Combo Edge Discussion

richstag

richstag

Joined
Feb 22, 2007
Messages
9,008
Hi all,

Please share your experiences of Benchmade Combo edge knives that you own and use. I have one now and I will share my honest feedback as time goes on. Honest feedback is what will make this discussion valuable to our community. Also, if you notice they work better with particular steels. How do you sharpen them and how good are your results? I will also share my feedback on the same.

I believe this will be of value to folks looking to buy and even others who already own.

Thanks,
 
For a long time all I owned was Benchmade CE's. In the field they offer the advantage of extended sharpness when you are not in a position to sharpen your knife. The serrated portion will stay sharp far longer.

As far as cutting performance there are times serrations are better suited for the job at hand and the serrated portion of the CE helps tremendously to get the cut started.. An example is wet nylon lines where plain edges tend to slide and not cut as well, where the serrations will "bite" into the material and get you started.

I also think the serrated portion of a CE is better suited for ropes in general, heavy burlap, straps, flex cuffs, and other fibrous materials.

As far as sharpening the serrations, I never really mastered that part. I do "ok" but am not great at it. Now that I use a Smiths system (very similar to the sharpmaker) I get better results but back then I needed help to sharpen my CE's. Also, I'm not great using the serration stone on my Gatco or Lansky guided system. Using the Smiths though I do ok.

Now retired my cutting needs are very different and I tend to prefer plain edges. Mostly because of the ease of sharpening and esthetics. Plus the fact I'm not cutting lines or other heavy materials anymore but I definitely see the value in a CE blade.

ETA:The CE blade steels I used mostly were ATS-34 and 154CM but also some 440C.
Oh, and how could I forget the 710SBK in D2...
 
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In before "I only have serrations on my steak knife" comment....

Back on topic, pbcg pretty much nailed it. If you do a lot of heavy cutting a combo edge trumps the PE. I've tried both at my work and while the combo edge actually performed better I went back to using PE because I just like the looks better and it's easier to sharpen.

I enjoy a very sharp edge and keep my EDC well maintained and this helps keep the performance between a PE and CE during heavy cutting a little closer. That being said, if you aren't good at keeping your knife sharp a CE which has literally never been sharpened will walk all over a PE that needs to be sharpened...
 
Thanks for the great feedback so far. Yeah, we don't need any steak knife comments.

What will be valuable is why, when and especially how well you can sharpen each.

Lets say you can get your plain edge and serrations just as buttery sharp, yet you still prefer straight edge, and why.

Or you can't sharpen a plain edge, so you prefer serrations.

Or you can't sharpen serrations but you can sharpen a plain edge, thus you prefer plain edge. And so on.

Also, any usage examples but denote if all else is equal, AKA, both are equally sharp, or dull vs sharp and etc.

So far really enjoying the explanations for personal experience gained preferences.
 
One test which I found interesting....grab a couple plastic hangers, a CE knife, a PE knife, and a stop watch. Time yourself cutting through a hanger with each knife.
 
The cheap white plastic clothing hangers that almost everyone has in a closet somewhere.

My results? I hate to spoil the fun I want others to try first maybe they can do better :). The CE cut through in under 30 seconds....I gave up with the PE after a minute when I realized I was more likely to have the blade slip and cut my hand than cut through the hanger.

I want to try again with gloves on...and also see if using a cutting board instead of holding it with my hands will help the PE as it was skipping all over the place and had a hard time keeping the cut in the same area.
 
I've never been a big fan of serrations. There are times when they work well, but most folding knife blades aren't very long, so the area that is serrated is very small.
For me, this small area really didn't give much to work with...
I've only owned two knives with serrations. An early Mini Grip in 440C, and a first production 705 with an ATS-34 blade. While neither saw what I would call severe usage, they were definitely used a lot. I never had any problems with the teeth chipping.

I will say, touching up the serrations was kinda therapeutic for me. Not sure why... I used a fine, small, tapered round file for the face of the serrations, and a small flat file or sometimes I would just use a stone for the back side.

I can see where having a knife that had serrations running the full length of the blade could be very handy. I know Spyderco and Cold Steel make some as well.

I don't care much for the look of CE blades. I think a plain edge looks nicer. YMMV
 
I'll weigh in.

I own a few Benchmades: 745 PE, 15030 PE, 585S, 520S.
I originally owned a PE 585 but traded it for the SE based mostly on aesthetics (for some reason I liked the look of SE on that blade better than PE) but later came to appreciate the performance advantage of those serrations. I've done the coat-hanger test as well as used the 585S and 520S for yardwork cutting roots and branches and rope/twine, tasks which were often frustrating with my plain-edge blades that, despite being sharp enough to shave, would slide off the material before cutting all the way through. The reduced geometry of the scallops, and the penetration points (teeth) even on such a short length of serrations (1-2"), let the blade dig deep with very little effort on the push, and the recurve-shape of the scallops kept the material in contact with the cutting edge such that it could not be wedged-away as with the thicker edge of the PE portion of even the same blade. I tried using a PE with geometry as thin as those scallops but it was too fragile for the type of (ab)use I'd put it to. If i were more careful doing such work, perhaps a thinned-out PE blade would work better, but the combo-edge gives me what i need to get the job done.

I don't think I'd like a fully-serrated edge for the type of work I use these for as the short bit gives the penetration i need and having the plain-edge section gives me that option for cutting materials where serrations are a disadvantage. My only fully-serrated blades are bread and steak knives, and the latter would benefit from a good plain edge, imho.

The 745 and 15030 are PE and preferable for carving wood or slicing paper & cardboard where serrations get gum'd up with material and end up tearing rather than cutting. I've also lost the point of a couple serrations carving wood.
I prefer PE in the kitchen when slicing with the serrated blades results in undesirable gouging, and in the lab/office where serrations are seen as more threatening :p, but cutting through the crust of my wife's bread I definitely prefer the serrations ;)
Also, as others have mentioned, plain-edge is generally more pleasing to look at and easier to maintain.

That typed, I have not had trouble keeping the serrations sharp with the round diamond-file in my DMT kit.
 
I think all others have pointed out the pros and cons of PE VS CE. One thing to consider is what others mentioned about easy to sharpen.

Of cause it depends on individual, but really how much would you like to carry extra serration sharpener when you are camping and what not?

I have 810SBK. Being M4 meaning I don't have to sharpen as often, but having serration edge "preserves" sharp edge area especially you are cutting on hard surface. I shudder when ever people cuts things on ceramic plate, glass plate, etc.

810 having 4" of blade can have both serration and plane edge, so it has that advantage. Even in small blade, it can help to have sharp edge preserved for cutting something tough in a hurry.
 
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While most of my Benchmade knives are smooth edge I have found the combo grip to be my favorite work carry knife. I am a plumber and often find myself cutting open boxes, bags, and just about anything you would use a knife for. The blade is not a spear point, has a fairly rounded point and carries some thickness forward. I carry a Rift and a 710 when not at work but the combo blade it just what I need for a daily carry at work. Keeping it sharp is not a big problem as I have a Spyderco tri-stone rod sharpening system. It does a good job giving me a good work edge that is durable and easy to maintain.
Frank.
 
I too like serrations on alot of my knives. They come in handy alot. Never had to sharpen any of my serrations yet either but they don't get used quite as often as the part of plain edge. Have 2 Benchmades with CE and i think Benchmade does serrations well. Cut really well and stay sharp. I think Cold Steel is the company i like their serrations the least.
 
Great discussion so far, thank you to all!

I will start adding mine. So far daily carry of a combo edge has proven to be different. I feel I have to be even more controlled to only use the plain edge area for certain tasks. i don't want to dull the serrations for simple things a plain edge do just as well or better. That said I use it just as well. Everyday I have used it for a lot of different things so far. Even out in the woods today it did very well.

When I run into something I need the serrations for I will start giving my feedback on that.

Its not that I haven't used a serrated blade before, I have, a lot, but never as my EDC. Always special purpose and full serrated.

The only way I know how to sharpen them as sharp as I can get a plain edge is to use a tapered ultra fine DMT diamond file follow by my shop buffer to remove burr and polish the edge. It gets them so very sharp but its seriously dangerous on such a small folder.

I am thinking of making some type of tapered file strop for finishing the serrations. Anyone found good solutions for this? I am not putting this knife in front of my buffer.

I hope to hear more feedback, its always going to be very personal. I really enjoyed reading all the detail everyone gave.
 
Nef- It took me way to long to realize that serrations on a knife is a very good thing.
rolf
 
I love the idea of serrations but disagree with where they usually end up on knives. I prefer to have the plain edge at the base of the blade for carving and the serrations at the end of the blade where you lose power on a pulling cut.
 
I have seen knives like that. How do you find them in use?

psychophipps said:
I love the idea of serrations but disagree with where they usually end up on knives. I prefer to have the plain edge at the base of the blade for carving and the serrations at the end of the blade where you lose power on a pulling cut.
Click to expand...
 
I prefer a combo edge on a larger knife because you still get a lot of usable plain edge. To me, the ultimate combo edge is the Benchmade 710. The serrations are over much of the recurve, which is the ideal location for sawing, and the primary usage of serrations are usually to do just that. You still get a very large amount of plain edge for work, plus the serrations to saw objects like rope. Compared to a smaller knife like a Mini Grip, you aren't losing a large portion of plain edge functionality. For a smaller knife, I like the 707s. While you aren't going to get the large amount of plain edge left like the 710, you still have a decent bit for usage (but you also lose the recurve which I think makes serrations work better).

Sharpening-wise I use a SharpMaker and think it is the best system thus far for teeth. I generally upkeep the plain edged portions on my EdgePro.

Steel-wise, I really like the M2 and M4 for the 710. Both of these steels have really high wear resistance and the frequency in which you will actually need to sharpen the serrations will be minimal with most usage (as in really rare relative to how often you sharpen the plain edged portion.)
 
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