SK Hawkbill Push Button Lock Knife Review: A Stout Green Utility Blade

Introduction

Some work knives try to be everything at once. The SK Hawkbill Push Button Lock Knife does one job and leans into it: a curved cutting blade built for slicing, scoring, and cutting tasks where the tip needs to stay engaged with the material. Finished in a bright green anodized aluminum handle, it is hard to miss in a tool bag or on a workbench, and at roughly $19 it sits firmly in budget territory.

This review walks through what it is like to hold, how the blade is shaped, and who this knife actually makes sense for.

Who This Product Is For

Hawkbill knives shine in specific trades and tasks. They are a natural fit for cutting cardboard, slicing the sheathing on electrical wire, scoring sheetrock or cement board laid on a subfloor, and general lino-style flooring work where a hooked curve helps the blade bite and track.

If your cutting work mostly involves pushing straight through material with a straight blade, a hawkbill will feel unusual at first. But if you spend time on jobs where the blade tends to wander away from the cut, the curved profile genuinely helps. Anyone who has fought a traditional blade drifting off a score line will understand the appeal immediately.

Blade Design and Why the Curve Matters

The blade is D2 steel with a dark coating, about 2.6 inches long, with light but smooth jimping along the top. The overall knife measures around 7.5 inches, so it carries some real presence in the hand.

The interesting part is the geometry at the tip. The depth of the curve and how sharply the edge drops toward the point determine where the cutting action happens, and that is exactly where most of the work takes place on a hawkbill. With a traditional curved blade, the pressure of the cutting surface against the workpiece diminishes as you slice. With a hawkbill or a wharncliffe-style profile, the blade stays in contact with the material as you push, keeping the point aligned with the cut instead of wandering.

There is a family resemblance between hawkbill and wharncliffe designs. A wharncliffe is generally flat with a steep drop to the point, and the SK’s front end borrows some of that character even though the curve places it firmly in hawkbill territory. Either way, the effect in use is a blade that keeps itself locked onto the line you are cutting.

Build Quality and Handling

This is a stout, fairly heavy knife. The handle is thick aluminum with a bright green coating, and the construction feels solid with a big pivot and three screws at the rear end. There is a lanyard hole for attaching a fob or tether.

The push button lock is the headline feature here. It is a different approach from the liner locks and old-school lockbacks found on other utility knives, and it gives a secure lockup that inspires confidence when you put real force behind a cut. The action feels smooth, with what appears to be bronze washers keeping things running nicely.

A few design choices are worth knowing before buying. The rear end of the handle is filled with a plastic liner rather than a pass-through design, which makes cleaning debris out of the handle less convenient than on knives that leave it open. And the pocket clip is not reversible, so it sits on the same side as the blade edge. That is an unfortunate detail for left-handed carriers or anyone particular about clip placement, though for a knife that mostly lives in a tool bag it matters less.

One honest note on grip: compared with some competitor designs that include a thumb depression or rest for extra security, the handle here is smooth and can feel slippery when you lean hard into a cut. With a short 2.6-inch blade on a long handle, careful hand placement matters.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The SK Hawkbill comes in more than one flavor. Alongside this hawkbill there is a drop point version and a utility blade version that takes interchangeable razor blades, all in the same bright green finish. If the hawkbill curve does not suit your tasks, one of the siblings might.

Price is a genuine strength. At around $18 to $19, this is an inexpensive way to try a push button lock hawkbill without committing to a premium tool. It is also worth noting that SK branding has been having something of a renaissance on modern tools, with the green finish carried over from the company’s long history.

Buying Advice

If you regularly cut cardboard, score panels, or slice wire sheathing, this knife earns its place quickly. The curved blade keeps contact with the material, the D2 steel holds an edge, and the push button lock is trustworthy under pressure. The compromises are minor: a non-reversible clip, a filled rather than pass-through handle rear, and a smooth handle that rewards a deliberate grip.

If you prefer a thin, replaceable blade with a lockback design, other brands cover that ground well and this one is not trying to compete there. But as a first hawkbill or a budget addition to a work knife rotation, it is an easy recommendation. It gets decent reviews from buyers, and for the price the build quality is difficult to argue with.

Conclusion

The SK Hawkbill Push Button Lock Knife is a purposeful, robust work knife with a useful blade geometry, a dependable lock, and a price that makes trying it nearly painless. Its quirks, like the fixed clip position and plastic-lined handle rear, are worth knowing but easy to live with for the right user. For tradespeople and DIYers who cut soft materials all day, it is a smart, budget-friendly pick.