New SE knife?

B

Buck268

Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
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If I were to pick up a new knife, I would have to go with a full SE since I've EDC a PE for a long time, and before that a combo... Only thing is I'm not really sure what I would want to get.

There are some steels, like that which the Byrds are made of, ith fine grain and seem to do better in a fine edge. Then there are steels like H1 which seem to work harden better when serrated, or S30V which is naturally a coarse slicer as well as brutally wear resistant (although possible chipping issues on the teeth).

For a long time I've been tempted to pick up a SE H1 knife, but I just cant justify the cost. My Native is probably about the most I'm willing to spend right now... Which leads me to the Byrd line. But I don't want to deal with relatively frequent sharpening of a SE.

What would be a few good recommendations considering my criteria? I'm not brand-limited, but nothing in a full SE is coming to mind outside of Syderco at this particular moment...
 
There are places you can find the Salt series at close to the cost of the Native. You could also go with one of the SE Delicas. What I would like is a double bladed salt, one serrated and one pe. That would literally have my cash in seconds.
 
Serrations hold their edges for quite a long time; even the steels that are 'only' AUS-6, AUS-8, or 8CrMoV, so please don't take them off your list. The micro-chipping you've heard about in S30V, well, that matters if you want a polished edge that's thin, but if you want a toothy edge (such as a serrated edge), why not go for it?

I've seen fully serrated knives from Byrd, Cold Steel, Emerson's Hard-Wear line, and Spyderco (and own ones from Cold Steel :o and Spyderco :cool: ), but other companies have to be out there. The non-serrated Byrds are very good and not just 'for the money,' so I can't imagine the serrated Byrds being somehow worse.
 
I've heard mixed things about Cold Steel, and when I handled a few voyagers I was less than blow away. I would love to stick with a spydie, but the prices are a real drawback, unless I went with a serrated Native. S30V would probably be great for an SE as it would last forever... although I've had some issues with edge chipping under light use on my Native PE that I can't solve...

Byrd doesn't offer any full SE except for a smallish one (trying to keep right around 3 inch blade), but I might check out something like a CRKT M16 (non-zytel, their locks are worthless). I bet Buck's 420HC would do pretty good if they have anything fully serrated...
 
Excellent. I was looking on newgraham and they have them pictured as combo edges but listed as serrated; have an email sent to them as we speak...

Also I've found the Byrd Wings. Been looking for something like a dyad to add to my collection! Up until now the only thing like that I had found was a cheap and crappy schrade x-time double blade. Might have to jump on the wings, dunno yet.
 
Another thing you could consider is simply getting a plain edge knife you like and sending it to Tom Veff to get it serrated. His angled serrations are very effective, rugged, and are significantly easier to maintain as well...a 3/8ths inch ceramic rod and you are good to go.

http://tomveffknives.com/index.htm
 
Just get a serrated spyderco tenacious. It will be the best knife in the price range, unless you get something used/ super deal right here on the forums. I handled one at the knife shop, and without the price tag and the made in china stamp, I would have thought it was a $100 knife.
 
The SE Tenacious is a beast of a knife! My friend picked one up and it's an excellent way to give SE a shot...
 
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