The Japanese market VG-10 plain Edge Spyderco Harpy.

Sal Glesser said:
When sales do not maintain a certain level, we disco the model to make room for new models. We often bring them back as a sprint to serve those that are still interested. This "rule" is not adhered to for models that serve our military and law inforcement personnel. Hawkbills in general are not a large market, and the Harpy was designed for cutting nets (rope) and the serrated edge is preferred. The knife has also been used more than a few times to cut free a fisherman caught in a line and in danger of going overboard.

sal
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I couldn't have agreed more. I personally owe much praise to my Defeated VG-10 Harp. In my family Ranch my favourite horse got entangled in some rope in our barn. It was suffocating. It took me about 3 seconds to rip through the ropes using the Spyderco Harp. I don't think l would have been able to do it that fast if my Harpy wasn't serrated.
Unfortunately this one l am looking for a gift for my mother. I want to gift her something nice to replace her broken opinel hawkbill . And what could be better than a Spyderco ? I want it in VG-10 because that's the best stainless steel I've ever seen. Until the day l got my Harpy ; l always used 1095 carbon steel for sharpness
 
Sparki said:
Would a PE tasman salt not do the same for all those wanting a harpy?
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For some folks, yes. But others prefer the Harpy's 3mm thick blade over the Tasman's 2.5mm, some prefer the edge holding of PE VG-10 over that of PE H-1, some prefer the heft of an all stainless knife (or dismiss FRN as just "cheap plastic" even though it isn't), some want the emergency shackle key, and some want a PE Harpy simply because they want one.
 
The Deacon said:
For some folks, yes. But others prefer the Harpy's 3mm thick blade over the Tasman's 2.5mm, some prefer the edge holding of PE VG-10 over that of PE H-1, some prefer the heft of an all stainless knife (or dismiss FRN as just "cheap plastic" even though it isn't), some want the emergency shackle key, and some want a PE Harpy simply because they want one.
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I like it because of the steel Handle. BTW what exactly did you see on their websites that indicates that they still sell the Harpy C08p
 
You could get a Byrd Crossbill : stainless steel handle and a plain edge. They're still available. I doubt your Mom would know the difference.
 
rubberdog said:
You could get a Byrd Crossbill : stainless steel handle and a plain edge. They're still available. I doubt your Mom would know the difference.
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Mother dislikes "Made in China " knives ( can you really blame her ?) And believe me ; she can identify knives very well. She owns Schrades ; Opinels ; and Victorionox folders. She saw me cutting twine with my serrated Harpy and asked if those were available in plain edge. Oh ; and she insists on a VG-10 blade since that's the best stainless steel in her opinion.
By the way l found her a nice gift. It's a Spyderco Toad discontinued knife which l got at a sale for $75. Not bad for a discontinued D'holder design. I think she will love it.
 
Cool. I'm sure she'll be very happy with the Toad, it's a cute one alright. Your Mom sounds like quite the knife aficiando.
 
rubberdog said:
Cool. I'm sure she'll be very happy with the Toad, it's a cute one alright. Your Mom sounds like quite the knife aficiando.
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My entire family is very much into out door activities ( guys AND Gals) so yeah ; we all like folding knives. And she.loves.the.Spyderco Toad. Carries it on a.key chain. You know ; who'd think such a small.knife could be so effective ? D'holder certainly designed a good one.
I am still kinda curious about Whether GSakai still offers .the Harpy C08P. I.mean.; l.did.go.through a lot of trouble
 
carbonsteelfan said:
My entire family is very much into out door activities ( guys AND Gals) so yeah ; we all like folding knives. And she.loves.the.Spyderco Toad. Carries it on a.key chain. You know ; who'd think such a small.knife could be so effective ? D'holder certainly designed a good one.
I am still kinda curious about Whether GSakai still offers .the Harpy C08P. I.mean.; l.did.go.through a lot of trouble
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I'm inclined to think they do, since their website still shows pictures of both the PE and SE #1008 Harpy and has two separate line items for it, each with a "buy" button which works. I'm assuming one is for the PE version and the other for the serrated SE. However, the only way to know Only way to know for sure is to contact G Sakai. If you know someone who speaks Japanese, that would make things much easier. Do note that they call the Harpy a 1008, not a C08.

FWIW, here are a couple shots of what the box for one looks like:

VG-10%20PE%20Harpy_02.JPG
VG-10%20PE%20Harpy_01.JPG


I got mine from a company here in the states that was self-importing and selling them, but they are no longer doing so. Not sure whether that's due to lack of demand, or lack of supply.
 
Was that site by any chance called youwantit2 ? That's from.where my sister bought a Spyderco Cricket.
Nice knife BTW. Do you actually use it at all or is it a collectors piece. If terms of practical usage is it better or worse than a serrated Harpy ?
 
carbonsteelfan said:
Was that site by any chance called youwantit2 ? That's from.where my sister bought a Spyderco Cricket.
Nice knife BTW. Do you actually use it at all or is it a collectors piece. If terms of practical usage is it better or worse than a serrated Harpy ?
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Sort of, I got it from their eBay persona. I do have a PE VG-10 Harpy that's a "user", but it rarely gets carried and even less frequently used and I can't recall ever having used a serrated one. Being lazy, and having 60 years experience sharpening on flat stones, I prefer blades that are brain dead easy to maintain and don't require specialized tools, so hawkbill, recurve, and reverse S blades are at the bottom of my "favorite users" list as are any blades with serrated edges.
 
carbonsteelfan said:
what do you use your PE VG_-10 HARPY for when you do use it ?
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I've harvested some home grown chives with a PE Harpy, don't recall if it was the VG-10, or the GIN-1 version. Am fairly sure I've used the VG-10 to open a few packages. Except for being an absolute PITA to resharpen on flat stones, hawkbills are great for opening boxes and packages, but a wharncilffe or sheepsfoot will do just as well and be a whole lot easier to maintain. In a pinch, a hawkbill will also work reasonably well as a pizza cutter if you know the trick (cut upward, with the spine against the box/tray). They excel at cutting rope and netting, but I rarely do any of that.
 
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). They excel at cutting rope and netting, but I rarely do any of that.[/QUOTE]

But sir ; didn't Sal Glesser himself say that plain edge Hawk bills were poor tools for cutting rope and net ? I mean that's why the PE Harpy was discontinued; right ?
 
Serrated harpies are a breeze to maintain with the correct tool...a sharpmaker's triangle edge. I've had g10 one for a long time, tha sharpmaker keeps it going with ease. The triangle edge works with any curved blade, even plain edged, such as a shabaria.
 
carbonsteelfan said:
But sir ; didn't Sal Glesser himself say that plain edge Hawk bills were poor tools for cutting rope and net ? I mean that's why the PE Harpy was discontinued; right ?
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Can't recall ever reading that. What he actually said in this thread is that the PE was discontinued because it did not sell well, that most customers purchased the serrated version. "What's best" and "what sells" are not always the same. But, assuming he said it elsewhere, it would not be the first time we've disagreed about something. People were doing those things with hawkbills long before serrations entered the picture. The possibility that a serrated hawkbill might do them even better than a plain edged one doesn't mean a plain edged one would not be a better choice than a blade shape without a concave edge curvature.
 
Azbalisinging said:
I just got an e-mail back from G Sakai , they gave me direction to the Japanese web site. They do in fact still sell it
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Excellent news. Given that mine has RH clip mounting only, and the newest ones appear to have 4 way clip mounting, I might just order one myself. :)
 
carbonsteelfan said:
). They excel at cutting rope and netting, but I rarely do any of that.
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But sir ; didn't Sal Glesser himself say that plain edge Hawk bills were poor tools for cutting rope and net ? I mean that's why the PE Harpy was discontinued; right ?[/QUOTE]
Here is what sal said on the knife in question, it's in your other thread.
Sal Glesser said:
Good points.

Also when cutting carpet or the like, you want to control the tip against a surface backing the cut, without the rest of the cutting edge getting in the way. The hawkbill lends itself to that trait.

The Harpy was designed for pull cuts on nets. It had no rear "expansion" or "hook" to keep the blade from snagging and pulling the knife out of your hand. The Superhawk had "expansion" at the rear with a "hook" to better hold on to the knife,

sal
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Alright , its been confirmed. i am ordering one . ina month time i shall be the proud owner of a Japanese VG-10 plain edge C08P Spyderco Harpy. when i get it its gonna replace my serrated harpy as an edc
 
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