All About Pocket Knives

I picked up this Ulster hawkbill knife missing one scale and having what looks like maybe some celluloid outgassing damage (from another knife) for a princely sum of $10.10 including shipping. I'm not crazy about hawkbill blades so I ground the blade down to something like a large sheepfoot and reassembled the knife with scales I made from bocote wood. I've had a few pieces of bocote wood lost and forgotten on a shelf under my workbench for quite a while and I just wanted to see what it would look like on a folding knife.

herbva wrote: ↑Wed Aug 28, 2024 1:40 am I picked up this Ulster hawkbill knife missing one scale and having what looks like maybe some celluloid outgassing damage (from another knife) for a princely sum of $10.10 including shipping. I'm not crazy about hawkbill blades so I ground the blade down to something like a large sheepfoot and reassembled the knife with scales I made from bocote wood. I've had a few pieces of bocote wood lost and forgotten on a shelf under my workbench for quite a while and I just wanted to see what it would look like on a folding knife.

Everything better Herb. Love the blade and love the handles.

Nice restoration/modification Herb!
I like bocote, and that piece has some nice grain.

The hawk bilk to sheepsfoot conversion is a good idea, I like the way it looks

Gorgeous!!!

beautiful modification

herbva wrote: ↑Wed Aug 28, 2024 1:40 am I just wanted to see what it would look like on a folding knife.

It looks very nice.

Nice transformation! I've done a few of those regrinds on hawkbill blades.

The thing looks factory, great job!

Beautiful!
I love seeing a damaged hawkbill rehabilitated like that!
It now gives off a very "antique Sheffield" vibe, a very classic and classy look!

Beautiful Herb. That Bocote wood has some very nice grain to it. I like the blade conversion also, it’s a lot more practical than a Hawkbill blade.

Nice work Herb!!

Nice Herb

Nicely done Herb.

Very Nice Work. You have opened my mind to revisit the Hawk Bills.

I had one as a kid. Black walnut handle. I don't know the maker, but, like ALL the other knives I bought with paper route money, I'm chasing them now.

Since seeing this thread, I too have tried my hand at this. I used a Pakistan knife that I got for 3$. I also ground the blade down but I am curious how you kept the actual grind of the blade. As I got closer to the tip of the blade, the blade was obviously thicker. How did you keep the original grind? Did you grind then file?

Thanks. I want to do this again and we all know there are Plenty of broken tip Hawk Bills to work on . I'm not unhappy with the results, just want it to be better.

I just noticed your post L8Tagain. Sorry for the delay in replying. You are correct, after I "reprofile" a hawkbill blade, it is of course much thicker toward the tip end. Once I've got the blade tip profile ground to where I want it, I use a fine grind wheel and "slim down" the end of blade a little bit to match the thickness of the rest of the blade. After using the fine grinder wheel I go to sandpaper. Just like when I am cleaning up bolsters, start with extra coarse sand paper and work my way down to extra fine (2000 or 3000 grit) to get the newly ground part of the blade to match the rest of it. I hope this helps.

^That does help, Thank You. I figured it was something like that, but, just wanted to hear it from someone who has done it. I've been looking for more broken-tip hawk bills.