Colt Hawkbill

J

jacknife

Joined
Jan 3, 2001
Messages
868
I love a nice Hawkbill. I already had a couple of the Rough Rider Hawkbills and was very pleased with them.
When I was one of those poor chaps that had to work for a living I used to spread the word of how useful
a knife could be to my fellow work chums. The only knife they were ever really taken with was the Hawkbill.
I had two of my work mates ask me to get them RR Hawkbills.
The Hawkbill has a couple of things going for it as far as I'm concerned. I like the easy opening, nothing could
be simpler to open. Then I like the way the curved blade bites into anything it cuts.
So when I saw this new offering from Colt I was very interested. It's twice the price of the RR.
Was it twice as nice? I wondered. Today I can give you an answer, as one has just dropped through my mailbox.
YES! it is twice as good. F+F is nigh on perfect and it exudes quality. All I can say is this will see a lot of pocket time.
If you are in the market for a Hawkbill you should be very pleased with this offering by Colt.

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Edit: Forgot to mention it has a lanyard hole as well.

Steve
 
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jacknife said:
I had two of my work mates ask me to get them RR Hawkbills.
The Hawkbill has a couple of things going for it as far as I'm concerned. I like the easy opening, nothing could
be simpler to open. Then I like the way the curved blade bites into anything it cuts.
So when I saw this new offering from Colt I was very interested. It's twice the price of the RR.
Was it twice as nice? I wondered. Today I can give you an answer, as one has just dropped through my mailbox.
YES! it is twice as good. F+F is nigh on perfect and it exudes quality. All I can say is this will see a lot of pocket time.
If you are in the market for a Hawkbill you should be very pleased with this offering by Colt.

101_0189.JPG


101_0193.JPG
Click to expand...

Yay Carl, you did it! As I said on another thread about this particular knife from this particular manufacturer, I had no idea it existed. Looks great.

I think a lot of folks may not appreciate the nature of the hawkbill and its cutting ability. A I know a lot of folks that use these for all manner of trades work from carpet laying to electrical work. My grandfather always kept one in his shop and used it for everything.

The curved blade seems to force certain cuts more easily, no doubt due to its geometry. And since you get that assist from the curve hawkbill will still cut well even after it is a bit dull.

Thanks for the follow up and post!

Robert
 
At one time a HB was a knife of choice for self defence in areas of Fl.I've carried one for years.Opinel makes a nice light one!
Jim
 
Thanks for your post Robert. I couldn't be happier with this Colt Hawkbill.

Just one thing though. I'm not Carl Jackknife. I'm Steve Jacknife...with one K From the UK
Easy mistake to make. I might have to put STEVE in the post as well, before poor Carl gets a bad name, or they think he's a Limey :)


Steve
 
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Sayoc01 said:
At one time a HB was a knife of choice for self defence in areas of Fl.I've carried one for years.Opinel makes a nice light one!
Jim
Click to expand...

I can well believe that. That blade would sure make a mess of anyone in a fight.


Steve
 
I don't have a hawkbill, but I do have a canoe and trapper in that same series and they are really quite nice. I particularly like the blade shapes on the canoe. I'm sure the hawkbill is every bit as nice as my knives. I might just have to try one out; looks like a great utility knife.

Coltcanoe-1.jpg


Ed J
 
jacknife said:
Thanks for your post Robert. I couldn't be happier with this Colt Hawkbill.

Just one thing though. I'm not Carl Jackknife. I'm Steve Jacknife...with one K From the UK
Easy mistake to make. I might have to put STEVE in the post as well, before poor Carl gets a bad name, or they think he's a Limey :)


Steve
Click to expand...

Whoops!

Sorry I didn't catch that. And hey.... as far as being a Limey, being a knife lover knows no country or boundaries, right? It's all good.

Another look at that knife... may have to go shopping this weekend for that rascal.

Robert
 
:encouragement: Thanks cousins :thumbup:

Little update on the Hawkbill. Been carrying her around all day doing little jobs with her...nothing much..opening mail, packets, cutting string, the usual
stuff we retired guys do. She slices though everything just fine, it's taken a good edge and is a pleasure to open and close. Looks pretty too.
I've a few RR knives and apart from the Hawkbills I never really took to them much. I like my Case knives and usually carry one of them more than a RR.
This Colt seems different somehow, you'd need a magnifier to see the 'China' mark on it which is good. I guess it's early days yet to say if it's going
to join my normal Victorinox and Case EDC's but I'm enjoying finding out. It looks promising.

Steve
 
TLARbb said:
I don't have a hawkbill, but I do have a canoe and trapper in that same series and they are really quite nice. I particularly like the blade shapes on the canoe. I'm sure the hawkbill is every bit as nice as my knives. I might just have to try one out; looks like a great utility knife.

Coltcanoe-1.jpg


Ed J
Click to expand...

That's a beauty. I know what you mean about the blade shape that looks much better than many I've seen. I've a Boker Canoe and it's a good knife, but I can't say I like the broad blade it has.

Steve
 
What kind of steel is the blade? The only online description I can find is "stainless". How does it hold an edge?
 
There is a beautiful Colt Barlow pattern with popcorn presentation stag scales and etched blade at my local knife shop. Do these knives compare favorably to US made knives?
 
akadave2 said:
There is a beautiful Colt Barlow pattern with popcorn presentation stag scales and etched blade at my local knife shop. Do these knives compare favorably to US made knives?
Click to expand...

"On another forum" a couple of guys took a real hard, strong look at these about 18 months ago. They felt like they had stepped back in time 35 years to get that kind of material and workmanship all in one package.

They were enormously happy with their purchase.

Robert
 
I've heard the Colt branded imports as being described as Rough Riders with slightly higher F&F and QC. If they can live up to that they should be exceptional knives given the price. Also the hawkbill is a fine pattern for work and general chores.
 
RobbW said:
What kind of steel is the blade? The only online description I can find is "stainless". How does it hold an edge?
Click to expand...

420J2 by the seem of it. That will put a few people off I expect. It gets nice and sharp, but I've not used it hard so can't say what the edge retention is like,
probably poor, but that doesn't bother me too much. I like knives that sharpen easily. My favorite knives are SAK's so I'm used to it.
 
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