they are great, for the price. they are the cheaper versions of the Spyderco knives. most, if not all, are lock backs.
for arond $20, you get a hell of a knife. fit and finish might not be 100% and the designs are a little... strange.... but they come sharp and lock up TIGHT.
M_Deaner, thanks for the code. I've been meaning to pick up one of these kinves and well, I just got two of them! Wish some of the choices hadn't been sold out, but I'll give the two I got a thourough working out on the job as soon as they arrive.
It'd be great if you'd post your thoughts on the Byrd knives once they arrive. I've been a big Spyderco fan for years and I've accumulated 7 of their knives. I wonder what their "value-priced" line is like. It'd be nice to have a "beater" for fishing; etc.
Well, I've had my Byrd knife for about three weeks now. I carry it every day at work (plumber/Steamfitter) and at home. I was unimpressed at first, as it seems the blad is kind of soft. It has already got a few nicks in both teh plain and serrated parts of the blade. Now that I've got some use on it, though, it still has a good edge and has worn-in a bit so that it's easier to open and close. Still has little to no movement at the hinge, which is a good thing! At work I'll have it opened dozens of times a day cutting open packages, boxes and cardboard. it has really held up pretty well for me. I bought a smaller knife and it really turned otu to be smaller than I wanted, so it's jsut been sitting. it dies have serrations on the back of the blade on the hump behind the opening teardrop, so I bet you could get a decent grip on it. I really like an easily accesable knife at work as I often need to cut soemthing as I'm holding onto it and a regular pocket knife won't work for that. I like teh one hand draw of a clipped or fixed blade knife. If my Camillus had serrations, it'd be preferred to teh Byrd, but that's not an option.
In all, definately a good knife for the money. I've had Spyderco's in teh past and they are better knives, but at easily three times the price. I can see this Byrd lasting for a few years of rough use. I'm waiting for i to get dull enough to require a ful hsaprening, jus tto see how that goes. I hate to mess with a factory edge, so I'll wait until it gets to where I'm not happy with it's cutting power before I go messing with it!