Is there any advantage to a plain edge hawkbill over a serrated hawkbill?

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bk400

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Nov 1, 2005
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I have a serrated Tasman Salt (absolutely indispensable during my last time on ship), and I was looking to pick up another, when I noticed that some of the popular online sites have sold out of the Plain Edge version. I am curious to know the advantage of a plain edge hawkbill, given that my understanding is that the modern occupational point of a hawkbill is essentially to tear and rip through fibrous line.

Since the knife is almost always used for rough "slash and tear" type pull cuts, why not always have serrations (ease of sharpening aside)?
 
Easier to sharpen, less intimidating to people, nicer to look at, and plain edge excels at a lot of cutting. Serrated edges are really only necessary for fibrous or hard to cut materials such as rope, plant material, and even wires.

Most people don't need SE for what the cut, and most people prefer it for ease of sharpening and aesthetics.

That's my take on it.
 
Interesting point. But if you're not going to be cutting the tough, fibrous materials, then why carry a hawkbill? My sense was that it was purely designed for pull cutting tough things. If I'm cutting cardboard or paper, I don't think I'd need a hawkbill at all. I suppose a hawkbill could be interesting for SD, but in that case I'd think the serrated is a definite plus.
 
bk400 said:
But if you're not going to be cutting the tough, fibrous materials, then why carry a hawkbill?
Click to expand...

Point control. For me, I can control the tip of the knife much better with a hawkbill blade than with a conventional blade shape. It's a godsend when opening boxes that contain boxes.

Try opening a case of cereal boxes without the point control of a hawkbill, and there will quite literally be cheerios everywhere. Hawkbills allow more control of the tip with less effort.

Of course that could just be my experience, others may feel differently.
 
I think that because it is a new model that is mostly people in the know buying them up. The average knife buyer probably does not know if it yet. This means that it is knife people buying them, which means they like PE generally speaking. Also for collecting PE seems to be worth more than SE in most cases. Just how it is, at least that's my take on the whole thing.
 
On top of all the other reasons already mentioned, the fact that, with the exception of the fairly expensive CF Harpy, there have been almost no PE Spyderco hawkbills available for a couple years might have created a pent up demand for them.
 
To put "plain edged versus serrated edged Hawbills" in a comparison as to whether or not one has superior "tool value" is really an "apple & orange" comparison. I have both plain edged Hawkbills and serrated Hawkbills and I find that they both have their own unique purposes. You can get a lot done with either one of them. There are a lot of chores that you can do adequately with either edge configuration.

Being the Hawkbill fanatic that I have become I am constantly finding more and more uses for both edge types. The Hawkbill is I think the most misunderstood knife in the entire knife world. It has only been recently on a couple of Forums that I am finally seeing a few of us challenging each other as to what practical uses that they are good for. To all of our surprise there has been more answers that I ever anticipated.

My advise is to get one of each variety. If I were you I would get a set of these new model Spyderco Tasmans ( one PE and one SE) and explore for yourself as to which edge does which job. I can tell you right now that the serrated edge does cut rope, carpet and other fibrous materials much better than plain edges do. And plain edged ones to cut through stuff like meat and fish with precise control. You just need to check it out for yourself because really the answer to your question is really multi-faceted.
 
I've had 2 different serrated Merlins as my EDC for about 9 years, the first with the FRN clip and the newer with the coin-tightened metal clip. It has been the most functional blade shape for my uses of any of the other knives I've had. Except for maybe the Blue handled VG10 Delica I had that fell out of my pocket while on a motorcycle- though I'll be getting a new Delica and Endura 4 soon.:D

The others I've had include Cold Steel 3" clip Voyager, 2 Emerson Commanders, Blade Forums Blue G-10 handled Native, Grey Handled Matriarch, old Katz folder that looked exactly like the new KaBar MULE models, Camillus Stockman, Livesay SOP and Woo, etc., etc.

Cameron
 
I am going to have to disagree with the one brother who states that the only jobs the serrated Hawkbills are good for is fibrous material such as rope, carpet, twine and so forth. Yesterday I used a serrated Hawkbill throughout the day just to see if that knife had the ability of doing multiple chores.

I had no problem with any of the chores I did. Now keep one thing in mind> I am a sharpening fanatic. You will not find any of my blades being anywhere near dull.

Now I will say this about the plain edged Hawkbills: if it comes to a cutting job to where you need precise control I do find the plain edged Hawkbills to be easier to guide and keep on a straight line. I do think that serrated edges sometimes get a bum rap. I had to put them to my own test to be satisfied. But Hawkbills are a very valuable and misunderstood tool in the knife kingdom.
 
I love my Hawkbills, and I like em Plain please!
Actually, I like all my knives plain. Not just for looks, but also for what I need a knife for. I like a clean cut for food prep, opening letters, boxes(which a hawkbill is a champion at!), just all my EDC needs. This is just my preference, but like JD said, this truly calls for an "apples and oranges" type of answer. Both have their pros and cons, but given the choice, I will choose a PE Hawkbill everytime. (FROM HERE ON OUT I AM MAKING A POINT TO ALWAYS CAPITALIZE THE "H" IN "Hawkbill", JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE MORE RESPECT WHERE IT IS DUE! :D )
 
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