Half Hawk Blade

There is also a "Lambsfoot", however, they are not the same as a "Sheepsfoot". I believe the Lambsfoot blade has a taper, whereas the Sheepsfoot does not. From what I've seen here on the forums, the Lambsfoot blade is also longer than a Sheepsfoot.
All of the "Half Hawk" knives I've seen have a Sheepsfoot blade, and a different handle profile from the Lambsfoot knives I've seen.
Also, a lot of the Half Hawk knives (for example, those by Rough Rider) have a secondary Pen blade. However, the lack of a secondary blade doesn't mean it is a Lambsfoot. My 9 dot Case 031(?) is a single blade Sheepsfoot.

I am not an expert on the Lambsfoot. That person would be Mr. Jack Black Jack Black .

EDIT: There is also the Wharncliffe blade, but it has a "stabber" point than the Lambsfoot and Sheepsfoot blades do.
 
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There is also a "Lambsfoot", however, they are not the same as a "Sheepsfoot". I believe the Lambsfoot blade has a taper, whereas the Sheepsfoot does not. From what I've seen here on the forums, the Lambsfoot blade is also longer than a Sheepsfoot.
All of the "Half Hawk" knives I've seen have a Sheepsfoot blade, and a different handle profile from the Lambsfoot knives I've seen.
Also, a lot of the Half Hawk knives (for example, those by Rough Rider) have a secondary Pen blade. However, the lack of a secondary blade doesn't mean it is a Lambsfoot. My 9 dot Case 031(?) is a single blade Sheepsfoot.

I am not an expert on the Lambsfoot. That person would be Mr. Jack Black Jack Black .

EDIT: There is also the Wharncliffe blade, but it has a "stabber" point than the Lambsfoot and Sheepsfoot blades do.
The "half-hawk" knife has nothing to do with Lambsfoot knives, beside for the fact they both sport straight edged blades.
As far as I know, Rough Riders are the only ones to sell a knife called a Half-Hawk. I wonder if it's so named because it is built on the same frame as the Hawkbill Pruner.
20180122_074948-1.jpg
The more I think about it, the name makes sense. It's 'half of a hawkbill' I've seen a number of old pruner blades that have been broken and then reground into sheepfoot blades, the new sheepfoot comes out a little wider toward the end.
Colonial Frankenknife 2.jpg
 
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My apologies.
I've thought "half hawk" was another name or description for "Sheepsfoot".

I will shut up and get lost now.

Again, I am sorry for the misinformation. :(
 
The "half-hawk" knife has nothing to do with Lambsfoot knives, beside for the fact they both sport straight edged blades.
As far as I know, Rough Riders are the only ones to sell a knife called a Half-Hawk. I wonder if it's so named because it is built on the same frame as the Hawkbill Pruner.
View attachment 833721
The more I think about it, the name makes sense. It's 'half of a hawkbill' I've seen a number of old pruner blades that have been broken and then reground into sheepfoot blades, the new sheepfoot comes out a little wider toward the end.
View attachment 833722

Thanks :D :thumbsup:

RR uses the same blade configuration on this knife from their Coal Miner series. The blades and frame are identical to their 'Half-Hawk', but they don't use that name for this model, certainly not here in the UK at least :thumbsup:

rr1284_2.jpg


Thanks for the compliment afishhunter afishhunter :thumbsup:
 
So RR made up a new traditional pattern?

Not in this example. They made up the name for marketing purposes. The pattern is very old. Some of their other patterns are "new"... like the dog bone thing... never seen anything like it... I'm not sure if something can be both new and traditional though. ;) For me it is the history of the pattern that defines a knife as traditional.
 
The "half-hawk" knife has nothing to do with Lambsfoot knives, beside for the fact they both sport straight edged blades.
As far as I know, Rough Riders are the only ones to sell a knife called a Half-Hawk. I wonder if it's so named because it is built on the same frame as the Hawkbill Pruner.

That's what I was thinking. For reasons I couldn't remember, I thought that I'd come across the term "half hawk" before. Once Rough Rider was mentioned, I remembered. There's some old knife on an auction site listed as a half hawk, but the seller could very well have assumed that's what it's called by looking at similar knives and finding Rough Riders. I've never seen it elsewhere.

The RR called a half hawk I would think would more appropriately be called a sway back jack, or because of the larger size a loom fixer like Case's 6217.
 
...The RR called a half hawk I would think would more appropriately be called a sway back jack, or because of the larger size a loom fixer like Case's 6217.

The knife from RR is a curved jack or "New England Whaler"...some of the oldies were etched with that name. Very old pattern.

A swayback jack has a more extreme shape and has less heft to it. It is a smaller knife. The swayback jack from Tony Bose is stylized and a bit more moderate in shape to better suit modern tastes. To my knowledge nobody currently makes the knives with the same extreme shape of the oldies.

This is an example of a swayback jack
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The knife on the bottom is a "New England Whaler". Tony's stylized design is somewhere in between the swayback and the New England Whaler. It is a lighter knife like the old swayback but the shape is more moderate.

u7kMPiH.jpg
 
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I have little respect for the "half" labels that spring up when talking about knives;
to whit, "half-whit!!:rolleyes:

Yes indeed, isn't that usually a Wharncliffe Knife, and then there's the 'Half-Congress', which is actually just a Congress?! :D
 
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No oxycontin, I meant what I said, a new traditional pattern. This knife is definitely traditional. My search for a non-RR half hawk knife turned up zero. Unless Planterz or someone else finds one that predates the RR model, then RR made a new traditional pattern. The posts above don't agree on exactly what it is, so it must not be an old traditional pattern (to distinguish from new traditional pattern, no redundancy intended).

Thanks to Jack Black for pointing out the coal miner, which is a actually a coal miner half hawk according to RR, and the same pattern as the HH. Jack also did some schooling on the "half" issue. Looks like Jack Black and RR Rock n' Roll. Smile
 
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