I'm looking into transitioning to a Hawkbill blade for EDC/SD and have a question about current available models. I read that the Civilian is a dedicated SD knife and not recommended for other uses, thus I have compiled the following for consideration: Matriarch; Harpy; Spyderhawk; Tasman; Dragonfly. I also found the SPOT neck knife from some years ago on the secondary market, but prices are quite high. My question: does one of the listed models excel as a dual purpose EDC/SD knife over the others? My EDC duties are not especially strenuous, and I will use the new knife for SD training and carry.
Note: The CS Black Talon is a bit too large for my tastes, and isn't a contender.
Thank you in advance for any advice, information, recommendations.
A waved sd/edc knife is a topic I am kind of passionate about. So please read my long post.
The matriarch is essentially a mini civillian.
That said if it is a knife for dual edc/sd purpose the wave feature is an absolute must. Also I recommend you set it up for reverse wave as it puts the knife in a better grip upon drawing. More on reverse waving below. You have to practice waving until it is second nature. In a self defense scenario it is vital you get the blade out as fast as possible.
There are currently 3 Spydercos featuring a hawkbill blade and a wave feature.
1: the waved matriatch. This and the civillian were designed for people who don’t have much knife fighting training. The idea is you just slash wildly with the blade. Here’s the issue the system is designed for forward grip use. Slashing in reverse grip is not necessarily intuitive without training. This means this knife is not an ideal candidate for reverse waving. That means you will probably be regular waving this knife which draws the knife in a weak awkward pinch grip. I would also recommend you get the Wisemen Signet ring so you can securely regular wave this knife by putting your pinky through the ring.
2: spyderco karahawk: this knife is ideal for reverse waving and actually comes set up for a right handed person to reverse wave. However karambit requires alot of training to be proficient in and is supposedly truly used in reverse grip. That said you can always set it up to regular wave into forward grip and your pinky going through the ring at the butt helps eliminate regular wavings weak draw grip issue. In forward grip it is more intuitive to use with no training as you can slash with it easily.
3: Spyderco P’kal: my personal favourite and imho the greatest self defense folder ever invented. It will be abit awkward to hold normally for forward grip cutting but actually I don’t find it uncomfortable to use for edc tasks. The knife is designed to use reverse grip edge in or forward grip edge in. Because of this it has an excellent draw from reverse wave into reverse grip edge in. It has a system that is easy to learn. Just search youtube videos on Southnarc, Craig Douglas RGEI. It has a very robust self defense system that can easily be learned from watching videos. Also it has the peg wave which is the most reliable wave hands down. Also it has the least extreme hawkbill of the three so that can be good for edc use. There are actually some very comfortable grips to hold the pikal edge forward for edc use. It will just be abit different from other knives.
Ok now onto reverse waving. First of all whichever wave technique you use it is important to practice until you can wave in your sleep. With practice I can reverse wave a knife faster than I can draw an in waist band fixed blade since for the fixed blade I have to lift my shirt to access the handle. Regular waving has you draw the knife sort of behind you meaning it can be prevented by your back being to a wall or if you are sitting or lying on your back. Not so with reverse waving which can be done in almost no space at all.
So what is reverse waving? Here is a picture of me reverse waving my Spyderco pikal. I am left handed but for a right handed person they would move the clip to what is normally considered the “left hand tip up” position of the knife and carry the knife in their right pocket.
As you can see the wave is catching and opening the blade but the knife is opening into a reverse grip. The draw is infront of you rather than behind you so it can be done in less space.
Here is a video of a karambit being reverse waved. The difference with the pikal is that rather than pulling on the ring you draw as in the pic above then when you close your hand into a fist the knife will sort of roll into reverse grip edge in.
Whatever you chose the most important thing is you train with it. Atleast watch some videos online that do demonstrations. Of these knives the pikal’s fighting system is easiest to teach through videos and is no nonsense. If you choose karambit please avoid those techniques where they tell you to flip the knife out of your hand and hold it with only your index finger.
This grip, avoid it plz.
Unless it would be the esteemed Dr. Hannibal Lecter M.D. who I haven't seen post here at BF in quite some time. He's even a huge fan of the plain edged Hawkbills and I'm leaning away from PE Hawkbills because I find that the Spyderedged ( serrated) versions to be much more able for extremely rough cutting jobs. 