All this talk of hawkbills........

[JD Spydo]

Other than Spyderco there is a very short list of commercial knife companies that offer any Hawkbill models at all. I know that sales of Hawkbills are not at the top of Spyderco's list ( or any company's list for that matter) but they are a specialty type blade that isn't going to drop off the landscape anytime soon. Hawkbills are slowly gaining popularity and momentum in the marketplace.

Getting people to actually try one is the tough part because many people view Hawkbills about like they do serrated blades and that being with a preconceived notion that they have very little practical use which most of us here know is completely false. Because once I finally tried one I never looked back. I'm hoping for a beefed up Harpy with either a CF or G-10 handle in the main line up soon. I do believe that would generate a lot of sales. I wouldn't mind seeing a premium version of the Spyderhawk as well. The limited blade steels and handle materials I believe are hampering sales.

[Evil D]

JD I think the problem with hawkbills, are kitchen knives. When you think about it, just about everyone on Earth uses knives almost on a daily basis, but the vast majority of them aren't knife fanatics...they use their kitchen knives for one purpose or another. The fact that just about every kind of knife used in the kitchen has a belly on it makes a hawlbill seem alien to most people. Even for me, the first thing I think about when I think of a hawkbill and how they can and can't be used is that you can't make "cutting board" style cuts with them, but honestly during your typical EDC day, how often do you have to make a cut like that? Food prep is really the only time that ever happens. I can cut cardboard just as easily (easier really) with a hawkbill than with a belly. What finally brought me to this realization was that I love a wharnie, but they also suffer from the same drawbacks, though not quite as much since you CAN cut on a flat surface with one as long as the blade doesn't have a very negative angle to it and the edge will hit the surface before the handle will (I've diced veggies quite nicely with my Yo 2). The biggest thing that keeps me from EDC'ing a hawkbill is that I'm overly concerned with the "what if" in my EDC, so much so that I haven't carried my Yo 2 in quite a while, and most everyone here knows how much I love those knives. I think at some point (when I stop blowing money on sprints and exclusives) I'll get another SE hawkbill, probably another Tasman Salt since I warmed up to that knife really quick. I do know that personally if they would make them full flat ground WITHOUT a distal taper, I would be much much more inclined to use them...I just can't stand low hollow grinds.

[JD Spydo]

JD I think the problem with hawkbills, are kitchen knives. When you think about it, just about everyone on Earth uses knives almost on a daily basis, but the vast majority of them aren't knife fanatics...they use their kitchen knives for one purpose or another. The fact that just about every kind of knife used in the kitchen has a belly on it makes a hawlbill seem alien to most people.

Well EVIL you make some points that are worth taking into consideration. However the only time I ever use a Hawkbill in the kitchen is when I process fruit and some veggies. I find that a plain edged Hawkbill like my blue handled, VG-10 Spyderhawk helps in certain areas of food processing.

I mainly use my serrated Hawkbills mostly for really rough-house cutting jobs where a leveraged pull cut is useful. I do use my Temperance 1 and my Catchermans a lot in the kitchen>> The Temperance 1 is a combination outdoor knife and small chef's knife all in one package. I do wish at some point that they bring that model back in the H-1 Salt Series.

Now I have used all of my serrated Hawkbills in field dressing animals and in some fish cleaning and processing with great results. Especially processing deer meat where I separate joints and cut through rib cages my H-1 Spyderhawk works like a dream. Again the jobs that Hawkbills work well on they do very well indeed. And once again as much as I'm intrigued with a lot of the Hawkbill designs I will never carry one as my main EDC>> they are strictly a companion blade to my main EDC for uses that my conventional blade doesn't excel at.

It's interesting that Spyderco marketed the Harpy for instance originally to the fishing industry>> but I'm willing to bet that Hawkbills would do well in a number of food oriented occupations. Like I said earlier if Spyderco would do some more marketing to other industries I think you would be surprised at how well they would do if you could just get people to try them.

[street soldier]

Been using the Tasman for the last couple of days. So far it's working well.
Zip ties? No problem.
Vines? They didn't stand a chance.
Bags of mulch? Ha! Proverbial hot knife through butter.
Food prep? For slicing peppers it worked well. I was just cutting them in half for the kids and the curved blade handled the task admirably. Moved on to cucumbers and, while it worked without issue, I found myself a little concerned about driving the tip into the cutting board and getting stuck or cutting deep grooves into the board. I'm going to have to think out of the box for certain food prep tasks.
Disclaimer: I would generally use a dedicated kitchen knife for food prep, but I purposely chose the Tasman to see what it could do. I'm not planning on the Tasman replacing other knives for kitchen duty, just experimenting across a wide range of tasks to see what works and what doesn't.
Also been carrying the HB Ladybug. The thing is a little talon! Only used it on some athletic tape so far, but it worked well. And it disappears in the pocket until needed.
The final piece to my trio is a PE H1 Dragonfly. A lot of cutting edge in a small package.
The H1 is holding up admirably, although I haven't done a lot of cutting with it yet.
All in all, very pleased with all three blades.

John

[ForealBoreal]

Personally I love the hawk bills for EDC use.
I rotate between my superhawk and p'kal very often.
I'm on the hunt for a PE Spyderhawk at the moment.

[3rdGenRigger]

Personally I love the hawk bills for EDC use.
I rotate between my superhawk and p'kal very often.
I'm on the hunt for a PE Spyderhawk at the moment.

There's been one at my local knife store for ages, but it's priced too high...you'd likely baulk at the price if you saw it.

[Freman]

Don't forget about the Byrd Hawkbill.

[elena86]

Well when I started reading your post and saw that you "blamed" certain people, I found immediately found myself hoping I had made the list. Imagine my elation when I saw that I was at the TOP of it! :) . Personally, I rarely carry the tasman as a primary edc, but it is hard to beat as a second knife! Super useful for a lot of tasks! Enjoy.

You are on the top of my "Salts" list too ! In the last few weeks I allready bought 4 "Salts" thanks to you.I loooove my serrated Pacific Salt.And keep coming.The next one will be a Tasman Salt.I wonder which one do you recommend.Serrated or plain ? Let me guess....aaaahhhh....serrated !( I hope)

[Dodge]

[street soldier]

Hi Elena. 'Gringo is quite the enabler, isn't he?
I figure I'll chime in with my experience with my PE Tasman. I'm really enjoying it so far. I've used it on outdoor projects(vine removal, opening bags of mulch, etc.) and it has given me no issues. The plain edge has sailed through everything I've challenged it with.
I've also used it a bit for food prep, and it's worked fine. As has been stated several places, it is not the ideal blade shape for straight cuts on a cutting board, it can get the job done. Not the optimal blade for it, though.
I've not had to sharpen it yet, as it's still shaving sharp. There are plenty of posts around here praising the strength of the SE for its work hardening capabilities and citing the softness of the PE. I've not had to deal with that yet.
As far as PE vs. SE, if I had to do it again, I might go with the SE if I had to do it again. I like the PE, a lot, but I think with this blade shape the SE would enhance the cutting power of the hawkbill. No empirical data to back that up, just theory/supposition based on countless hours researching here and deduction after using my PE Tasman.
Good luck win your decision. Let us know what you choose.

John

[Surfingringo]

Hi Elena. 'Gringo is quite the enabler, isn't he?
I figure I'll chime in with my experience with my PE Tasman. I'm really enjoying it so far. I've used it on outdoor projects(vine removal, opening bags of mulch, etc.) and it has given me no issues. The plain edge has sailed through everything I've challenged it with.
I've also used it a bit for food prep, and it's worked fine. As has been stated several places, it is not the ideal blade shape for straight cuts on a cutting board, it can get the job done. Not the optimal blade for it, though.
I've not had to sharpen it yet, as it's still shaving sharp. There are plenty of posts around here praising the strength of the SE for its work hardening capabilities and citing the softness of the PE. I've not had to deal with that yet.
As far as PE vs. SE, if I had to do it again, I might go with the SE if I had to do it again. I like the PE, a lot, but I think with this blade shape the SE would enhance the cutting power of the hawkbill. No empirical data to back that up, just theory/supposition based on countless hours researching here and deduction after using my PE Tasman.
Good luck win your decision. Let us know what you choose.

John

This has been my experience. Glad you enjoying the tasman!

[JD Spydo]

Every blade design, blade style and blade geometry all have their limitations>> whether it be a Hawkbill, recurve, conventional blades or a specialty blade like the Dodo for instance>> or even serrated and plain edged. I like Hawkbills because they are really efficient at what they're designed for> and that be pull cutting. They are even safer for pull cutting that just about any other blade design.

Spyderco themselves admit that they designed the Harpy for the fishing industry. But fishing is only one of many uses that Hawkbills are great at. A person just has to assess what they want a knife for to begin with. If you do a lot of rough cutting jobs like I do then you want all of the cutting power and advantages you can get.

Like I've told you all before I don't EDC any of my Hawkbills >> I mainly use them as a companion blade to my main plain edged EDC blade which at this time is my C-60 Ayoob, G-10 Sprint model. My companion hawkbill gets about 20 to 30% of all my cutting jobs. They make an excellent companion blade.

[elena86]

This has been my experience. Glad you enjoying the tasman!

This time I will disobey you :rolleyes: I decided for the PE Tasman just because I like how it looks and because I allready am the proud owner of 2 Harpys.But I have a feeling that eventualy I will decide to be mercyful and get a SE Tasman to keep company to his PE brother.But all my other Salts, two Pacific and two Salt 1 are serrated.And my favorite is the Black handle serrated Pacific.It has all I need and all I want in a knife.Thanx again Surf for your benefic influence.I was allready cought in the Spyderco vortex by the mighty spyderedge SS Police many years ago.( I own 7 SS,SE Police, not as many as Yablanowitz).I am fascinated by the spyderedges since I was a young boy.










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[JD Spydo]

Been using the Tasman for the last couple of days. So far it's working well.
Zip ties? No problem.
Vines? They didn't stand a chance.
Bags of mulch? Ha!
The H1 is holding up admirably, although I haven't done a lot of cutting with it yet.

Cutting any type of cordage, zip ties, plastic bands that hold pallets of merchandise together, twine holding bailed hay and any kind of tape imaginable can be cut so easily with a Spyderedged Hawkbill>> especially the Harpy and Spyderhawk models it's like you're cheating the cutting is so easy.

Like I've said before the cutting jobs that Hawkbills work well on there is hardly nothing else that will hold a candle to them. I've also found them to be a really handy blade to have while field dressing deer and other game animals as well as processing fish.

There is a lot more talk I could give on Spyderco's great hawkbill blades>> and I would love to test drive a "Superhawk" model in Spyderedge>> it blew me away in a negative sense when i discovered that you could not get the Superhawk in full Spyderedge>> I won't shut up until a Sprint of an SE Superhawk comes to fruition.

[elena86]

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
There is a lot more talk I could give on Spyderco's great hawkbill blades>> and I would love to test drive a "Superhawk" model in Spyderedge>> it blew me away in a negative sense when i discovered that you could not get the Superhawk in full Spyderedge>> I won't shut up until a Sprint of an SE Superhawk comes to fruition.

Amin to that ! Let's make some noise ! Maybe Sal will listen ....

[JD Spydo]

Amin to that ! Let's make some noise ! Maybe Sal will listen ....

You bet I'll make some noise about the possibility of a SUPERHAWK model in full Spyderedge>> to me that just didn't make any practical or marketing sense at all. And please folks I don't mean this as a disparaging remark concerning the decision makers at the Great Spyder Factory>> but when you consider the icon of all Spyderco Hawkbill models and that being the HARPY which I would say that 98% of all of the Harpy models made were full Spyderedge.

So with that being said wouldn't you just naturally assume that the first run of the Superhawk model would be Spyderedge? I guess at the time there was sort of a rising popularity of plain edged Hawkbills stirring up on the forum especially. During that time period I had a lot of guys asking me where they could get a plain edged Harpy for instance. However I think that was maybe from a collector standpoint because my fellow brother Dr. Hannibal Lecter MD was one of the few afficionados I knew that was actually talking up the practical uses of a plain edged hawkbill. But do consider he was truly the voice in the wilderness concerning Spyderco's Hawkbill and Karambit models during that time.

The blade geometry and the extra ridgid handle of the SUPERHAWK model would have been a dream blade in full SE. It was just enough larger than the Harpy and it was in between the Spyderhawk which a lot of people said was just too big for them to EDC>> so our solution would be to go for the Superhawk model and many Hawkbill users would have had much more use for a Spyderedged model than they would a plain edged. And most people I know that got the PE Superhawk; they got it for collector purposes rather than a user blade. Not all of them of course but most of the guys I know got the Superhawk for their long term collection. Which is just the opposite of all the Harpy and Spyderhawk users that I know that actually use their Harpy models and Spyderhawk models.

Yes it's time for a Sprint Run of the Spyderedged Superhawk

[street soldier]

The more talk of SE hawkbills, the more I think I need one. I've been carrying my PE Tasman non stop since I've gotten it and it is the first knife I reach for when I need to cut something. It has not disappointed.
Not sure I can afford a SE Tasman at the moment, so it'll have to go onto the 'need to purchase' list.

So many knives, so little funds.

John

[JD Spydo]

The more talk of SE hawkbills, the more I think I need one. I've been carrying my PE Tasman non stop since I've gotten it and it is the first knife I reach for when I need to cut something. It has not disappointed.

I do highly recommend you get either an SE TASMAN or an SE Harpy soon. I do recommend you get the hang of using one of the mid-sized Hawkbills before you take on something like a Spyderhawk.

You won't be disappointed with a Spyderedged TASMAN or HARPY>> they are both great serrated Hawkbills and they both will give you great service when you need them.

As I've told many of you all here at Spyderville I have been using Hawkbill blades as companion blades for quite some time now. There is one Hawkbill that I could use as an EDC and that is the DODO model. There is argument as to whether or not the DODO is a true Hawkbill by definition and it has a belly on the mid part of the blade which I guess might disqualify it to some degree.

But I use my Harpy or Spyderhawk almost daily for some cutting job. You won't go wrong with a mid sized Hawkbill>> once you start using one you won't want to be without it.

[remnar]

Don't forget about the Byrd Hawkbill.

$15 at Omaha Knife right now. I ordered one earlier this week along with the glow in the dark Delica kit. They were almost the same price. :)

[elena86]

What about a grey G10 handle Harpy ?! Serrated of course.