Spyderco sets the standard for great Hawkbills

J

JD Spydo

Joined
Nov 20, 2004
Messages
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Well I know I've beat the drum many times for Spyderco's great Hawkbill blades. It's been said that Doctor Hannibal Lecter and I are the biggest Hawkbill fanatics on the Forum. OK I plead guilty to that :D And I'm sure the good Doctor ain't far behind :cool:

With the anticipated arrival of the new "Superhawk" looming on the horizon I am already thinking ahead. I personally think that Spyderco sets the standard and raises the bar very high for any of the competition who I feel are all lagging behind the Great Spyder FActory in this sector.

I personally find new uses for my G-10 Harpy model almost daily. I feel that Hawkbill blades get a bad rap because of their highly misunderstood ominous appearance. When in reality they are one of the most functional blade designs out there period. Let's talk Hawkbills shall we? It's been a while since we have all seriously put our heads together. And by the way>> Now Is The Time: For a NEW HAWKBILL :cool:
 
I'd love for them to release a slipjoint version of the Harpy.

So far in the UK we have the UKPK and the T-Mag which are carry legal. As the harpy is sub 3" that would be also with the benefit that the hawkbill is a blade design that won't suffer from the loss of the lock.

I've had a harpy and a 2nd UKPK at the back of a drawer for a while hoping to regrind the harpy blade and swap it over, but it's a bit of work and I've not got around to doing it. A proper model to fill this gap would be awesome.
 
I actually have never used or owned a hawkbill blade. I would like to just to see how they compare to a regular knife.

I just always figured that they cannot do a lot of things, or at least not do them very well.

For example:

-slicing a sandwich in half or cutting food in general
-whittling
-cutting things flat on a table (like I cut straws in restaurants to make them shorter for my daughter and I am just push cutting them on the table)


They do look quite menacing. I would think that unless a person works in a shipyard or on a boat they are only carrying it to look intimidating.

Please do correct me. I would like to be wrong about all this.
 
Bungwrench said:
They do look quite menacing. I would think that unless a person works in a shipyard or on a boat they are only carrying it to look intimidating.

Please do correct me. I would like to be wrong about all this.
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Okay, I'll correct you. I've been carrying a Tasman Salt for a little while now, and I assure you I'm not doing so to "look intimidating". Trying to look intimidating, or otherwise draw negative attention to oneself is not something a mature adult does. If you have a knife out with the blade open in public, it may be perceived as intimidating, no matter if the blade is forward curved or not. Only fools brandish their knives. FWIW, the one knife I've carried that seemed to scare somebody happened to be a Case large stockman, and it was closed. Go figure. You never know what's going to scare a sissy.

The Tasman is my first true hawkbill, and it grew on me immediately as soon as I started to use it. It cuts efficiently on everything I've used it on so far. In particular, it cuts thick cardboard astonishingly well, and I've found it to be an excellent apple peeler. You can cut anything you want on a flat surface with a hawkbill, it just uses the tip. You may have to sharpen the tip up occasionally, but that goes the same for any other knife, and is pretty simple. I've found that the hawkbill doesn't really use the tip as much as you would think. Most of the time, the curve pulls whatever you're cutting to the forward third or so of the blade and holds it there until you get through. I wouldn't recommend the knife for chopping carrots on a cutting board, but as an EDC knife, the hawkbill seems just as suitable as most other blade shapes. It just takes a little getting used to.
 
People at my work use hawkbills all the time. That's the standard box opener you get. It's not a spyderco, but it's a hawkbill.
 
Bungwrench said:
I actually have never used or owned a hawkbill blade. I would like to just to see how they compare to a regular knife.

I just always figured that they cannot do a lot of things, or at least not do them very well.

For example:

-slicing a sandwich in half or cutting food in general
-whittling
-cutting things flat on a table (like I cut straws in restaurants to make them shorter for my daughter and I am just push cutting them on the table)


They do look quite menacing. I would think that unless a person works in a shipyard or on a boat they are only carrying it to look intimidating.

Please do correct me. I would like to be wrong about all this.
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Well Bungwrench all I can tell you is to just go ahead and get one. I would suggest to start out with one of the Harpy models or a TASMAN or even a Merlin if you can find one. That is the perfect size to start out with. Trust me if you EDC one along with your main EDC blade you will shortly see what I am talking about.

You will be amazed how much you would end up using it during an average workday. I usually use mine about half as much as I use my big Dyad during the course of a day's work. I will be surprised if you don't like it.
 
I was convinced last week when you were talking about it. I went to my local sporting good store, but came out with a new fish finder instead, maybe next week!

SE or PE?
 
A PE Tasman Salt is my work knife. I use it to cut the tape on boxes, cut up boxes, and open bags of greasy wet food. My work knife started as a Rescue 93mm, then a Pacific Salt SE, Atlantic Salt SE, Tasman Salt SE, and now I'm permanently on the Tasman Salt PE. I found the SE on the hawkbill would bind too much in cardboard and tear rather than cut plastic bags.
 
Spyderco has the most hawkbill varieties, but to me the Emerson Persian with wave, 154cm steel and G10 handle beats every spydie hawkbill (including carbon fiber harpy) hands down. If you're a hawkbill lover, the Persian is the best there is for a production knife.
 
brownshoe said:
Spyderco has the most hawkbill varieties, but to me the Emerson Persian with wave, 154cm steel and G10 handle beats every spydie hawkbill (including carbon fiber harpy) hands down. If you're a hawkbill lover, the Persian is the best there is for a production knife.
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Kinda comparing apples and oranges aren't you? The Persian is not a hawkbill!
I can see their Combat Karambit comparing favorably.
 
Interesting knife, but definitely not a hawkbill.

30303_ptac.jpg


http://www.emersonknives.com/P_Tac.html

Tom
 
I'm still on the fence with hawkbills. Especially plain edged ones. I have a brand new Byrd Crossbill sittin on my desk. Nice solid knife. I'll have to put it to work and see what all the fuss is about. I was on the fence about Wharncliffes. But my new Cento 4 is impressive. It pierces like a hot poker. Maybe I'll pick up an SE Tasman to carry as my dedicated "dirty duty" piece. Been wantin to grab somthin in H1.

It's nuts. I got 15 or so knives within arms reach but I 'need' something in the Salt series. Help me, I've been HIP-MOE-TIZED.
 
When I had my first convincing experience with a Hawkbill it all happened by mistake. I was working in some wetlands in some pretty challenging circumstances. AT that time I was using a fully serrated Spyderco Endura. I got into my fanny pack full of knives and grabbed what I thought was the Endura but it turned out to be Spyderco's Spyderhawk ( a huge hawkbill). When I got tangled up in some vines and needed my Endura I discovered I have the Spyderhawk instead. At first I was angry with myself thinking I had gotten the wrong knife. But I used the Spyderhawk to do everything I needed to do that day and I was very pleasantly surprised and I have been sold on Hawkbills ever since.

Not only did I discover that the Spyderhawk had a lot of practical uses but I even found it better for such jobs as eliminating vines and other rough vegetation. Now I am not dispelling good viable self defense uses because Hawkbills certainly have that accolade but they are mainly a very multi-functional tool that will work along with any good primary EDC. BUT you have to USE it to see what it can do. There are just so many uses I would have to take 3 pages just to share what I've discovered about Hawkbills.

I think that the Superhawk will definitely be a welcome addition to Spyderco's great line up of Hawkbills.
 
brownshoe said:
Spyderco has the most hawkbill varieties, but to me the Emerson Persian with wave, 154cm steel and G10 handle beats every spydie hawkbill (including carbon fiber harpy) hands down. If you're a hawkbill lover, the Persian is the best there is for a production knife.
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Brownshoe, Spyderco Super-fan extraordinaire! :thumbup:
 
JD Spydo said:
I think that the Superhawk will definitely be a welcome addition to Spyderco's great line up of Hawkbills.
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JD, do you have some Specs on this new Superhawk?......and what do you think of the Byrd Crossbill Plain Edge? I got one of these just out of curiosity, it is very well made, smooth action....very good value imho.
 
Yeah, I like hawkbills, too. They embody all the cutting-attributes I've required without unnecessary piercing/stabbing capability. For those who feel the need to spend their time on the pull-cut, these blades are hard to beat.
 
Never owned a hawkbill, but all this talk has me convinced they are more versatile than I imagined.......might start small with a Byrd and see if it makes me a believer. Plain or serrated is the question........advice ?

- regards
 
Gramps said:
Never owned a hawkbill, but all this talk has me convinced they are more versatile than I imagined.......might start small with a Byrd and see if it makes me a believer. Plain or serrated is the question........advice ?

- regards
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It's plain or combo for the Byrds. I don't think any of the Byrd lineup has a full SE.
 
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