Spyderhawk sprint yard work happy fun time

[Evil D]

I bought this knife with one real purpose in mind....murdering these dang vines that overtake this bush in my back yard every year..



Anyone who wants to guess what type of evil vine this is, here's a close up. All I know is it seems to be practically unkillable.



Here's the poor bush/tree that's holding it up.




Obligatory action pics..








As you can see, it cut through ~3/4 inch vines in one pull cut. This sort of knife has absolutely no equal when it comes to gardening and yard work with a knife. I've always been a big fan of using my Militaries for yard work, and for much larger branches I may still have an easier time whittling my way through them with a PE, but for these pesky vines and particularly pull cuts a SE hawkbill is an absolute beast. It's a different action in use too, you really have to go for it and not be gentile with the cuts, the more deliberate and with purpose your motion is the harder it cuts.



As for the knife, it did unfortunately develop a very slight up and down play in the pivot. It's extremely light and sort of feels like a very faint "clicking". I wonder if it'll go away with further use as the lock bar wears into the tang. The edge is still shockingly sharp, but I suppose green vines aren't really that hard on an edge.


Oh, and somehow I managed to stab myself right in the ditch of my elbow. I don't even remember doing it...I remember feeling a poke but I didn't realize how bad it was. It's about 1/8 inch long and at least as deep. I'm lucky it didn't hit a vein or that I wasn't in a pull cut motion when it made contact :eek:

[JonLeBlanc]

I believe that is called kudzu.

[murphjd25]

Nice work!

[Bloke]

I imagine there wouldn't be too many knives to rival the big Hawk for that type of work. :)

Lucky you didn't really cut yourself with that thing D.

Love your backyard! :cool:

[Woodpuppy]

Looks like ye olde grape vine to me. I’ve got to cut it out of my azaleas every year. You also have some poisin ivy at the base of your bush...

[Sjucaveman]

Grape vine was my thought as well.

[knivesandbooks]

Those Spyderhawks are killer. I miss having yard work to do. Lately my Spyderhawk has come in handy cutting bands off shipments. I've also been leaving it in the car as an emergency seatbelt cutter.

[Strider]

Mine has been used mostly for cutting and shaping sod, at which it has excelled.

[ThePeacent]

I've been bitten by that very tip a few times, when you're not used to Hawkbills this big oftentimes you get hit and don't even realise until you see blood, especially if they are Spyderco sharp! :p

[Evil D]

Looks like ye olde grape vine to me. I’ve got to cut it out of my azaleas every year. You also have some Oisin ivy at the base of your bush...

Yeah I noticed the ivy too, hence the gloves. I didn't bother cutting it though, I don't want the oil on my knife lol.

[dj moonbat]

Yeah, that's kudzu. It's a good thing you've got a good knife. Basically, it's just you and that knife keeping that vine from taking over the continent.

[JD Spydo]

When I first discovered how good the Spyderhawk was for vines, reeds, cattails and various other forms of vegetation which needs to be controlled was back around 2005. It was on a day in which I mistakenly took my VG-10 Spyderhawk instead of the full SE Endura that I had actually intended to take. I was working in a wetlands project in north Missouri at the time and I was constantly fighting all kinds of overgrown vegetation.

I was so pleasantly surprised at how great the Spyderhawk worked cutting vines as well as many other forms of overgrown plants. Since that day I've preached to many people that big Hawkbill blades like the Spyderhawk are excellent tools for outdoor lawn & garden jobs. I've also said that if Spyderco were to target market their Hawkbills ( Harpy & bigger) to the landscaping and gardening retailers they would have trouble keeping them in stock.

Since then I would never even attempt any outdoor job without taking one of my Spyderhawks with me. I've found that a big Hawkbill is just as vital as a machete and/or pruning shears when doing outdoor type work.

[Nate]

Yeah, that's kudzu. It's a good thing you've got a good knife. Basically, it's just you and that knife keeping that vine from taking over the continent.

It's not kudzu, just wild grape vine. Fortunately it gets too cold in NKY for kudzu to establish itself here.

[bearfacedkiller]

Yup, I believe Kudzu has smoother leaf edges. Kudzu is an evil invasive species. It was brought to the US as animal fodder, mainly for goats.

That plant looks like a grape vine, probably wild grapes. They are everywhere here and around here we usually call them frost grapes because they are quite sour until after the first frost of fall. I have even picked them after the first snowfall. I have a clothesline that is overgrown with them. Unfortunately a flock of about 50 turkeys usually wanders through and strips if clean before they are ready.

Interesting fact; even though wild grapes are not usually cultivated for their fruit they are used as the root stock for most commercially grown grape varieties through grafting. They basically graft a domesticated grape plant into a wild grape root and stem. This is because wild grapes are more cold tolerant as well as disease tolerant than the European commercial varieties.

[The Meat man]

That does look like a fun job D. There's nothing like using a sharp, well designed, well made knife for the job it is best at. :)

I've also experienced a bit of vertical blade play in all of my FRN models - 3 from Seki and 1 from Golden.

[bearfacedkiller]

Bad picture taken out of my bathroom window but here are the turkeys. That is my clothesline just right of center. They are picking the last of the grapes off here.



A piliated woodpecker sometimes snacks on them as well. This was the first snow of the year and there are still some grapes on there.








Today's carry with the grape vine.

[TomAiello]

I miss having yard work to do.

That's a sentence I've never said.

[Woodpuppy]

Unfortunately a flock of about 50 turkeys usually wanders through and strips if clean before they are ready.

I don’t see a problem; looks like opportunity for a bow hunter!!

[wrdwrght]

I miss having yard work to do.

That's a sentence I've never said.

:)

[Evil D]

Unfortunately a flock of about 50 turkeys usually wanders through and strips if clean before they are ready.

I don’t see a problem; looks like opportunity for a bow hunter!!

No kidding man if turkeys came that close to my kitchen window I would just open the window and pick them off.

I have no love for yard work but it gives me a reason to use my knives. It's decent real world use testing that isn't too extreme.