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greenmountainbooks said: ↑
I used to run a used/rare books store in Troy, NY, a good neighborhood that eventually went bad.
I was limited to a single pocketknife, although I often carried personal stuff in a daypack.
My main criteria for a pocket knife was that it was functional to make lunch with: usually a bagel with various toppings. The rugged bagels had to be sliced by my knife.
Obviously the knife was used for multiple tasks, including packing shipments and opening packages and mail.
Still, a friend agreed that my criteria was a sound one.
A blade length short enough that it would not be considered a weapon, wide enough to spread things like butter and cream cheese, long enough to reach into jars, stout enough to deal with the packaging.
This is still my major criteria, although my last knife, now lost, would be a tad small for much of this.
I have a folding hawkbill coming soon, should be great for shipping, etc., and I less often have do without kitchen cutlery.
I wonder how it will function during backpacking?
Anyone here experienced with a hawkbill shape?
Click to expand…As the plumbah stated, I carry a hawkbill (Spyderco Tasman Salt Serrated)
I love it for what it is good at, rip/pull cutting of fibrous materials (Rope, small plant life/vines, small branches, cables, etc) It’s a decent little ‘saw’ if the item isn’t super hard wood.
But a hawkbill is a terrible main blade. You cannot do much with a serrated hawkbill, but a non-serrated hawkbill may provide a little more utility. But I still do not see it as an effective food prep knife, nor one that most people would carry unless they like to cut at themselves.vegassprky and I seem to manage this :p. Maybe if the blade was more similar to that on an Alox Harvester (“hooked”), and less “clawed”.
I see a hawkbill as a ‘work knife’, more common probably on fishing boats and on farms than in an office/’developed’ type job.
It is great for what it does, terrible at cutting a PB&J or skinning an apple.
Oh, late edit – my knife really doesn’t look ‘people friendly’ either.
[​IMG]
Your thoughts are appreciated. (Nice foot tat. Where is it warm enough to be barefoot??)
Your knife appears to be half way between what I regard as a Harpy and a Hawkbill. The knives I had had a terribly thin tip and as a result, were terrible for anything much beyond packaging.
The Spyderco opening hole does terribly reduce functionality for everyday matters such as what a backpacker would use it. It renders it nearly useless for spreading for example.
Your knife seems to have a decently straight blade with decent width and a dropped point added. variants I owned (by S&W) had an excessively narrow blade.
Ah…the search goes on.(Anyone read the 18th century account by a French immigrant “Letters from an American Farmer?” He talks of the apparently common (in 18th century Cape Cod at least) obsession with both working men and professionals of finding the “perfect” pocket knife. He says that he saw as many as 50 knifes on the corner of a man’s desk. Apparently storing them on your desk was also common. He says the local men were as obsessive in their choice of knife as any Boston fop in choosing shoe buckles or fashionable clothes. He mentions, significantly that they cared nothing for fashion or ostentation…in anything except pocket knives. It was a common way, he says of men opening a conversation…”Hey, I got a new knife…”)
greenmountainbooks said: ↑
Your thoughts are appreciated. (Nice foot tat. Where is it warm enough to be barefoot??)Thanks! Just trying to help. This knife style really came in handy when I worked in receiving at a large grocery store (lots of fat zip ties and plastic packaging to tear through).
Foot is wearing a little, but holding pretty well for the colors/location/age. I live on the east coast of Florida, and have worn a jacket maybe 5 times this “Winter”. One of the few places on earth it is common to see people in flip-flops w/ no shirt, Mid-January. 😀
greenmountainbooks said: ↑
The Spyderco opening hole does terribly reduce functionality for everyday matters such as what a backpacker would use it. It renders it nearly useless for spreading for example.
:unsure::nah_disagree:Spreading a condiment is about the only thing I can imagine might be hampered by a Spydie hole. But I should think a standard thumb stud would get in the way of that, too. Plus, I generally try not to get sticky stuff that close to my pivot. Maybe keep some old silverware at work?
I use a Spyderco for all my everyday matters and I can testify as to its incredible functionality, in no small part due to its ease of one-handed deployment made possible by the ingenious thumb hole.:cool:
Fascinating thread. I’m wondering if any of y’all know of any books published discussing blade geometries and their uses? And perhaps in separate publications, some discussion of grind/bevels, etc.?
I’ll probably do a search for books about knife making to see if these topics are covered… assuming I find anything substantive I’ll post info.
Moshe ben David
Approximately half of my collection are traditional slip joint knives: trappers, stockman, peanuts, SAK.
As long as they’re properly sharpened, to quote one of the judges from ‘Forged in Fire’: “… this knife will cut …”. Really the only thing you’re usually giving up is a fast one handed opening.
In terms of size, I have a couple of Case trappers with primary blade about 3+ inches. Full size stockman gets that large also; although most of the time what you will find are the medium size. Between these extremes, most tasks are handled easily. We all sorta get into a mindset over ‘tactical’ and bigger = better blades… In my father’s time it wasn’t so. He usually just carried a simple folder similar to a stockman; often a freebie with some company name emblazoned on it.
L’chaim!
Moshe ben David
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