New crow/raven

[Donut]

I'm going on vacation for a week, two weeks from now. I ordered a Crow and plan on carrying it every day. We'll see what I think of it. :)

[mincoda]

First of all. Thank you Sal, just received my new Crow 2 from BHQ and all I can say is WOW!
This is my first post on the forum but I have been lurking for some time and will confess as being a Spiderco addict. Have carried the old Crow for 4 or so years and found it to be a really good knife, although the fit and finish were a bit rustic but still functions great.
The new Crow 2 exceed all my expectations and when Sal stated that the new Crow and Raven were the best yet he was not kidding one bit. The QC on these new knives are simply first class and still at a decent price.

[sal]

Hi Mincoda,

Welcome to our forum and thanx for the kind words.

sal

[spyderg]

Just a little comparison with my Stretch, no wonder it's so comfortable!

[dc50]

Received the Crow 2 today.
I own a lot of higher end Spydies,I love this little fealla, it's a well built perfect fit for edc.
If I didn't have so many others, I purchase another just for back up.

[Chinook3]

Family Vacation at San Clemente, my sister in law putting the Raven through tough work!!! :D
I am loving this knife, thanks Sal.

[sal]

Thanx much. We really appreciate the input. We're always working hard to "improve the breed" in all we do. As the makers improve, the possibilities open. As we get input, we can refine the designs.

sal

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Continual refinement is our evolutionary obligation to humankind

[Donut]

I planned on taking my Byrd Crow 2 on vacation with me last week, but I backed out at the last minute thinking a non-obvious carry was better.

I'm carrying left hand this week and plan on carrying the Crow as soon as I allow myself to carry right hand.

I saw on the news last night about how bad China is doing and had been planning on getting a Raven, so I ordered that last night.

[Donut]

I picked the Raven up on Friday.

I tell you what, these things are very nice quality for the Byrd line. I hope we see more Byrd knives with this level of quality and materials.

It looks like these models have 3.5 ish millimeter thick blades. It's thicker than a Manix 2, but thinner than a Superleaf. They look really nice, they feel good in hand, they have Sal's logo on the blade. The lockup feels like a Tenacious. There is no lockbar wiggle when I press my thumb on the spine of the blade. The bushings are Teflon. The G-10 has a slightly better feel than the rounded Tenacious scales.

My Raven felt dry after a couple of days, after a little lube it is operating very smoothly.

The design drawbacks I see are that I wish there was a little more edge on the blade and the Teflon washers make it feel a little slow compared to the Tenacious line. Slower action might be better for the knife and better for me, but the newbie in me wishes it was lightning fast. The choil is pretty large and gives us an edge length that is shorter than it could be. The Byrd line is pretty strong about having a choil on everything, so I guess this is something we need to have.

[SpeedHoles]

I just recieved a Crow 2 about a week ago.
Very happy with this knife. It is my first Byrd knife.
I had purchased it impulsively to fulfill a "free shipping" minimum purchase, and as an experiment to see how the Byrd line compared with all of my Spyderco (and other) knives.
So far I am rather impressed with its quality. Design is no less than amazing, which is not surprising with it being an in-house design and bearing Sal's mark.
Build construction is very stout and should hold up to some heavier use that many people put the value line folders through. The blade is on the thick side, but with ffg it is still a prime slicer, but don't purchase this knife with intentions to compare it to a Chapparal.
Quality of manufacturing is where I am most amazed. Atleast for my example of the knife, everything is tight and right. Centered and even grind. Seems to be even a bit more precise than many of the Tenacious knives, and an Ambitious and Persistence that I have owned.
(Are the Byrds built in a different facility/factory than the Tenacious Value line, or is it the same place??).

The Byrd eye hole is also very ergonomic as well, and easily flickable (big plus in my book).

With this example of the Crow 2 far exceeding my initial expectations, I now plan on purchasing the larger Raven 2 in the coming months.

Anyway, on to some photos.












Try one out for yourself! :)

[dc50]

Great review and pic's! Its a pretty darn nice knife, for the cost.
If your on a budget, or even if your not,it makes for an awesome little edc.

[sparky2016]

Super pictures Speedholes, thanks.

[SG89]

Great review Speedholes. Now I want one even more

[TheOutdoorNerd]

That Crow looks awesome. I didn't realize there were Chinese made knives using CTS BD1, which so far I like with my Golden-made Manix 2 LW.

Must. Resist.

[SpeedHoles]

Thanks, everyone!
Quite an enjoyable little knife.
And, here I am today, in the Mitten (Michigan), and nearly setting record high temperatures! Usually this little photo spot is under snow by this time of year, but today I was outside in just a sweatshirt and 55deg F weather. Odd.

That Crow looks awesome. I didn't realize there were Chinese made knives using CTS BD1, which so far I like with my Golden-made Manix 2 LW.

Must. Resist.

Yeah, this is one spec that kind of drew me in and over the edge to giving one a try. :spyder:

I kind of like the clean simple lines on the little Tern slip-it as well, but no BD-1.

Sal has mentioned the apparent possibility of trying some Sandvik steels in the future as well! So we shall see. :D

[SG89]

Hi Cameron,

We're still waiting for info.

sal

?

[Larry_Mott]

I just recieved a Crow 2 about a week ago.
Very happy with this knife. It is my first Byrd knife.
I had purchased it impulsively to fulfill a "free shipping" minimum purchase, and as an experiment to see how the Byrd line compared with all of my Spyderco (and other) knives.
So far I am rather impressed with its quality. Design is no less than amazing, which is not surprising with it being an in-house design and bearing Sal's mark.
Build construction is very stout and should hold up to some heavier use that many people put the value line folders through. The blade is on the thick side, but with ffg it is still a prime slicer, but don't purchase this knife with intentions to compare it to a Chapparal.
Quality of manufacturing is where I am most amazed. Atleast for my example of the knife, everything is tight and right. Centered and even grind. Seems to be even a bit more precise than many of the Tenacious knives, and an Ambitious and Persistence that I have owned.
(Are the Byrds built in a different facility/factory than the Tenacious Value line, or is it the same place??).

The Byrd eye hole is also very ergonomic as well, and easily flickable (big plus in my book).

With this example of the Crow 2 far exceeding my initial expectations, I now plan on purchasing the larger Raven 2 in the coming months.

What he said is all valid re. the Raven 2! Mine hasn't left my pocket since last August, and i do have some pretty serious blades to choose from :)
I now have a Crow 2 in the mail (thanks a lot for ruining me pal..) I am quite convinced the Crow will equal the Raven in performance, only in a slightly more compact package.
And for you Chinafobics out there, Sal's sig on the blade is there for a reason, this is a seriously good knife, pretty unbeatable for the price asked!

[gone2thedogs]

I have to agree for the asking price, these are bang up good blades. I use both for the rougher work around the property for a few months now, which is what a manix2 LW and delica 4 saber grind were used for. They are performing nice, though I did chip the blade on the Raven cutting on some hard knots, it was very easy to work it out, but still holds a decent edge for being so easy to sharpen. So far so good. See why Sal was comfortable to put his initials on a Chinese produced knife, though 90% of my collection of knives are made in USA. These are acceptable non the less.....to me.