Byrd Cara Cara 2 (gen 2)

As you may or may not know, Byrd is the affordable product line for Spyderco. Byrd knives are manufactured in China under the close scrutiny of Spyderco and they have the same outstanding design, engineering and attention to detail as Spyderco's core product line. Byrd utilizes 8Cr13MoV as its bladesteel which holds a great razor sharp edge but is more prone to corrosion when compared to Spyderco's more expensive VG-10 bladesteel. Enter the Cara Cara 2;

The Byrd Cara Cara 2 is clearly inspired by the Spyderco Endura (1st gen Endura pictured below) but with a few differences. Before we delve into that I must say that the Byrd knife is not intended to be used in a collection like the Spydercos can and often are, the Byrd is meant to be a working knife, one that can be thrashed on without worry (partially because of the price point). With that being said, the comparison between the two similar knives is not meant to determine which is the better of the two, it is just meant to point out the differences.

Here you see the Byrd on top and the older 1st generation (they are on the 4th generation models now) Endura on the bottom. While blade length is the same, the Byrd comes with gimping on the thumb ramp, back of handle, and again on the recessed choil. The Spyderco has no gimping present but has a steeper thumb ramp. Thumb holes are present and on just about every Spyderco designed folding knife but the shape on the Byrd is reminiscent of the eye of a bird (not coincidental!) It works just as well as the round holes found on Spyderco's knives. Handles are similarly shaped with both having adequate textures providing more than enough traction when using the knives. While Spyderco (at the time this 1st gen was produced) was using a waffle pattern on their FRN (fiber reinforced nylon) handles, and the Byrd uses a three dimensional pattern as seen below;

This does a great job in really locking in your grip on the knife. Speaking of handles, The Cara Cara 2 comes with one of three handle materials; lightweight FRN, textured G-10, and stainless steel with overall weights of the knifes in each configuration at 3.4 oz, 4.5 oz, and 5.7 oz respectively. I chose the FRN because of its light weight and my past experience with the material.

The pocket clip is 4 way positionable (tip up, tip down, left, and right) and provides very good retention. Unlike the Spyderco Tenacious, when drawing the Byrd from my pocket I did not find myself pulling up my pant leg because the clip was too strong. The only downside on the clip that I can find is that it is bare metal and tends to stand out and draw attention.

The blade as said earlier is made from 8Cr13MoV. The blade on the Cara Cara 2 is 3.75 inches in length and it comes in full flat grind which is great for detail cutting and even food prepping. It holds a great edge and is very easy to sharpen and hone. Unfortunately due to its lower Chromium content (when compared to VG-10) this particular bladesteel is more prone to corrosion in areas of higher humidity. A nice bonus is that there is an adjustable tension screw that allows you to set ease of opening and blade play.

I feel like the Byrd is a TON of knife for the money, which by the way I picked this knife up for about $20! The Spyderco Endura MSRP is about $110 but you can find them online for as little at $65. There are huge differences in the two knives (namely bladesteel) but I feel that for an everyday working knife, the Byrd is where it's at. I say that not because the Byrd is better (which it isn't) but because I would not feel at all remorseful for really beating on it or it getting lost.