Plain Edge Hawkbills & Reverse S Blades?

J

JD Spydo

Joined
Nov 20, 2004
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As many of you who know me also know I'm a big fan of Spyderco's great Hawkbill blades. I've also acrued a small collection of their Reverse S blades as well. I actually carry and use my Spyderedged VG-10 Matriarch every so often and I find it to be very versatile.

Now I'll be up front and tell all of you that I do 95% of my Hawkbill uses are done with Spyderedged Hawkbills and I mostly like their Reverse S blades in full SE as well. Albeit I pride myself in being open minded and I'm always trying to learn new tricks of the trade.

I own a few plain edged Hawkbills and a couple of plain edged Reverse S blades but truthfully I just don't find many uses for them like I do with my Spyderedged Hawkbills and Reverse S blades. They just seem like they are made for aggressive serrations for maximum overall uses.

But I'm going to ask all of you who own and use plain edged Hawkbills and Plain edged Reverse S blades what you all use them for? I'm sure they have viable uses but I've only found very few. And if you like plain edged Hawkbills and Reverse S blades please tell me what you think the advantages are? OK let's talk about these unique Spyders and what we can use them for.
 
Well my EDC is light, so I imagine I could use these for opening boxes (often a pointed solid object is enough, regardless of sharpness). The curve would be especially useful for cutting plastic wrap, as seen on the recurve knives I've used.

Im sure Spyderedge is great,the closest I have is a Byrd hawkbill with full serrations, but I just prefer the look of a plain edge.
 
lieferung said:
Well my EDC is light, so I imagine I could use these for opening boxes (often a pointed solid object is enough, regardless of sharpness). The curve would be especially useful for cutting plastic wrap, as seen on the recurve knives I've used.

Im sure Spyderedge is great,the closest I have is a Byrd hawkbill with full serrations, but I just prefer the look of a plain edge.
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And I'm not opposed to those who prefer plain edged Hawkbills.. But in my close to 18 years of working with Spyderco Hawkbills I've just personally found the Spyderedge to be much more efficient for the types of cutting jobs I encounter on a daily basis. So please tell me why you find the plain edge advantageous? Or is it just what you said about a plain edge looking better to the eyes?

I've actually gained a liking for Spyderedges. But if there are genuine advantages to plain edged Hawkbills ( or PE Reverse S blades) I sure want to know what I'm missing?
 
From what I've heard, plain edge is just quicker to sharpen, you don't have to do all the serations. I guess plain edge also might look a little less scary around non-knife people, but that isn't a factor to many people. I have a serrated Byrd that cuts vegetation exceedingly well, so I know that Spyderedge is certainly useful.
 
lieferung said:
From what I've heard, plain edge is just quicker to sharpen, you don't have to do all the serations. I guess plain edge also might look a little less scary around non-knife people, but that isn't a factor to many people. I have a serrated Byrd that cuts vegetation exceedingly well, so I know that Spyderedge is certainly useful.
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Hey "lieferung" I think a lot of what you're saying sure has a lot of validity to it. And I really can't argue with any of it but with everything to consider but I can most definitely add to what you're saying and put up some valid points to consider. When it comes to overall knife performance I personally always rate "function" as being an essential element in how I would evaluate any knife for potential performance. That's kind of what ultimately brought me to companies like Spyderco, Benchmade, Boker, Al Mar and to some degree J.A. Henckel.

But you are the kind of guy I most of all want to hear from on this thread. Because you obviously have discovered many good attributes of plain edged Hawkbills that I haven't had that much luck with. And I want to know what I'm apparently missing?

But when I first got introduced to Spyderco's great serrated blades back in 1995 with my very first Spyder ( GIN-1, Stainless handled, full SE MARINER model) I immediately saw how a very good, well designed serration pattern can take cutting to another level all together. And with Hawkbills and other curved blades it just blows my mind how much better they perform in SE. No most serrated blades don't win a "beauty contest" and I know a lot of guys who do think they look hideous. But Spyderco sure changed my attitude about serrated blades. I submit that a high quality serration pattern can do cutting jobs that a plain edge in most cases can't do.

As far as sharpening PE Hawkbills I can't think of anything that works better than using the corners of the stones on the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker. Also the radii and curvature of Spyderco's 701 Profiles are also a great tool to sharpen plain edged Hawkbills and plain edged Reverse S blades too.
 
I'm still wanting to know the overall advantages of plain edge Hawkbills and plain edged "Reverse S" bladed Spyders. So far nothing has been said to change my mind>> I still prefer Spyderedged Hawkbills and Spyderedge on any Reverse S blade I own.

But if any of you can prove to me that plain edge is superior I'll certainly listen. Actually I'm to the point of wanting to try out new serration patterns and I'm wondering if Spyderco has any plans on trying any new patterns. If so then Hawkbills and Reverse S blades would be great blades to test out something new with.
 
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