Wow, has it really been almost a year since I did a review? Well, here's a new one. In fact, after doing about four hours of on-line research, I found that this will be just the second ever review of this knife. This is the Byrd Tern, Byrd's first slipjoint. Sal made it come true because of the fellows at BritishBlades, and I have a feeling it's going to be one of those "gotta have it" knives.
The Handle: The Tern is 3-5/8" long when closed. It's made of two black G-10 scales and a non-locking backspring. The G-10 is nicely textured for the price, and there are no liners.
The G-10 is good. I'd compare it to the Kershaw Chill as far as quality and texture. It's not as aggressive as a Spyderco Tenacious, but is grippy enough for the knife to not move in your hand...
Also notice the screws; they're Torx. Size 8 for the handle screws and pivot pins (there's one on each side of the blade)...
While the screws for the pocket clip are T-10. The clip is wire, which I prefer. It doesn't snag on your pocket (yay!) and it can be switched to the left or right side, tip up only. There's no lanyard hole, which I normally prefer, but it's no problem here...
When the knife is closed, the blade is centered perfectly, but I wasn't able to get the right angle with my camera.
Thickness comparison. Meadowlark FRN, Tern...
Overall, I like the handle size and shape. It's just a tad smaller than the Meadowlark, which is good for a slipjoint.
The Blade: The blade is 8Cr13MoV, typical of Chinese-made knives from good manufacturers. It's been compared to AUS-8, but I think it's closer to 440C. The knife came shaving sharp; I didn't even have to strop it. It's fully flat ground, which seems to be the standard for the new Byrds. I like it a lot. The blade surface is a bit wavy, much like the Tenacious line. This is a first for me on Byrds, as all of mine have been perfect. Maybe this model is being made in the same factory as the Tenacious?
The blade is Spyderco's typical leaf shape and is 2-3/4" long with a 2-1/8" cutting edge. I rather like the blade shape, typical Spyderco...
The spine and choil are also jimped, but not as aggressively as I like. But for a slipjoint, they're more than adequate. A word I'd use to describe the jimping is, well, dirty. It looks a bit uneven and there appears to be small dings in the sharp points of the jimping. I'm splitting hairs here with a $20 slipjoint, but it's something I noticed.
Spine jimping...
Choil jimping...
China marking and the second pivot screw (Like I said, there's one on each side of the blade. There's also one handle screw on each side of the handle)
Opening is accomplished with the normal Byrd hole (comet? talon?). It's the same size as on the Cara Cara 2, Meadowlark 2, etc. and works just fine for me. There's a halfway stop in the blade. You can feel the blade "snick" in the halfway position when opening, but it doesn't slow normal deployment. This is the knife in that "stopped" position...
In hand, using the choil. Keep in mind that my hands are a size XL glove...
In hand, normal saber grip...
I normally don't like slipjoints, but this one caught my eye. It took the expensive UKPK and kept the G-10, while keeping the low cost of the FRN slipjoints that Spyderco produces. In fact, the Tern is cheaper than those. For a twenty dollar bill, this is one hell of a knife. Kabar Dozier, Kershaw Chill, Byrd Meadowlark, CRKT Drifter; those have all been the epitomy of the "best" $20 folder. If Spyderco / Byrd makes more slipjoints, they'll be owning the market on the "best modern slipjoint". Keep it up Sal, keep it up :thumbup:
One final shot of the Tern, as compared to the Meadowlark FRN...
The Handle: The Tern is 3-5/8" long when closed. It's made of two black G-10 scales and a non-locking backspring. The G-10 is nicely textured for the price, and there are no liners.
The G-10 is good. I'd compare it to the Kershaw Chill as far as quality and texture. It's not as aggressive as a Spyderco Tenacious, but is grippy enough for the knife to not move in your hand...
Also notice the screws; they're Torx. Size 8 for the handle screws and pivot pins (there's one on each side of the blade)...
While the screws for the pocket clip are T-10. The clip is wire, which I prefer. It doesn't snag on your pocket (yay!) and it can be switched to the left or right side, tip up only. There's no lanyard hole, which I normally prefer, but it's no problem here...
When the knife is closed, the blade is centered perfectly, but I wasn't able to get the right angle with my camera.
Thickness comparison. Meadowlark FRN, Tern...
Overall, I like the handle size and shape. It's just a tad smaller than the Meadowlark, which is good for a slipjoint.
The Blade: The blade is 8Cr13MoV, typical of Chinese-made knives from good manufacturers. It's been compared to AUS-8, but I think it's closer to 440C. The knife came shaving sharp; I didn't even have to strop it. It's fully flat ground, which seems to be the standard for the new Byrds. I like it a lot. The blade surface is a bit wavy, much like the Tenacious line. This is a first for me on Byrds, as all of mine have been perfect. Maybe this model is being made in the same factory as the Tenacious?
The blade is Spyderco's typical leaf shape and is 2-3/4" long with a 2-1/8" cutting edge. I rather like the blade shape, typical Spyderco...
The spine and choil are also jimped, but not as aggressively as I like. But for a slipjoint, they're more than adequate. A word I'd use to describe the jimping is, well, dirty. It looks a bit uneven and there appears to be small dings in the sharp points of the jimping. I'm splitting hairs here with a $20 slipjoint, but it's something I noticed.
Spine jimping...
Choil jimping...
China marking and the second pivot screw (Like I said, there's one on each side of the blade. There's also one handle screw on each side of the handle)
Opening is accomplished with the normal Byrd hole (comet? talon?). It's the same size as on the Cara Cara 2, Meadowlark 2, etc. and works just fine for me. There's a halfway stop in the blade. You can feel the blade "snick" in the halfway position when opening, but it doesn't slow normal deployment. This is the knife in that "stopped" position...
In hand, using the choil. Keep in mind that my hands are a size XL glove...
In hand, normal saber grip...
I normally don't like slipjoints, but this one caught my eye. It took the expensive UKPK and kept the G-10, while keeping the low cost of the FRN slipjoints that Spyderco produces. In fact, the Tern is cheaper than those. For a twenty dollar bill, this is one hell of a knife. Kabar Dozier, Kershaw Chill, Byrd Meadowlark, CRKT Drifter; those have all been the epitomy of the "best" $20 folder. If Spyderco / Byrd makes more slipjoints, they'll be owning the market on the "best modern slipjoint". Keep it up Sal, keep it up :thumbup:
One final shot of the Tern, as compared to the Meadowlark FRN...
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