While a Hawkbill/hooked knife is not my first choice for self defense, I think selling them short is foolish.
In a small knife, like the La Griffe, slashing is intended, and in such a knife, has its advantages, fast, no blade seen, and wham, pain, blood, WTF?... But you can also stab with it too, but its not going to go all that much deeper than the slash, is it? (Well, I wouldnt know, its hypothesis on my part. I dont own one, yet... so like I said, hypothesis.)
To shut someone down, ideally you stab, you thrust into their body and shut down their processor by cutting it off (pun not intended) from the vitals the keep it alive. We know this.
But that doesnt mean a slash cant do damage, and cant be fatal... because it can.
Your main arm or the weapon (pistol) in it, is being held by an attacker... and he is about to get that gun away from you, you have a Spyderco Harpy in your weak side pocket, you whip it out and slash his arm with that sharp serrated blade, thats gonna hurt, thats gonna go deep, cut fat and muscle, and veins, and nerves, and make him bleed.... unless he is insane or on angel dust, its very likely he will let go!
Sure, this can be done with any-knife, but think about how well a hawk-bill would fit the curvature of an arm... and in a situation like this, a good slash, is going to do more damage than stabbing (poking) him in the arm with the knife.
Put that little Harpy blade into reverse grip, and turn it up, hidden behind your arm. You throw what looks like an odd punch, and the next thing your attacker knows is whatever got in the way has a painful, bloody, cut in it... and where the effing hell did it come from, he didnt see no knife... but bingo, sure enough it was there.
I have experiance with a Harpy, I used to own and carry a G-10 handled model.... out of all the knives I've gotten rid of, its the one I regret the most.
It dissapeared into a pocket, didnt know it was there, until you needed it. It was comfortable int he hand, it opening smooth, regular opening, spyder-dropping, using my ring finger top open it into reverse grip.
Closed, it hid in the hand amazingly well... but would come open in a flash.
And for anyone who thinks a hawk-bill wont work for utility, carry a harpy, and nothing but, for a month... you will see it is truly very useful.
I realize a Civillian or a Matriarch arent design for this, but a more utilitarian blade, such as the Harpy will take this kind of work, and yet is an excellent defensive knife.
Wicked slashes, easily concealed until just the right moment and then *bam*, and utility able... with good ergonomics, and excellent fit and finish. The G-10 Harpy was a good little knife.
Now, even if not utility capable, the hawk-bill is still an awesome defensive tool... No, its not a stabber, but it slashes like mad, point goes in, and wants to go deep, and then as the ark of the slash moves on, its ripped out again... leaving deep wide wound.
Not my first choice, but I wouldnt feel under-"gunned" with just a hawk-bill... and its definatly an excellent back-up to other weapons, main knife, or a firearm. A great weak-side folder (or fixed blade to those inclined.)
Years ago, in certain area's, more traditional Hawkbills were the weapon of choice for many, and they were feared for their effectiveness.
The thrust kills, of course... but so does a slash.
Dont write off the hawk-bill as "useless"... its not, far from it.
[Edited to add the following thoughts:]Think about the naturally occuring shape of the claws on predators that make use of their claws to kill... big cats and bears bot have Hooked/Hawkbill shaped claws, and they can kill with them, with slashing basically. (I realize a griz or a mountain lion has a lot more force behind his "slash" when he slaps youw ith his paw, but the principle is still there), and such predatory beasts that have such hooked sharp claws, use them to kill. Thousands of years of killing for survival, using hook shaped sharp claws... yet we as humans doubt a steel hooked shaped claw? Am I missing something? *confused*
And, while I know this is mall ninja fantasy/arm chair commando stuff for most everyone here (me too) a hawk-bill has its place in "offensive" knife work, and it seems to me it has earned such a place, through being "proven" effective.
What about the rest of you?
