Thanks for the tip, however I misspoke. I didn't realize there was a difference between a hawksbill and a sheepsfoot. I've done some more reading. Apparently, a hawksbill is a fighting knife with a thin blade intended for slicing through clothes, leather jackets and skin. I need a utility knife with a little thicker, stronger plain edge blade. So, I think I'm looking for a sheepsfoot to replace my Spyderco (Endura). It's an unusual piece with a fully serrated blade and Emerson opener. It was a special order for a self-defense school and it's nice, however I don't like serrated blades, Spyderco openers, or Emerson openers. It was $169 as I remember, which I thought was expensive. The Brous is in a altogether different price league that I'm not venturing into.
So sub $169, flipper, sheepsfoot. When you say sheepsfoot, are you wanting a straight edge (ala wharncliffe) or just the general drop of the sheepsfoot's point?
Kershaw needs work....they are discontinued but still available on certain sites that allow for items to be posted and bid on Assisted opening, utility blade that is a blend of sheepsfoot and wharncliffe.
The Wharncliffe seems to have a thinner blade like a hawksbill, again more like a fighting knife. I think I'm looking for a more durable sheepsfoot. I use the knife in my pocket for everything, including mild prying in wood.
wharncliffe is a style of blade shape, they are generally used for utility purposes (rarely used as fighters). each brand/model will use different thickness for stock... if you are gonna pry...get a prybar there are literally hundreds of wharncliffes & sheepsfoot blades. best of luck in your search.
Yes as Rival kind of poked at, I think you're taking definitions of these blade styles too seriously. Yes there are some wharncliffe fighters but I'd say the vast majority are utility oriented.
Wharncliff is the exact style of a blade a BOX CUTTER is. A hawkbill is the kind of blade used the world over as a PRUNING KNIFE(also a lineoleum knife). I'm not sure how you're interpreting these designs that are used WORLDWIDE as utility knives as fighters, but....please don't.
I guess because the people who are making and marketing those knives frequently refer to them as "tactical". I think that implies fighting unless you are tactically pruning and cutting boxes. I guess "Karambits" are the only ones that are really exclusively fighters. If you want to re-frame that, you could probably look back 300 years and find out that they were used to harvest rice. In which case, you could say I was unfairly characterizing the Karambit as a fighting knife, when it's actually used for harvesting rice???
Umm, there are plenty of wharncliffes and hawkbills not marketed as tactical/fighting knives. Like, there are a lot more box cutters(and kiridashis, in Japan) in use than any fighting wharncliffes. I mean, sure you got the Spyderco Yojimbo/Ronin, but you also have plenty of ones NOT marketed in any way as "tactical", like the CRKT Wharncliffe Minimalist and Folts SPEW, the Kershaw Needs Work and Leek, Real Steel Alieneck Wharncliffe, the Higo No Kamis, Condor Tangara... As for hawkbills, ask an electrician how tactical they are. Or a gardener. Or any of the other sorts of people who actually use hawkbills as part of their daily work, you'll find a LOT more of people using those hawkbills than you will people using them as tacticals.
Good point. Maybe I've just run into more of the serrated ones marketed as tactical knives. The serrated ones seem to be either marketed as tactical or emergency personnel knives. Sorry if I got a little testy. I live in a very liberal area. Frequently, when discussing a subject with a liberal they stop me mid-sentence and attempt to define what I am, and am not allowed to say. It's arrogant, controlling and condescending. Ironically, it's completely counter to what classic liberalism is supposed to be. I understand that wasn't your intention.
No worries. Just didn't want you to automatically write off a large number of knives because a small portion of them are marketed as tactical/fighter/self-defense type knives. Since really, the same can be said for almost every blade style. I mean, for every Bowie camp knife or survival knife, you have some kinda tactical bowie no doubt used by "operators"...it's just the way the knife world goes, there's lots of companies selling "tactical" blades, so you can find tactical/combat oriented blades of every shape. Heck, even the BK9, which is extremely well respected as an outdoors/camp knife but is never recommended as a tactical knife is actually called the "Combat Bowie".
Austinaftermath, thanks for the recommendation. You came closer than anybody else. The Boker S2 looked perfect. However it's right hand carry only and I'm a lefty @#%!. The hunt goes on.
For a flipper hawkbill, i know of the boker plus baby bat. Its strange looking, but cheap in price. I think its like a 3 inch blade.
Oh you are looking for some of the same knives as me then. I fell in love with the wharncliffe blade shape, and am a fellow southpaw. A few I know of would be the Blackhawk Be Wharned around $80, the CRKT Swindle under $60, any of the sheepsfoot Griptilians for the multiple price points (this is the most lefty friendly option, truly ambidextrous), Spyderco Yojimbo 2 (if you can even find one), Brous Bionic (near your price cap), and the Spyderco Breeden Rescue (again, hard to find). Not the biggest selection, but those are the same knives I looked at for the similar criteria.
