I want a hawksbill.. i think?

T

Trigcure

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Mar 7, 2009
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Been looking at the spyderco byrd crossbill, and the knife looks good to me and the price is right, but i'd like to hear your opinions and suggestions for alternate hawksbill knives, only thing is i don't like serrations

Thanks!
 
I love my Spyderco P'Kal but potentially the price is not right?
I must admit, because most of my knife work is what many would term abuse, my Boker Subclaw gets heaps more use than the P'Kal.
And the price is definitely right on that puppy!

subclaw_fram_l.jpg

(Not my photo)
 
When you say hawksbill are you also referring to karambit knives? If so, then I would recommend you look at the 5.11 knives. I own the 5.11 Journeyman, and love it. It's definitely a specialized knife, but it does have some really nice applications. For the price I personally think you can't go wrong with the 5.11 line...... but that's just my $0.02......
 
De4thStr1ke said:
When you say hawksbill are you also referring to karambit knives? If so, then I would recommend you look at the 5.11 knives. I own the 5.11 Journeyman, and love it. It's definitely a specialized knife, but it does have some really nice applications. For the price I personally think you can't go wrong with the 5.11 line...... but that's just my $0.02......
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A hawkbill is a kerambit without the hole in the handle.
 
the spyderco tasman is nice. you can get a black handle, plain edge one.

there is also the blackhawk garra2.
 
The G-10 Crossbill is a nice knife for the money, but I prefer a more pronounced curve, like you get with the Harpy, Tasman and just-out Spyderhawk H1... those are also three times the price. Can't speak for non-Spyderco hawkbills...

Wait, yes I can. The pruning blade on a few SAKs is nice for cutting packing tape and the like, but nowhere near as big, if size matters to you.

Right now, a PE Crossbill is my knife of choice for cutting down cardboard boxes, and a SE Tasman gets used for cutting vines and light vegetation where a machete would be overkill.
 
Case makes a nice (although non-locking) hawkbill pruner/electrician's knife. The Byrd Crossbill in G-10 is a very good knife for the money, although I prefer serrations on mine. I'm waiting on my new H-1 Spyderhawks to arrive, at which point the Crossbill is going back into the box. If I could replace it easily, I'd be carrying my VG-10 Spyderhawk instead of the Crossbill, but those have gotten hard to come by.
 
I've got three of them, and they never get used.
Reese Wyland Hawk.
Spyderco Civilian, non-serrated.
Spyderco Harpy.

All sit in a locked case, sight unseen.
Buy at your own risk, IMHO useless.

And no, none of them are for sale.:yawn:
 
i love the SS handle harpy. i carry mine all the time, even though i dont usually like SS handles. it feels great in my hand. one of my favorites.

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I have one of the cheapo S&W karambit folders. It's surgical steel so after about 20 cuts it's done, but for a emergency knife, or S&R, it's tits. I had mine on my life jacket for a 5 day rafting trip, got upside down a bunch and thankfully didn't have to use it but it slices through nylon strapping and cordage without a hitch.
 
BadBoyBrad!! said:
I love my Spyderco P'Kal but potentially the price is not right?
I must admit, because most of my knife work is what many would term abuse, my Boker Subclaw gets heaps more use than the P'Kal.
And the price is definitely right on that puppy!

subclaw_fram_l.jpg

(Not my photo)
Click to expand...

Sweet knife. I just ordered Böker Plus Wharcom. Weird, it was slightly cheaper than SubClaw but I think Wharcom's blade suits better for cutting boxes open... And i really like Wharncliffe blades ^^ But I think subClaw is good way to determ wether Byrds Crossbill blade really suits the job you want. They're not expensive in the states, smaller that Byrd Crossbill. Byt Byrd's knife has great value for its price. I doubt you really cannot go wrong with either knife. Byrd is just bit more "handfull" than smaller Böker
 
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Hawkbills are pull cut specialists. The blade shape grabs the target and this aids cutting.

However, hawkbills don't do well with push cuts. A blade with belly does better with push cuts.

Like my heavy & robust Crossbill. Love my lite H1 Spyderhawk, both the plain and serrated blade versions. But I'm not looking forward to sharpening either despite having the Duckfoot sharpener & video (I am going to have to acquire new sharpening skills for the cresent blade shape).

oregon
 
cbxer55 said:
I've got three of them, and they never get used.
Reese Wyland Hawk.
Spyderco Civilian, non-serrated.
Spyderco Harpy.

All sit in a locked case, sight unseen.
Buy at your own risk, IMHO useless.

And no, none of them are for sale.:yawn:
Click to expand...

It depends on what kind of work you do. Personally, I find one very useful...for about ten percent of what I do. For a lot of chores they don't work well, but for some things they excel.
 
I've got both an Emerson Karambit with the "wave" feature for fast deployment, and a Spyderco Harpy. Both are excellent, well made knives and would serve you well. The Emerson is designed as defense weapon, as the Information Brochure from their company advises, and the Harpy could actually be either a utility or defense knife.
 
I have the byrd. I was always curious about this style of blade and got one to see if it made sense to buy a better one. The byrd is itself well made for the price and a nice size...a little big closed due to blade shape. For me, it helped me decide it wasn't for me, so it served it's purpose and I use iton occasion.
 
rpn said:
I have the byrd. I was always curious about this style of blade and got one to see if it made sense to buy a better one. The byrd is itself well made for the price and a nice size...a little big closed due to blade shape. For me, it helped me decide it wasn't for me, so it served it's purpose and I use iton occasion.
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I have one also and purchased the same reasons. I decided I did not like the bulk of the knife folded, and it was a bit big in the pocket. Its a good value I think if this is what you are looking for and the knife feels solid.
 
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