Poll for Plain, Serrated or Combo Edge Blades. The last word.

Which do you prefer if you had to choose only one?

  • Plain Edge

    Votes: 1 100.0%

  • Serrated Edge

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Combo Edge

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    1
Death's Head

Death's Head

Joined
Jul 26, 2005
Messages
2,027
This is one of the most common questions seen on BF. Every week or so, I would notice this question come up.
Since I an many others have seen so many threads/posts regarding this issue and I thought it would be a good idea to have a poll for people such as newcomers to refer to.
Of course your preference will depend on the use of the knife at the time and can change from moment to moment. But for the sake of the poll, which do you prefer if you had to choose one.
Feel free to post your reasons.
 
I have two answers:

If the knife is meant to be a work horse, and doomed to long periods of extended cutting, fully serrated is the only way to go. I've taken plain edge knives to work, and they just don't keep cutting like a serrated knife does. It's a no brainer to me.

For general EDC and utility use, plain edge is what I go for. There are a lot of little cutting chores you may come across that a serrated edge wouldn't do well with, and you can generally sharpen your EDC every day if you need to, and extened periods of cutting are pretty rare in a regular, non-work day. It just looks nicer too.

I have no use for combo edge.
 
By the way, I prefer a plain edge. I get more general use out of it. Also, for self-defense a plain edge is my preference because I fear that a serrated or even a partially serrated blade may snag on clothing. That is only my opinion though because the ultimate Spyderco self-defense knife is the Civilian which almost always has been serrated.
Fully serrated looks coolest though and has its place. I would pick this over combo edges.
I own a couple of combo edges only because I didn't have a choice. I'm not a big fan of this particular blade style. I believe that a blade should be one or the other but not both. It is difficult to work with just the plain edge portion or serrated edge portion because there is not enough of either.
One of my favorite knives, the SOG Talon Ti is one example of a knife that I love that only came in combo.
 
Well,
I guess my last word does not count, it says I cannot vote on this poll!
SEEYA.

Robert
Oklahoma City
 
Not trying to offend anyone at all, but I wish the person who voted for the combo edge would have posted his opinion. Just curious to hear his thoughts on this. Oh well.
 
I am not the one that voted, but I will tell you why I like combo edges.

I understand the whole "they don't give you enough of either to be useful" arguement, but I disagree with it.

I have never in my life needed more than an inch or two of blade. My Activator has done everything I have needed a knife to do. I know there are times where more blade is needed, or helpful, but I rarely encounter them.

So, since I don't I need more than a couple inches of plain edge to do most everything that *I* have to do, then if my knife has a 4 inch blade, I feel the extra length can be put to better use than more plain.

Since I really like big knives, I often find myself in that very situation. I want a big knife, but I feel all of that needless plain edge (past the first 2 or 3 inches) can be a waste (but isn't *always* a waste as I also like large plain edge knives too).

I feel I can get most things done with a little plain edge or a little serrated edge, so a combo edge is like having a plain Activator, and a serrated Activator in one knife.

Now, I understand that when you want a plain edge that having less plain edge means you may have to do more work. If the cut requires a draw, then you run out of edge sooner and have to "saw" back and forth more often. The same goes for sawing with a serrated edge. However, using a plain edge for a serrated job or a serrated edge for a plain edge job also requires more work... so...

I think a combo edge does everything okay. It makes you work a little harder at everything, but not THAT much harder. Edges that are purely one or the other are great at some things, but worse at others. I guess the controversy is whether or not using a PE for a SE job is harder than using a CE for a SE job. I feel that a CE is better at a PE job than a SE is, and better at a SE job than a PE is. My experience has taught me this, but that is based on what *I* have to cut on a daily basis.

There have been several times at work where I have to cut something and found that simply touching the material to the serrated portion of the combo edge cuts it instantly. Like a laser! So I didn't need more than a tooth or two of serrations. While the plain portion would force me to work harder. Using the same knife later, I have had to push cut with the plain portion, and was glad the knife wasn't fully serrated. When push cutting, you don't need extra plain edge.

If someone is willing to carry two knives, then this isn't an issue. But I often want to carry only one (and other times I will carry two, but it depends on what I am wearing and how much I want to carry), so having both edges on one knife can make for less work than just one or the other. Or rather, it can be like two smaller knives in one space.

But don't get me wrong... the first time I used my very first knife (a combo edge) I noticed that having the serrations there made the 3.5 inch blade feel like a 2 inch blade. The serrations got in the way. So I can see the other side. But especially for larger knives I feel the downsides are worth the benefits to versatility.

All that said, I own and will buy knives that are plain, serrated, or combo. It really depends on the specific knife. I often will decide just based on looks, or my preference at the moment. But I see the advantages of all 3 of them, and they all do have advantages.

For a very small knife, I would tend to not want a combo edge.

And just so you know where I am coming from, I work at a newspaper warehouse and need a knife to cut plastic bundle straps, plastic stretch wrap, tape, cardboard, rubber belts, and a lot of other random stuff that pops up.

All in all, though, I have found that all of my quality knives will do everything I need them too. I can bring my SE Pacific Salt and it will do pretty much everything. It might be harder to do certain jobs, but it will do them. I can bring my PE Military, and it will do pretty much everything. The only times a knife of mine could not do the job at hand at all is when they are too big to fit into the inserter machine to cut out a jam. Many of my big knives are too large to get into the nooks of the machine.
 
deathshead said:
Not trying to offend anyone at all, but I wish the person who voted for the combo edge would have posted his opinion. Just curious to hear his thoughts on this. Oh well.
Click to expand...

It was me.:thumbup:

My first "tactical" (about 1994) was part-serrated and it's first 4 replacements were too before I started collecting and rotating my carry knives. I've just found them to be very useful on an EDC knife. I use the points of the serrations for things as well as the valleys of the serrations for stripping wire, scraping things, etc. I like the bite they have on rope, plastic ties - anything that sort of needs bitten through instead of just sliced - usually things that don't cut through very easily. I'm a fan of P.S. knives, what can I say.:)

.
 
I couldn't vote but, I definitely find uses for combo edges (not sure what my favorite is though). However, I have uses for all types of edges for example, my Spyderco Salt is fully serated and has sheepsfoot blade I use for boating often sailing. Anyway I serrations can't be beat when cutting synthetic material espicially over long periods of time. My Chinook II is plain edge which is what I use most of the time, making it a good choice for EDC and most tasks. However, one of my favorite abusers is my Kabar which has a small set of serations that come in handy when I run into certain cutting tasks.
 
Could not vote, but I strongly prefer PE. While I know that SE sharpness lasts longer, I like to make a clean controlled cut :)
 
Nearly all knife enthusiasts favor the plain edge, for a number of valid reasons . . . but I think they just like sharpening 'em. :) A plain edge also makes a knife look "cleaner" and less menacing.

I prefer fully serrated -- sharp as hell right outta the box, and it'll slash through practically anything (leather jackets, rubber hoses, hemp rope, etc.).

All or nothing -- that's my opinion. I understand that one's choice of blade can be viewed as a statement of individuality, and I can see the value of a combo blade on a camp knife if you're the type of guy who only carries one knife :rolleyes:, but, IMHO, a combo blade is half-assed. . . especially on a folder!
 
I couldn't vote, but I go fully serrated all the way :thumbup:

First of all they cut better and faster IMO.

Second, I find nothing more beautiful than a fully serrated blade on a knive;)


I think a blade without teeth all over is "plain"(:D ) boring(:yawn: )
 
Final word = forgotten after it's off page 1.

Noobs don't use the search feature here.

On topic: Serrated and plain edge knives have their purposes in my collection, and while some may argue partial do too I personally think it's a waste of an edge to have only half and half.
 
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