Spyderco Forums

I have owned many Spyderco knives, but only 2 Byrd knives including this Byrd Tern I picked up today. What intrigued me about this design was the common features it shares with many Spyderco knives I love:
FFG
Opening Hole
Finger Choil
Jimping
Wire Clip
Linerless G10
Half Stop
I love the UKPK but it is too big for my needs. I also prefer G10 to FRN. I decided to try out the Byrd Tern and I am so glad that I did. I instantly fell in love when I had the knife in my hand. The ergos are great for me and the walk and talk is snappy. I washed the factory oil off of the blade, sharpened it up more on the Sharpmaker with the fine stones, and put a short wire clip on it from a Dragonfly. The factory Tern clip is too long for my liking. Overall, I highly recommend this knife!


Size comparison next to the Lil Native and Dragonfly HB

Looks like the size I like to. Currently enjoying the Elmax Urban. The Tern could be and inexpensive alternative.

Really great pix (as always), thanks. The photos do a nice job showing the contouring on the G10 handles, which IMO makes all the difference. A really terrific value.

A Slip Joint, worth noting.

I'm thinking of this one. How is the detent when open? Does it feel secure, like the UKPK?

Yes I was surprised with how nice the detent was. I replaced the clip bc the wire clip it came with had zero retention/tension. I actually run it clip less now. I am not worried about it opening in pocket at all. I need to reprofile the edge thinner, not great from factory.

The detent is strong than a Swiss Army Knife.

Unfortunately never handled a UKPK.

The back spring tension on the one I bought many years ago was so weak that the knife was unsafe. I otherwise loved the design. It makes me happy to hear that this is no longer the case. I may have to give this knife another go.

Now, where is that slip joint Lil Native?

Could a kind soul, if possible, take a picture of the Tern with Urban (UKPK as a bonus if you have this also.
Ordered one a month and a half ago and still waiting (2 months is now a standard shipping time from US to Europe if you don't use DHL or similar fast shipping options, which in case of a cheap knife like this just isn't cost effective), so would like to see the comparison.

pantagana23 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 18, 2021 1:42 pm

Could a kind soul, if possible, take a picture of the Tern with Urban (UKPK as a bonus if you have this also.

Here you go:

yowzer wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:39 pm

Here you go:

Thank you.

The knives appear to be handy and convenient to use. In Addition, the handle feels very nice and durable.

Bought me a meadowlark, pretty decent knife, work in the ranching and hunting business
And am hard on my knife, sometimes opening 50-200 feed bags a day, so I carry a meadowlark and a old delica G-2 fully serrated
The lark is easy enough to strop or sharpen @17* on a worksharp, wish I had some D2 steel for just a bit more tougher steel

Edit I broke down 30-40 cardboard boxes and rolled the edge, but reprofiled the knife back to sharp enough to push cut a paper towel ( very interested to see how the Chinese steel will hold up)

A little advice for any lefties changing sides of the pocket clip on the Tern:
DO NOT try to switch sides of screw and bolt on the back, nor extract the bolt part more than absolutely needed for the wire to slide in.

Just had half hour of my life lost reassembling it.

The spring is one piece and in the end you'll have to put all bolts from one side, insert blade, hope it doesn't deform G10, and screw it back together

The tern is what converted me from being a kershaw guy. I used to work in a stuffy fed agency building and carried a tern daily for longer than I can recall, and still feels more “right” than just about any other folding knife I’ve ever used.

If you have larger hands or prefer a thin blade, you might prefer the UKPK. On the handful of terms I’ve owned (less than scrupulous security guards have acquired more than one over the years), they have all had fantastic action, which I actually prefer over the UKPN.

Now, if only the tern blade was as thin as the UKPN, it would be even better!

As somewhat mentioned by others, this blade most certainly benefits from a profile other than factory, but it’s 8cr so it’s a snap.

We're in the middle of some design mods on the Tern.

sal

sal wrote: ↑

Tue May 04, 2021 12:07 am

We're in the middle of some design mods on the Tern.

sal

Thinner blade?? A tern with a blade ground slimmer after the ricasso/plunge line (like the other 8cr Byrd’s) at a similar price as existing would be an instant purchase!

I could prob just pick up an urban, but when I first came across the tern it met the legalities of my workplace AND I just happened to be designing/building an island expressly for Caspian Tern nesting habitat at the time, so the Tern will always be special for me.

Thanks to the Seconds Sale, I got my first Byrd, and I believe I couldn't get a better model. I'm impressed!



The only bad things about this is the very stiff slipjoint lock...I can't close it one handed, impossible unless I want to bleed on the jimping. And the half stop too, I find that I have to put the spine of the blade into the cup of my palm to fully close it down. I worried that the bottom of my palm would slip down the pointy blade tip and get injured.

Another thing is that the pocket clip is basically useless...it came deformed, with one side of the wire clip never making contact with the G10.

Other than that, this basically is a premier Byrd model and could give the value line Spydercos a run for their money. The chamfering is on point (better ergos than some Golden G10 models!) and the ergos are silky.

Amazing isn't it how the ergos on some Byrds are better than their bigger sibling. Mine didn't have any of the issues you mention and that's probably due to the low QC at this price point. Mine is the dedicated utility/kitchen folder knife. It made me get the UpTern which is a nice knife also. You know I may get another and see how polished I can get this thing just for fun.

The Tern is a goldilocks knife, just right.
When I got it the action was gritty so I gave it a warm bath which helped. The locking and unlocking are both easing as I use it more.
I also bought the Up-Tern on the strength of this model

Both of these are seconds from consecutive years. Really liking the lil’ Native slippy too.

Vapor Puffin Creations in the UK makes very nice scales for the Tern. Unfortunately they're a lot more expensive than the knife itself. The Vapor Puffin scales on my UKPK are probably the nicest aftermarket scales I have.