User:Legitimus/Hawkbill (knife)

A hawkbill is a style of knife blade with a concave cutting edge and claw-like shape. This blade type is designed primarily to cut by a pulling or raking motion, and has both utilitarian and martial applications.

Utility-oriented knives of this type are used to make long, continuous cuts in surfaces, with the idea to reduce the wasted effort of simultaneously pressing the blade into the item as one would with a straight blade. They are also used by hooking thin items, such as plant stems holding fruit, allowing the task to be done with only the blade and no stabilizing hand, much like a sickle. Examples are knives made for cutting vinyl or linoleum, plant trimming tools, and knives used by emergency services for vehicle extrication.

Martial uses are less common but do exist. Hawkbills used in this manner are almost exclusively slashing weapons, as the curved blade makes stabbing almost impossible. It this manner, they function almost identically to animal claws, creating ripping wounds. The most common example is the Southeast Asian karambit, a knife of agrarian origins latter developed as a weapon, and popular in some modern martial arts styles. Another similar weapon is the Indian Bagh nakh, which often had multiple blades.