Spyderco's Hawkbill Blades: What Do You All Use Them For?

[JD Spydo]

As a few of you know I'm an avid fan of Spyderco's great Hawkbill folders. Most of the time I carry a mid-sized Hawkbill folder like the Harpy as a companion blade as an addition to the main plain edged EDC I usually carry. My rotation lately for PE blades lately has either been the C-36 Military, C-60 Ayoob or even one of my older, hard use, ENDURA models. But I find Spyderedged Hawkbill blades to be an excellent companion folder to use along side of one of my PE Spyders that I constantly rotate. Because there are some cutting jobs that standard/conventional PE blades just don't handle well IMO.

Now recently it's come up that a couple of good Brothers have said to me that they prefer plain edged Hawkbills over Spyderedged. OK that's fine because all of us have different needs for a knife and that's understandable. But mainly what I would really like to know is what edge type of Hawkbill do you all prefer and please list the cutting chores you mostly use them for. Personally I've not found very many cutting chores for my plain edged Hawkbill blades. I've found that 90% of the time a Spyderedged Hawkbill has a lot more aggressive cutting abilities especially with rope, cordage, wire and very tough materials ( leather, polymer, burlap ect).

Also I would not only like to know what cutting jobs you use Hawkbills for but I would also like to know which edge type and which size range of Hawkbill folder you use. Do you all use the micro small units like the Ladybug Hawkbill or the mid-sized models like the Harpy & Tasman models? Or do you all prefer the mammoth sized Hawkbill folder like the Spyderhawk? I want to learn new uses for these great blade designs and their advantages in each edge type.

 

[blueblur]

For about the last month I've been carrying a serrated edge Tasmin salt along with a PM2 or a Stretch and I've been trying to use the Tasmin more and more. Before I picked up the Tasmin I was holding off to try and find the Spyderhawk but just couldn't find one for a reasonable price. I really wish they would start making that blade again. Anyway, I don't spend much time in the garden but used the Tasmin to cut down my hop plants and was amazed at how effortless it was to cut the fairly thin but tough vines. Other than that I've been using it to open mail and boxes. The great thing about the Tasmin is that it's so light it really does disappear when I don't need it and I like knowing I have a se hawkbill as well as a pe, higher end steel primary blade. I really like carrying this type of combo. I've only tried serrated H1 but from what I've read, this is the serrated steel to have and in a hawkbill it really shines. The edge retention and corrosion resistance qualities are preventing me from trying the spyderedge in a different steel.

I'd LOVE for the Spyderhawk to be released again so I can get a feel for the Tasmins bigger brother. If they released the H1 serrated edge with yellow FRN handle I'd buy several of them.

 

[JD Spydo]

Hey "Blue-Blur" that makes two of us who would like to see the return of the Spyderhawk to the main line up. And with the growing number of guys on 3 different forums I'm on all seem to want the return of the H-1 Spyderhawk in particular. Hey it would be all right with me if they brought it back in VG-10 again as far as I'm concerned. I too would actually prefer the return of the Spyderhawk either in H-1 or LC200N. Because there are a lot of uses for Hawkbill blades in harsh, wet and corrosive environments and those nitrogen based blade steels really do well in those areas.

The TASMAN you mentioned is a great Hawkbill to start out with. But I'm like you when I have a serious job or just going trekking out in the woods I want the big H-1, SE Spyderhawk on my belt sheath. This thread is concerned about what you all use your Hawkbill blades for>> but with the Spyderhawk there are a lot of things you can use that big blade for that you couldn't use as well with a small or mid-sized Hawkbill.

H-1 Spyderhawk!!?? Yes absolutely it's time for it to return to the main line up. I don't think sales will be any problem this go-around.

 

[ThePeacent]

As I've said before on different occasions, I use my hawkbills mainly for gardening (twigs, vines, saplings, tree branches, roots, agave leaves, etc.) for which I prefer the bigger Spyderhawk (more edge = less time and effort to cut), and in SE as the teeth grab the material more easily

For fertilizer bags, small spaces (tight areas, near soil/ground level trimming etc) and such I much prefer the Tasman, as it fits better and gives me more control and maneuverability to do the cut. It's my beach and pool folder, too, due to H1 and size.

Both are awesome being in H1, as the dirt and soil can be tough on pivots, inner components and steel

 

[Bugs57]

Do you find that the Hawkbill design excels for pull cuts? Hence the gardening usage? My wife spends a lot of time tweaking her native butterfly garden...pruning, opening mulch and soil bags, etc.

 

[JD Spydo]

From what I've gathered "PEACENT" I truly believe you use your Hawkbill blades more than I do And that's a good thing because it shows that you like to experiment a lot and that's kind of how I am.

And "BUGS 57" Yes absolutely Spyderco's Hawkbill blades are an excellent gardening and landscaping tool. Particularly with the Spyderedged units I find that I can control the pull cutting a lot better than I can with the plain edged models.

That's why I love these kinds of threads because I believe that there are a lot more cutting jobs you can do with Hawkbill blades. And the bigger the blade the more I believe you can do with them.

 

[Bugs57]

I think I will get one for the wife for Christmas.

 

[JD Spydo]

I think I will get one for the wife for Christmas.

You might want to start out with an H-1 TASMAN Salt model. I would also get the yellow handle because when working with them the yellow handle is much easier to find if you happen to misplace it. The Harpy with a stainless handle, VG-10 blade would be my second recommendation for you.

Until Spyderco decides to bring back the Spyderhawk ( and hopefully very soon) they are currently very pricey on the secondary market>> that is if you're lucky enough to find one for sale. But once you all get the hang of working with a TASMAN model then you might want to check out the Spyderhawk. It's a great blade and I'm still confused as to why Spyderco discontinued it. It was actually getting more popular when they did delete it from the main line up. Good Luck and keep us posted.

 

[Sigsog226]

I have a ss pe harpy i used to always use(its in pieces right now, waiting on some custom work for it). I would use it for most of the same task as i would my pm2 for example. Cutting straps, break down boxes, opening packages, scraping certain materials, whittling. I feel like the hawk bill blade shape and point gives the user a lot of control over their cut.

The main reason i prefer a pe is i feel like it gives a cleaner cut to the material when i need it. Also for me personally a pe is much easier to sharpen and maintain, just a few passes every other day on my sharp maker. Alot of it to be honest is probably because plain edges are what i familiar and most comfortable with.

 

[BMCGear]

I have no experience with the Hawkbill. I will say that I can see why people would carry both a plain and fully serrated edge. There are just some jobs that work better for each. I plan on getting a fully serrated Spyderco to carry daily with my plain edge.

 

[ThePeacent]

I think I will get one for the wife for Christmas.

I have no experience with the Hawkbill. I will say that I can see why people would carry both a plain and fully serrated edge. There are just some jobs that work better for each. I plan on getting a fully serrated Spyderco to carry daily with my plain edge.

Whatcha waiting you both? It's Christmas time, new year, new blades!

 

[JD Spydo]

Whatcha waiting you both? It's Christmas time, new year, new blades!

Brother PEACENT with your excellent input I'm just about to crown you the ambassador of the Spyderedged Hawkbill It's not often I run into brothers or sisters that are Hawkbill and Spyderedged fans both. I always enjoy the inspiring pictures you put up and maybe you and me need to get together and design one of these bad boys

On the other hand one thing that really baffles me is how many of the brethren on these forums have negative, preconceived notions that Hawkbill blades are only for mall ninjas, characters in comic books, and Kung Fu wannabees But you and I know that nothing could be further from the truth. They truly are a very misunderstood blade design.

Now they can be nice self defense tools under the right circumstances but at this time I think Reverse S blades have advantages in that sector. But all in all Hawkbill blades are terribly misunderstood .

 

[Bugs57]

Whatcha waiting you both? It's Christmas time, new year, new blades!

I've been on a fixed blade kick lately.

 

[The Aflac Duck]

I recently picked up a Matriarch and really love it!

This week I've been doing structural grouting after we set steel columns for a commercial breezeway. I've been cutting open grout bags, scraping grout out of crevices, cutting insulation, and other things.

First off, the Spyderedge is great for cutting extremely abrasive materials since the serrations continue to make aggressive cuts even when the edges are dull. Second, I was cutting out rigid insulation from a foundation wall, and with the curved tip of the blade I didn't have to worry about jabbing the tip into concrete and damaging the blade. Third, the forward bias of the tip is great for cutting cardboard and it tears through like no tomorrow!

However, these blades are a pain to sharpen, the serrations are terrible for slicing, and when you need to do precision work they are useless. I pair my Matriarch with a slipjoint for slicing chores.

Overall, I think this blade geometry can really be appreciated by someone who works a trade or who makes aggressive cuts regularly. I'm really impressed by the Endura/Matriarch platform and am looking forward to recieving a ZDP Endura soon. I think both the Matriarch and Endura will be a match made in heaven Taiwan

 

[JD Spydo]

I recently picked up a Matriarch and really love it!

This week I've been doing structural grouting after we set steel columns for a commercial breezeway. I've been cutting open grout bags, scraping grout out of crevices, cutting insulation, and other things.

First off, the Spyderedge is great for cutting extremely abrasive materials since the serrations continue to make aggressive cuts even when the edges are dull. Second, I was cutting out rigid insulation from a foundation wall, and with the curved tip of the blade I didn't have to worry about jabbing the tip into concrete and damaging the blade. Third, the forward bias of the tip is great for cutting cardboard and it tears through like no tomorrow!

However, these blades are a pain to sharpen,

Yeah I like the Matriarch much better than I do the Civilian for sure. And I'm just about liking Reverse S blades as much as I do conventional Hawkbill blades. Both blade styles have their distinct advantages but there is something really aggressive about Reverse S blades and for self defense I would far prefer a Reverse S blade and I would want nothing but the Matriarch at this time.

They are a bit of a challenge to sharpen but the performance is well worth it. That's another blade style I prefer to sharpen with my Spyderco 701 Profiles for a lot of reasons. Although I've heard of a few guys having decent results with the 204 Sharpmaker.

 

[BMCGear]

I recently picked up a Matriarch and really love it!

This week I've been doing structural grouting after we set steel columns for a commercial breezeway. I've been cutting open grout bags, scraping grout out of crevices, cutting insulation, and other things.

First off, the Spyderedge is great for cutting extremely abrasive materials since the serrations continue to make aggressive cuts even when the edges are dull. Second, I was cutting out rigid insulation from a foundation wall, and with the curved tip of the blade I didn't have to worry about jabbing the tip into concrete and damaging the blade. Third, the forward bias of the tip is great for cutting cardboard and it tears through like no tomorrow!

However, these blades are a pain to sharpen, the serrations are terrible for slicing, and when you need to do precision work they are useless. I pair my Matriarch with a slipjoint for slicing chores.

Overall, I think this blade geometry can really be appreciated by someone who works a trade or who makes aggressive cuts regularly. I'm really impressed by the Endura/Matriarch platform and am looking forward to recieving a ZDP Endura soon. I think both the Matriarch and Endura will be a match made in heaven Taiwan

Aren't they both made in Japan?

 

[The Aflac Duck]

Aren't they both made in Japan?

Oops

 

[JD Spydo]

I have a ss pe harpy i used to always use(its in pieces right now, waiting on some custom work for it). I would use it for most of the same task as i would my pm2 for example. Cutting straps, break down boxes, opening packages, scraping certain materials, whittling. I feel like the hawk bill blade shape and point gives the user a lot of control over their cut.

The main reason i prefer a pe is i feel like it gives a cleaner cut to the material when i need it. Also for me personally a pe is much easier to sharpen and maintain, just a few passes every other day on my sharp maker. Alot of it to be honest is probably because plain edges are what i familiar and most comfortable with.

First of all "Sigsog" you are among the priviledged because PE Harpy models are pretty scarce compared to a lot of the other Hawkbill models that are offered up in both edge types. And I can see why you would gravitate toward a plain edged model rather than a Spyderedged version if all you have had in the past has been plain edged. But I can assure you that if you would also get a Spyderedged Harpy you wouldn't have to wait long before you would find many uses for it.

The G-10 Harpy is probably still my all time favorite Spyderco Hawkbill model. And I'm holding out hope that Spyderco will eventually do a Sprint Run of the G-10 Harpy and hopefully in both PE & SE. Now sharpening a Spyderedge I'll admit is more labor intensive that sharpening a plain edge but once you get the hang of it and have the right sharpening tools you won't mind. I now love the challenge of sharpening blades that are not easy to sharpen and I also love the challenge of getting Spyderedges wickedly sharp. Believe me it does rub off on you after a while.

 

[ThePeacent]

Yeah I like the Matriarch much better than I do the Civilian for sure. And I'm just about liking Reverse S blades as much as I do conventional Hawkbill blades. Both blade styles have their distinct advantages but there is something really aggressive about Reverse S blades and for self defense I would far prefer a Reverse S blade and I would want nothing but the Matriarch at this time.

They are a bit of a challenge to sharpen but the performance is well worth it. That's another blade style I prefer to sharpen with my Spyderco 701 Profiles for a lot of reasons. Although I've heard of a few guys having decent results with the 204 Sharpmaker.

Reverse S,

REVRSE S!

 

[JD Spydo]

Reverse S,

REVRSE S!

Take heart Brother Trust me you're not alone there at all. I've been bit by so many Hawkbills and Reverse S blades I would have to count the incidents by the dozens For that reason I'm always well stocked with all types of first aid items and my local drug store knows me on a first name basis

But in all fairness you can get bit by any of them. Getting a false sense of security handling knives happens to a lot of us and it's about the worst thing that can happen to you. You've got to treat them like venomous snakes and always handle them with caution and respect. If you fail to do so you will be going through a plethora of first aid, drug store items

Actually I had one of my worst bites from a butterfly knife a few years back False confidence can also be a constant enemy too.