Combo Edge Question

They're a pain to sharpen and (IMHO) a well-honed edge will cut through fibrous materials just as well if not better.
 
Thank you Alberta Ed

So really the issue is sharpening? not quality, blade strength etc

Thanks again
Gav
 
Also some people don't like the looks of the combo blade. Most serrations are cut at a chisel grind. They also give the knife a "meaner" look.;)
 
Arclightuk said:
So really the issue is sharpening?
Click to expand...

I don't know if the main issue is sharpening, but rather that some people feel that a combo edge does not provide "enough" of either the plain edge or serrated edge section. Personally, I find combo edges quite useful at times, and I own several combo edge knives.
 
I like a combo edge, there the best of both worlds IMO. I have found though that the serrations will never get as sharp as from the factory, but it's easy to keep them toothy and serrations always seem to cut, even long after the plain edge part of the blade has been dulled from a hard days work the serrations will still saw through about anything in my experience.

Helle
 
I personally do not like combo blades. I am not really fond of serrated blades in the first place.
 
;)

Blade length is a component as well. A shorter length combo blade renders the serations relatively impotent imo.

Good luck! :)
 
Well some serrations are better than others. Spyderco's serrations are some of the best I've handled. Colt's strange slanted cnc'd cutout style "serrations" are basically useless, they will hang up and get caught in materials.
 
Some folks find combo edges harder to sharpen when using sharpening stones (same reason others don't like recurved edges). A Spyderco Sharpmaker solves that problem by getting "in between" the teeth of the combo edge.

Some folks don't like combo edges for some of the other reasons mentioned above: aesthetic reasons, not enough either edge, etc.

Personally, I do like them. I find they cut plastic reinforcing straps easily where a standard edge would just "skate" right off. They also cut zip ties without any fuss.

I have knives with different sorts of edges: plain, combo, and serrated only. When I am preparing food, I prefer the plain edge. The exception to that is when I am slicing some hard crusty bread. That's when I pull out the serrated bread knife.

I find that when I am cutting man-made materials, such as blister packs or cardboard boxes with plastic straps, combo edges or serrated edges work better for me.
 
I carried a combo edge for a while. I found that I rarely had a need for the serrations. I also found that they interfered when I was cutting something that required maximum control and force because I had to cut further out on the blade instead of at the base of the blade where you have the most control. Things might have been different if I needed to cut a lot of cordage with my EDC. With my usage pattern, I found a combo blade just wasn't worth it for me. So I gave it up and switched to a plain edge.
 
ever tried a vic locking-blade sak with combo edge ?
it has the pe and se in different places than most combo edges. You might like combos more if the serrations are placed differently.
 
i dont like serrations much for two reasons. I dont like the aesthetics--they dont look that nice. Second I find they are much like a jack of all trades--can do a little bit of cutting like a serations knife, and a little bit of the stuff of a plain edge but a master of nothing=P
 
With serrations for me it's all or nothing, while I prefer none there are certianly jobs that a serrated knife will do for a lot longer, I agree with padawan, combo blades do not offer enough of either selection IMHO
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top