Trying to like serrated hawkbills...

[guywithopinion]

So I bought the sprint run Spyderhawk because it just seemed interesting. I don't have any serrated knives nor hawkbills. I like the quality of the knife, and especially how light weight it is for the blade size. But I just can't find any real use for it. I carry it around the house all the time in hopes of using it. It opens packages fine, the very tip cutting through tape seams without really getting sticky. But that's about it.

Today I was outside watering some recently planted trees, and one had a dead branch on it. I figured I'd spyderhawk right through it. It was thicker than a Bic pen, but thinner than a Sharpie. It wasn't going through, it just sunk in about the depth of the serrations and that was it. I've heard people call serrated knives "chainsaws" but it wouldn't saw at all. No material comes out with the teeth, so you don't get further into the material with multiple strokes. A plain blade probably would have been easier for making V-cuts through the branch. I cut through it with some effort, but nothing that made me think it was more suited for that job than a more common knife.

What am I missing? One thing it has done is increased my appreciation for the Endura. I've carried and used my wife's a bit since getting the Spyderhawk. What a great knife for such a low weight. I similarly like the weight, ergos, and quality of the Spyderhawk very much, I just can't find anything to use it for... :\

[Jazz]

Well, cutting branches will still be hard with a PE, but if the serrations are sharp, nothing is better for grasses, weeds, and such. You don’t saw with a SE knife, unless it’s dull. I was a skeptic until I did my own tests, and learned how to get them extremely sharp. If you want a seatbelt cut, a sharp SE will do it in no time. Check out my vid...

https://youtu.be/qo5AZNQd748

And this one...

https://youtu.be/qgUn1xWYPAQ

The Spyderhawk is really great for gardening and plant life, but it’s too big for EDC, in my opinion. I’d carry the Tasman, and have a PE blade to go with it.

[vivi]

I carry a Pacific Salt every day, I think it's a little on the small side.

Hawkbills are nice for a few specialized tasks, but something like the Endura / Pacific Salt is a lot more versatile. If I'm carrying two knives I may have a hawkbill, but I don't choose one as my only knife.

[zhyla]

One thing to remember is SE is a lot of little PE blades. You can make V cuts with SE.

[Evil D]

I'm sure someone carries a hawkbill as their primary knife but I couldn't. It's on the far end of a spectrum and it really excels at particular jobs but less so at others. I use mine for yard work, specifically cutting these dreaded vines that grow in my back yard.

There are really two important details I've found in using SE and hawkbills..

1) SE need to be sharp if you want to avoid sawing. They will slice into things just like PE will. For cutting branches you really need to go at them from an angle. Possibly one of the biggest downfalls of SE is that the blades are often thicker than PE, so they don't always slice well unless you find a FFG/SE knife (Military, Stretch, Calypso to name a few).

2. You really need to just go for it when making cuts. My experience so far in cutting branches and vines is that the Spyderhawk will zip through 1 inch branches with no problem but you need to cut them like you mean it.


Give this a look http://www.spyderco.com/forumII/viewtop ... =2&t=80241

[RickC27]

Hmmm, I've never used a hawkbill but got this SE Salt 2 last month and this thing is great! In this pic you can see this branch I cut is a larger diameter than the Spydie hole. All I did was give it one quick pull cut, then sawed towards/away about 4-5 times and it cut right through it. I'm sure I could have done it with pull cuts alone, but wanted to see what it could do if used like a saw. Are your serrations sharp? The only time I really use this knife is around the yard or when we go camping. It's an amazing little tool, so I'm surprised to hear your lack of success with it. Maybe use a little more force?

[vivi]

I've found it quicker and easier to chop through branches of that size with my Pacific Salt than cutting through them.

[RickC27]

I've found it quicker and easier to chop through branches of that size with my Pacific Salt than cutting through them.

I'll have to give that a try when cutting more of these back in another week or two.

[Jazz]

Also, woods are all different. Some cut real easy and some are real hard. Be careful you don't fly through and cut yourself, too.

[Sjucaveman]

I also find if you put light lateral stress on the branch/ wood it tends to limit the binding and cuts easier.

[ZrowsN1s]

I find smaller hawkbills more useful than larger ones myself. Zip ties, cables, boxes. Nothing better for them IMO. Surprised the big one wouldn't saw through the branch though.

[dj moonbat]

I think you really need to be in a position where, for whatever reason, you have to cut a lot of rope, vines, etc. Then, the fact that there's no way for those corded lengths to slip off the end of the blade before you've cut them really makes the hawkbill worthwhile. But that's got to be your predominant use case by a pretty wide margin.

[guywithopinion]

Well, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. :) I don't cut enough zip ties or seat belts to have a dedicated knife for that. I'll bring it with me though when I take the Rock Salt out in the yard, in case there's something that needs hawkbilling. It doesn't bother me to have a variant of a knife that I don't have a lot of use for, but it's a nice knife and I'd like to use it for non-contrived things if possible. I appreciate the feedback and suggestions.

I do have some decorative grass (like zebra grass, though that's not what it is) that is right next to the hose bib. The stuff is like a paper-cut bush. So it annoys the **** out of me when I try to use the hose. The Spyderhawk was great for scything through that stuff. A regular knife works, but this worked better.

[Spydermane]

Some other user suggested this same model of knife would be perfect for beheadings....
I guess that's a start :/

[guywithopinion]

Heh, I'm not sure I do that often enough to have a dedicated knife for it either...

[JD Spydo]

As much of a Hawkbill fanatic that I am I will openly admit that they do have their limitations and excel at certain cutting jobs but not all. I always use my Hawkbills as companion blades to be used along side my M390 Military model ( Which I consider sacred :cool: ). But the jobs that Hawkbills excel at they really do well. If I was a commercial fishermen, Landscaper, gardener or even in the tree trimming trade that I was in a few years back I wouldn't be without one in any of those jobs.

From what I've been told by more than one of the old school Forum members is that the Harpy model for instance was originally target marketed to the commercial fishing industry. At that time I don't even think Spyderco was aware of the uses a Hawkbill would have in gardening and landscaping>> but it sure is a sector they could exploit easily now that they are established. And you really want the bigger Hawkbill models like the Spyderhawk for those types of jobs>> I find the Harpy to be just a tad bit small for those types of cutting chores.

[JD Spydo]

You know the more I think about it I'm about 98% convinced that a Spyderedged ( serrated) Recurve blade would be much better in most everyday cutting chores over a serrated Hawkbill . I wish so bad that Spyderco would do a Sprint Run of either the Spyker or ULIZE in SE. I think everyone would be very pleasantly surprised. Because it seems like blade with curve in it's design do indeed benefit with serrations. Just look at how many more jobs you can do with a serrated Hawkbill over a plain edged Hawkbill.

Just look at how the Ladybug Hawkbill and Dragonfly Hawkbill both did in SE. At least they could do one Sprint Run of a Recurve in SE??? The ULIZE in SE would truly be like having a folding chain saw in your pocket IMO.

Another thing I would like to tell the guy who made this thread>> You must use a really sharp SE blade to realize the benefits from using it.