Cliff Stamp
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 5, 1998
- Messages
- 17,562
I have wanted to use a decent Hawkbill for some time and after seening the shot Neil has on his webpage I ordered one shortly after. I specified a different color for the handle as I wanted something striking. I planned to use it as a daily carry knife so I wanted the handle to make an impact and hopefully reduce the "weapon" printing which is how a lot of people react. I also wanted to reduce the blade length a little for similar reasons. This was the end result :
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/images/blackwood_hawk.jpg
Here are some comments after a couple of days work :
I spent some time cutting various materials, weeds, cardboard and other light work with the Hawkbill and a light utility knife that Mel Sorg made me awhile back. In many situations the power of the curve on the Hawkbill was readily evident. Of course on weeds and such this is a common shape so there is no surprise that it excelled for that type of thing.
However what was interesting was that the Hawkbill proved to be a very strong cutting tool on things like whittling wood. I could use a lot of force on the cutting stroke and the curve kept the blade from slipping out of the wood. This meant that the cuts could go very deep and thus I would require less strokes to remove a given amount of material. The same feature made pull cutting rope very easy.
As well the very low and narrow point was very useful for a lot of precise work such as opening boxes and dismantling them by running along seams. There was an obvious disadvantge in terms of prying or digging with the point because of its position in relation to the handle and the narrow width.
The most obvious disadvantge in terms of overall function cutting wise is on deep slices through thick material, fibreglass batting for example. On this kind of material you want a straight edge, any curves just increase the resistance of the cut.
Throughout all of this I was pleased with how the knife performed, the edge is fairly acute (15 degrees or so I would estimate), and the handle is very comfortable (at least or more so that my Phil Wilson blade, enough to make me actually think about which one is better which I have not done in awhile anyway).
The only real downside is that the G10 is a little slippery, it is fine with clean handle so I can get a secure grip but if my grip was sweaty or otherwise compromised there might be a problem.
In terms of fit and finish, the edge came push shaving sharp over the entire curvature. I checked it with a 10x scope as Neil has mentioned several times that he inspects each edge carefully - this one was evenly ground the whole length. The scales fit perfectly flush and even and the finish of the blade surface looks fine to me - but that aspect makes little difference to me so it would have to be covered with deep scratches for me to even notice it (and it wouldn't make any difference then).
Anyway, I definately look forward to doing more work with this blade. Neil was easy to contact by email, prompt in his responces and delivered the blade on time.
-Cliff
[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 09-04-2000).]
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/images/blackwood_hawk.jpg
Here are some comments after a couple of days work :
I spent some time cutting various materials, weeds, cardboard and other light work with the Hawkbill and a light utility knife that Mel Sorg made me awhile back. In many situations the power of the curve on the Hawkbill was readily evident. Of course on weeds and such this is a common shape so there is no surprise that it excelled for that type of thing.
However what was interesting was that the Hawkbill proved to be a very strong cutting tool on things like whittling wood. I could use a lot of force on the cutting stroke and the curve kept the blade from slipping out of the wood. This meant that the cuts could go very deep and thus I would require less strokes to remove a given amount of material. The same feature made pull cutting rope very easy.
As well the very low and narrow point was very useful for a lot of precise work such as opening boxes and dismantling them by running along seams. There was an obvious disadvantge in terms of prying or digging with the point because of its position in relation to the handle and the narrow width.
The most obvious disadvantge in terms of overall function cutting wise is on deep slices through thick material, fibreglass batting for example. On this kind of material you want a straight edge, any curves just increase the resistance of the cut.
Throughout all of this I was pleased with how the knife performed, the edge is fairly acute (15 degrees or so I would estimate), and the handle is very comfortable (at least or more so that my Phil Wilson blade, enough to make me actually think about which one is better which I have not done in awhile anyway).
The only real downside is that the G10 is a little slippery, it is fine with clean handle so I can get a secure grip but if my grip was sweaty or otherwise compromised there might be a problem.
In terms of fit and finish, the edge came push shaving sharp over the entire curvature. I checked it with a 10x scope as Neil has mentioned several times that he inspects each edge carefully - this one was evenly ground the whole length. The scales fit perfectly flush and even and the finish of the blade surface looks fine to me - but that aspect makes little difference to me so it would have to be covered with deep scratches for me to even notice it (and it wouldn't make any difference then).
Anyway, I definately look forward to doing more work with this blade. Neil was easy to contact by email, prompt in his responces and delivered the blade on time.
-Cliff
[This message has been edited by Cliff Stamp (edited 09-04-2000).]
