My hatred of serrations, and yours, perhaps

elkins45 said:
Try and remove seven feet of 1/4" nylon rope from around the spindle of a mower blade sometime, then tell me how serrations aren't useful. Or slice open 40 bags of cement. Or chop honeysuckle vines off the axle of your tiller.

There are some jobs serrations just excel at, and I encounter them often enough that I keep a FS Manix 2 in the left pocket of my works pants in addition to the plain edge knife in my right.

Hate is something you should save for communists, not knives.
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There ya go. I think a lot of folks don't like serrations because they don't like the mall ninja look (me included!) but haven't had a real chance to put them through some hard use.

I don't want them on my traditional folder. As a work knife for cutting fiberglass strapping, binding cord, rope, tearing through heavy packaging, etc., they are hard to beat. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't tried out a buddy's FULL serrations on one of his inexpensive knives. He keeps it sharper than all get out, and that thing will cut and cut with no problems out on the job all day.

With that in mind, I got an excellent closeout deal on a Buck Nighthawk that was partially serrated. As a camp knife, that thing is great. Wanna chew through some scrubby new growth trees to get your sleeping bag in the exact place you want? Those serrations will gnaw right through them. Need to cut some rope or cord to set up a rough camp? It always seems to be wet around hunting and camping season here, and the serrations will easily get a cut going on thick, wet, dirty rope with no apparent damage.

Serrations certainly have their place for hard use. Not needed if you are opening mail, breaking down boxes, cutting packing tape, or for gutting and skinning. But they are hard to beat on a utility hard use knife.

That being said, I have exactly two knives with serrations out of about 100. Sure like that Nighthawk, though.

Robert
 
davek14 said:
Yeah, serrations are great on steak knives 'cause they not only "increase length", they protect the cutting edge. The tips of the serrations hit the plate and the edges inside the serrations stay sharp. This would also hold true for other tough use where a straight edge would get dinged or dulled. I can see them having their uses.

That said, I prefer a straight edge myself. I've purposely sharpened away serrations.
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The same is true of Wharncliffe bladed knives. The tip will be the only thing contacting the plate, while the rest off the edge will freely pass through the cutting medium. I've often wondered why no one makes a Wharncliffe steak knife. :confused: Also, an Americanized tanto tip does the same thing. the "secondary point" or yokote will dull, but the rest will not. This would allow you to saw back and forth in a typical steak-cutting fashion. :)
 
those peeps who "hate" serrations are those who don't really use their knives for real work (and probably do the "force a patina" thing rather then let it happen from regular use).

i like serrations; half my folders are partial serrations. serrations cut fast thru bags, rope, boxes, canvas, nylon etc. and as others have stated, they don't dull fast; the edge stays effective a long time.

will they still slice an apple? sure, but i do way more things with an edged tool then slice fruit.

is it a more deliberate effort to sharpen? yep; so what's the problem? i just do it when it's time, no complaints.
 
pilote said:
those peeps who "hate" serrations are those who don't really use their knives for real work.
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I use the hell out of my knives and don't like serrations. Deal with it.

The only partially serrated knife I still have is my Yari II that I use as a camp beater, and it works like a charm.
 
I'll go full SE or plain-edge. I only have one partial-serrated blade... the Victorinox Sentinel. The knife itself has a few issues, but I really like how Victorinox does their PS blades.

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One thing I always liked my FS Spydies for was cutting heater hose on automobiles. I tried it with sharp PE knives and it was doable but took a lot more effort. SE edged knives fly through that stuff, and make a pretty clean cut.
 
Another in the pro-serrations camp, and I find a use for partial serrations even on 3" blades. I traded in my BM 585 for a 585S because I kept dulling the edge near the choil cutting fibrous material across the grain - the plain edge would flattened or roll noticably quickly, resulting in incomplete or tearing cuts requiring a lot more force. With the serrated portion of the blade, the spines would penetrate immediately (that's just good physics) and give the thin hollow-ground scallops an easy start into the material. I could then draw-cut to fully separate the surface material and push-cut the rest of the way with the plain-edge section - easy and effective every time :thumbup:
I like the partial-serration on such a small knife, esp. located near the choil (what i consider the ideal location), because it also leaves that length of plain-edge nearer the tip for push-cutting/carving/whittling and fine slicing which I prefer that section of the blade for anyway. I still frequently sharpen the plain-edge section of the blade (my use demands it), but I've yet to take a rod to those serrations - still going strong and serving their purpose well :thumbup: +1

Notes on food-prep use: for field-dressing game I like serrations for cutting through the hide and bone/cartilage, plain-edge for slicing meat; I use a fully-serrated (wide scallops) knife for slicing bread, a plain-edge for cheese.
 
I don't mind serrations most of the time. Though ever since joining this forum I have noticed that I tend to buy plain edge knives more often.

I remember reading threads like this one when I first joined here and wondering why People hate serrations so much.

Because at that time I ALWAYS bought serrated knives.

Now though I don't have any practical reasons I just tend to gravitate towards plain edge blades. I guess the anti-serration subliminal messages coming from this forum were to strong for me to resist.
 
marcinek said:
How is it good for cutting wires? Not many serrated wire cutters out there.
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we're not talking about specialized tools.
go grab a spool of wire or cables and put a plain edge toe to toe with a combo or fully serrated edge... that plain edge will go dull and flat a ways way sooner before the serrated edge even starts to slow down ripping through the cables. its not that hard to understand really lol... if you have no need to put your knives through that kind of work stick with plain edges. serrations have their place and i think the point has been proven.

haters gonna hate :p
 
pilote said:
those peeps who "hate" serrations are those who don't really use their knives for real work
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While I avoid speaking in absolutes, there is probably a lot of truth to this statement. I hates serrations for a long time because I could never get them things sharp. Then I got a job in a warehouse and had to cut damn near everything you could imagine... quarter to half inch cardboard, strapping, webbing, cloth, rope, wooden dowels, thin and thick plastics. Serrated knives just work faster and more accurately when your in a hurry.
 
In this day and age (of the Sharpmaker) the 'harder to sharpen' bit is kind of a dated mindset when it comes to SE blades. Just as easy to sharpen as a plain edge, except you have to do it less often. This thread reminds me that I'm waaaaay overdue to pick up a full SE blade in H1... :)
 
I prefer plain edge, but I don't dislike serrations. It's just personal preference based on what I typically use my EDC's for. The serrations do seem to hold a useful cutting edge longer (or maybe it's more the ripping action that keeps it cutting even when dulled). The CRKT Veff serrations have worked really well for me for cutting stranded or fibrous materials. I don't care much for combo edges on smaller blades though. There's not enough plain edge to make long and deeper cuts as smoothly, and depending on the thickness of what you're trying to cut, you may need to do some more sawing with the serrations.
 
I don't require serrations very often but I've tried several brands and for me it's Spyderco and everyone else can take their serrations and go home.
 
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