serrated or non-serrated

M

MilliePop

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Aug 21, 2008
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Well I'm gonna get one of those Bear Grylls knives by Bayley. If you guys aren't familiar with them it's just 4" blade. I just wanted to get a general consensus from you guys 'in the know' if partial serrations on a knife will be a good idea or not. I plan to use the knife for survival and if need be fighting. I'm kinda worried the serrations will have a negative affect if I had to sharpen a stick in to a spear or carve something and the idea of snaggin' flesh during a stab grosses me out. But then again I'm worried if I ever had to cut through rope or seatbelt a straight edge wouldn't be sufficient or would it?
 
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Others may like them, but I've never found a need for serrations myself. I generally try to find blades without them.

thx - cpr
 
MilliePop said:
Well I'm gonna get one of those Bear Grylls knives by Bayley. If you guys aren't familiar with them it's just 4" blade. I just wanted to get a general consensus from you guys 'in the know' if partial serrations on a knife will be a good idea or not. I plan to use the knife for survival and if need be fighting. I'm kinda worried the serrations will have a negative affect if I had to sharpen a stick in to a spear or carve something and the idea of snaggin' flesh during a stab grosses me out. But then again I'm worried if I ever had to cut through rope or seatbelt a straight edge wouldn't be sufficient or would it?
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For your uses a plain edge will work the best, I find a combo edge good for EDC tasks where you may need to cut materials that stretch or fibrous materials.
 
I've never found any good reason to use serrations with ANY materials. They just rip, not cut.. not knife material if you ask me.
 
Plain edge all the way. I use my knives for cutting, not for destruction. If you want a knife for heavy rope cutting, buy a fully serrated (Spyderco Makes some nice fully serrated knives in there SALT line, H-1 steel is some pretty cool stuff). I don't like combo edges at all, not enough serrated edge for heavy duty cutting, not enough plain edge for fine cutting, plus sharpening becomes a multi-stone event. A sharp plain edge cuts rope and seat belts plenty fast, and cuts certain fibrous materials faster because the teeth don't load up. If you are going to use it in the woods, you will be far better off with a full plain edge (wood and serrations don't get along).
 
Go with the plane edge. As long as you keep it sharp it will cut anything that a serrated edge will cut. Plus IMO it looks better and is easier to maintain. There are times when a serrated edge is very useful but I don’t think your situation calls for one.
 
Plain edge or full serrated all the way.Don't have any use for combo edges at all...Why do you think most intranet knife stores sell out of plain edge knives in your favorite models?But they never lack for having combo edged knives.See where this leading?
 
and the idea of snaggin' flesh during a stab grosses me out.
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....Really?....I think, in the extremely unlikely scenario of you having to stab someone in self defense, the "icky" flesh snagging feel of the serrations on your knife, is really not going to be your main concern. As such, perhaps that is not a criterion worth considering in your knife purchase.

That said, I would not get serrations on a survival/normal use knife, but if you are not proficient at knife sharpening, you may want serrations for their ability to rip through materials even when the main part of your blade is dull.
 
Plain edge for me; I own a fully serrated Spyderco Endura that I use for certain tasks, but I would never carry it as my first knife.
 
By the sounds of your knife knowledge, perhaps you should buy a less expensive knife in each plain edge and serrations and learn what you like. Up to you of course.
 
Chances are you're not going to find anything that a serrated edge will do better than a plain edge. My suggestion would be to get the plain edge and add a folding saw for cutting wood for fire or shelter. Spyderco used to (they still may?) make a folding saw that worked pretty well.

If weight isn't an issue, you could carry a small hatchet.
 
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