Hawkbill, Slayer of Cardboard?

B

Beaverius

Joined
Jan 11, 2011
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15
Long story short, I came across a Tasman Salt on eBay and I've been obsessed with that beautiful blade shape ever since.

I then made the mistake of researching its utility and it seems like there is a consensus that with the exception of food prep it functions pretty well as an EDC blade and in particular does bad things to cardboard boxes.

My most arduous cutting task is removing the folded flaps of the boxes so we can organize them on shelves using the box itself as a container and have easy access to the precious cargo inside. I often don't have time to pull the box down and de-flap, and the items inside can be damaged by my blade, so control is key.

For the cuts needed, it seems like a hawkbill blade will work pretty well, especially considering I'd be doing some cuts that the blade was designed for.

Nonetheless, I feel compelled to get a second opinion from you intense hawkbill fans before I drop the scrilla on one for myself:) I figure, why start with a Crossbill when I can just get Harpy or Tasman Salt?

Any other smallish Hawkbills I should consider?

For the specific task of cutting off the flaps of boxes, will a SE or PE benefit me the most?

Thanks much in advance!

-Chris
 
personally i would go with a serrated edge for cardboard, plain edges dull a little to quickly for me with that particular task in mind, but of course i carry 4 knives avg so if your only edcing this knife then id go PE
 
I prefer serrations on my hawkbills, and especially on H-1. The Tasman Salt is a nice size for EDC (the one I carry is a factory second, although I'm still not sure why) and it is a hard working blade. If you want something more discrete, there is a new Ladybug Hawkbill in H-1 that is quite a cutter, especially for its size.
 
brets-ftw said:
personally i would go with a serrated edge for cardboard, plain edges dull a little to quickly for me with that particular task in mind, but of course i carry 4 knives avg so if your only edcing this knife then id go PE
Click to expand...

Where do you put all of those? :D
 
I used to carry a SE Atlantic Salt as my "work knife". "Work" means cutting open/up cardboard boxes and bags filled with greasy food, so the serrated edge and stainlessness of this knife was perfect for me. When the Tasman Salt first came out I immediately bought a serrated one. I figured that since 99% of my "work" cutting was done with draw cuts, the hawkbill combined with serrations would be perfect for me. But I was wrong.

What I found was that most of the cutting I did was done towards the tip of the knife, in the last inch, mainly where the last large serration and 2 last small serrations are. With the angle these serrations bite into the material they don't slice/saw as much as they try to push through the material. On cardboard, this means the blade would bind and drag. On plastic bags or wrapping, the teeth would snag. Needless to say, I was disappointed.

I replaced my SE Tasman with a PE Tasman and never looked back. The hawkbill still of course allows for powerful draw cutting, and the smooth edge glides through everything rather than getting caught up in it. I'm sure that a SE Tasman (or any hawkbill) has great use for some people, but in my case, with my cutting technique, it simply doesn't perform. YMMV.

Personally, if cutting cardboard was my only task for a knife, I would actually go with one of the Spyderco Rescue blades (Atlantic Salt, Saver Salt, Rescue 93mm, etc), fully serrated. My favorite cardboard cutter is the old blue 93mm Rescue, which has about an inch of plain edge at the tip.
 
if im not mistaken, the H1 steel is work hardened and cutting edge on the serrations is harder than the cutting edge on the plain blade.
 
I would get a PE Merlin for that kind of use. I love my SE Tasman, but it mangles the hell out of boxes like Planterz said. And if you don't need the supreme stainless aspect of H1, why not get some good old vg-10 for cardboard dissection? :)
 
I've been meaning to get a SE Tasman or SE Spyderhawk for a while... once I find a good price on one. I'll be checking the WTS forum.
 
Well, I found a good price on this beauty, thanks to a fellow forum member.

superhawk.jpg
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^ the good ole superhawk if im not mistaken, great knives, the handles are amazing, no wonder theyre used on the superleaf
 
They now offer premium (high speed?) steel blades for utility knives. They run about $30/100 if I remember correctly. They last about 3X as long as a regular blade. They are double ended. If all you're cutting is cardboard, this is one solution.
 
tiguy7 said:
They now offer premium (high speed?) steel blades for utility knives. They run about $30/100 if I remember correctly. They last about 3X as long as a regular blade. They are double ended. If all you're cutting is cardboard, this is one solution.
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That sounds interesting, but I think we need a bit more information to be sure we're finding the same product you're talking about.
 
I have both PE and SE Tasman. Been carrying the SE for 2 years and haven't carried the PE once. It just works for me. Whichever edge you decide on I'm sure you'll find the Tasman a lot more useful than you thought if you carry it everyday.
 
tiguy7 said:
They now offer premium (high speed?) steel blades for utility knives. They run about $30/100 if I remember correctly. They last about 3X as long as a regular blade. They are double ended. If all you're cutting is cardboard, this is one solution.
Click to expand...

Oh I'm cutting a lot more than cardboard :) But let's be real, as a knife enthusiast living in the suburbs, cutting the flaps off of boxes is more fun than popping bubble wrap!

My main tasks are cutting open big bags of coffee, cutting the corners off of liquids in big tetrapaks, piercing containers so they drain without splashing and the previously mentioned flap removal. Order day is box opening and breaking:)

Sure sure, I could do all the box stuff with a box cutter or other opening tasks with scissors but in reality it's always a pain in the butt looking for them and having a blade in my pocket that can do both of those things and always be at the ready, it's a no brainer for me:)

Based some of the above experiences, I'm gonna strongly leaning towards the Tasman Salt in PE due to what sounds like a better slice than the SE... but a SE is traditional and I've never owned a 'nice' knife with a SE so maybe I'll get a Harpy too:)
 
I had a Tasman SE for a short time. I found the serrations to get in the way more than anything. When I get my next hawkbill, it'll definitely be PE.
 
It's a small one, but the Spyderco Cricket excels at this kind of work. With the reverse S blade shape putting that small hawk bill right at the tip of the knife it zips right through cardboard. Throw a lanyard on the end and you can gain even better control of the knife.
 
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