wharncliffe vs. hawkbill

[jbmonkey]

Both are excellent cutters, right? Everyone can agree on that, I hope.......but since a wharncliffe has a point, overall it can stab and a hawkbill really can't. So wouldn't a wharncliffe offer everything a hawkbill does and more?

I loved them both and a hawkbill just looks awsesome and cuts just as good as it looks, but I was thinking about it and I thought if I could only have one routine....to me the wharncliffe can do everything the hawkbill can and a bit more.

So if you could only have one, which and why? Wondering if i'd be the only one who would take the wharncliffe over the hawkbill?

 

[crunky]

I don't think the two are really comparable... Sure the wharnie can do most everything a hawkbill can, but the hawkbill out does the wharncliffe in a few departments. The wharn has a completely straight, flat edge, and a fine point; the hawk curves in on itself. The hawk pulls whatever it is cutting into itself, which makes it great for cutting things like rope, tubing, etc. Its also good and tearing into things with the curved point, like cardboard and plastic blister packs.
Then there are things the wharncliffe is better at, like piercing things, and the flat edge gives better controlled cutting vs the hawk. Both are good designs, but I'd say it depends on what you want to do with the knife.

 

[RevDevil]

A Wharncliffe blade would not excel at pulling cuts where you would need to "trap" (for lack of a better term) and collect material for a more powerful cut. This is what a Hawkbill was designed to do, be it self defense, agricultural, or industrial puposes. A Wharncliffe blade would offer much higher precision in cutting and potentially easier to sharpen (depending on what equipment is available). Different blade shapes excell at different tasks. You'd not use a hawkbill for skinning, I wouldn't use a Wharncliffe either. Spearpoint, Bowie, Clip Point, Drop point, etc. Each have their own spotlight tasks.

 

[jbmonkey]

Sure, you both are right, but it isn't meant to be a can the wharncliffe replace the hawkbill in reality for those who work on boats and such. More of a if you could only have one which one deal, in the vein of fun rather than in comparing two very different knife shapes. Yes I know I compared them, but I was thinking in my own uses, and while I own a few of both types, I can live without the hawkbill. So I wanted to see how others would pick, if they wanted to participate?

 

[crunky]

For my uses in everyday life, I honestly think I would pick the hawkbill. I just have a thing for hawkbills I guess. sharpening would not be a problem for myself, and I just generally like the way they cut. May not be able to slice a sandwich very well with one, but I'm sure i could cut meat and slice apples easy enough.