and still works fine. If I need to grab a beater, I pick this one.
 
I've found Spyderco's treatment of 8CR13MoV to be superior to some of the other manufacturers that use it.
 
I carry both Cara Cara 2 FRN & Resilience. 8Cr is easy to learn sharpening with, and I made both smooth shaving sharp (yes, I shave with my knives).
 
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