Do You like serrations?

I like plain edges and used to have a PE Dragonfly & Calypso Jr (both which I lost... :(), and currently have a PE Cricket.

However, I just purchased a SE Salt I to become my new EDC. Mainly because I want to be able to 'go for longer' without sharpening, but also because I've heard (read?) that H1 steel doesn't hold a PE quite as well as an SE.

I don't mind SEs all that much - but I think knives with a combo edge (50/50 or even 70/30) are just wrong.

Next knife on my shopping list is a PE Delica. :D
 
well, i really love my Cal. Jr, though i did just get it. It, of course is PE. I also have a leek with a combo edge. I really wasnt sure at the time, but I have found that with a larger blade, I have plenty of straight edge, and if i need serrations, i can work with that too (rope, for example). Sure, the serrations are a bit short for maximum performance of the sawing action, but, I rarely need serrations, and if I do, i can make due with the inch or so that I have.

Take my comments with a grain of salt though, becuse I havnt been carrying anything more than my leatherman micra for more than a month, and have never tried to edc a serrated edge. (though i would like to sometime, but I have not given in to spending money like mad on knives)
 
no, i prefer plain edge after some years of usage and comparing..
due to some informations, in some spiritual spheras people believe that serrated blade is the carrier of spiritual disharmony, which can lead up to the harming of the blade owner, bringing him illness or other harming-spiritual.. some stuff with the usage of blade, or dagger in rituals.
also, the more powerful point is that a good sharpened plain blade has better cutting performance than the serrated one. why do you think that japanese samurais used plain edge on their swords? i think surely that they would be able to produce serrated blades, if the would like to.. maybe with using some other technology as nowadays...
 
I prefer plain edge knives. They are more pleasing to my eye and, more importantly, work better for the some of the tasks I routinely ask a knife to perform and as well as serrated for the rest. Plus, they are easy to sharpen and I find sharpening a plain edge relaxing, but find sharpening serrations stressful.

On the other hand, none of my routine tasks are "life or death". Which is why I am seriously considering getting an SE Atlantic Salt to keep in my car, for emergency use only, as soon as they hit the streets.
 
I like both. I have experienced that SE cuts longer than PE and equally well and clean (with proper technique). However, the PE is more of a joy to sharpen and use, I find it takes more skill. If I could choose only one, it would be SE for its versatility and longevity.

wouter
 
my current EDC is a merlin with SE. heck of a cutter. i could carve a sofa down to little bits in moments with that bad boy, even when it could use a sharpening. that said, i think PE is better for light, precise finesse cuts, and am planning to go with a similarly sized full flat straight bladed spydie, and maybe swapping that merlin over to the left side for rougher cutting. the right tool for the job, i say.
 
I am going to play devil's advocate here, from My personal experience.

I carry the full sized Dyad to work every day, and have done so for almost a year. (I am a commercial fisherman, in New England, currently working aboard a lobster boat. I also work part time in season on deep sea charter/party fishing boats, and a knife is indespensable) On the lobster boat, because the dominant blade on the dyad is the serrated blade, I use it more often, and because of the materials being cut, rope, both sinking and floating polypropylene, heading twine, rubber hose, both wire impregnated, and plain, rubber flywheel belts, etc. etc. etc. I find the serrated blade to perform in these circumstances much better than a plain edge. It does not help that the plain edge blade of the Dyad is disappointingly thin.

On the flip side, the serrated edge is a poor match for cutting monofilament fishing line, gillnet mesh (also monofilament), the strands of rope left over after splicing a line, and other less fibrous materials. I find that the serrations hang up when cutting something as thin as fishing line, or short ends left over when trimming a splice. The plain edge blade is also indespensable when cutting something better left to pliers, which I hate to carry, like the tag ends of a blood knot or similar knots.

Overall, I have found 50/50 blades to be a nuisance, and prefer to use the Dyad, which offers the full complement of both serrations, and a straight edge.
 
Nope...

Awful hard to sharpen serations with a stone. Or strop the blade a bit on some cardboard...
 
I depend on serrated knives as a first responder. The one important factor that has not been discussed in depth is what brand of knife you are talking about with the serrated blade. All serrated blades are not created equal. There is no better serrated edged knife blade than a Victorinox because of the way they have designed the serrations in the blade, it will cut through webbing, seatbelt, rope, etc with out stopping. Other serrated blades are not so smooth when cutting such materials. Second on my list is Spydercos. YMMV.



Andrew J. Gnoza, III

Explosive Safety & HazMat Consultant
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Consultant
Hazardous Materials Consultant / Instructor
Weapons of Mass Destruction Instructor
 
i love serrated blades, i have 4 spydies, of which 3 are serrated.
i don't find that they snag too much onto things, they cut & cut very well, all have a bit of plain edge near the tip for delicate work & a plain edge can bearly cut garden hoses, wood, hard plastic & thick rope whereas the SE does it easily.. i'm all for SE! :D
 
Yes I do.I collect Delicas,I have many,I've got PE,SE and combo edge ones. I can take any 2 NIB ones go in the gargage and see in sort order that 2 of the same knives both new, one PE one SE and it becomes clear quickly which one cuts rope,cardboard,hoses,plastic and so on with less effort on my part.That one is the SE.

As a firefighter I won't go to work with out serrations.I demand a knife that still can cut after some abuse,one that could cut me free from entanglements after it had been already used hard during the day.Off duty I still want that ability.
 
My very EDC is a SE Delica I carry for several years. This doesn't mean I'd advice serrations over any other edge. I also have many spydies in PE, SE and CE. To some knives serrations work (and even improve eye appeal), while for others they just don't.
 
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