Serrated Spyderco Harpy for whittling and skinning

C

carbonsteelfan

Joined
May 29, 2014
Messages
382
Hey ; guys l need some serious advice. I am going off to a camping trip for four days. I am taking two knives with.me.
1) My Robert Parrish 8" Survivor (440c)
2) My EDC Serrated Spyderco Harpy (VG-10)
I just wanted to know... is it possible to use the Serrated Harpy for whittling ; wood carving; and things like skinning ; and processing deer and other game animals which l hunt. I know it's not the proper tool for the job but can it be done ?If not ; then I'll just take a PE drop point. But l am curious. Can the Harpy do these tasks at least averagely ?
I repeat
1) Wood carving and whittling
2) Skinning game like deer.
3) Cutting meat and vegetables
appreciate the help.
 
1) rough maybe but not really
2) no but don't worry- it's May
3) yes
 
I love hawkbills but your 1,2,3 reads like a top 3 list of what a se hawkbill doesn't do well. :)
 
The SE Harpy is probably among the "10 Spydercos most unsuitable for whittling and skinning". It's not quite as low on the totem pole for food prep, but it's still far from the best. If you want to do stuff like that with a Spyderco folder, consider getting a PE VG-10 Stretch.
 
The Deacon said:
The SE Harpy is probably among the "10 Spydercos most unsuitable for whittling and skinning". It's not quite as low on the totem pole for food prep, but it's still far from the best. If you want to do stuff like that with a Spyderco folder, consider getting a PE VG-10 Stretch.
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Thank you all for that very wise and.prompt advice. I guess l will.take my plain.edge spyderco Delica for.the camping.trip. A Delica would be a better choice ; yes ? I must admit that ever.since.l.got that Harpy 7 months back ; l never really used any other knife. But l.was becoming.a.bit too.reliant.on.it l.guess. A serrated Harpy does have it's limitations after all. Even the respected Mr. Glesser.mentioned.that.Ser rated.Hawk bills.are.not a large.market and.the.Harpy was specifically designed for cutting nets.and wet ropes . More over.l.heard.that trying to cut.wood.might.lead to a broken.tip on my Harpy. Ah ; well ... l guess from now on l will stick to using that knife only for Cutting ropes; nets and fishing line or ripping radiator hose. I guess l kinda pushed my.luck when l gutted a small deer with my Harpy during our last local.deer season but it worked well.
BTW ; do.you think a PE Hawk bill.could.have.done.at least.some.of.these.jobs.better ? Or marginally better ?
 
To answer your last question, a plainedge hawkbill would whittle better but would still be a poor choice for skinning and food prep. Your delica is a much better call.
 
I don't see any reason why you couldn't use the Harpy for those types of cutting/whittling chores. Now do keep in mind that there are also plain edged Harpys out there even though they are a little tough to locate. But you could also get a plain edged Tasman to do virtually the same thing>> the Spyderco Tasman model is basically a Harpy with FRN scales and an H-1 blade.

Also I might recommend a Spyderco Dodo model for whittling and carving if you can find one. I personally love Spyderco's Hawkbills and find that they are highly useful once you get the hang of using them. And don't forget it's big brother the Spyderco Spyderhawk.
 
JD Spydo said:
I don't see any reason why you couldn't use the Harpy for those types of cutting/whittling chores. Now do keep in mind that there are also plain edged Harpys out there even though they are a little tough to locate. But you could also get a plain edged Tasman to do virtually the same thing>> the Spyderco Tasman model is basically a Harpy with FRN scales and an H-1 blade.

Also I might recommend a Spyderco Dodo model for whittling and carving if you can find one. I personally love Spyderco's Hawkbills and find that they are highly useful once you get the hang of using them. And don't forget it's big brother the Spyderco Spyderhawk.
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Hey jd, I have done some whittling with my se salts and they though they work, they are far from ideal for the task. Very far. I guess you could whittle with a claw hammer if you took a mind to. ;). I wholeheartedly agree with you on the dodo though! That was my favorite use that I found for the knife! I found the blade shape was super effective for detail work and both the recess and the belly were useful for different cuts. Great little whittling tool in my book!
 
I'd hesitate to use a hawkbill for whittling - I'd probably snap off the tip if I wasn't careful. The serrations would make it difficult to get a clean chip as well... I agree with deacon - top 10 most unsuitable...

TedP
 
I've sharpened pencils with a harpy...that's where the little bit of plain edge on the tip is nice.
 
Surfingringo said:
Hey jd, I have done some whittling with my se salts and they though they work, they are far from ideal for the task. Very far. I guess you could whittle with a claw hammer if you took a mind to. ;). I wholeheartedly agree with you on the dodo though! That was my favorite use that I found for the knife! I found the blade shape was super effective for detail work and both the recess and the belly were useful for different cuts. Great little whittling tool in my book!
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OK fair enough>> I stand corrected>> but I will go out on a limb and say that most of the PE Hawkbills would be good for the task. As a matter of fact about 6 years ago when I had 2 of Spyderco's Karambit models I had a guy here in Kansas City who was also a member here at BF really wanted one of them in a bad way and he actually wanted it for "WOODCARVING".. So it doesn't surprise me at all that you had decent luck with the PE Dodo for whittling.

Hey you learn something new everyday because if you don't life gets awful boring. But I guess I'm going to have to take up woodcarving and/or whittling because we sure have a lot of unexplored tools at our fingertips here at Spyderville.
 
I think if hawkbill blades were good for skinning, you'd see much more of that blade style across the board from many other companies and branded as a "skinners tool". Unfortunately it isn't.
 
RevDevil said:
I think if hawkbill blades were good for skinning, you'd see much more of that blade style across the board from many other companies and branded as a "skinners tool". Unfortunately it isn't.
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I would be the first to agree with you that Hawkbill blades are not ideal for skinning an animal. However I have used serrated hawkbills to aid in the butchering process. They do cut through tendons and ligaments and other hard to cut areas on big game.

But they are limited in that area for sure. What Hawkbills are good for they are very good in the jobs they are meant for. I still believe that a plain edged Hawkbill could be good in whittling, wood carving and other hobbies of that nature.

No knife blade can do it all unfortunately. I use my companion EDC which is a hawkbill at least 6 times a week during my regular work routine. I do prefer the serrated version for work most of the time.
 
JD Spydo said:
I would be the first to agree with you that Hawkbill blades are not ideal for skinning an animal. However I have used serrated hawkbills to aid in the butchering process. They do cut through tendons and ligaments and other hard to cut areas on big game.

But they are limited in that area for sure. What Hawkbills are good for they are very good in the jobs they are meant for. I still believe that a plain edged Hawkbill could be good in whittling, wood carving and other hobbies of that nature.

No knife blade can do it all unfortunately. I use my companion EDC which is a hawkbill at least 6 times a week during my regular work routine. I do prefer the serrated version for work most of the time.
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You're 100 % right JD Spy do. Even the plain edge HARPY l guess would be bad for skinning and extremely limited for butchering game.
At least the serrated ones can cut tendon better.
But l do find that my Spyderco Delica is a good all round blade.
 
JD Spydo said:
I would be the first to agree with you that Hawkbill blades are not ideal for skinning an animal. However I have used serrated hawkbills to aid in the butchering process. They do cut through tendons and ligaments and other hard to cut areas on big game.

But they are limited in that area for sure. What Hawkbills are good for they are very good in the jobs they are meant for. I still believe that a plain edged Hawkbill could be good in whittling, wood carving and other hobbies of that nature.

No knife blade can do it all unfortunately. I use my companion EDC which is a hawkbill at least 6 times a week during my regular work routine. I do prefer the serrated version for work most of the time.
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^ this. Though a HB would be nearly worthless for skinning, I ALWAYS have a hawkbill on the cleaning table when I've got big fish. Gutting, gill removal and a few other cleaning tasks are FAR easier (and safer) with a hawkbill! As is usually the case, a HB doesn't do everything well, but what it does, it does REALLY well! A HB might sometimes make a poor primary knife but it makes an extraordinary secondary blade.
 
I do not know for sure about processing game. I do know this about serrated Spydies though: A 94 serrated Endura can most definitely clear a triple feed from the chamber of an M60 machine gun. I know, I got the broken tip to prove it. :D

Good luck on you outing, whatever blade you decide to take.
 
Tdhurl1103 said:
I do not know for sure about processing game. I do know this about serrated Spydies though: A 94 serrated Endura can most definitely clear a triple feed from the chamber of an M60 machine gun. I know, I got the broken tip to prove it. :D

Good luck on you outing, whatever blade you decide to take.
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Oh ; thanks for reminding me. The trip is over. I took 3 knives with me :
1)A Robert Parrish 440c 8" survivor Hollow handle knife
2) The Aforementioned Serrated Spyderco HARPY
3) My plain edge stainless steel handle Spyderco DELICA
I gotta be honest. The Harpy hardly saw any use at all except cutting through a pile of netting.
But the Delica? Oh ; that's a complete different story. I used it almost exclusively. Any camping task ; you name.it. l can clearly see why the Delica model is such a top seller. It is becoming my Favourite Spyderco ; since it is even more versatile than the Harpy. I don't mean to degrade The Harpy by any means. I own one and love it. But it is limited in some areas. Its really good at what it was designed for ( pull cuts on ropes and nets) but as a primary blade or all rounder blade ? I doubt it. For a guy who only carries one knife and uses it for.most of his tasks ; l have to say The Spyderco DELICA is un rivalled. As a matter of fact it has become my.new edc since 2 weeks. And l must say. I am very impressed.
 
I agree with the Delica being more all around useful.

But let's add a task the Harpy absolutely excels at. It effortlessly rips those hateful plastic bubble packs.
 
Surfingringo said:
^ this. Though a HB would be nearly worthless for skinning, I ALWAYS have a hawkbill on the cleaning table when I've got big fish. Gutting, gill removal and a few other cleaning tasks are FAR easier (and safer) with a hawkbill! As is usually the case, a HB doesn't do everything well, but what it does, it does REALLY well! A HB might sometimes make a poor primary knife but it makes an extraordinary secondary blade.
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Complete agreement with everything you said. I've never ever touted a Hawkbill as being a great primary EDC although I know a couple of guys who have done that in the past. But I have gone on record to say that they do make a great companion blade for your main EDC which is what I've always used my Spyderco Hawkbills for.

The one thing I will stipulate however is that when you need something for "pull cutting" you can't beat a high quality Hawkbill like the ones that Spyderco makes. Like right at this time I'm EDCing my C-60 Sprint Ayoob model with G-10 handle scales. Along with it I have each day of this week either carried a TASMAN or H-1 Spyderhawk as a companion blade. And I'm here to tell you that there isn't cutting chore I can't do with both of them handy.

I also find many more cutting chores I can do with Serrated/Spyderedged Hawkbills that I do with plain edged versions. I would like to hear more from people what they use plain edged Hawkbills for.
 
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