Serrated vs. Straight Edge for Urban/City EDC

J

jlouis976

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Feb 25, 2008
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I see the advantages of a straight edge in the wilderness, but for urban/city EDC, with all the fibrous materials around, is a straight edge still better? Why would someone choose one over the other for city carry? (Assume I can sharpen either easily)
 
I finally sat down one day and experimented with various edge types (plain, combo, and full serrated) and tried cutting rope, webbing, a seatbelt, cardboard, etc. I found that as long as the edges were sharp, my plain edges did a fine, if not better job, than the combo and serrated edges. The plain edges sliced right through seatbelts and webbing without any problems. A friend of mine pointed out that if the plain edges were not as sharp, then maybe the serrated edge would come out on top. Hope this helps some...
 
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That has been my experience. My Spydercos with serrated edges never seem to dull and they can cut everything quickly. My Kershaws with plain edges, while shaving sharp, still don't seem to cut as quickly, but they do make a much cleaner cut. None the less, I prefer a plain edge 99% of the time.


My issue is that I really want to get a SAK that I can open with one hand but they all come with serrated edges in the one hand openers. Any suggestions?
vm_54874_sol_a02.jpg
 
^ you will NOT be disappointed with that knife! despite the "serrations" it cuts like a scalpel. extremely sharp.
 
Bushman5 said:
^ you will NOT be disappointed with that knife! despite the "serrations" it cuts like a scalpel. extremely sharp.
Click to expand...

Is it easy to sharpen or is it one of those knives with serrations that are a giant pain in the butt to put an edge on?
 
I would still carry a plain edge blade over a serrated. Reason being that if you don't carry multiple knives, a plain edge will be able to do more than a serrated edge IMO. I haven't had problems cutting fibrous materials with plain edges but some things, like peeling an apple, I don't see a serrated edge doing. At least not well anyway.
 
Ever notice that hard use knives like Hinderer XM18s and Strider SNG & SMF (just to mention a few) are plain edge for the most part...
 
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Straight edge... Always. I never did see the point of the serrated blades, and I've had a few. IMO they did everything worse then a straight edge (and I never did learn how to sharpen serrated properly).
 
Straight edge. Get two identical models, one straight and one serrated, and do some testing of your own. If you plan on never sharpening the straight edge, the serrated will eventually be a better knife for you. But if you take care of your knives, you will find the cleaner cut of a straight edge a better tool.
 
I prefer a straight edge but a serrated edge will stay sharp longer.

The points of the serrations will make the initial cut and to a certain extent protect the rest of the edge from wear.

Also there is more edge on a serrated blade (the surface area of the edge is larger). Think of a piece of tin metal wire that follows the serrated edge precisely, now in your minds eye stretch it out.

As someone else stated: even when dull, a serrated edge will still cut.

When I am positive that I will cut stuff for a long time, but might not be able to sharpen the knife, I’ll take a serrated knife with me as a back-up.

Rafael
 
Plain edge with the exeption of victorinox, they make the finest serrations known to man. On the right side too.:thumbup:
 
I've used/ experimented with both pe and se for urban carry (carried each one seperately for about 3 months). The pe knife (a pe Endura 3) won, IMHO, against the se Endura 3. The pe vesiion cut the smae materils with little to no problem. Fibrous materials (carpet, thick fiber ropes, nettings) were cut with comparable ease by the pe. The se knife did require less sharpening and still did a fine job cutting even after extended use. IMHO, it all comes to just the preferences of the user. Hope this helps.
 
I prefer a plain edge, but that wouldn't stop me from getting that Victorinox knife. If you can sharpen, then serrations shouldn't be much trouble for you.
 
I've edced a serrated spyderco navigator (just shy of 2") for almost a year.
the reasoning:
• in liberal Canada, 3" is a HUGE blade
• the knife, though small, has great ergos so you can use the serrations hard
• the serrations stretch out the blade length, as noted above
• as an edc it gets used for everything: cutting thread, fingernail pruning, light scraping & prying etc. it goes nowhere near food, where a long, clean blade is certainly needed.
• there seems to always be a sharp part of a scallop, no matter how dull it seems
• with the sharpmaker you only have to do 2 of the 4 steps :)
 
thread said:
• in liberal Canada, 3" is a HUGE blade
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No it isn't.
I wonder at times why people feel this way when I can use my Military, or Stryker, or Resistor, or Gravitator, or Police, etc., without raising eyebrows at a UNIVERSITY, which most people think as highly liberal, around GIRLS, who are thought to be freaked out easily.
Maybe I'm not coming across as a slasher-freak or ninja wannabe, I don't know, but I'm NOT having the weird experience others seem to be having.:confused:
 
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