Popularity of plain VS combo edges

aquaman67

aquaman67

Joined
Jan 27, 2012
Messages
1,764
I know that combo edges aren't popular on this forum. I'd be curious to know sales or production from someone from Benchmade.

I'm obviously not looking for exact numbers but more of a distribution, if that's possible. Something like 75% plain edge and 25% combo for the Griptilian for example.

If that's still too much information, it's fine. I'm just curious. I like and use combo edges and I bet I'm not alone.
 
plain edges, for someone who uses his knives, allow for more cutting edge which makes a better slice, IMO

it is an interesting question though, one does wonder the ratio for each sold, not just among BM knives, but in the industry as a whole, I would wager to guess it's plain edge by a margin of at least 2:1, but until we see some data, who knows...
 
BM knows that knife nuts/collectors want PE. Have you see a Gold Class model in combo edge?
Even the CE LE models linger around long after the PE have sold out.

For someone who wants to use the crap outta a knife, I think a 3.5 - 4.0 inch CE is great. You get enough PE for slicing and your CE for tougher cuts.

That being said, I have a lot more PE than CE.
 
Benchmade sells a lot at stores like Cabelas, Bass Pro, Scheels, etc where CE is more popular by a good margin (judging by the stock they usually have on-hand).
 
I consider PE to be way more popular. If there is one model with PE and CE, you can almost be assured that the PE will sell out first. It always seems like it's super easy to find discontinued models in CE that are really hard to find in PE (Like the AFCK. Did they even make older ones in PE???).

I called BladeHQ once to order a 707 PE and all they had were the CE. I made a comment about how you can always get CE cause no one wants them and the guy on the phone agreed.
 
Places like Cabella's and REI sell a lot of CE blades and claim their customers ask for them which is fine, the need to cut cordage is well met and a CE edge will definitely do that...but for my daily EDC uses I have no need for anything that a PE blade can't do. I only have one combo edge; but it's a 910SCG that never came in PE.
 
Don't care for them myself. I like consistency, if I knew I would be around water, maybe kayaking, I would be very interested in something fully serrated, to the point that I probably wouldn't bring anything else. For anything else, I'd rather have a plain edge.

I guess maybe notching could be done with a serrated knife.
 
I don't own any serrated folders, at least not anymore. I don't need it for my uses and like sharpening plain edges.

I want to buy a third ShotShow Grip from my favorite place but all they have left is CE. As bad as I want another one, I'm gonna pass. Happens to me plenty.
 
FCM415 said:
I don't own any serrated folders, at least not anymore. I don't need it for my uses and like sharpening plain edges.

I want to buy a third ShotShow Grip from my favorite place but all they have left is CE. As bad as I want another one, I'm gonna pass. Happens to me plenty.
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What's funny to me is that when the 300SN came out I had to wait about a month for the 300SSN (serrated version) to come out.
 
I've seen a few reviews on YouTube in which all the blades were combo. They said the same thing...They don't like combos but as collectors they are much cheaper because the dealers can't get rid of them.

Serrations are the worst thing anyone has ever done to a knife blade. So many newbies keep repeating the rope thing that people believe it is true. You'll not find anyone that is a true experienced knife person that owns and uses serrations. Example? Show me a Bush Crafter that owns a serrated blade.
Serrations are for the fantasy groups, like survival folks. Most don't know what they might need a blade to do and bought into the serration hype. The survival blade gets thrown in to packs, trucks, or whatever and mostly never used.

I bought a few different manufactures serrated blades to test all the serration theories to see what worked best. The bottom-line is they are simply bad and don't do anything well.

If I see someone with a serrated blade I automatically know where their knife knowledge begins and ends.
 
zpstl321 said:
I've seen a few reviews on YouTube in which all the blades were combo. They said the same thing...They don't like combos but as collectors they are much cheaper because the dealers can't get rid of them.

Serrations are the worst thing anyone has ever done to a knife blade. So many newbies keep repeating the rope thing that people believe it is true. You'll not find anyone that is a true experienced knife person that owns and uses serrations. Example? Show me a Bush Crafter that owns a serrated blade.
Serrations are for the fantasy groups, like survival folks. Most don't know what they might need a blade to do and bought into the serration hype. The survival blade gets thrown in to packs, trucks, or whatever and mostly never used.

I bought a few different manufactures serrated blades to test all the serration theories to see what worked best. The bottom-line is they are simply bad and don't do anything well.

If I see someone with a serrated blade I automatically know where their knife knowledge begins and ends.
Click to expand...

Do you have a plastic clothes hanger in your home? If so, try cutting it in two with a plain edge knife.

Serrations do have there place, and not just for "fantasy groups". I carried partially serrated Griptilian in Iraq in 2006-2007 and found the serrations useful more than once.

Now at work I need to cut PVC, tubing, fire hoses, rope, cable ties, tree branches, ect and find that serrations do these jobs better than a plain edge blade.
 
Aside from this becoming yet another serration bashing thread, I'd really be interested to see market research as to how many of each is actually sold.
 
PE is more popular on these forums. CE is definitely popular in general or the knife companies would not make almost every model in a CE configuration. People who know how to use and use serrations often usually prefer a full SE knife. Many people carry one PE and an SE to cover all the bases. Many people do not like serrations at all because they don't really know how to use them to their full potential and are afraid they cannot sharpen them. Many peoples daily uses don't require serrations and they become cumbersome so they tend not to like them. The more you use your knife, the more evident your needs will become regarding type, style, steel, edges, etc. The more cutting tools you use the more your skill increases to be able to use most any type of cutting tool for almost every task, within reason. Chopping down trees with a 3" folder is not within reason IMO. Buy what you like, like what you buy.
 
zpstl321 said:
I've seen a few reviews on YouTube in which all the blades were combo. They said the same thing...They don't like combos but as collectors they are much cheaper because the dealers can't get rid of them.

Serrations are the worst thing anyone has ever done to a knife blade. So many newbies keep repeating the rope thing that people believe it is true. You'll not find anyone that is a true experienced knife person that owns and uses serrations. Example? Show me a Bush Crafter that owns a serrated blade.
Serrations are for the fantasy groups, like survival folks. Most don't know what they might need a blade to do and bought into the serration hype. The survival blade gets thrown in to packs, trucks, or whatever and mostly never used.

I bought a few different manufactures serrated blades to test all the serration theories to see what worked best. The bottom-line is they are simply bad and don't do anything well.

If I see someone with a serrated blade I automatically know where their knife knowledge begins and ends.
Click to expand...

lord, that's about the most asinine response i've seen in a good while... look up a knife maker named emerson & his opinion on the subject some time...
 
aquaman67 said:
Serrations do have there place, and not just for "fantasy groups". I carried partially serrated Griptilian in Iraq in 2006-2007 and found the serrations useful more than once.

Now at work I need to cut PVC, tubing, fire hoses, rope, cable ties, tree branches, ect and find that serrations do these jobs better than a plain edge blade.
Click to expand...

Yup, Serrated edges do excel at cutting those you stated, non of which I do plenty of but have to agree. My plain edges work fine for those occasional times I do need to tear through things. Some like it because it can look tacticool/aggressive and they dont even cut the things you stated. For what I use my edc's 95% of the time, it just gets in the way.

Actually, I wish I had more things like that to cut! I'd get a few CE's then. Tears through objects and maintains its cutting performance in that application for a longer time.
 
hostileuniverse said:
plain edges, for someone who uses his knives, allow for more cutting edge which makes a better slice, IMO
Click to expand...

I think serrated edges actually is considered to have much more cutting edge packed into those peaks and valleys but I get what you're saying... In terms of slicing cuts, the plain edge takes the cake no doubt.
 
zpstl321 said:
I've seen a few reviews on YouTube in which all the blades were combo. They said the same thing...They don't like combos but as collectors they are much cheaper because the dealers can't get rid of them.

Serrations are the worst thing anyone has ever done to a knife blade. So many newbies keep repeating the rope thing that people believe it is true. You'll not find anyone that is a true experienced knife person that owns and uses serrations. Example? Show me a Bush Crafter that owns a serrated blade.
Serrations are for the fantasy groups, like survival folks. Most don't know what they might need a blade to do and bought into the serration hype. The survival blade gets thrown in to packs, trucks, or whatever and mostly never used.

I bought a few different manufactures serrated blades to test all the serration theories to see what worked best. The bottom-line is they are simply bad and don't do anything well.

If I see someone with a serrated blade I automatically know where their knife knowledge begins and ends.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately your vast lack of knowledge is evident by this post. You really have not learned how to use hand tools yet, have you?
 
zpstl321 said:
I've seen a few reviews on YouTube in which all the blades were combo. They said the same thing...They don't like combos but as collectors they are much cheaper because the dealers can't get rid of them.

Serrations are the worst thing anyone has ever done to a knife blade. So many newbies keep repeating the rope thing that people believe it is true. You'll not find anyone that is a true experienced knife person that owns and uses serrations. Example? Show me a Bush Crafter that owns a serrated blade.
Serrations are for the fantasy groups, like survival folks. Most don't know what they might need a blade to do and bought into the serration hype. The survival blade gets thrown in to packs, trucks, or whatever and mostly never used.

I bought a few different manufactures serrated blades to test all the serration theories to see what worked best. The bottom-line is they are simply bad and don't do anything well.

If I see someone with a serrated blade I automatically know where their knife knowledge begins and ends.
Click to expand...

That's funny, I carried a CE mini grip daily for about 5 years, and it got used hard... It was a gift from the wife, and I didn't want to return it, so I put it to use. After using it for various functions, I found they do actually have a purpose.

I prefer PE knives, but to say they are for " Fantasy" use, and only used by people with no actual knife knowledge, really shows you really don't know what YOU are talking about. Why would you even make such an ignorant statement ?
 
Serrations have their place, they have been around since the Gerber Mk2, which was pretty popular in Viet Nam in the day. For a field knife in hard use, they will cut thru stuff quickly when needed.

On the other hand, as an EDC, how many of us are cutting up plastic clothes hangers? It's a good example in that most would go get a bigger tool and use it - that is about the size of knocking off twigs for firewood, where a hatchet would be the better choice. I wouldn't bother sawing thru something that thick, I'd swing blade chop it holding the butt of the knife.

Sure, the stores seem to have lots of choices in CE blades, maybe that's the point - all the PE sell out early. I'm looking for a BM 950, most sites are either sold out/back order only, or price them higher than CE. If I want all black CE, I could get it cheaper. That is a significant marketing point - CE is harder to move in volume, and I think we are going to see the retailers backing down from ordering as many. It's like underwear, you need to stock a lot of sizes, but you prefer to stock them in numbers that match sales - or all the popular ones sell out quick for weeks.

What is likely happening is makers are simply grinding out equal lots of every model across the board, and the PE's are selling out fast. Then the CE's drag along until they get marked down. The maker sees they all sell, the retailer sees CE as a drag but can't do anything about it.

I've got them both, the most annoying thing I see is many makers grind them so deeply they hang up in the transition area. That first tooth drops pretty deep and snags stuff instead of cutting it - the dull edge of the tooth is hooked. That's where Gerber did it right, the serration tips were still flush with the plain edge. Some makers grind them deep, notching the blade. It spoils the looks for me, I won't buy those.

Nobody grinds them with an alternating tooth pattern on both sides of the blade, either. I know that works well, all saw blades are done that way. If you're using a serrated edge, it's not about a clean cut, it's about getting it done.

Been using serrated at home and in the field for three decades. Personal carry is PE. Chore knife, combo. Full serrated, when doing rope work or rappelling. Use the right tool at the right time.
 
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