Cheap Serrated knife recommendation

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GhOsT1321

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May 5, 2009
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My only experience with serrated knives have been cheap (sub 10$ knives) and needless to say my experiences have been bad. I love plain edges but I am ready to try a higher end knife with serrations and have a budget of 40$ or less.
I have been looking at a SOG Flash 1 Half Serrated, but am concerned about being able to sharpen the serrations, what is a good serrated knife for EDC and what tool should I use to sharpen them?
Thank you for your time
 
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To sharpen a serrated blade, you'll want to get a tapered rod sharpener, or a triangular sharpening stick. There are many available on the market. You use the edge of the triangular stick or the tapered portion of the sharpening rod to hone the individual serrations, drawing the rod down through the "valleys" of the serrations at the appropriate angle.

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I have a Smith's retractable diamond rod hone that has served me well for many years.

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GhOsT1321 said:
My only experience with serrated knives have been cheap (sub 10$ knives) and needless to say my experiences have been bad. I love plain edges but I am ready to try a higher end knife with serrations and have a budges of 40$ or less.
I have been looking at a SOG Flash 1 Half Serrated, but am concerned about being able to sharpen the serrations, what is a good serrated knife for EDC and what tool should I use to sharpen them?
Thank you for your time
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IMHO, Spyderco is the leader in serrated knives. You can get a Spyderco Delica for $50 if you shop around and Spyderco will sharpen it for you when needed.

The Victorinox One-Hand Trekker has the front part serrated and can't be beat for $30 or so.
 
I agree that Spyderco's spyderedge probably takes the cake for best serrations on knives. The Sharpmaker works well for sharpening them too. And many people still don't like serrations at that. Look around the BST, I think I saw a VG-10 serrated Caly 3 going for less than $50.
 
+1 for spyderco serrated blades but SPYDERCO DOES NOT RE-SHARPEN SERRATED BLADES.
 
use the smiths diamond hone it works well . also there is a serrated sharpener for a lanskey hat works quite well
 
knifenut1013 said:
+1 for spyderco serrated blades but SPYDERCO DOES NOT RE-SHARPEN SERRATED BLADES.
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You sure? I thought it was Benchmade that didn't sharpen serrations and Spyderco did. I just looked at the Spyderco website and didn't see it mentioned. I've never sent them a serrated blade, so I could be all wet...
 
i have a full spyderedge ZDP Delica on the way, i thought i would give the serrations a try...i got it for 40 shipped off of another forumite:D
 
Ditto on Spyies-I'm not much on cheap knives, but a cheap folding serrated blade is a really bad idea. You can get a pretty bad cut if the lock fails-as they do on <=$10 knives.
 
Also, there are a number of fully-serrated Byrd knives in your price range. Spyderco, made in China. I have a fully-serrated CrossBill and like it a lot.
 
I would stretch that budget to $55 and get a serrated pacific salt or salt 1 from spyderco. H1 steel is completely rustproof and work hardens, meaning it becomes harder the more you use and resharpen the knife. Because of that, serrated H1 comes nearly as hard as VG10 and only gets better from there on out.
 
Well treated used or decent closeout serrated knives are the way to go.

I've seen the combo edge first generation Leatherman knives being sold for less then $10. The serration pattern they use is good. Reasonably acute and shallower than Spyderco's pattern, which I think is a good thing. The blades on those models are 420HC, and decently hard.

Victorinox and Wenger serrated blades are very good. You might be able to find one inexpensively from Felinevet.

Another possibility a card multitool. Some have a small serrated fixed blade. Some Tool Logic and Wenger brands have interesting fully serrated tiny fixed blades in modest steel, but well ground. These can be had pretty cheap on ebay sometimes.

Crappy serrated blades should be avoided, as they typically have serrations that are thick and not very acute.

As far as sharpening, a diamond rod or ceramic rod may suffice. At home, I like to use a somewhat soft cloth buffing wheel, which very much simplifies sharpening most of the time, with the diamond rod only used for repairing damage.
 
My Two Budget blades are a Old School Spyderco Native and a benchmade Vex both I bought each for under 30 bucks... great buys... great knifes.. for the money
 
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