Anyone have a Ka-Bar Fin Hawkbill?

Joined
May 5, 2008
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I have always admired this knife but have as yet to get one - was wondering if there were any owners of this knife out there reading and if so, could you post some reviews/opinions on the knife, thanks!

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Do they actually call that hawkbill? Looks more like a modified tanto to me. Kind of, recurve up front, wharnie from there back. I dunno...

Gibby
 
I don't believe that that is a hawkbill per se, but it's a VERY interesting blade shape. That particular FIN folder has been attracting my attention for quite some time, but I have yet to pull the trigger---it has taken the back seat to, in my eyes, more important custom and work knife projects, but it's on the list! :D
 
They're HORRIBLY uncomfortable. When you go to open them the point of the guard jabs you in the thumb and the frame bites the hand. Action is stiff.

These have been dicussed before and the general opinion is that they're bass-ackwards in terms of their design. I was interested in them when I first saw them but was very disappointed when I actually got one in hand.
 
They're HORRIBLY uncomfortable. When you go to open them the point of the guard jabs you in the thumb and the frame bites the hand. Action is stiff.

These have been dicussed before and the general opinion is that they're bass-ackwards in terms of their design. I was interested in them when I first saw them but was very disappointed when I actually got one in hand.

yes, that guard hitting your thumb is terrible. Originally posted on spydero.com's off-topic:

I had one of these Fins for a day before I returned it. Unfortunately, I never took pictures of it. It does indeed look quite cool, and it actually feels good in the hand. It opens smoothly and the frame lock is quite solid. The depressions on the handle were great for indexing.

HOWEVER, The coating on the handle chips and flakes much too easily. You can't see in the pic, but the pocket clip is ridiculously small for such a hefty knife; it works fine, and I'm a fan of discrete clips, but it just seemed too thin. When it is closed, it is quite large and doesn't ride comfortably in the pocket and it renders the pocket almost unsuable.

If these were the only issues, I would've kept it, simply to add it to the collection. However, I personally had problems opening it using the hole. The hole itself is shaped nicely and provides enough friction for the thumb (unlike the rounded bevels of BM oval-holes). I don't know how you guys open your spydies, but I assume most either flick it with the thumbnail, use the pad of the thumb, or spyder-drop it. All of these methods were very uncomfortable and even quite painful the first time I opened it. The problem is that finger guard is quite pointy and obscures much of the opening hole while the blade is being opened. If you look at the pic and imagine the knife in the closed position, you'd see that the opening hole is quite close to, and concentric to the finger guard/choil. As soon as the blade swings out, that pointy part of the guard is within the hole. The first time I opened it, that part went underneath my thumbnail and was quite painful. The only way (I found) to open it witout discomfort (besides inertial openings) was to place my thumb at the outermost part where the guard didn't encroach and use a deliberate arc around that part; much too cumbersome for me. I tried my best to justify keeping it (even thought about getting the dremel out and 'waving' it), but it wasn't worth the money.

I hope someone else has a better experience, as kabar is definitely a reputable company.
 
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