uses of plain edge hawkbills

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carbonsteelfan

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What are the advantages of carrying a plain edge Hawkbill over owning a serrated one ? i notice that most of spydercos plain edge hawkbill models are discontinued whereas the serrated models are still in production. So i am inclined to think that the serrated ones are more useful.but just to be sure ; does a plain edge hawkbill possess any distinctive advantage over a serrated one. note -this is not a serrated vs plain edge thread. i just want to know if plain edge hawkbill possess any advantages over the serrated ones. And if so , then could you all please elaborate on what these advantages are ?
 
A plain edge hawkbill is also known as a linoleum knife, carpet knife, gardner's knife and pruner. That should give you a good idea as to what they are designed for. In those areas, the plain edge gives a "distinctive advantage."

The spyderco serrations on the Harpy are for rope and nets. Unfortunately for the Harpy, it was designed as a tool but has been bastardized by the Lector crowd.

For years, both plain and serrated edge have been legal carry as tools in jurisdictions that require a knife to have a legal purpose. When I was a child, per my uncle, a cop, a "linoleum knife" was the favorite self defense weapon of some ethnic groups in NYC. It was legal to carry as a tradesman's tool.
 
brownshoe said:
A plain edge hawkbill is also known as a linoleum knife, carpet knife, gardner's knife and pruner. That should give you a good idea as to what they are designed for. In those areas, the plain edge gives a "distinctive advantage."

The spyderco serrations on the Harpy are for rope and nets. Unfortunately for the Harpy, it was designed as a tool but has been bastardized by the Lector crowd.

For years, both plain and serrated edge have been legal carry as tools in jurisdictions that require a knife to have a legal purpose. When I was a child, per my uncle, a cop, a "linoleum knife" was the favorite self defense weapon of some ethnic groups in NYC. It was legal to carry as a tradesman's tool.
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may i ask how a plain would help in pruning , cutting carpet and gardening ? it seems that the serrated edge cuts carpet faster. in terms of gardening , wouldnt the serrations on a hawkbill make shorter work of vines and stuff ?
 
carbonsteelfan said:
wouldnt the serrations on a hawkbill make shorter work of vines and stuff ?
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It depends. If the individual serration that the vine (or other fiber) lands in is sharp, then it works. But, if that particular serration is dull, the material will often hang up in it. With a PE blade, the material will slide along the blade, hopefully to a sharper spot. Even when sharp, once a vine is in a serration, you're no longer slicing, you're chopping.
 
carbonsteelfan said:
may i ask how a plain would help in pruning , cutting carpet and gardening ? it seems that the serrated edge cuts carpet faster. in terms of gardening , wouldnt the serrations on a hawkbill make shorter work of vines and stuff ?
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I think you are right, and would guess that they were made as plain edges initially because good serrations were not prevalent when this style came to be. Not only would a serrated edge cut faster, but would stay sharper longer. Carpet is hell on a knife, I would take an H1 SE Tasman for that job for sure. Also, for gardening an H1 SE would also be ideal for corrosion purposes and the ability to put it away dirty and wet. Personally I don't own any hawkbill design, but I would go SE H1 no matter what. When you get into a self defense reverse S, you may want to consider a razor sharp PE.
 
carbonsteelfan said:
may i ask how a plain would help in pruning , cutting carpet and gardening ? it seems that the serrated edge cuts carpet faster. in terms of gardening , wouldnt the serrations on a hawkbill make shorter work of vines and stuff ?
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Regarding cutting carpet and the like. You'd need to be able to make cuts while staying in the same serration. Otherwise it'll snag on the teeth and give you a rough cut.
 
Per "it seems that the serrated edge cuts carpet faster. in terms of gardening , wouldnt the serrations on a hawkbill make shorter work of vines and stuff ?" Yes it makes shorter work if you want to tear it up, but not if you want a nice clean cut.

Serrations tear material. Now if you are cutting up carpet to throw away, then you'd want serrations, but not if you want a smooth cut to butt up against another carpet piece or a wall, etc.

If you cut linoleum/carpet or harvest fruit/vegetables, you generally do not want to tear the material. You want a nice smooth cut, thus a plain edge.
 
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
 
Maybe a pruner could be fun for the future. Case has had some success with the bose and standard style pruners. Nobody does one in vg10 with zytel, micarta, etc.; not many lockbacks either.
 
I have used a serrated blade(Spyderco) on carpet many times and I would not say it leaves a ragged cut and there was no tearing until the blade bacame dulled. As far as pruning you got me!!
 
brownshoe said:
Per "it seems that the serrated edge cuts carpet faster. in terms of gardening , wouldnt the serrations on a hawkbill make shorter work of vines and stuff ?" Yes it makes shorter work if you want to tear it up, but not if you want a nice clean cut.

Serrations tear material. Now if you are cutting up carpet to throw away, then you'd want serrations, but not if you want a smooth cut to butt up against another carpet piece or a wall, etc.

If you cut linoleum/carpet or harvest fruit/vegetables, you generally do not want to tear the material. You want a nice smooth cut, thus a plain edge.
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I wonder how the ser rations would be a problem in harvesting vegetables. All you need to do is separate the fruit from the stem. I doubt anyone could care about the stem . Obviously the fruit would be the bigger priority. So wouldn't the serrated edge do a better job at disposing of the stem and separating the stem from the fruit / vegetables
 
carbonsteelfan said:
This is actually my first thread where l asked this question. This is not a PE VS SE haw bill thread. Not at all. No. This is about knowing what a PE Hawk bill can do which a defeated one cannot.
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Do you have any yet, or just trying to figure out what you want? Grab one of each and do some testing. I would be interested in a direct comparison between say a PE and SE Tasman.
 
nccole said:
Do you have any yet, or just trying to figure out what you want? Grab one of each and do some testing. I would be interested in a direct comparison between say a PE and SE Tasman.
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I own and EDC a serrated VG-10 Spyderco Harpy. In a couple weeks my sister is going off to Japan . I understand that GSakai is / was the only place where you can get brand new PE Harpys in VG-10. So l wanted to know if they are any good. I am NOT a mere knife collector but a user. If owning the PE Harpy has any advantage in terms of utility over a serrated one then l will tell her to get me one. That's why l was so curious. These aren't cheap you know. I guess l made the mistake of being too general. My thread should have been some thing like : What are the advantages of a plain edge Harpy over a serrated one.
 
carbonsteelfan said:
I own and EDC a serrated VG-10 Spyderco Harpy. In a couple weeks my sister is going off to Japan . I understand that GSakai is / was the only place where you can get brand new PE Harpys in VG-10. So l wanted to know if they are any good. I am NOT a mere knife collector but a user. If owning the PE Harpy has any advantage in terms of utility over a serrated one then l will tell her to get me one. That's why l was so curious. These aren't cheap you know. I guess l made the mistake of being too general. My thread should have been some thing like : What are the advantages of a plain edge Harpy over a serrated one.
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I would have her grab one just in case. That is not an opportunity you come across very often.
 
Bronshoe, if you can find them the 90's vintage Buck Selector had two hawk bill blades available in the V52 and the blades are swappable and has the 110 lock 1 PE 1 SE and a zytel handle.
 
carbonsteelfan said:
What are the advantages of a plain edge Harpy over a serrated one.
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In general, plain edge blades leave smoother, cleaner edges on the material they cut than serrated blades which tend to leave rough, jagged edges. The Harpy is no exception to that, but whether you might ever find that to be a desirable characteristic in a Harpy is something only you can decide.
 
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