Miscellany: Byrd Cara Cara knife review

To knife fans, the $70 Spyderco Enduras and Benchmade Griptilians of the world are about as extravagant as a Toyota Camry - they're good quality production folders, no more and no less. For every "knife nut," though, there are plenty of people who won't shell out more than $20 for a folding knife, even if that means they end up with some flea market slipjoint cranked out of a Third World shanty. Here's Cutlerylover to explain:



The Byrd line is Spyderco's entry-level presence in the cheap knife market. In a similar fashion to other U.S. manufacturers (including Benchmade's Red Class), the knives are designed by Spyderco but made in China as opposed to Seki City, Japan or Golden, Colorado. Supposedly, Spyderco offsets the inherent problems of using outsourced labor and machinery with rigorous quality control and close supervision. Let's see if that's true...



The Cara Cara is one of the largest Byrd knives, with a nearly 4" long blade and a generous 5" handle. Despite these beefy dimensions, you can buy one of these knives for well under $20 at virtually every online knife retailer. I chose the FRN-handle lightweight version, which comes in at a svelte 3.8 ounces.

Here we come to the first cost-saving measure - cheaper foreign-produced steel. The Chinese 8Cr13MoV steel is widely thought to be analogous to AUS-8, but in any case it's considerably less expensive than the VG-10 used in the main line Spydercos. In terms of performance, the harder VG-10 beats 8Cr13MoV in almost all categories (toughness, ability to take an edge, corrosion resistance, etc.). For most users, though, it will be difficult to tell the difference:



The blade bears the "comet" opening hole common to all Byrd knives, and the overall bird's head effect is aesthetically cool, at least in my eyes. Functionally, the hollow-ground edge slices well; the grind starts from midway down the blade and leaves plenty of relief for easy resharpening. As with nearly every Spyderco design, the thumbramp is prominent and fully jimped for a sure grip.



The heart of any folding knife is its pivoting and locking mechanism. The Cara Cara's traditional lockback design doesn't feel like a bank vault, but it's certainly tough enough for most chores. The long blade and pivot hole make it a little difficult to "flick" open with your thumb, but I prefer manually swinging the blade out with my thumb anyway, for more control.

The Cara Cara's pocket clip is also thoroughly modern - you can move it to any of the "four corners" of the handle for tip-up or tip-down carry, right side or left side (I've found that the Cara Cara rides very well in tip-down carry). The clip itself is strong without being excessive:



The FRN handle has nested stainless steel liners, but they must be pretty thin considering the weight of the knife. This light weight is also partly due to the comet-shaped cutouts Spyderco has put along the edges of the handle. The handle shape features finger grooves that pair up well with the jimped choil at the ricasso end of the blade (the blade edge runs right up to the edge of the choil, so you can easily choke up for detail work).

So it all seems gravy...the Cara Cara is a sharp, well-designed knife at a bargain basement price, right? Well, not quite. You usually get what you pay for, and the fit and finish of a Byrd knife tends to be a little below the standards set by U.S. knife makers. For instance, you can see in this picture that my Cara Cara has a defect on the lockback (it looks like a small burn or dent):



And it's not just visible blemishes, either - it's the little things. Like the fact that the screws on the pocket clip are so soft that my Phillips head nearly stripped them when I tried to reposition the clip. Or that the handle molding isn't as sharp and complex as Spyderco's "Volcano Grip." My gripes are hardly unique - other Byrd owners have reported rough finishing and sometimes more serious problems, although the latter are rare and the knives are covered by a one-year warranty.

Does that mean the Byrd line is bad? Heavens no! Considering the sub-$20 price point, you're still getting a lot of knife for the money. The smart Spyderco design elements are enough to make the Cara Cara worth at least a try.