Spyderco Byrd Wrench

[Tom Munch]

The blade is CR13 steel.  I'm not extremely familiar with this steel.  I'm told it is a higher carbon version of 440.

[Tom Munch]

I'm fairly pleased with this tool even with the surface imperfections & quirky design.  I need to use it a bit to really find out how useful it is.  I've read where some folks consider it a novel playtoy & others get some serious work out of it. 

It has a good clip & fits nicely in my pocket even though the rasp could chew up your pants if you aren't careful when inserting & pulling it out of your pocket. 

It's no heavier than the Wave it was pictured with at the beginning of the review.

So far I'd give it a 4-4.5 out of 5.  I'm looking forward to getting to know this little Byrd.

[Tom Munch]

After re-reading this I can see it's not the best review I've written - I'm a little tired after 4 gigs today, but I wanted to get it posted before the night was out since I promised I would.  On the other hand, if a picture is worth a thousand words there should be 70,000 words or so here.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Great review!  I'll get it transferred to the main site as soon as I get a chance...

Def

[Tom Munch]

I've finally gotten the hang of the macro lens & settings on my Nikon.  I wish I had a better flash now.

[J-sews]

Wonderful pictures and descriptions Tom. Don't sell yourself short, I think it was worth at least 75,000 words, maybe 80,000.   


I was holding my SpydeRench in my hand as I read through your review. I see a few minor differences, like the Byrd logo instead of the Spyderco spider. I think the only significant differences are the magnetic bit driver (instead of the Spydie's detent driver) and the round rasp.

It seems like the rasp would be limited in it's usefullness, to put it politely. I suspect the old three-sided diamond file was deemed too expensive, but a fine-toothed file seems like it would have been more useful?

[Tom Munch]

I was thinking about the rasp too & was lamenting that it didn't have the diamond file.  As I thought of it for my uses I may end up using the rasp more often than a diamond file though, so I'll be okay with it.  I did think of modding a diamond sharpening rod to fit into the same spot though.

One question - does your SpyderWrench have a lot of friction in the outer of the two positions in the slip-joint of the pliers?  Mine binds quite a bit in that position, but I thought it might be to keep it from rattling.  In the inner position it moves very freely as you would expect.

[J-sews]

Mine swivels freely in both positions. However, I just am now noticing that the pivot T-stud on mine has been ground down (very slightly) around the edges. This work looks to have been done by hand, probably in order to allow it to move without binding in the round pockets.

Can you see any shiny spots on yours where it is rubbing?

[Tom Munch]

Mine binds quite a bit so there are definite shiny spots.  I'd be more likely to file the round part rather than the T-stud to make mine move more freely.  It doesn't bother me too much now though.

[J-sews]

I was thinking about the rasp too & was lamenting that it didn't have the diamond file.  As I thought of it for my uses I may end up using the rasp more often than a diamond file though, so I'll be okay with it.  I did think of modding a diamond sharpening rod to fit into the same spot though.

That would be interesting. Or how about maybe a firestarter ferro rod?

[parnass]

Great photos, Tom!

[Tom Munch]

Thanks, parnass.  I'm finally getting the hang of it.

[Icheatpeople]

great pics, have to thake an closer look on that one. is the price out jet?

[kimjune01]

I thought the new ones were made out of AUS-8 or somethin
am I wrong?

[supratentorial]

I thought the new ones were made out of AUS-8 or somethin
am I wrong?

There's a SpydeRench and a ByrdRench.  Byrd is the "economy brand" of Spyderco.  I posted some photos of the SpydeRench here: http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,1995.0.html.  The construction of the two is quite similar but there are a few differences:

original SpydeRench: manufactured in USA, 440C blade steel, diamond file
new SpydeRench: manufactured in Taiwan, AUS-8 blade steel, diamond file
new ByrdRench: manufactured in China, 8Cr13Mov blade steel, rasp