Opinions on Curved Blade Folders like the Spydie Harpy.....Useful or No?

N

Nalapombu

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Oct 26, 2001
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Hey all,

I love Spyderco knives. I have carried an Endura plain blade everday now for about 15 years without a hint of trouble. There are a few other Spyderco knives I'd like to get and one of them is the curved blade Harpy. I would want the one with the Spydie Edge.

My question is how useful these types of blades are for a daily user. Is the curved blade more of a gimmick or is it really effective in performing everyday cutting chores?

I'd like to know what you think of this and other curved blade knives. Would you carry one as a daily use knife or not?

If you have one, how about giving your thoughts and opinions on how it has worked for you?

Thank you for your help and time.
Larry
 
I packed one around for awhile, one with the full serrated edge.

I didn't find it "every day" useful. Once in awhile it'd perform just fine... it excelled at cutting strap ties and hose and such... but I couldn't warm to it.

I really wanted it to work. It reminded me of that velociraptor claw from the movie "Jurassic Park", which I thought was pretty cool.

In the end, it went into the car glove box for awhile and then vanished someplace. Maybe given away or one of the kids has it somewhere.

You owe it to yourself to try one though. You might find that it suits your daily chore load just fine.
 
Not a blade shape I'd be in a hurry to carry for everyday use, because it would suck for many types of cuts. On the other hand, Spyderco lists it as "the tool of choice for cutting netting, rope, cord, and webbing"--does that fit your pattern of use?
 
They are indeed hell on wheels for "cutting netting, rope, cord" or any fibrous material. I also find hawkbills (like the Harpy) excellent for pruning small unwanted trees (1.5" or less) out of the yard and garden. They are a bit specialized, though...not that handy for a lot of other things. I frequently carry a slightly larger hawkbill (Spyderhawk) and a more 'conventional" blade also.
 
My one issue with that type of blade shape is how in the world would you cut up your food(steak/potatoes/ect.)? Especially with the fully serrated one. As I'm typing this I'm imagining trying to cut up a hunk of steak and I bet that thing would just totally shred it to an almost ridiculous degree.

Now like what the others have said I bet that style would beat just about any other for cutting rope. Personally I don't really cut up a ton of rope where I think having a curved blade would be a huge benefit to me. As I feel I'd be perfectly able to cut any rope with a "normal" style of blade.
 
I found it great as an EDC when most of your cutting tasks involve loose material since it gathers it up really well as you pull cut. It opened boxes well if you choked up and grasped the blade and cut like a scalpel or utility knife. I also found it pretty good for carving up cardboard. Anything you could fold over the blade and pull cut it was great for.

I EDC'ed a byrd hawkbill for 2 or 3 years before trying something a lot lighter and nicer. I still have it but it hangs around the work area for thicker tapes and stuff of that nature.
 
I like hawkbills for carving pumpkins. I ended up with a Shun hawkbill paring knife stuck about an inch deep in my forearm like a lawn dart once. Fun times.

Wouldn't want it for everyday use, though. I sliced mushrooms this morning with my Ratata, and it's hard to imagine doing that with a Harpy instead.
 
McFeeli said:
My one issue with that type of blade shape is how in the world would you cut up your food(steak/potatoes/ect.)? Especially with the fully serrated one. As I'm typing this I'm imagining trying to cut up a hunk of steak and I bet that thing would just totally shred it to an almost ridiculous degree.

Now like what the others have said I bet that style would beat just about any other for cutting rope. Personally I don't really cut up a ton of rope where I think having a curved blade would be a huge benefit to me. As I feel I'd be perfectly able to cut any rope with a "normal" style of blade.
Click to expand...
Easy. You hold the knife in your left, edge up, and with your right hand move the steak over it in a sawing motion.
 
i have a spyderco serrated salt that find it useful for edc but i only use it for light cutting like opening boxes, letters, food packages etc......mostly just use the tip, i mainly carry it as a small defensive blade
 
They really aren't made for everyday task. Knives like that are generally carried for specific use.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk
 
I carry one every day as a companion to my main folder. My uses are mostly opening boxes, plastic clamshell, fertilizer and soil bags, cutting rope and twine

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they are excellent for that and gardening as well (twigs, branches, etc.) as they trap and gather the material to cut, then just pull and that's it!

True fruit/veggie killers, I prefer the H1 models to avoid rust issues with rust, dirt, roots and soil getting into the internals of the knife. The Tasman is carried 80-90% of the days

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and the bigger Spyderhawk 10-20%, sometimes even both (for tough landscaping sessions or long gardening tasks)

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They keep on cutting after a while, especially the SE, and those rippers could be used as a serious and dangerous defense tool

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if looking for a Hawkbill, Spyderco makes the best in the market!

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Its not a very useful knife for everyday use b/c the blade shape is not ideal for slicing but if you do a lot of things that have to do with cutting rope or for rescue purposes, it is very useful.
 
If you do a lot of draw cuts and are okay doing them with only the really thin tip of your blade for edc they are great. Otherwise I would go with a normal spyderco salt in fully serrated. Far more useful as an edc in my experience.
 
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In general I am not a serrated edge lover. Of the Spydies, I own the fully serrated Endura. I couldn't warm up to it and it resides in my work bag for specialized cutting tasks where the serrated edge excels. I view the curved fully serrated edges more of a self defense knife, but we all have our preferences. Curved edges are harder to re-sharpen in general and I avoid them generally except in large fixed blade choppers. So, I personally would choose something else.
 
The kerambit was a farming tool if I'm not mistaken. For daily use, the blade shape should be more than adequate for most people.
 
I think they are great for self defense reasons, but a karambit would do the job better. The fox karambit has the added advantage of easy opening and has the finger hole at the end that almost guarantees not having the knife stripped out of your hand. The curved edge just rips through everything and with the angle, it will rip through clothing and flesh like butter.
 
Yep. Slashing knife. Self defense for me only. It may have it roots in a pruning type blade, but karambits are not general purpose knives as far as I'm concerned.
 
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