Hawkbills in PE

[thebestnoobcake]

The question is.. Are Plainedge hawkbills any use?
Will the curve hold materials against the blade long enough to cut them, or is this one style of blade that works best with SE?

I would like to get a hawkbill, but the SE ust looks too scary.
Or does the hawkbill shape scare the carp out of people anyway? :confused:

[DMgangl]

I sold my Superhawk because it was PE, and it had one of the most comfortable handles for me, and my favorite lock. A PE hawkbill is like having a spork when you really need a fork. The prongs on the spork are enough to get a small piece of food into you mouth, but are no where near efficient enough to get that satisfying mouth full you get with a fork.

Buy a SE hawkbill you'll be much more satisfied.

DM

[Monkeywrangler]

I own 2 hawkbill blades in PE and love them. I hate serrated edge knives, personally, so I would only buy a PE anyway. They work just fine for cuts.

[Murdoc]

Well, this one works fine...



Dennis

[Jazz]

These two work better than just fine... for everything except cutting on a cutting board - seriously, try one out and give it a good chance. I was definately converted. :cool: ...





- best wishes, Jazz.

[Jazz]

Well, this one works fine...



Dennis

Simply gorgeous picture,Murdoc!! I am anxiously awaiting that very knife... you just had to torture me! :D

- best wishes, Jazz.

[ChapmanPreferred]

Nice pics!

[VashHash]

Hawkbills are just plain scarey either way. Depending on your use and how well you sharpen things depends on what you should get. I usually do a coarse razor finish on my knives. I don't go ultra fine when i sharpen my PEs but they shave and still cut manilla rope. I finally freehanded my superhawk this way and it cuts alot better than with the factory polished edge. My PE superhawk works fine too. If I need to cut something thick or fibrous they SE spyderhawk comes out. It's devastating and shreds through most anything. It's all preference and depends what you'll use it for. The point of a hawkbill is to rip and tear so if you already carry a regular PE knife get the SE.

[Spyharpy]

I think it really comes down to what type of cutting you plan on doing. I like nice clean cuts and not messy ones so I only have plain edge knives. Never needed a serrated blade for what my plain edge will handle. The Harpy is in my EDC rotation and quite useful. Just scares the crap out of some when drawn. :D

[thebestnoobcake]

I like the idea behind them and would have a good use for them in what I do, but I would have to find another way to sharpen them (I use glass and sandpaper)

I might have to get a sharpmaker or summat

[JD Spydo]

I think it really comes down to what type of cutting you plan on doing. I like nice clean cuts and not messy ones so I only have plain edge knives. Never needed a serrated blade for what my plain edge will handle. The Harpy is in my EDC rotation and quite useful. Just scares the crap out of some when drawn. :D

I think Spyharpy hits the nail on the head. I have several of both variants of several Spyderco Hawkbill models.

First and foremost I'll admit right up front that I personally use serrated Spyderedged Hawkbills far more than I use any of my plain edged versions. Most of the cutting I do with Hawkbills requires cutting through some tough, fibrous or leathery types of materials in which Spyderedge blades just saws right through them.

But I would never get rid of any of my PE Hawkbills. Because on occasion I love to use my blue PE, VG10 Spyderhawk and I wish I had 3 of them. One day where I was working at the time I had about 30 sealed boxes to open up and the blue PE Spyderhawk just opened them up very cleanly and neatly. Afterward I was able to re-tape and re-seal them to their original condition.

But for every 20 Hawkbill cutting jobs I have I prefer the Spyderedge 18 times out of 20. I find new uses for my Hawkbills constantly. So please don't any of you sell either one of the edge variants short. I really love the H-1 Spyderhawk and I can't wait to get the PE version of that bad boy :cool: :spyder:

[kbuzbee]

And I would have bought a PE Lady Hawk had Sal made them.

An FFG, PE Lady Hawk would have been beautiful!

I too prefer plain edge knives for most of my cutting duties.

Ken

[JD Spydo]

After thinking about it I will say this>>neither the PE clan or the SE clan are correct or incorrect>> it truly boils down to what your cutting chores consist of. Either way the Hawkbill is a very good cutting tool for any job in which controlled pull cutting is the best means for getting the job done.

As I've said before I personally prefer the Spyderedge for most of my Hawkbill cutting chores. But when you consider the safety that Hawkbills provide doing controlled pull cutting I still say that either edge variant is ideal.

The Hawkbill is probably the most misunderstood of all blade designs out there in the knife world. People need to realize that like any tool "function and the ability to function efficiently" is the bottom line. And controlled pull cutting what sets Hawkbills apart from conventional blades. And you can do good cutting jobs with either edge.

But do keep in mind that the serrated edge on a Hawkbill works just a bit differently than the serrated edge on a conventional blade.

[dsmegst]

I like the idea behind them and would have a good use for them in what I do, but I would have to find another way to sharpen them (I use glass and sandpaper)

I might have to get a sharpmaker or summat

If you got a glass rod and wrapped sandpaper around it, it would work just fine.

[THE PUNISHER]

i got the pe hawkbill,it works fine for me also....

[yowzer]

I have a PE Crossbill that's nice for breaking down boxes, but in general, I much prefer SE on hawkbills -- my Spyderhawk, Tasman, and of course Ladyhawk all have teeth. I mostly use the big ones on vegetation, where the serrations really help. The Ladybug Hawk mostly gets used on opening packages, and would work equally well either way (I just wish it was pointier, for getting under zip ties easier), but it's just naturally better with teeth.

[defenestrate]

I intend to get a PE G10 Crossbill to try out, but I have only carried SE hawkbills. They tear through things with a vengeance! I like a more conventional PE (Manix 2 right now) paired with my SE Spyderhawk. I can basically handle all the cutting jobs I want to with those 2 (not counting things that would require a larger blade).

I can definitely think of ways that the clean cut of a PE would work well on a hawk, but for the most part I think that a Pe with a regular edge would typically be able to do those jobs. I'm considering, once I get a decent PE hawk, of carrying PE and SE of both standard shapes (likely my Manix 2 PE and Scorpius SE and my Spyderhawk SE and a Crossbill PE) at once to see how they work out. Perhaps alternating a PE wharnie in for poking ability.

[grampa]

I use a hawkbill primarily in the garden, and the PE works just fine for me.

[defenestrate]

I have used the SE in the garden, but I can easily see where the PE would shine (particularly in splicing plants and doing other fine work in which a clean cut would be important).

[tonydahose]

i guess it depends on what you are cutting but i loved my serrated edge tasman. if you need something cut quick ie..in an emergency the SE is the way to go.