Hawk Talon Thoughts?

smills

smills

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Oct 27, 2023
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I've had a Hawk Talon on my list for a little while, and will be tempted to pull the trigger when the right config pops up. But I'm a little concerned as they seem to be occasionally released in small batches, but VERY regularly pop up on the second hand market.

Obviously nobody is going to knock them when they're trying to sell theirs, but I'm thinking there has gotta be something going on for these things to change hands so often.

Who has one, or has sold one, or just handled one? What are your honest opinions?

Thanks in advance
 
I own two. A Black Dunes carbon fiber inlay I bought directly from them at Blade last year, and then a full Ti I pre-ordered in the first batch.

I love them both. I carry the Ti more often. I have used both. I have no desire to sell either of them. And the Ti was my first knife to break into a 4 figure price point as I bought both new and direct.

Super useful, and very fidgety. No issues.

My guess as to what you're seeing is people buy them to check them out. But, for most people it's a lit of money to leave tied up in one knife if it's not their exact cup of tea for any reason. So they are effectively renting it. If it doesn't strike them right, they'll take a cut to move it along.
 
I picked up a "rented" one off the exchange, seems it was just opened/closed a few times, and passed on to me. I don't plan to sell it from here - I like everything about it, its unique shape, the locking mechanism, the sound and crispness of the opening/detente/lockup, it's all really cool, and its a much smaller/lighter knife than what I expected from the pictures. The only complaint, is that when in the pocket, it sticks out quite a bit, due to the clip style and positioning, but that comes form someone who puts a deep carry clip on all his folders before they get pocket time.
 
This is common with high end knives of all sorts, especially new ones with lots of hype. People buy stuff they know they will likely sell just to be able to check it out knowing that it will hold most of its value on the secondary market. I've owned several high end knives over the years that I didn't love just based on specs or pictures but that had such positive buzz around them I thought maybe I was missing something. Some of them I've loved and kept, others I played with for a week or two before putting them back up for sale. If I had a nickel for every time I sold a knife that at one point in time I thought I'd keep forever, I could buy another knife I might keep forever! 😅

I feel the same way about the Talon...the first time I ever saw one my reaction was "meh". Now I would buy one just based on what I know about them, but I still don't know that it would be a staple in my carry rotation. Maybe I'd fall in love with it like many people seem to, or maybe the unique action and other positives don't outweigh the fact that I look at it and don't think "wow that is a great looking knife". I don't feel it would be a huge risk because I could look at it with the "rental" mindset and know that I will sell it for slightly less than I pay, and that difference will be the cost of checking it out and knowing I've tried it instead of wondering.
 
So I think I have the only one for sale right now on the exchange. Reason is the below picture. I too was chasing the “correct configuration”. It just showed up today(Black Glass cf inlays). Yes, people are drawn to certain designs ergonomics, and whatnots based on pictures first. But you really need to get these knives in hand given the chance, to make a full determination if they are right for you. The Talon was one of these. When I first saw it, I did think it was pretty neat looking. But it wasn’t until I got it in hand I realized how awesome of an EDC it really is. This isn’t just a hype knife. It really is genius in engineering.IMG_3200.jpegIMG_3198.jpeg
 
I was never a big fan of the Talon, it didn't look particularly attractive to me. But on a whim I decided to offer a Shiro Hati up for trade for a black glass Talon, and I couldn't be happier. It feels supremely nice to handle, the action is so addictive and fun. The mechanical clacking is the most satisfying acoustics of any knife ever made, period. It sounds like a bolt action rifle being cycled, I didn't expect it to be so much fun. Then the pocket clip, it looks ridiculous and rides so high, but I love it. It's my favorite clip. You can open it up when sliding it in and out of the pocket and it prevents your pocket from being torn up. Huge plus for someone like me that's pulling their knife out of their pocket every 30 seconds to fidget. Then the blade, it's a very well executed hollow, the blade stock isn't particularly thin but the knife ends up being very slicey because of the deep hollow. It also has one of the sharpest factory edges I've ever experienced, will slice an unsupported hanging paper towel. It's also not bad to disassemble and service, the mechanism is very simple and straightforward to put back together. I cleaned out the factory grease, looked like white lithium grease, and used my preferred Slick Honey grease and alot more of it. It reduced a bit of reverberation of the mechanism, less ringing, more clacky mechanical sound and I quite like it. Hawk also has a good reputation for their heat treat, so I have faith the m390 is at least 61.5-62hrc. I love the knife, won't be getting rid of it. And I say all this as someone who was previously a hater.

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