Byrd Wharncliffe

[Araignee]

Lamnia.com has Harriers in plain edge for all you other euros out there!

Cheers, I see they've received the Robin 2 in PE and SE as well

[Sonorum]

I got my Harrier Wharncliffe two days ago now and overall I am very impressed with the knife so I though that I would write a few line about it.
I've seen it written before and I can confirm it, the Harrier lightweight has a more pleasant FRN casting than the Meadowlark, much smoother and less blocky. Overall I'm glad I went with the bigger knife, I have three Meadowlarks and the increase in blade works well. I've read that some people like smaller wharncliffes but with this size I see no disadvantage. I have yet to try a Cara Cara or Endura.
The main grind full flat grind goes up to the spine and is thinner than the blade thickness at the ricasso (I hope i make sense). I'm sure someone could complain about it but I like a slicy blade and this is a slicy blade!
It came very sharp and that has been my experience with the Byrds so far. It quietly slices paper. A few strokes on a strop and got even nicer. I've had a few spydercos that has been less sharp out of the box.
The edge isn't perfectly straight when placed upon a flat surface and you can see that the edge bevel varies slightly along the length of the blade. Functionally it isn't a problem but if we're nitpicking than you know, pick away. The action was slightly gritty and it has a bit of a hickup/slight step just before the lockbar falls into the the recess in the tang. I suspect that will wear in. It rolls out smoothly apart from that and and when you unlock it you can shake it closed. The pivot is tight and the blade has no up/down or side to side wobble regardless of whether it is locked or half way open.
It's a cheap knife and it works well, I'm certainly going to have a little bit of oversight with aestatical QC "problems". My plan is for the knife to get used at work so it's going to look worse pretty soon.
Now I want the same knife but nicer as my off-work EDC. Endela Wharncliffe in K390 would be nice...

[Ngati Pom]

Thanks for the mini review Sonorum and the pic on the carry page. It’s a good looking knife.
When I saw the response after you started the Wharncliffe thread I was hoping we would be successful, but to get all four models as PE and SE is fantastic.
It shows how our voices are important to let Sal and Spyderco know where our interests lie.
I’m hoping that the Wharncliffe byrds are a success sales wise.

[Sonorum]

Me too! I will definitely get a backup for this knife.
Did I mention that it goes through cardboard like a hot knife through butter?

It is a wonderfully thin knife:
It is 0.5 mm BTE, 2.45 mm at the spine just at the ricasso (THIN!), the blade thickness at the ricasso is 2.8 mm, and 1.2 mm thick at 10 mm from the tip.

[z1r]

Came home today with a SE Meadowlark Wharnie. Liking it a lot so far. A nice comparison piece for my SE Wharnie Delica. I keep remembering that one thing I prefer about these Byrds is their finger choil.

[bjz]

I need to get on top of a harrier wharny…just need to decide teeth or no teeth. I’m slightly concerned that such a knife would kick my native lw with teeth out of the collection

[z1r]

I need to get on top of a harrier wharny…just need to decide teeth or no teeth. I’m slightly concerned that such a knife would kick my native lw with teeth out of the collection

I know, right? Last week I picked up the SE Wharnie Delica and Monday came home with the SE Wharnie Meadowlark. Only reason I picked up the Meadowlark is because my Hawkbill is in for warranty review. Hope it comes home soon. Me, the Wharnie isn't as appealing in a PE as it is in SE.

[bjz]

I need to get on top of a harrier wharny…just need to decide teeth or no teeth. I’m slightly concerned that such a knife would kick my native lw with teeth out of the collection

I know, right? Last week I picked up the SE Wharnie Delica and Monday came home with the SE Wharnie Meadowlark. Only reason I picked up the Meadowlark is because my Hawkbill is in for warranty review. Hope it comes home soon. Me, the Wharnie isn't as appealing in a PE as it is in SE.

You know, while waiting for these to come out I broke down and picked up a PE dragonfly as well as the Byrd hawkbill. The PE wharncliffe is surprisingly better than I expected.

In my current lineup I have little to zero NEED for a Byrd wharncliffe, but would like to help support the Byrd lineup! With the ladybug and ARK being exceptions, I prefer the byrds over the Seki knives, especially the Byrd SE profiles.

[z1r]

Yeah, I have a PE Wharnie Delica, never pocket it, ever! The SE Wharnie, different story. Different strokes I guess and lucky for us, Spyderco has a ton of options.

Since we're on the topic of SE Byrds, I'd love a PE Hawkbill. I love that little tip for opening boxes, packaging, etc. Those mundane tasks comprise the majority of my EDC type tasks.

[z1r]

My Meadowlark has replaced the DF2 I usually carry, for today anyway. I'm really digging this knife.

[zuludelta]

Been a while since I've posted in these parts, but I just had to big up the SE Meadowlark 2 Wharncliffe. It makes for a great warehouse work knife: thin & slicey bladestock great for breaking down cardboard, tough enough to pop even thick pallet straps, a relatively compact form factor that still has decent ergonomics, and the serrations lend it a working edge that outlasts the ones on just about any plain edge AUS-8/8Cr13MoV/CTS-BD1N knife in the same size range that I've used for work, while still being really easy to sharpen. Seems like they really nailed the heat treat, at least with my specimen.

And the budget price means I can use the living hell out of it without worrying that I might break or lose an expensive, hard-to-replace tool. It really is a hidden gem in the larger Spyderco line-up.

[Bemo]

So good to see this thread brought back to life. The better heat treat on the 8Cr13MoV almost makes it a different steel. The Meadowlark and Harrier really make great workers and would be a fantastic intro to the Spydie form factor.

[Blade_BG]

Wharncliffe blades are great! Great value!

[z1r]

Been a while since I've posted in these parts, but I just had to big up the SE Meadowlark 2 Wharncliffe. It makes for a great warehouse work knife: thin & slicey bladestock great for breaking down cardboard, tough enough to pop even thick pallet straps, a relatively compact form factor that still has decent ergonomics, and the serrations lend it a working edge that outlasts the ones on just about any plain edge AUS-8/8Cr13MoV/CTS-BD1N knife in the same size range that I've used for work, while still being really easy to sharpen. Seems like they really nailed the heat treat, at least with my specimen.

And the budget price means I can use the living hell out of it without worrying that I might break or lose an expensive, hard-to-replace tool. It really is a hidden gem in the larger Spyderco line-up.

Missed your original reply but the funny thing is, I picked up a second job that involves a lot a lot of the same things you use your knife for. In anticipation of that job, I picked up a SE Wharnie Meadlowlark. Turns out I ended up using my Hawkbill almost exclusively, but all your points are still valid and apply to that knife as well. The SE edge and 8Cr13MoV blade hold up very well, and as you say, at the price you pay, I feel like I tend to use the knife as it was intended rather than pampering it. It just holds up well. I gifted both my sons Byrds with Wharnie blades and they have both been impressed. I'll be honest, if it weren't for my Byrd Hawkbill, I may never have become a fan of SE blades.

I have to say, while I do love the Meadowlark Wharnie, I am even more impressed with the Harrier 2 Wharnie. The ratio of blade length to handle length is impressive. It is not much longer really than a Meadowlark folded, but the blade is substantially longer.

[Sonorum]

Been a while since I've posted in these parts, but I just had to big up the SE Meadowlark 2 Wharncliffe. It makes for a great warehouse work knife: thin & slicey bladestock great for breaking down cardboard, tough enough to pop even thick pallet straps, a relatively compact form factor that still has decent ergonomics, and the serrations lend it a working edge that outlasts the ones on just about any plain edge AUS-8/8Cr13MoV/CTS-BD1N knife in the same size range that I've used for work, while still being really easy to sharpen. Seems like they really nailed the heat treat, at least with my specimen.

And the budget price means I can use the living hell out of it without worrying that I might break or lose an expensive, hard-to-replace tool. It really is a hidden gem in the larger Spyderco line-up.

Missed your original reply but the funny thing is, I picked up a second job that involves a lot a lot of the same things you use your knife for. In anticipation of that job, I picked up a SE Wharnie Meadlowlark. Turns out I ended up using my Hawkbill almost exclusively, but all your points are still valid and apply to that knife as well. The SE edge and 8Cr13MoV blade hold up very well, and as you say, at the price you pay, I feel like I tend to use the knife as it was intended rather than pampering it. It just holds up well. I gifted both my sons Byrds with Wharnie blades and they have both been impressed. I'll be honest, if it weren't for my Byrd Hawkbill, I may never have become a fan of SE blades.

I have to say, while I do love the Meadowlark Wharnie, I am even more impressed with the Harrier 2 Wharnie. The ratio of blade length to handle length is impressive. It is not much longer really than a Meadowlark folded, but the blade is substantially longer.

I agree with you both. My thoughts from the beginning was "workhorse" and that is truly what they are. If Spyderco is "Reliable high performance" then these knives are "Affordable, reliable high performance" and when you use them for some types of job where a need for replacing them is in the realm of possibilities the affordable part can be necessary.
I also agree that the Harrier is the greatest one of these. Smoother handle, sweet spot in terms of blade length, great handle/blade ratio.

[skeeg11]

I agree with y'all. The Harrier Wharnie is the Goldielocks model for some reason. I like big knives and thought I would prefer the Cara Cara 2 wharnie, but such is not the case here. Serrated 8Cr13MoV is every bit as good as serrated H1 in real world performance except for the corrosion resistance in my book. I actually prefer the FFG less snaggy serrated 8Cr13MoV blades in performance to most H1 serrated blades but to each his own. One other thing I prefer about serrated Byrds is less PE real estate on the tip. Useless in my book as I always carry a PE blade anyway. More teeth on my serrated blade is a good thing IMHO.

[z1r]

Another thing, I probably would never have become a fan of SE had it not been for that Hawkbill. First, I just love the looks of that blade, hence my buying every Hawkbill Ladybug I ever come across. But more importantly, because it is so budget friendly, I finally learned to sharpen a SE knife by just keeping after it on the Byrd Hawkbill. It took me some time, lots of persistence, but now that I have that edge where I can cleanly slice paper, wow! I used mine the night before last to open up a pallet full of boxes cutting both tape and the plastic banding. Then, I had to cut the zip ties holding the product inside together. Got home, and it still slices receipt paper. Touch up is pretty easy. Dang, I feel like I'm talking myself into getting another Byrd Wharnie or two. Probably a Harrier and a Meadowlark, both SE!

[olywa]

I'll pile the praise a little higher. I got the Meadowlark SE HB first and was so impressed with the price/performance ratio that I picked up the Harrier 2 SE Wharnie. These are truly high value workhorses.

[Bemo]

I while I totally agree about the Harrier 2 FRN being the best of the line up; for fun I dug out my Robin 2 SE to break some cardboard down and again was impressed with that combo of the thin flat grind Wharnie blade, the heat treat of the steel, and those great serrations. If Spyderco were to chamfer the Byrd line frn the same as it is on the Harrier 2, it might actually compete with the Seki line.

[skeeg11]

I while I totally agree about the Harrier 2 FRN being the best of the line up; for fun I dug out my Robin 2 SE to break some cardboard down and again was impressed with that combo of the thin flat grind Wharnie blade, the heat treat of the steel, and those great serrations. If Spyderco were to chamfer the Byrd line frn the same as it is on the Harrier 2, it might actually compete with the Seki line.

Discounting corrosion resistance of the Seki Salts and price advantage of the Byrds, IMHO the serrated Byrd Wharnies are superior to the serrated Seki Wharnies. Bold statement to be sure, but I honestly believe that for the most part. One thing for sure is that lockup on the Byrds is much more secure than on the Seki's. Not a hint of lock rock on any of my Byrds.