Spyderco Hawkbills: Which one and what uses?

[JD Spydo]

I've been carrying one of Spyderco's great Hawkbill knives for about 5 years now on a daily basis. I carry a Conventional Spyder blade and one Hawkbill blade EDC every day. And I'm astounded at how many cutting jobs I discover that my Harpy can handle with the greatest of ease.

Let's chat about your favorite Spyderco Hawkbill. Which one do you carry? What cutting chores have you discovered that a Hawkbill can do better or more efficiently?

When I'm out in the timber I always have one of my Spyderhawks. I just absolutely love the new SE, H-1 Spyderhawk. It should be required equipment for anyone's survival bug-out bag. But Spyderco's mid-sized Hawkbills i.e. TASMAN, Merlin, Harpy or Crossbill have incredible cutting power for their size. Not to mention the advantage of pull cutting.

The Harpy is one of the most long lived Spyder models ever and for good reason. Also do you all prefer plain edged or Spyder-edged Hawkbills?

And which one would you prefer for outdoor usage?

[ssmtbracer]

I have a superhawk PE and I love it I also have a cricket SE and love it I am not sure if I prefer one over the other as far as edges. But I do love the hawkbills. I notice that with the cricket I can cut boxes open without cutting to far into the box like if its full of bicycle tubes or tires I don't want to cut to deep in there also cutting zip ties is easier to do. I do have a p'kal not really a hawk bill.

[Jazz]

Well, I use a SE Tasman at work to open countless taped boxes, bags, banding (side note - I found cutting banding at an angle is way easier with any blade), opening anything, and slicing tons of box flaps off. I try others, but find myself missing the hawkbill shape. Easier to just zip open things - just pull it toward you and "Bob's yer uncle". I also love whittling with one of my PE Tasmans and feel secure in them as SD, if the need should arise. If my PE Spyderhawk ever arrives, I'll let you know how I like it. I love hawkbills. :D

- best wishes, Jazz.

[ChapmanPreferred]

I love the Cricket (traditional belly of a knife contoured into a hawkbill - brilliant!) for opening mail or boxes, it workes very well for fine work, and can whittle a point on a stick if needed. I primarily carry a SE CF Cricket in ATS-55 blade steel. It is my "key chain" which keeps my keys on the top of my pocket! Excellent!

JD, Good to see you online.

Cheers,

Doug

[bohica1998]

I like them ALL! :eek: :D :eek: :D

I started out (with hawkbills) with a PE merlin factory second (didn't know that when I bought it, but it seems to be ok) and then got a SS Harpy SE. I have since added a few to the collection!



I already liked the Spyderedge on a knife, but that blade style really shines with a hawkbill! I like PE's too, but the SE really stands out when using a hawkbill.

I have been carrying the H1 Spyderhawk SE as part of my EDC, but it can sometimes be a little too big to some people. My Merlins and Harpy needed sharpening before I could carry and use them again. I have been looking for a Sharpmaker, but I just found this little sharpener by Smith's that has a small steel with diamond dust on it. It will even sharpen the small teeth on my Ladybug hawkbills! Perfect for pocket carry for touch-up work on SE edges. :D

[white cloud]

i always have a sak and some sort of hawkbill. the sak has a saw, screw drivers and such. the hawkbill does all the serious cutting. the problem is i have a daily mental battle deciding if i want to carry a spyderhawk or tasman salt. then i have to decide pe or se. these choices are difficult and i only have so many pockets.

[npueppke]

What are the FRN knives in the bottom left of bohica1998's picture? Tasman Salt? Also, what is the difference between an H1 Spyderhawk, a Harpy, and a Tasman Salt? Thanks!

[skatenut]

thanks to German knife law, all my hawkbills are sitting in a cabinet and are champing at the bit, they are not being used at all outside my home. I do look forward to moving to a different country which doesn't have anti-knife laws yet.

the Civvie is certainly the scariest and most evil-looking of the lot, imho.

pardon the poor pics, I only have the camera obscura in my mobile phone

[JD Spydo]

I love the Cricket (traditional belly of a knife contoured into a hawkbill - brilliant!) for opening mail or boxes, it workes very well for fine work, and can whittle a point on a stick if needed. I primarily carry a SE CF Cricket in ATS-55 blade steel. It is my "key chain" which keeps my keys on the top of my pocket! Excellent!

JD, Good to see you online.

Here lately I had deeply considered trading my CF, ATS-55, SE Cricket>> After reading your Post Chapman I really have some serious "soul searching" to do :o

I never even considered the Cricket to be a whittling tool before but now I can see after reading your post that it's one I overlooked as a novelty type blade. Yeah I really need to seriously re-think that one for sure.

And a high five on the ATS-55 blade steel. In spite of the fact that Spyderco did prove VG-10 to be a superior blade steel>> I for some reason have always liked AUS-8 and ATS-55 for serrated/Spyderedged blades. Serrations made with those 2 blades steels do sharpen up a bit easier and seem to hold an edge on serrations about as good as any Spyderco steel I've ever used.

It's funny that some steels really seem to perform better with Serrated edges.

And to the rest of the responses>> I totally agree with all of you that Spyderedges and Hawkbills truly go together like bacon and eggs :cool: :cool:

Nothing against PE Hawkbills at all. I own a half dozen of them myself but when it comes to brutal cutting chores the Spyderedge on a Hawkbill is KING

[Monkeywrangler]

Sadly I don't yet have any Spyderco Hawkbills, though I do have a custom, and a SubClaw. I have been waiting for a reasonable excuse to get the G10 Crossbill. That said, I love the basic hawkbill shape and prefer a PE to SE.

[VashHash]

I carry the superhawk almost religously and i often carry a PE and SE spyderhawk when i'm working. I find they're great for all kinds of task especially cutting rope of course. They also help when cutting open those **** clam packs where a regular knife wants to slip out of the cut and stab you or cut you. Yes this has happened to me but with a hawkbill it stays in the cut and keeps slicing. Also have used it for stripping off the cloth covers for hydraulic hoses and to scissor cut new piece of hose. It holds the hose in so well and you just squeeze the blade into the handle. Some conventional blade shapes can do this task but not many. Hawkbills are also great for making long slicing cuts in cardboard and other materials including fabric.

[bohica1998]

What are the FRN knives in the bottom left of bohica1998's picture? Tasman Salt? Also, what is the difference between an H1 Spyderhawk, a Harpy, and a Tasman Salt? Thanks!

They are both Merlins. One is the C08PBK and the other is a C21SBK. The PE is a second.

The knives in that pic are: PE Civilian, then going down the LH column first - two Ladybug Hawkbills, Harpy, Merlin PE, Merlin SE, Right column is all Spyderhawks. H1 Spyderhawk PE, BF Spyderhawk PE, Upsidedown Spyderhawk SE, H1 Spyderhawk SE

The main difference in the H1 Spyderhawk and the Harpy & Tasman Salt is size. Plus of course, the Harpy isn't rustproof. The Merlin is kind of an early, non-rustproof Tasman Salt.

[npueppke]

They are both Merlins. One is the C08PBK and the other is a C21SBK. The PE is a second.

The knives in that pic are: PE Civilian, then going down the LH column first - two Ladybug Hawkbills, Harpy, Merlin PE, Merlin SE, Right column is all Spyderhawks. H1 Spyderhawk PE, BF Spyderhawk PE, Upsidedown Spyderhawk SE, H1 Spyderhawk SE

The main difference in the H1 Spyderhawk and the Harpy & Tasman Salt is size. Plus of course, the Harpy isn't rustproof. The Merlin is kind of an early, non-rustproof Tasman Salt.

Thanks for the info! I like the size of those best, looks like I will have to start looking for a tasman salt..

[Blerv]

Nothing opens a bag like a hawkbill.

The Doritos bags scream when they see me approaching with the Superhawk.

[butterknife]

My great grandfather owned a farm. Raised chickens, grew corn, tomatoes, and grew grapes for wine making. The one knife he always carried, no matter what the circumstances, was a hawkbill. By the end of his life, the thing had been sharpened and resharpened so much, that there was only a hint of a recurve, and no tip whatsoever left.
The one thing I remember about it though was how well the front tip of the blade matched the curve of my thumb. Like it was very accustomed to pinch cutting and peeling.

[Lord vader]

When it comes to cutting plastic film or shrink wrap the PE cuts better because the se wants to snag on it.But there are things that SE will cut better than the PE.

[DMgangl]

I have always been a fan of Hawkbills. Responding to the thread about coming out with an H1 Spyderhawk was the whole reason I joined this forum. It is one of the best knife designs of all times with more uses then I could list. Spyderco makes the best Hawkbill folders on the market and everyone should try one out. Even if it is just a G10 Crossbill SE (seriously buy it, is awesome and its only $25)

DM

[white cloud]

Thanks for the info! I like the size of those best, looks like I will have to start looking for a tasman salt..

that is a good strategy. i really like my spyderhawks but the tasman is more sheeple friendly and very easy to carry. you will still get some gasps but nothing like opening a spyderhawk. i can only imagine what opening a civilian does to sheeple. honestly i think the tasman salt is the only spyderco i would not change at all. you might want to consider a river city sheath for it. i find that this sheath provides a few more carry options.

[RIOT]

my Tasman Salt is in my deep sea fishing tackle box at all times. i need to sharpen it soon though for all the abuse and it keeps on going i love the yellow :spyder:

[JD Spydo]

My great grandfather owned a farm. Raised chickens, grew corn, tomatoes, and grew grapes for wine making. The one knife he always carried, no matter what the circumstances, was a hawkbill. By the end of his life, the thing had been sharpened and resharpened so much, that there was only a hint of a recurve, and no tip whatsoever left.
The one thing I remember about it though was how well the front tip of the blade matched the curve of my thumb. Like it was very accustomed to pinch cutting and peeling.

That's a great point that "Butterknife" brings to the table. Hawkbills are not a new innovation as some of us think. They have been around in some form for over a hundred years and maybe even longer. It took an innovative company like Spyderco to bring them to a completely new level and give them the fanfare that they richly deserve.

Look at carpet layers and linoleum floor installers as well as many other tradesmen that have used Hawkbill blades for decades. And this is what I"m really trying to bring forth is that there is really no limit to what you can do with a nicely designed, high quality Hawkbill blade.

I'm truly at a point in my life if I didn't have at least one Hawkbill on me I would feel naked. The Harpy is such a perfect sized, all around Hawkbill for everyday usage. I'm really looking forward to more innovations for all the Hawkbill models. Just look at what H-1 bladesteel did for the Spyderhawk. It truly did make a completely new model out of it. Brother Clovisc deserves a huge "HIGH FIVE" for coming up with that idea.

I also want to hear about more occupational uses for the Hawkbill. Because I know for a fact that many of you do use them at work.