Survival and Emergency Preparedness

xxo wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 12:08 pm Congratulations on your retirement!

The Endura 4's are great knives. I have a FRN plain edged Endura 4 Wave (which pops the blade open when you draw it from your pocket) in VG10 and a Pacific Salt (based on the Endura 3) full serrated in rust proof H1 steel...holds an edge a good long time, but I do sharpen it occasionally on a Sharpmaker.

Thank you.

I'm actually rather excited about getting the Endura (should be delivered tomorrow). The first Endura that I owned (and now my son owns) is 26+ years old and is carried daily and has seen a lot of use and looks like the day I bought it back in 1994. Excellent knives and I really hope I like this new stainless steel version just as much if not better.

I'm also interested in the Harpy which is the original Spyderco version of that Hawkbill I posted above. I like that design from a knife-fighting perspective. I may just get one of those as well and then have a couple of different stainless steel Spyderco options to choose from.

So the Spyderco Harpy is $115 pretty much anywhere I checked (or more). And I'm sure it's well worth it. For grins, I did some research into a lower cost alternative that still had good quality. In the OP of this thread I have my Byrd Hawkbill pictured and it's been a very decent+ EDC knife. So I looked more into the Byrd line which seems to be an entry level Spyderco made in China. I came across the Byrd Crossbill on Amazon discount for $33.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B ... UTF8&psc=1



As you can see, it is quite similar overall to the Spyderco Harpy. It is half-n-half on the plain blade/serrated blade which is fine. It is made from 8Cr13MoV steel which in my research is comparable with AUS 8 which is also a very good steel.

https://www.survivaltechshop.com/8cr13mov-steel/

Compared here with the Byrd Hawkbill;



So it looks to be fairly comparable in size with the Spyderco Endura I'll be receiving tomorrow. This will give me a couple of EDC options. The Crossbill would be very good as a rescue tool as well as a defensive tool. This one should arrive next week.

Looks good!

I was thinking of getting a hawkbill Tasman Salt aat some point:

https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/detail ... ellow/1073

I am a big fan of the Salt series, particularly in Spyder edges....serrated H1 holds an edge as long or longer than just about any steel and it won't rust.

xxo wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 7:52 pm Looks good!

I was thinking of getting a hawkbill Tasman Salt aat some point:

https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/detail ... ellow/1073

I am a big fan of the Salt series, particularly in Spyder edges....serrated H1 holds an edge as long or longer than just about any steel and it won't rust.

I've always liked that type of blade design. One of the men that taught my knife fighting decades ago carried a Harpy and I always saw the value of that design for defensive tactics as well as a rescue tool. On e of the reasons I wanted to either get a Harpy or this Crossbill. I'm hoping the Crossbill fills my 'Harpy' itch as it's a third of the price. From the bit of reading I did on it at various knife forums, that's the general consensus i.e. an excellent knife for the money. I also like that it's larger than the Hawkbill that I have. The HB is large enough for me to use as a defensive weapon but the larger CB I'm hoping will be even better in that regard.

Okay, I received the stainless steel Endura 4. VG-10 steel. I immediately noticed this knife has some heft to it. Not in a bad way but rather it feels heavy enough to be robust enough to get the job done. Only thing I had to do was switch the clip around to the position I prefer which was an easy matter as I have a small bit screwdriver set. Easy one-thumb opening that will even improve with use. Came with a very light coating of oil on the blade and handle lock up. Had a plastic film over the grip on both sides to protect from scratches. I will begin carrying this on today.

So all-in-all a very nice retirement gift.

The Byrd Crossbill came in this afternoon. It arrived almost a week early which is really nice and fast shipping is always appreciated. I really like this knife. It has the same hefty feel of the Endura 4 that came in yesterday which I see as a positive. I had to switch the screws around to the position that I prefer which, like the Spyderco, was an easy task. Fortunately I have the correct bit for my small screwdriver set. In addition to the nice heft and feel of the knife, it opens easily and locks up very sturdy. It's larger and longer than the Byrd Hawkbill which I gave to my son to go with his Endura. Although I like a fully serrated blade, the half-n-half actually looks good and should be quite functional as a solid cutter. Pressing the lock down on the back to release the blade is easy but with a solid feel. I can see myself carrying this one quite a bit.

Very pleased.

Well, the Byrd Crossbill is confirmed sharp...twice! I bought a new pair of flip-fops at Wallyworld (because this is Florida and I'm retired now...it's pretty much the law). It had the twinny price tag string that needed to be cut off so I figured it was a good time to break in the CB. I literally touched the blade to the twine and it cut. I was actually a bit shocked. Then I noticed one of those plastic strings on the back side of one of the flops so went to cut that off. Wasn't paying as much attention as I should apparently and nicked my finger by the nail with the tip. Yeah, it bled! Just a small nick but deep. So much respect for the blade of the CB.

Continuing update on the CB; We had to get a new dishwasher (actually two since the first replacement didn't work) and microwave so it was a bunch of thick cardboard boxes to be cut up. The CB handled it like a champ and I'm really liking that blade design. Best of all...didn't cut myself this time

Very please to have this one as my EDC blade.

I have been carrying the Kershaw Cryo Pocket Knife 2.75 inch blade. Found it to be handy and a nice size. Plus, the price is at point that if I lose or break it, nothing to get upset about.

Bmyers wrote: ↑Sun Aug 16, 2020 6:39 pm I have been carrying the Kershaw Cryo Pocket Knife 2.75 inch blade. Found it to be handy and a nice size. Plus, the price is at point that if I lose or break it, nothing to get upset about.

That's how I feel about that CB. It feels like the same quality as the Spyderco but it was like a third of the price.