Now's The Time: For A New Hawkbill II

[JD Spydo]

Don't let this one die. More hawkbills!

Id love to see the new G10 Harpy come to pass, same blade steel and everything is fine by me.

I also love the idea of the hawkbill Dragondly, though as Evil mentioned, the reverse S might be an even better fit. Could help keep the blade tucked into the handle and a trim overall profile.

Why Spyderco has not brought back the original G-10 Harpy is just outright baffling to me :confused: The G-10 handle makes the Harpy into a superior tool IMO. With the success they had bringing back the G-10 POLICE model it just seems like a "no-brainer" to me.

Yeah I'll go along with a Dragonfly Hawkbilll if they would also add some new bigger models Hawkbills as well.

[Evil D]

The SHAPE of the Harpy handle is what makes it superior, but G10 does take it to another level. If the Delica and Endura had handles shaped like the Harpy I would own several. It's just a much more comfortable handle.

[zhyla]

So I recently picked up a Lil Matriarch. I bought on a total whim. It just looked cool. I've found the reverse S shaped blade to be perfectly usable for EDC. I've never been 100% happy with a hawkbill for EDC. I'm a little confused why it got discontinued... I mean, obviously due to sales, but it's really a impressive knife, now I get why a few people have been raving about it here.

There's nothing particularly wrong with the Lil Matriarch but maybe a G-10 version would be in order. Or micarta. Why doesn't Spyderco do more micarta these days?

[CaptainT]

I want a Salt Tusk. I am absolutely 100% sure that it would be The Optimal Boatknife™. Fully serrated H1.
If that knife ever make it to production I will buy four of them to hand out as crew knifes.

[TomAiello]

HAWKBILL DRAGONFLY!!!!!

For the win!

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friends,

Leave it to our Dear J. D. Spydo to bring me out of retirement. :rolleyes:

I'll have to echo the sentiments of those who feel that the G-10 Harpy might be the best of all worlds. I believe it to be one of the finest hawkbills for everyday cutting chores that I have ever encountered. Don't get me wrong - I love my stainless Harpy, as it is very easy to clean and maintain, but there is just something about the grippiness of the G-10 that inspires confidence when you need to bear down on a cutting task.

In actuality, I would love to see a melding of two worlds - an H-1 G-10 Harpy, or as accurately a G-10 scaled Tasman Salt? I live at the beach now, and a fully-serrated, G-10 scaled Harpy-sized rust-resistant hawkbill would be a perfect everyday carry knife for me and a lot of the guys I work with.

On a related note, after several years of an Emerson Combat karambit being my everyday carry, I bit the bullet and ordered a Spyderco Karahawk - it should be here later this week. My first new Spyderco hawkbill in a while.

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Hannibal Lecter

[Donut]

I wouldn't mind seeing a Hawkbill with a more shallow curve. Say, like the PPT blade shape in the opposite hawkbill direction. So shallow in PE that you can sharpen it with normal bench stones.

Maybe a hawkbill salt with the exact opposite blade profile of the Pacific.

[ThePeacent]

My Dear Friends,

Leave it to our Dear J. D. Spydo to bring me out of retirement. :rolleyes:

I'll have to echo the sentiments of those who feel that the G-10 Harpy might be the best of all worlds. I believe it to be one of the finest hawkbills for everyday cutting chores that I have ever encountered. Don't get me wrong - I love my stainless Harpy, as it is very easy to clean and maintain, but there is just something about the grippiness of the G-10 that inspires confidence when you need to bear down on a cutting task.

In actuality, I would love to see a melding of two worlds - an H-1 G-10 Harpy, or as accurately a G-10 scaled Tasman Salt? I live at the beach now, and a fully-serrated, G-10 scaled Harpy-sized rust-resistant hawkbill would be a perfect everyday carry knife for me and a lot of the guys I work with.

On a related note, after several years of an Emerson Combat karambit being my everyday carry, I bit the bullet and ordered a Spyderco Karahawk - it should be here later this week. My first new Spyderco hawkbill in a while.

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Hannibal Lecter

Be sure to give us your impressions on the Karahawk when it arrives!
I was never lucky enough to get my hands on a Harpy, but you folks seem to praise its ergos all the time.



What are the main differences betweent hem? They look almost the same...



What I know is that I'd be definitely in for a G10 Tasman. I love mine and they also see a lot of action in the beach, and being G10 my favorite scale material, that would be a real improvement IMO, especially if many colors were offered.

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Dear Friend,

Be sure to give us your impressions on the Karahawk when it arrives!

No worries there - after carrying the Emerson for quite literally *years* now I'll give the Spyderco Karahawk a fair shake and post my thoughts here. I tried the Spyderco Warren Thomas karambit for a time, but that bloodthirsty little beast was a bit much even for me. :D Beautifully-executed design, and in retrospect I would *love* to get my hands on one again.

The only downside to the Karahawk that I have en route is that it is the first generation - I have heard that the newer ones have a G-10 spacer inside the ring, which would admittedly be preferable. Still, I think we'll get along OK. :cool:

I was never lucky enough to get my hands on a Harpy, but you folks seem to praise its ergos all the time.

The Spyderco Harpy SE was actually my very first Spyderco knife - I special-ordered one from a local shop back in 2004 just to see what all of the fuss was about, and it completely changed the way I looked at knives forever. I had initially read about the knife in the novel "Hannibal" by Thomas Harris and that was what piqued my curiousity about it - that was ultimately where my forum ID came from when I registered here.

What are the main differences between them? They look almost the same...

I have had a stainless Harpy, G-10 Harpy, and Tasman Salt in-hand for comparison at the same time and the differences are subtle. The Harpies are pretty much consistent for blade angle and ergos, but the Tasman differs a bit in the curves and angling, at least to my eye and in my hands. I can't quantify it, but the difference is there - if you have had a Harpy in your hand as much as I have, you just know. Not that it is bad, just...different.

I will say that the Tasman Salt PE was a deeply-appreciated, long-awaited answer to a lot of fervent requests for Sal from the forumites - I appreciate how gracious he has been in taking care of all of the ELUs, and how patient he is with the hawkbill lovers in particular, as we can be a vocal lot and tend to never quite be satisfied, at least not for long. I defy you to find another manufacturer that has offered the sheer variety of hawkbills that Spyderco has - it's actually kind of staggering when you really look at it.

What I know is that I'd be definitely in for a G10 Tasman. I love mine and they also see a lot of action in the beach, and being G10 my favorite scale material, that would be a real improvement IMO, especially if many colors were offered.

The G-10 Harpies that I have owned have been very, very well-built knives (duh), and I am actually a bit surprised they haven't made a resurgence in recent years. They're one of my very favorite Spyderco hawkbills of all time. I will say that even in VG-10 they would be exceptional beach knives, as VG-10 has proven pretty rust-resistant so long as it gets sprayed off and dried out. You just can't *abuse* and neglect it like you can H-1. :rolleyes:

Memory serving, the only Spyderco hawkbill I haven't owned is the Superhawk - I just wasn't in the position to afford one at the time. Other than that, everything from the little hawkbill Ladybug right up to the massive Spyderhawk have passed through my hands at one time or another. I still maintain that the Harpy is far and away the ideal size for 90% of the cutting chores I encounter.

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Hannibal Lecter

[The Deacon]

In actuality, I would love to see a melding of two worlds - an H-1 G-10 Harpy, or as accurately a G-10 scaled Tasman Salt? I live at the beach now, and a fully-serrated, G-10 scaled Harpy-sized rust-resistant hawkbill would be a perfect everyday carry knife for me and a lot of the guys I work with.
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Hannibal Lecter

Welcome back Dr. Lecter. :) FWIW, I think an H-1 bladed G-10 Harpy would be easier for Spyderco than a G-10 Tasman, assuming the tooling for the G-10 handle still exists. My reasoning is that doing so would only require changing the steel. OTOH, moving the thinner Tasman blade to that handle would require thinning the lockbar, spring, and backspacer and probably require some tweaking of the lock geometry as well.

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Very Dear Paul,

Welcome back Dr. Lecter. :) FWIW, I think an H-1 bladed G-10 Harpy would be easier for Spyderco than a G-10 Tasman, assuming the tooling for the G-10 handle still exists. My reasoning is that doing so would only require changing the steel. OTOH, moving the thinner Tasman blade to that handle would require thinning the lockbar, spring, and backspacer and probably require some tweaking of the lock geometry as well.

I'm inclined to agree with you, old friend. Call it simple brainstorming, though there are days anymore where it is more of a light drizzle in my case. :D

Hope all is well with you!

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Hannibal

[VashHash]

I'd be in for a new hawk blade but I'm more biased to a larger knife. Bring back the spyderhawk in any variation with serrations. Pink with polka dots i could care less. The performance speaks for itself i don't care what color or handle materials.

[OldHoosier62]

My Dear Friends,

Leave it to our Dear J. D. Spydo to bring me out of retirement. :rolleyes:

I'll have to echo the sentiments of those who feel that the G-10 Harpy might be the best of all worlds. I believe it to be one of the finest hawkbills for everyday cutting chores that I have ever encountered. Don't get me wrong - I love my stainless Harpy, as it is very easy to clean and maintain, but there is just something about the grippiness of the G-10 that inspires confidence when you need to bear down on a cutting task.

In actuality, I would love to see a melding of two worlds - an H-1 G-10 Harpy, or as accurately a G-10 scaled Tasman Salt? I live at the beach now, and a fully-serrated, G-10 scaled Harpy-sized rust-resistant hawkbill would be a perfect everyday carry knife for me and a lot of the guys I work with.

On a related note, after several years of an Emerson Combat karambit being my everyday carry, I bit the bullet and ordered a Spyderco Karahawk - it should be here later this week. My first new Spyderco hawkbill in a while.

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Hannibal Lecter

Well "My Brother from another Mother"....like the Eagles song said, "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave". :eek: :D

I too carry an Emerson karambit (gifted to me by Dr. Lecter himself.) tucked in my waistband very discreetly, for those "Oh S**t" moments. It has been used to demonstrate the 21-foot rule on more than one occasion to LEO's and civilians alike when I'm running or helping run a shooting class. Scares the pants off folks when it just appears in your hand like magic.

My personal thought on a new hawkbill would be a Military handle chassis with a more pronounced, almost karambit style, full 4 inch curved blade. I would also make it a framelock with a steel insert on the engagement face for durability. I've practiced combatives with the Military using RGEI and RGEO and it's comfortable and controllable. This version would also be great as a general purpose "garden and brush" knife....a full serrated model would be amazing also.

I'm not a karambit expert, nor a hawkbill expert...so YMMV.

[The Deacon]

Forgot to mention it earlier, but I'd be up for a PE G-10 Harpy in any decently stainless (VG-10 or better Q fog results) steel. Same for a PE Spyderhawk on the E4 platform. FFG would be a plus, but I'd willingly trade that off for the extra rust resistance of H-1.

I'm inclined to agree with you, old friend. Call it simple brainstorming, though there are days anymore where it is more of a light drizzle in my case. :D

Hope all is well with you!

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Hannibal

I hear you Hannibal. For me, at 70, the "senior moments" are coming closer and closer together.

Aside from that, and a few "first world" problems too trivial to mention, Bear and I are doing well. Hope all is well with you.

[JD Spydo]

Sprint SuperHawk with some sort of carbon steel blade gets my vote.

That's a very interesting suggestion "V8r" and believe me I've thought about that on several occasions. I've heard the Busse crowd brag so much about the carbon steel they call "INFI" that I have indeed wondered what a Hawkbill would be like with that steel or one that's comparable. Albeit with the super selection of high end stainless supersteels we have available at this time I would go either way Spyderco would deem most profitable and feasible. Even "Cold Steel's" older "Carbon V" would be another one I would love to see them make a Hawkbill with>> they could do it with a black high tech coating with one of the high end ceramic coatings for corrosion resistance to add to the appeal of such a model. A Hawkbill with a Black Blade>> overdue if you ask me :cool:

Right at this time my most desired Hawkbill would be either/or both the Harpy & Spyderhawk models to be made with an M390 blade steel that I've fallen deeply in love with in the past year. For a landscaping tool that would certainly be the "Cat's Meow"!!

DOCTOR LECTER!!! :D It is great to see you back here at Spyderville again my friend My feelings about the G-10 Harpy certainly concur with yours and I'm not going to quit pounding that drum anytime soon until we see it come to fruition :cool: Also my good friend what steel would you like to see a Sprint version of the Spyderhawk made with??? Also would you like to see a G-10 Spyderhawk along side a G-10 Harpy??? I know I'm not alone with that one

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Very Dear Paul,

I hear you Hannibal. For me, at 70, the "senior moments" are coming closer and closer together.

Aside from that, and a few "first world" problems too trivial to mention, Bear and I are doing well. Hope all is well with you.

All is actually very well with me, old friend. After a bit of a mid-life crisis of sorts coming to terms with finding myself, I changed jobs, sold the house, and moved 500 miles away to chase my dream life. I live 3/4 mile from the Atlantic Ocean, have an amazing job, and am relaxing on the beach most evenings after work.

I'll not bore you with the rather strange and convoluted three-year process that brought me here, but overall things couldn't be better most days. Wife and daughter are also both deliriously happy. Life is good, my friend. :)

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Hannibal

[Hannibal Lecter]

My Very Dear JD,

DOCTOR LECTER!!! :D It is great to see you back here at Spyderville again my friend My feelings about the G-10 Harpy certainly concur with yours and I'm not going to quit pounding that drum anytime soon until we see it come to fruition :cool: Also my good friend what steel would you like to see a Sprint version of the Spyderhawk made with??? Also would you like to see a G-10 Spyderhawk along side a G-10 Harpy??? I know I'm not alone with that one

A G-10 Spyderhawk would be a BEAST of a knife, to be sure. There is a part of me that would be thrilled in seeing one of those monsters done with full liners and a D2 tool steel blade. That said, realistically, I would be happy with one in G-10 scales with VG-10 steel - it's a proven combination that is realistically difficult to improve upon.

I'm also a sucker for the ZDP-189/420J2 combination, but Sal would probably shake his head sadly over such a suggestion, not that I would blame him.

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Hannibal

[ThePeacent]

No, folks



you're not alone in the dream of a G10 Spyderhawk



or any G10 Salt, for that matter



But keep H1 as the steel, if we go serrated.



No possible better option for that purpose, in any role the Hawkiblls often play

[JD Spydo]

My Very Dear JD,

DOCTOR LECTER!!! :D It is great to see you back here at Spyderville again my friend My feelings about the G-10 Harpy certainly concur with yours and I'm not going to quit pounding that drum anytime soon until we see it come to fruition :cool: Also my good friend what steel would you like to see a Sprint version of the Spyderhawk made with??? Also would you like to see a G-10 Spyderhawk along side a G-10 Harpy??? I know I'm not alone with that one

A G-10 Spyderhawk would be a BEAST of a knife, to be sure. There is a part of me that would be thrilled in seeing one of those monsters done with full liners and a D2 tool steel blade. That said, realistically, I would be happy with one in G-10 scales with VG-10 steel - it's a proven combination that is realistically difficult to improve upon.

Doctor Lecter :cool: I've got to admit that I too would even love to see a Spyderhawk Sprint Run with a G-10 handle>> and yes I would cave in and be sort of content ( but not 100% content) with a VG-10 blade. I have a lot of user Spyders with VG-10 blades and they do serve me well for the most part. But if we're going to make a deluxe version of the legendary Spyderhawk model why not shoot for one of the new supersteels in the stainless category?

Because there are a lot of knife fans out there that for whatever reason have never garnered any respect for FRN handles. So with that being said a Harpy and Spyderhawk model both would surely hit a bigger target market with a premium handle>> I'm sure of it

The Harpy impressed me all the way back to the first one I ever owned ( 2003) and I immediately noticed the rigidity and solid state of the folder. The Tasman and Merlin both were nice user knives but they never had the structure that the Harpy did. So when you put all of that out on the table it just makes perfect sense that a G-10 Spyderhawk would surely be raising the standards a lot IMO.

[Ryno]

My Very Dear JD,

DOCTOR LECTER!!! :D It is great to see you back here at Spyderville again my friend My feelings about the G-10 Harpy certainly concur with yours and I'm not going to quit pounding that drum anytime soon until we see it come to fruition :cool: Also my good friend what steel would you like to see a Sprint version of the Spyderhawk made with??? Also would you like to see a G-10 Spyderhawk along side a G-10 Harpy??? I know I'm not alone with that one

A G-10 Spyderhawk would be a BEAST of a knife, to be sure. There is a part of me that would be thrilled in seeing one of those monsters done with full liners and a D2 tool steel blade. That said, realistically, I would be happy with one in G-10 scales with VG-10 steel - it's a proven combination that is realistically difficult to improve upon.

I'm also a sucker for the ZDP-189/420J2 combination, but Sal would probably shake his head sadly over such a suggestion, not that I would blame him.

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Hannibal

Maybe PSF 27 instead of D2 to build on what the mule team learned with that mule.