I’m a big fan of Spyderco; I own about two dozen of them. I absolutely love the Para 3 and Delica, but I also like buying oddball knives on occasion.
This one’s been on my wishlist for a while. I’m not usually a fan of pinned knives that you can’t take apart, as I like a bit of tinkering. But since I want to keep this original anyway, I’m making an exception. It’s well built like all their Seki City knives; nicely machined with no sharp edges besides the one that should be.
The Harpy has been in their lineup since the late 90’s, and it’s held in high regard by many. It’s a nautical inspired knife, with the serrations and blade shape being handy to cut rope. Of course these days Spyderco makes a separate line of actual nautical knives, but that wasn’t a thing in the late 90’s.
It’s a perfect fifth pocket knife; carries nice and comfortable. It also has excellent ergonomics despite not being very large. One thing I like: it feels like a very warm, friendly knife. The handle takes on your body heat if you carry it on your person. Holding it feels like a warm handshake.
This knife is also slightly infamous; it’s one of the knives that fictional cannibal-slash-serial killer Hannibal Lecter uses. It’s specifically mentioned by name in the book Hannibal, and shown in the movie. The movie has a plain edge knife though, but the book specifies a serrated Harpy.
I've never understood these serrated hawk bill knives, what do you use them for?
It’s a design that’s quite useful for a few applications, such as on or around boats. This particular knife was intended for nautical use and was made well before Spyderco launched its dedicated Salt series. One hint to its nautical nature are the holes in the grip that allow water to drain.
As to your specific question:
A serrated blade is useful for cutting rope, which you’ll do often around boats.
The shape itself tends to ‘hold onto’ the thing you’re cutting, without it slipping off the blade. Basically, it’s a very efficient shape.
Of course, all that also has disadvantages. The serrations are harder to sharpen as is the overall shape of the knife. But it also wasn’t really intended to be an everyday useful blade, as mentioned.