Serrated vs Smooth Edge

J

jfeenin

Joined
Dec 17, 2001
Messages
42
Well just as the title says, which do you prefer. My most common carry knife is my old Buck Crosslock with one drop point smooth edge and one fully serrated edge. I see a lot of full size fixed blades that are combo blades with part of the blade serrated and part smooth. To confuse matter more there are two basic forms of serrations, Those with aggressive sharp pointed and those with smooth rounded points. Case in point these two KA-BAR's. One is the modern incarnation of the WWII classic and the other is the companies take on a modernization of the design with a different style guard, pommel, a handle made of Kraton and a blade of D2 steel.

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While I do appreciate the benefits of a serrated edge it seems that every brand has a different contour. The only way to really sharpen them with any efficiency that I can see is to sharpen the reverse side of the grind with a flat stone. In order to not mess up this section of the blade you need to be careful while sharpening the straight edge portion. This is because the serrated portion of the blade is almost always ground on one side only while the remainder is symmetrical from side to side. To be honest my first "USMC" KA-BAR I had was the combo blade. I gave it away and bought the smooth edge because the real originals were a smooth edge. In retrospect I should have kept it and should bought the new one but I was trying to be nice to my nephew at the same time.

What is your preference for a blade edge? Do you prefer a straight edge for a fixed blade or a combo? Other thoughts on the the subject?
 
I prefer a plain edge for a large fixed blade knife. However for a EDC folder(or small fixed blade) i prefer the blade to be partly serrated.
 
I like plain edge. Also as long as you go slow a sharpmaker can do the serrations.
 
i prefer plain edge. if i commonly did tasks that required a serrated edge, i would probably carry both and not a combo edge
 
Plain edge overall. Easier to sharpen, maintain, and versitile.

Serrations are good for cutting rope, straps, seatbelts, and bread.
 
Plain edge for me, although I sorta dig the SAK combo edges with the serrations at the tip... surprisingly useful on a SAK.
 
I prefer a plain edge but I also like and carry serrated blades. Depends on what I am going to to. Sometimes you need a big knife, sometimes a small and sometimes a serrated blade. A PS blade is of course best of two worlds :)
 
I like a plain edge. If you keep it sharp it will handle many tasks that some say are better with a serrated edge and do those tasks VERY well. I have read that a serrated knife is better for slicing tomatoes, but I prefer a smooth edge because it works as well or better - as long as it is SHARP. My Endura 4 came with a good enough edge to slice tomatoes like they were made out of soft butter - no need for serrations.

Also the ease of sharpening is a huge plus in favour of the plain edge.
 
I'll take plain almost every time, the ease of sharpening and upkeep just weighs it too heavily in that direction
 
Plain edge for me, i think with partial serrations, it takes away from the cutting ability or the serrations and the plain edge, however i like a fully serrated blade like a full spyderedge...
 
I have gone back and forth on this, but currently am on a plain edge kick. I have a mixed bag of both and have realized that for my primary knife use (hunting, fishing), the plain edge is more practical.
 
I prefer serrated edges. If there is a combo blade (1/2 plain-1/2 serrated), that would be my pick. :)
 
I'm sure they have their uses, but for some reason I HATE serrations in any form for a carry knife... can't even say why. Of course they are great for bread knives and fine for steak knives.
 
Barehunter said:
I'm sure they have their uses, but for some reason I HATE serrations in any form for a carry knife... can't even say why. Of course they are great for bread knives and fine for steak knives.
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For the fun of playing with my knives I have tried using my Endura 4 and my RAT-1 for eating steak. Either seemed to do just as well as my serrated steak knives. I think that the crazy knife people on this forum that are obsessive about keeping their blades sharp would find that a plain blade will do almost any task that a serrated blade can do. For the apathetic knife users that don't worry about keeping a knife sharp - they probably gain a lot from serrated knives compared to their blunt smooth blades.
 
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