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Whether you like cats or not they certainly possess positive attributes such as sleekness, agility and sharp-claws. Many of these adjectives are equally applicable to the Catbyrd folder. Penned for the byrd line by Spyderco's Sal Glesser, the original Catbyrd was a stainless-steel handled folder with an R.I.L. (Reeve Integral Lock).  When development of the model started, Sal decided to manufacture an additional Sprint Run (limited run of approximately 200 pieces) of Catbyrds with titanium handles and a Michael Walker LinerLock. 

This short run of Ti-Catbyrds presented the opportunity to experiment with a new Chinese steel called 9Cr18Mo. The name of the steel spells out what its components are; 9Cr18Mo breaks down to .9-percent carbon, 16-percent chromium and contains molybdenum. This particular mix of steel elements equates into a hard-working, edge holding cutting edge and excellent corrosion resistance. The Ti-Catbyrd's blade is full flat-ground and sweeps upward to a slight recurve with the byrd Knife Comet-Shaped blade hole for one-hand opening. Oval pieces of gray grip-tape on the handle circle each other Yin & Yang-style, laying down a gritty sandpapery surface for better grip. An adjustable pivot along with screw together construction and jimping (texturing where blade and handle meet) are attention-to-performance extras normally found on much pricier folders.