A question about the placement of serrations.

9blades

9blades

Joined
Dec 29, 2012
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I've been looking at serrated knives lately (and chisel ground Emersons) and I noticed something that I find odd.

the way the serrations are ground onto the blade it's seems like they are ground for a lefty, what I mean by this is, when you cut away from yourself (right handed) the sharpened side of the blade will be facing down and the un-sharpened side will be facing up.

Am I missing something really Obvious here? I was always under the impression that the sharpened side of the blade should be facing up when your cutting away from yourself (when you're carving a stick for instance)

Picture for reference,
image_zps9919c663.jpg

Credit for this picture goes to yablanowitz, found HERE

So to simplify the question, why are they ground like that?

Thanks in advance!

-niner
 
I don't know why, it is the only reason I don't buy more serrated knives. I have one knife (a cheap "winchester" knife) from a while back that has serrations on the right side of the blade. I absolutely loved that knife, it has probably seen more use over the years than any of my other knives.
 
I agree. serrations would be more appealing if they were ground for righties, but for most EDC tasks I really think it doesn't matter. Same goes with Emerson's chisel grinds that are ground on the "wrong" side.

This would be much more important with a dedicated kitchen or wood working knife, though.

I feel like they started off being ground like they are now because that side of the blade seems to be seen as the "face" where they put the more important markings, and are often photographed showing that side alone. So you like to see the full serrations. I just pulled that hypothesis out of my rear, though.
 
They are ground that way for aesthetic purposes.
 
The serrations are on the front or left of the blade to counteract the natural twisting motion of the right hand when making a straight cut. Serrations are for separating matter, not whittling. They tend to stay sharper longer because of the increased cutting area.
 
Last edited:
goodeyesniper said:
I agree. serrations would be more appealing if they were ground for righties, but for most EDC tasks I really think it doesn't matter. Same goes with Emerson's chisel grinds that are ground on the "wrong" side.

This would be much more important with a dedicated kitchen or wood working knife, though.

I feel like they started off being ground like they are now because that side of the blade seems to be seen as the "face" where they put the more important markings, and are often photographed showing that side alone. So you like to see the full serrations. I just pulled that hypothesis out of my rear, though.
Click to expand...

I can definetly see it being for aesthetics. I don't really mind the serrations, but Emerson's being ground like that isn't very appealing...but they have v ground knives, so I'm happy:) (at the very least I want or try CQC-8 at some point)

mossyhorn said:
The serrations are on the front or left of the blade to counteract the natural twisting motion of the right hand when making a straight cut. Serrations are for separating matter, not whittling. They tend to stay sharper longer because of the increased cutting area.
Click to expand...

Thank you that makes perfect sense! Also I won't be whittling any sticks, I used that as an example because everyone knows the cutting motion involved.

Thanks guys!

-niner
 
My recollection is that the left-hand side of a knife is the "presentation" side, so stamps, engravings, and chisel grinds were done on that side originally. Though obviously it has changed in recent years.
 
Serrations aren't meant for precision so who cares what side it leans to?
I've never noticed serrations pulling awkwardly any noticeable amount when sawing through branches or saplings.

In a perfect world I would like to see symmetric serrations. I think Spyderco tried it but it was too tricky and made little real world difference anyway.
 
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